04-02 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
Fifty-seven people were killed when two trains collided in 2023 in the worst rail accident in Greek history, with 36 accused in a trial expected to last years.
Families cram into Greek court for trial into deadliest train crash
Relatives of the 57 people who died in Greece's worst ever train disaster crowded into a courtroom on Wednesday, demanding justice for the victims.
The trial had already been postponed once because of the chaotic start last week.
Most of the victims of the crash three years ago were students, killed when their intercity service from Athens to Thessaloniki smashed head-on into a goods train on the same line near Tempi in the centre of the country.
Some of the victims are thought to have burnt to death after surviving the initial collision.
Many relatives were unable to get into the courtroom in the central town of Larisa last week, and the situation was little different when it resumed on Wednesday.
Police officers allowed in only participants who were legally scheduled to attend.
Some relatives complained that two rows of seats had been taken up by police, while others said they still could not witness proceedings clearly enough.
Defence lawyer Zoe Konstantopoulou appealed for the proceedings to be filmed as access for families had been restricted.
The February 2023 disaster is widely known in Greece as the "Tempi crime" - with many arguing it encapsulates negligence and corruption at the heart of the state.
Thirty-six people are on trial in a case that is expected to hear from 350 witnesses and set to last years.
She, like so many other victims, was travelling back to lectures in the northern city after spending a public holiday with her family.
In the weeks after the crash, her grieving father Dimitris told the BBC he would always be proud of his daughter who "only had love to give".
He said: "We relatives call it a state assassination of our children, and all the people who were aboard that train… in which European country could this be possible?"
Anastasia had been travelling with her 20-year-old twin cousins, Thomi and Chrysa, who were also killed.
Thirty-three of the defendants face up to life in prison if convicted.
Among those in the dock is a station master who failed - along with everyone else - to spot that the two trains had been travelling towards each other on the same line for 10 minutes.
Other railway officials are also on trial along with two Italian former employees of the trains' parent company, Ferrovie dello Stato.
The railway network had not made use of EU funding intended to improve safety. The head of the European Public Prosecutor's Office, Laura Kovesi, later said the collision could have been avoided if the money had been spent on modernising the signalling system in time.
Trade unions in Greece had warned that some sort of catastrophe on the railway network was waiting to happen.
To the amazement of some, the crash site was bulldozed within days, which experts say destroyed potentially crucial evidence.
This fuelled claims of a cover-up, which authorities have denied.
Mitsotakis apologised to the families of the victims in the days after the crash and has asked repeatedly for public patience so that justice can take its course.
To the frustration of many campaigners, no politician is among those on trial.
The case is taking place in a remodelled conference hall that cost hundreds of thousands of euros and Mitsotakis has said it is "among the most functional and modern in Europe".
More than 60,000 pages on evidence is to be presented and 200 lawyers are involved in the case, but proceedings descended into chaos on 23 March when the courtroom became overcrowded.
Survivors of the disaster and family members of the deceased were forced to sit in the seats of the accused, most of whom were absent.
Lawyers argued health and safety regulations were being violated.
Maria Karystianou, who lost her 19-year-old daughter Marthi, said relatives had been "packed like sardines" and the spectacle was "an absolute disgrace".
▸ 展开全文
04-02 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
Attacks have continued as Israel has announced its intention to control swathes of south Lebanon.
Israel intensifies Lebanon attacks and hits areas not in Hezbollah's control
Israel has intensified its attacks on Lebanon this week, hitting areas outside of Hezbollah's control on Tuesday.
Strikes without warning hit a vehicle north of Beirut and the Jnah neighbourhood in the heart of the capital.
Attacks also continued in the city's southern suburbs and the country's south, both where Hezbollah has a strong presence.
A building was destroyed on the road to Beirut's airport after an evacuation order, and in the south, a strike hit a health facility, killing a paramedic, according to Lebanon's health ministry.
Israel's military said it had hit Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut and killed a senior commander and another senior figure from the Iran-backed armed group.
Hezbollah joined the ongoing regional war on 2 March, sending missiles towards Israel, after the US and Israel attacked the armed group's ally Iran on 28 February.
Israeli attacks have kept bombarding Lebanon as its troops have moved into the country's south.
On Tuesday, a vehicle was targeted in the Mansourieh area, a predominantly Christian residential neighbourhood north of Beirut.
Meanwhile, the Jnah neighbourhood in the heart of the capital was attacked after midnight. The Lebanese health ministry said the Al-Zahraa Hospital had received and treated "a number of those injured in the air strike".
Hassan Jalwan, who lives near Jnah, told AFP he heard several "big explosions" overnight.
"Nobody knows what's happening," he said, adding that "displaced people have been sleeping in the open" in the area.
The Dahieh neighbourhood to the south of Beirut, where Hezbollah has a strong presence, continues to be a target. A building was destroyed on Tuesday in Ghobeiry on the road to the airport following an evacuation order.
Also on Tuesday, Lebanon's health ministry said at least seven people had been killed by Israeli strikes in the country's south, including the paramedic.
The number of health workers who have been killed since the start of the war has now reached 53.
Earlier, the Lebanese army cleared its last positions in the south, pulling out from Ain Ibel and Rmeish villages a day after an army checkpoint was hit and a soldier was killed by an Israeli air strike, according to the Lebanese Armed Forces. The Israeli military has not appeared to have commented yet on the reported death.
However, some residents of the villages refuse to leave.
In the predominantly Christian village of Rmeish, Father Najib Al Amil appeared in a video on social media, where he said: "There is grass and soil. We rely on God and will stay in our village. We either all die together and lose our land or live and our villages will live with us."
Israel has announced its decision to control large swathes of land in southern Lebanon - up to the Litani River, about 30km from the border with Israel - to create a buffer security zone.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel would keep security control over the territory even after the end of the current war against Hezbollah. The plan has drawn criticism from the UN.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to leave the south, but there are still tens of thousands who have refused to go.
Supply lines to the south have been cut by Israel targeting bridges and infrastructure, making villages in the south uninhabitable.
Katz said more than 600,000 displaced Lebanese residents would be "completely prohibited" from returning to that area until the safety of residents of northern Israel was guaranteed.
The Israeli defence minister also said all houses in villages near the border in Lebanon will be destroyed "according to the model of Rafah and Beit Hanoun in Gaza".
In total, 1,268 people in Lebanon have been killed since the beginning of the attacks, the country's health ministry said on Tuesday.
More than one million people have been displaced, the UN reported.
This is critical time for Lebanon and the residents of the south. Many see Israel's strategy in the south mimicking that of Gaza - destruction, depopulation and occupation.
The government said earlier that this constitutes a violation of the country's sovereignty.
South Lebanon previously lived under Israeli occupation for nearly 18 years, between 1982 and 2000.
Some Lebanese have lived the displacement and loss of land generation after generation.
Many in Lebanon believe that Israel is more powerful than Hezbollah and capable of destroying the south with its advanced missiles and drones. At the same time, if Israel is to stay in the south, Hezbollah is more powerful on the ground and can engage in a guerrilla war to wear out the Israelis and prevent them from staying put.
In short, for the hundreds of thousands who have been forced out of their homes, this war is not ending anytime soon.
▸ 展开全文
04-02 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
Trump has criticised Nato members for showing a lack of support for US objectives in Iran.
What do Trump's latest comments on leaving Nato mean for the alliance?
Of all the warnings in President Trump's arsenal, quitting the Nato military alliance is among those he's wielded the most.
Now he's doing it again.
Asked by Britain's Telegraph newspaper if he is reconsidering US membership of Nato, he said: "Oh yes… I would say [it's] beyond reconsideration" – fuming again that his partners weren't joining America's military operations, alongside Israel, against Iran.
"I just think it should be automatic," he emphasised in his remarks to the paper.
Trump's invective underlines again his misunderstanding of how this 32-member alliance works.
Nato's Article 5 does commit it to collective defence. An attack against one member is deemed to be an attack against all but invoking this principle requires a consensus. And the 1949 treaty only referred to crises in Europe and North America.
One ally after another has held back from joining a war they weren't consulted on, given they still don't understand its goals in the face of mixed messaging from the Trump administration.
Article 5 has only been triggered once, in the wake of the September 11th attacks on the US in 2001.
Trump also referenced Ukraine in the Telegraph, saying: "We've been there automatically, including Ukraine."
After Russia's audacious full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the then-US President Joe Biden did take a leading role in shaping the response of individual Western governments because he believed President Putin's actions threatened them all.
Nato, as an alliance, provided assistance but avoided the dangerous prospect of becoming directly involved as a party to this conflict.
Even before Trump entered the White House in 2017, he repeatedly dismissed Nato as a "paper tiger," described it as "obsolete", and said that it was "costing a fortune" for the US.
This year, he's mocked the alliance, saying Russia would have occupied all of Ukraine if the US had not been Nato's enforcer.
Trump almost walked out in early 2019, during his first term in office.
"We saw clear signs that Trump was preparing to act on his threat," the former Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wrote in his recent memoir, On my Watch.
Stoltenberg recounted how he went on Fox News and credited Trump with pressuring Nato allies to increase their military spending.
In his telling, Trump immediately acknowledged that praise on social media and then didn't make the speech the White House had reportedly drafted for a US pullout.
At the centre of Trump's concerns was the 2014 agreement that countries should spend 2% of their GDP on defence; at the time, it was only described as a "guideline".
Military spending has ramped up significantly by almost all Nato members, partly in response to Trump's threats, partly because of Russia's growing menace.
This new crisis will again strengthen the resolve of European countries and Canada to bolster their own defences and depend on themselves for their own security. But there's still that cold hard fact that the might of the US military matters - immensely.
The US's military budget now makes up some 62% percent of Nato's total defence spending and the Pentagon has assets and intelligence capabilities others still can't match.
This time, his Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who calls himself a former supporter of the alliance, has also chimed in.
"I think there's no doubt, unfortunately, after this conflict is concluded we are going to have to re-examine that relationship," he told Fox News.
Referring to US bases in Europe he said not using them "to defend America's interests" meant "Nato is a one-way street."
Britain initially refused access to US warplanes but later changed tack, saying bases could be used for "defensive operations." That delay continues to be derided by Trump and his secretary of defence, the self-styled Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth. They've repeatedly taunted Prime Minister Starmer as being "no Churchill" – a reference to Britain's leader during the Second World War.
On Tuesday, Italy denied US aircraft permission to land as they were en route to the Middle East for combat operations. Spain has closed its airspace to US planes conducting missions against Iran.
Rubio added it was "ultimately" up to the President to decide this issue.
But it's not his alone.
The US Congress voted at the end of 2023 to prohibit the president from unilaterally withdrawing from Nato without the approval of a two-thirds Senate majority or an act of Congress.
Nato leaders, and most of all its current secretary general Mark Rutte who visits Washington next week, will need to spend time again trying to convince and cajole Trump that it's in his interest, and America's, to stay.
Rutte, like Stoltenberg, is called the "Trump whisperer" for his efforts in public, and private, to keep the unpredictable president on side.
Rutte, the former Dutch leader armed with his toolbox of praise, is widely seen as having played a significant
▸ 展开全文
04-01 10:03 · 中东,局势,AlJazeera,中东
For the first time in more than 50 years, humans will travel around the moon to test deep-space life-support systems.
The countdown is under way at Kennedy Space Center for the liftoff of Artemis II, which will send four astronauts around the moon and back in the first crewed lunar mission since 1972.
After a mission management team meeting on Monday, NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya said Artemis II is ready for launch on Wednesday.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 items- list 1 of 4Jim Lovell, one of first astronauts to orbit the moon, dies at age 97
- list 2 of 4NASA plans to send manned Moon mission by February 2026
- list 3 of 4NASA rules out March launch for manned moon mission over technical issues
- list 4 of 4NASA to spend $20bn on moon base, nuclear-powered Mars spacecraft
The weather is now the only potential constraint. The forecast indicates an 80 percent chance of favourable conditions with the primary concerns being cloud coverage and the potential for high winds, NASA noted.
When will Artemis II launch?
At 6:24pm (22:24 GMT) on Wednesday, a two-hour window will open for the Artemis II mission to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The launch window will remain open until April 6 for two hours each day after sunset. The mission can launch only when the moon, orbital paths, weather and Earth’s rotation line up safely.
Artemis II has faced two major delays that pushed it from its original early 2026 launch window.
In early February, the first attempt was scrubbed after a liquid hydrogen leak was detected during a practice countdown.
A second launch attempt in early March was cancelled when engineers discovered a helium flow issue in the rocket’s upper stage.
How to watch the launch
NASA will livestream the launch on YouTube , which has shown Artemis II from its rollout at the vehicle assembly building to Launch Pad 39.
What is NASA’s Artemis programme?
The Artemis programme is NASA’s multidecade mission to return humans to the moon for the first time since 1972, establish a long-term base there and eventually enable future human missions to Mars.
The programme is currently divided into five missions: Artemis I, II, III, IV and V.
Artemis I was the inaugural uncrewed test flight, which launched on November 16, 2022, and lasted 25 days. It successfully placed the Orion spacecraft into Earth’s orbit and provided crucial data for Artemis II.
What is Artemis II?
Artemis II is the first human mission of the Artemis programme. While Artemis I was an uncrewed test mission that carried only mannequins and sensors, Artemis II will mark the first time since 1972 that astronauts will travel beyond low Earth orbit.
Will Artemis II land on the moon?
No. The four-person crew will not land on the moon but rather perform a lunar flyby, looping around the moon’s far side before returning to Earth.
What is the goal of the Artemis programme?
At its core, Artemis II is a systems validation mission. NASA will use the flight to test the Orion spacecraft’s life support systems, navigation, communication links and overall performance in deep space with a crew on board – conditions that cannot be fully replicated on Earth.
If successful, Artemis II will pave the way for Artemis III, a crewed low Earth orbit mission; then Artemis IV, which aims to land astronauts on the moon; and future missions that could establish a sustained human presence beyond Earth.
Here’s how the 10-day Artemis II journey is planned:
How is Artemis different from Apollo?
In Greek mythology, Artemis is the twin sister of Apollo and the goddess of the moon. The name symbolises the programme’s connection to the original Apollo lunar missions, which took place from 1961 to 1972.
The most notable of the Apollo missions was Apollo 11 when on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the lunar surface.
The last mission was Apollo 17 when Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt left the lunar surface on December 14, 1972, becoming the last people to walk on the moon.
Who are the Artemis II astronauts?
The mission will carry four astronauts:
- Reid Wiseman, 50, commander: The NASA veteran and former International Space Station commander is leading the Artemis II mission. A test pilot-turned-astronaut, he has leadership and deep spaceflight experience.
- Victor Glover, 49, pilot: The US Navy aviator is the first Black astronaut assigned to a lunar mission and flew on SpaceX Crew-1.
- Christina Koch, 47, mission specialist: The record holder for the longest single spaceflight by a woman at 328 days is a veteran of multiple spacewalks and has scientific and deep-space mission expertise.
- Jeremy Hansen, 50, mission specialist: The first Canadian set to travel to the moon is a former fighter pilot and represents international collaboration in deep space exploration.
What will the Artemis crew do during the mission?
During the flight, the four astronauts will evaluate the spacecraft, test their own responses to radiation and onboard fires, and perform a suit pressurisation test.
They will also carry out medical and scien
▸ 展开全文
04-01 10:03 · 中东,局势,AlJazeera,中东
Trump says US could leave Iran war in 2-3 weeks without a deal; Iran’s FM Araghchi says he has no faith in talks.
United States President Donald Trump has said Tehran does not have to make a deal for him to end the US-Israel war on Iran, adding that the conflict could end in two to three weeks, as Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he has no faith in talks with Washington.
US-Israeli attacks continue across Iran, with pharmaceutical companies and steel plants in Isfahan and Farokhshahr among the sites hit, according to Iranian media and officials.
Israeli attacks also continue in Lebanon, as Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said homes in the south would be demolished and hundreds of thousands of displaced Lebanese would not be allowed to return.
In Iran
- Ongoing strikes: US-Israeli air attacks continue across the country, targeting industrial and civilian sites, including steel plants, pharmaceutical facilities, port infrastructure, meteorology facilities and a residential complex, according to Iranian state media and the Iranian Red Crescent Society. Iranian media have reported explosions in cities including Ahvaz, Shiraz, Isfahan, Karaj, Kermanshah and Bandar Abbas.
- Pharmaceutical facility hit in Tehran: An Iranian official says US-Israeli forces bombed the Tofigh Daru pharmaceutical raw material units in Tehran, destroying its research and development department and dealing a “blow to the national medical supply chain”.
- Passenger pier bombed in Bandar Abbas: Ahmad Nafisi, a top official in Iran’s Hormozgan province, said enemy fighter jets bombed the Shahid Haqqani passenger pier in the city of Bandar Abbas on Wednesday. He condemned the “criminal” attack on civilian infrastructure and said no one was killed or wounded.
- Desalination plant hit: A desalination plant on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz was knocked out by strikes and is now out of service, Iranian media reported.
- Iran’s diplomatic stance: Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera that messages have been exchanged with Washington and [US Special Envoy Steve] Witkoff, but there are no negotiations and Tehran has “zero” trust in the US.
- ‘Not as easy’ for Trump to walk away from war: Analyst Trita Parsi said it is unlikely the war will end quickly or the Strait of Hormuz will reopen soon, adding Iran will likely continue to control and attack the waterway and that it is “not as easy for Trump to just walk out” of the conflict.
- Rising death toll: More than 2,000 Iranians have been killed and thousands of civilian sites, including hospitals, schools, universities and pharmaceutical factories, have been attacked by Israel and the US. Targeting of civilian sites is considered a war crime.
War diplomacy
- NATO allies withdraw support: Spain, France and Italy have restricted US military operations, closing airspace, denying base access and limiting logistical support.
- UK to host Hormuz meet: Britain will this week host a meeting of about 35 countries to discuss how to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
- China pushes for ceasefire: China and Pakistan proposed a five-point plan including a ceasefire and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, as Beijing steps up diplomatic efforts.
- Regional diplomacy: Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan have held talks on the Iran war amid efforts to restore stability in the Middle East.
- Australia PM warns of tough months: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warned that the months ahead “may not be easy” because of the war, in a national address. “No government can promise to eliminate the pressures that this war is causing,” Albanese said.
- International designations: Argentina, under pro-Trump President Javier Milei, officially designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a “terrorist” organisation.
In the Gulf
- Kuwait under threat: Iranian drone attacks have repeatedly targeted Kuwait’s airport, and the airspace has been closed since February 28, with Saudi Arabia providing buses to airports in Dammam and Qaisumah.
- Air raid sirens in Bahrain: Warning sirens sounded multiple times, and authorities told residents to remain calm and head to the nearest safe places.
- Saudi Arabia intercepts drones: The Ministry of Defence said it destroyed two more drones amid ongoing missile and drone attacks since the war began.
- ‘Unknown projectile’ hits tanker off Qatar: A vessel was damaged north of Doha, but all crew were safe and there was no environmental impact, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said.
- Kuwait bank shuts doors: A major Kuwaiti bank said it will close its headquarters for two days starting Wednesday, as Iran continues attacks.
In the US
- US war timeline: Trump said the war could end in “two to three weeks” and a deal is not required, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US is “negotiating with bombs” and warned the coming days will be decisive.
- Economic impact: The war and its uncertainty have led to surging oil prices and volatility in global energy markets. US Senator Chris
▸ 展开全文
04-01 10:03 · 中东,局势,AlJazeera,中东
Shrapnel from an Iranian drone interception kills a Bangladeshi national in the UAE’s Fujairah city.
Iran’s drones have hit fuel tanks at Kuwait’s international airport, causing a large blaze, and authorities in Bahrain have reported a fire at an undisclosed company facility, as the United States-Israel war on Iran continues for a fifth week.
Abdullah al-Rajhi, a spokesman for the General Directorate of Civil Aviation in Kuwait, on Wednesday said the airport had been subjected to “brazen attacks by drones from Iran and the armed factions it supports”.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 items- list 1 of 3What’s behind Donald Trump’s interest in Iran’s Kharg Island?
- list 2 of 3After Strait of Hormuz opens, turmoil would still last months, analysts say
- list 3 of 3Pope Leo urges Trump to end war on Iran
The raids targeted fuel tanks at the airport, “leading to a large fire breaking out at the site”, al-Rajhi was quoted as saying by the official Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).
Emergency teams were on site, and “the damage is material with no human injuries,” he said.
Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior said civil defence crews were “extinguishing a fire in a facility of a company as a result of the Iranian aggression”.
“Relevant authorities are taking their measures at the site,” it added, without naming the company.
Vessel hit
A tanker was hit by an unknown projectile near the Qatari capital Doha, causing damage to the hull at the waterline, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said, adding the crew were safe.
The vessel was struck about 17 nautical miles (equivalent to about 32km) north of Qatar’s Ras Laffan industrial hub, the country’s main gas production facility, which was hit by Iranian missiles last month, causing significant damage.
Confirming the incident, Qatar’s Ministry of Defence said the country was targeted by three cruise missiles launched from Iran, one of which struck an oil tanker.
In a post on X, the ministry said it intercepted two of the missiles, while the third hit a tanker leased to QatarEnergy. The tanker’s 21-person crew was evacuated, the ministry said. No injuries were reported.
In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the official WAM news agency said shrapnel from a drone interception fell on a farm in the al-Rifaa area of Fujairah city and killed a Bangladeshi national. It said authorities were dealing with the incident.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense said several drones were “intercepted and destroyed”, without reporting any injuries.
The oil-rich Gulf has borne the brunt of Iran’s attacks in response to the US-Israeli air strikes on the country.
Iran has claimed to be attacking US assets in the region, but Gulf nations say Tehran has targeted civilian infrastructure.
On Tuesday, a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report said gross domestic product (GDP) in the Arab world was estimated to decline by approximately 3.7 to 6 percent after a month of war, equivalent to a contraction of $120bn to $194bn.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump and his administration have sent contradictory statements about how and when the war might end.
“We’ll be leaving very soon,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday, saying the exit could take place “within two weeks, maybe two weeks, maybe three”.
Washington had previously threatened to intensify operations if Tehran did not accept a 15-point US ceasefire framework that had, among its core demands, commitments by Iran not to pursue nuclear weapons, halt all uranium enrichment and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran dismissed the proposal as “maximalist” and “unreasonable”, stressing it is not seeking war and wants a permanent end to the conflict. It also demanded compensation for the destruction caused by US-Israeli attacks against the country.
▸ 展开全文
04-01 10:03 · 中东,局势,AlJazeera,中东
Araghchi confirmed direct talks with Witkoff but denied that they constituted negotiations in an exclusive interview.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has confirmed direct contact with United States President Donald Trump’s top envoy Steve Witkoff amid the ongoing war, but downplayed talks of negotiations in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera on Tuesday.
Araghchi also spoke about the future of the Strait of Hormuz – the critical waterway through which 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas pass in peacetime – after the war is over, and about Iran’s preparations for a potential US ground invasion.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 items- list 1 of 4Trump says US will be leaving Iran in two to three weeks
- list 2 of 4Trump tells allies ‘get your own oil’, says Iran war could end in 2-3 weeks
- list 3 of 4Iran war: What is happening on day 33 of US-Israel attacks?
- list 4 of 4Iran attacks cause fire in Kuwait, Bahrain; kill man in UAE
Here are key takeaways from Araghchi’s interview with Al Jazeera:
Talked to Witkoff, but no negotiations
Araghchi confirmed that he had held conversations with Witkoff, Trump’s trusted envoy for peace negotiations around the world, during the current conflict.
But the Iranian foreign minister downplayed that contact.
“I receive messages from Witkoff directly, as before, and this does not mean that we are in negotiations,” he said.
“There is no truth to the claim of negotiations with any party in Iran. All messages are conveyed through the Foreign Ministry or received by it, and there are communications between security agencies,” he added.
Araghchi explained that they have never had a “good experience” negotiating with the US, referring to Washington’s decision to withdraw from the Barack Obama-era nuclear deal during Trump’s first term. The US has also twice attacked Iran during negotiations over the past nine months — in June 2025 and with the current war, which began on February 28, at a time when Oman, the mediator between the two sides, had said they were on the cusp of a breakthrough over Tehran’s nuclear programme.
“We do not have any faith that negotiations with the US will yield any results. The trust level is at zero,” Araghchi said, adding: “We don’t see honesty.”
Pakistan has been facilitating the contacts between Araghchi and Witkoff in recent days, officials close to these developments have told Al Jazeera. Pakistan also hosted talks with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkiye last weekend, to try and build momentum for direct talks between Iran and the US. Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also visited Beijing on Tuesday to try and secure China’s support for those efforts.
Iran, Oman to decide Strait of Hormuz future
In the interview, Araghchi argued that the waters of the Strait of Hormuz fall under the territorial control of Iran and Oman, and that once the war is over, it is these two countries who would decide the future of the waterway.
But he added that the strait should be a “peaceful waterway”.
Gulf nations, including Qatar, have, however, insisted that they be included in any talks to decide the future of the strait.
Araghchi also insisted in the interview that, from Iran’s perspective, the strait is open for ships from most nations.
“Only for the ships of those who are at war with us, this strait is closed. That is normal during war – we cannot let our enemies use our territorial waters for commerce,” he explained.
“Ships linked to other countries – because of security concerns, because of high insurance prices, or whatever other reason – they have decided not to use the strait,” he said. He also mentioned that some countries have engaged in negotiations with the Iranian government for the transit of their ships: some Indian, Pakistani, Turkish and Chinese vessels have passed through the strait.
On a US ground invasion: ‘We are waiting for them’
Even as Trump and his administration have spoken of diplomacy with Iran, the US has ramped up troop deployments to the Gulf in recent days.
Recent media reports from the US have also suggested that the Pentagon is preparing options for a ground invasion of Iran.
Asked about those reports, Araghchi said Iran was ready to fight US troops if they were to engage in a land war.
“We are waiting for them,” he said. “I don’t think they’d dare to do such a thing. There will be a lot of strength waiting for them.”
“We know very well how to defend ourselves. In a ground war, we can do it even better. We are completely ready to confront any sort of ground attack. We hope they do not make such a mistake,” Araghchi said.
▸ 展开全文
04-01 10:03 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
It's a turnaround for Beijing, whose official response has been muted so far. Why is China stepping in now?
China is trying to play peacemaker in the Iran war - will it work?
As the war in the Middle East enters its second month, choking the world's energy supply and sending oil prices soaring, China is trying to step in as a peacemaker.
It comes as President Donald Trump says US military action in Iran could end in "two to three weeks", but there is no clear sense yet of how that will happen or what comes after.
China joins Pakistan, which has emerged as an unlikely mediator in the US-Israel war against Iran. Officials in Beijing and Islamabad have presented a five-point plan with the aim of bringing about a ceasefire and re-opening the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Pakistan, which has been a US ally in the past, seems to have won over Trump to mediate this conflict.
Beijing, however, is entering the fray as a rival to Washington, ahead of crucial trade talks between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Trump next month.
China's backing on this is "very important," says Zhu Yongbiao, a Middle East expert and director of the Centre for Afghanistan Studies at Lanzhou University.
"Morally, politically and diplomatically, China is providing comprehensive support with the hope that Pakistan can play a more distinctive role."
It is also a turnaround for Beijing, whose official response to the war has so far been quite muted. So why is China stepping in now?
The peace plan was drafted after Pakistan's foreign minister flew to Beijing to ask for Chinese support for the country's efforts to negotiate an end to this conflict.
His efforts appear to have worked. China's Foreign Ministry said the two were making "new efforts towards advocating for peace." The joint statement agreed that dialogue and diplomacy were "the only viable option to resolve conflicts", and it called for waterways, including the blockaded strait, to be protected.
It's not just about oil, although that will be a concern. China, the biggest importer of crude oil in the world, has enough stockpiled to get it through the next few months.
Beijing will likely have decided to play the role of peacemaker because the war in Iran jeopardises something Xi covets: stability. China needs a stable global economy as it is heavily reliant on selling goods around the world as it tries to revive an ailing domestic economy.
"If the rest of the world begins to slow down economically because of an energy shock, that's going to be tough for China's factories and exporters," says Matt Pottinger, Chairman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracy's China Program.
"That's why I think when I see China's foreign minister just this week advising Iran that we need to find a way to end this war, I think there's some sincerity there. I think that Beijing is a little bit worried about where this could lead if it turns into a real energy shock that is protracted."
There are already fears that China's industrial heartland, which serves as the factory of the world, will be impacted in the long term if this crisis continues.
Paying a higher price for oil affects the whole supply chain, from the plastics needed to make toys and games, to the raw materials for modern synthetic fabrics, to the hundreds of components that go into phones, electric cars and semiconductors.
The US trade war with China during Trump's first term led many business owners across the country to look for new markets around the world.
As a result, China's exports to the Middle East grew nearly twice as fast as its exports to the rest of the world last year. The region has become the fastest growing market for electric cars, and China is also the largest investor in desalination in the Middle East, where potable water is scarce.
The Power Construction Corporation of China has projects in Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Oman and Iraq.
As a result of its economic ties, China has cultivated relationships across the region with both US allies, such as Saudi Arabia, and foes, such as Iran.
Tehran and Beijing have a partnership dating back decades. China is Iran's leading trade partner and it buys around 80% of Iranian oil.
The Chinese government has played the role of peacemaker in the Middle East before, with limited success.
In 2023 it brokered a deal between bitter rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, which have long stood on opposing sides in proxy wars in the Middle East. They severed ties in 2016 when Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shia Muslim scholar, triggering protests in Iran with crowds attacking its embassy in Tehran.
After China took up the mantel as mediator, the two sides agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations. This was in China's interest. Beijing will have hoped that better diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran would reduce the likelihood for regional tensions.
A year later, Beijing played host to the leaders of 14 Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Hamas. The talks resulted in a national unity government for the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
The declaration was more an expression of intent rather than
▸ 展开全文
04-01 01:36 · 中东,局势,AlJazeera,中东
Lebanon’s expulsion of Iranian ambassador tests limits of state power as Hezbollah fights push for disarmament.
Beirut, Lebanon – On March 24, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi declared Iran’s ambassador to Beirut persona non grata and gave him until March 29 to leave the country.
But two days after the deadline, Ambassador Mohammad Reza Sheibani is still in Lebanon.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 items- list 1 of 3One month of war on Iran cost Arab countries up to $194bn: UNDP
- list 2 of 3UN aid chief warns of new Israeli occupation in southern Lebanon
- list 3 of 3Iran war: What is happening on day 32 of US-Israel attacks?
The incident comes amid another Israeli war and invasion of Lebanon, which has so far killed more than one thousand people and displaced more than 1.2 million others in just one month.
It has also highlighted a deep political divide in the country – between supporters and opponents of the pro-Iranian Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah. The debate over Hezbollah’s weapons and Iran’s role in Lebanon has taken on a new dimension with the US-Israeli war on Iran and with Hezbollah’s re-entry into war with Israel, reportedly under the command of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“The ambassador’s refusal to leave reflects a deeper political contest over legitimacy and authority,” Imad Salamey, a political scientist at the Lebanese American University, told Al Jazeera.
IRGC calling the shots
Iran’s influence on Lebanon started to take shape in 1982, when the IRGC helped fellow Shia Muslims form Hezbollah as a response to Israeli invasion and occupation. Over the years, Hezbollah became the most powerful actor in Lebanon, both politically and militarily, in large part due to billions of dollars in Iranian funding.
Hezbollah peaked in popularity in 2000, when the group drove the Israeli military out of south Lebanon, ending an 18-year occupation. But subsequent events, which include engaging in the 2006 war with Israel, deploying fighters to the streets of Beirut in 2008, joining the Syrian civil war in support of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in 2011, and sending partisans to attack protesters during a 2019 uprising, eroded much of the group’s support outside of its core constituency.
When Hezbollah entered war with Israel on October 8, 2023, the group had few supporters outside the Shia Muslim community. By the time a ceasefire was agreed with Israel in November 2024, the group was also at its lowest politically and militarily. Israel had killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, mostly Shia, including Hezbollah’s longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah and much of its military leadership.
With Hezbollah weakened, many in the international community began demanding the disarmament of Hezbollah, and the Lebanese government led by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and President Joseph Aoun made it a priority.
But the IRGC reportedly used the calm brought on by the ceasefire to send officials to Lebanon to help Hezbollah restructure. And some analysts believe it was Tehran that made the call for Hezbollah to re-enter the war with Israel on March 2, just a couple of days after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was assassinated in Tehran.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Salam recently made a similar claim, saying that the IRGC is “managing the military operation in Lebanon”. He also accused the Iranian group of firing an attack at Lebanon’s island neighbour to the west, Cyprus.
Ambassador won’t leave
In light of the IRGC’s perceived role in Lebanon, Raggi declared Sheibani persona non grata, effectively removing his diplomatic immunity and asking him to leave the country.
“The Lebanese government’s decision to order the ambassador of Iran out of the country represents a landmark decision in Lebanese politics, given Iran’s profound role in Lebanese politics and its backing for Hezbollah’s militia,” Dania Arayssi, a senior analyst at New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, told Al Jazeera.
But Iran’s Foreign Ministry has said Sheibani won’t leave.
Sheibani’s stay in Lebanon is being backed by Hezbollah, whose officials have made stark statements in local media in recent weeks indicating that the government will have to rescind its decisions on Hezbollah’s disarmament.
“The cabinet decision to disarm Hezbollah triggered the group to make explicit threats to ‘punish’ those involved,” Arayssi said.
Also in Sheibani’s corner is Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Though Berri is a longtime Hezbollah ally, following Hezbollah’s reentry into the war in March, he initially supported the government’s decision to ban Hezbollah’s military activity.
‘Authority on paper’
The war on Iran and Hezbollah’s reenergised war campaign, in which it is still firing dozens of attacks and militarily engaging with Israeli troops on the ground in Lebanon, is shifting political fortunes, making it more difficult for the government to remove Hezbollah’s military power.
The group, considered badly weakened before its re-entry into the war, is now exerting more confidence militarily and politically in Lebanon.
That is likely connected to Iran’s f
▸ 展开全文
04-01 01:36 · 中东,局势,AlJazeera,中东
Effective shutdown of key waterway could lead to permanent changes in how shipping industry does business.
The effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz has blocked the flow of a substantial portion of the energy that powers the global economy.
But even if the waterway reopens tomorrow, the disruption to global supply chains will be felt long after ships have been cleared to pass en masse, according to shipping and trade experts.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 items- list 1 of 4Analysts say Trump doesn’t understand Iran reality has changed
- list 2 of 4Who is fighting in Myanmar’s multi-front civil war?
- list 3 of 4Australia’s post-Bondi crackdown accused of targeting pro-Palestinian voices
- list 4 of 4Mexico launches search for two missing aid boats bound for Cuba
“When the war is officially over, and the bombardments are stopped, that does not mean that the war is over for logistics, because then the real work starts,” said Nils Haupt, senior director for corporate communications at the German shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd.
“We will see hundreds of ships who want to call in at the key ports in the Persian Gulf. Lots of containers are going into the region, and we will see disruption of supply chains going to and from the Persian Gulf,” Haupt told Al Jazeera, using another name for the Gulf, which is also known as the Arabian Gulf.
At present, some 2,000 ships are stranded in the region amid Iran’s partial blockade of the strait, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). It has been allowing passage of only a few vessels from the countries deemed friendly.
Among them, about 400 vessels are in the nearby Gulf of Oman, suggesting that shipping firms are holding position for when the strait reopens, according to maritime intelligence company Windward.
Other ships have been diverted to the Suez Canal or taken the much longer journey around the Cape of Good Hope in Southern Africa to make deliveries to Asia and Europe.
Oil shipments from Saudi Arabia have been diverted through the Red Sea, bypassing the strait.
Svein Ringbakken, managing director of the Norwegian Shipowners’ Mutual War Risks Association, said even with logistics facilities running at full capacity, it would take time to clear the backlog of oil, gas and other goods unloaded from vessels.
Ringbakken said the task has been made even more difficult by attacks that have damaged energy and transport infrastructure across the Middle East.
More than 40 energy assets across the region have been “severely or very severely damaged”, according to the International Energy Agency, with oil and gas companies, including QatarEnergy, the Kuwait Petroleum Company, and Bahrain’s Bapco Energies, declaring force majeure due to production disruptions.
“The short answer is that it would take months to get shipping supply chains back to normal because of the backlog,” Ringbakken told Al Jazeera.
“Production lines have had to be stopped for many products because of a lack of storage capacity,” he added. “Add to this the damage to both production facilities and port infrastructure. This all adds inefficiencies when the strait is opened.”
Iran’s effective closure of the waterway, launched in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes that began on February 28, has disrupted about 20 percent of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies, driving up energy prices worldwide.
The blockade has also interrupted the export of large amounts of petrochemicals, fertiliser, and raw materials used in plastic manufacturing.
Beyond the immediate disruption to trade, the effective shutdown of the waterway has raised longer-term questions about how shippers will conduct their business in the future, including calculating risk, said SV Anchan, chairman of the United States-based global shipping and logistics conglomerate Safesea.
The IMO has confirmed at least 18 attacks on vessels across the Gulf since the war began, including the March 11 ramming of a Safesea oil tanker by two unmanned ships, which killed one crew member.
“From an industry standpoint, the issue extends well beyond access. The emergence of asymmetric threats, including unmanned attack capabilities, has fundamentally altered the risk environment,” Anchan told Al Jazeera.
“Even in the event of a full reopening, a return to normal conditions will require a sustained period of stability,” he said.
“Shipowners, charterers and insurers will seek consistency, credible security assurances, and structured risk frameworks before committing operations at scale.”
Marco Forgione, director general of the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade, a United Kingdom-based professional body that promotes free trade, also said the blow to confidence in the industry would be long-lasting.
“Rebuilding the confidence of shippers in the safety of the strait will take considerable security reassurances, which could take years,” Forgione told Al Jazeera, adding that Tehran was capable of shutting down shipping with threats alone.
Forgione said insurance had become an important “pressure point” for the industry
▸ 展开全文