International

The US warns that it cannot support the Rafah invasion without seeing Israel’s plan to protect civilians

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said on Monday from Riyadh that so far he has not seen any plan by Israel to guarantee the “effective” protection of civilians in the face of an invasion against the Palestinian town of Rafah, bordering Egypt.

“In the absence of a plan that guarantees that civilians will not suffer harm, we cannot support a large-scale military operation in Rafah and we have not yet seen a plan that gives us confidence that civilians can be effectively protected,” he said at the special session of the World Economic Forum (WEF), which is held in Riyadh.

Israel’s potential offensive to Rafah, where about 1.4 million people displaced by the war live overcrowded, has become a red line for a large part of the international community, although this operation could be delayed in the event of a ceasefire.

The head of US diplomacy has traveled to Riyadh to coordinate with his colleagues from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), made up of six Arab countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, the positions regarding the efforts to reach a pause in Gaza, and participate in the World Economic Forum (WEF) held in the Saudi capital.

Before his speech at the Forum, Blinken addressed in a bilateral meeting with his Saudi counterpart, Faisal bin Farhan, efforts to reach a truce in Gaza and increase aid to civilians in the Palestinian enclave, Saudi sources reported.

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At the meeting, Blinken and Bin Farhan “dealt with the situation in Gaza and other issues of common interest,” reported the official Saudi television channel Al Ejbaria, which disseminated images of the event.

Saudi television also broadcast images of the arrival of the heads of Foreign Affairs of the GCC at the meeting with Blinken, who landed on Monday in Riyadh on his seventh visit to the Middle East since the beginning of the war in Gaza, last October.

Along with the situation in Gaza, the US Secretary of State dealt with the heads of the diplomacies of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, the “threat from Iran” and the Shiite Houthi rebels of Yemen.

After his visit to Riyadh, he will move to Israel and Jordan and meet with humanitarian organizations.

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International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.

International

U.S. counterterrorism chief resigns over opposition to war in Iran

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced Tuesday that he has resigned from his post, citing his opposition to the ongoing war in Iran.

In a post on X, Kent said he could not, “in good conscience,” support the conflict, arguing that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the United States. He also claimed that the war was driven by pressure from Israel and its lobbying influence in Washington.

In a resignation letter addressed to Donald Trump, Kent alleged that at the start of the current administration, senior Israeli officials and influential figures in U.S. media carried out a disinformation campaign that undermined the “America First” platform and fostered pro-war sentiment aimed at triggering a conflict with Iran.

Kent further stated that he could not support sending a new generation of Americans to “fight and die in a war that provides no benefit to the American people and does not justify the cost in American lives.”

Since the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on February 28, at least 13 U.S. service members have been killed, while 10 others have been seriously wounded and around 200 have sustained minor injuries, according to a report published by The Wall Street Journal.

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International

German president warns Iran war could spread and disrupt Strait of Hormuz

The president of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, warned Monday that the war involving Iran could expand and further disrupt shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. He urged a swift end to hostilities between Iran, United States and Israel.

Speaking in Panama City during a joint appearance with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, Steinmeier said available information suggests Iran has significant capacity to disrupt maritime traffic through the key oil route.

“Iran has considerable potential to interfere with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” Steinmeier said through an interpreter. “We should therefore reach an end to the hostilities as soon as possible and call on all parties involved to make that happen.”

The remarks came during Steinmeier’s visit to Panama, the first by a German president to the Central American nation.

The German leader described the possibility of the conflict spreading as “very dangerous,” saying recent developments indicate that such a scenario cannot be ruled out.

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Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump urged allied nations to help ensure safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran moved to block the waterway in response to U.S. strikes. However, several allies—particularly in Europe—have shown little support for the proposal.

“Some are very enthusiastic, others are not, and some are countries we have helped for many years,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We have protected them from terrible external threats, and they’re not that enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm is important to me.”

Meanwhile, Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said the Strait of Hormuz falls “outside NATO’s scope” and stressed that “the war involving Iran is not Europe’s war.”