
Indonesia Open to Israel Ties if It Recognizes Palestine
Indonesia is ready to open diplomatic ties with Israel if it recognizes Palestine as an independent state, President Prabowo Subianto said after a meeting with his French counterpart on Wednesday.
Prabowo also reiterated his backing for a two-state solution as the only viable way to a lasting peace.
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Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Israel's Strikes on Iran Trigger Elevated Shipping Risks Across Middle East
Israel's airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities early Friday morning have prompted the U.K. and Greece to advise their merchant shipping fleets on taking a more cautious approach to sailing certain trade bottlenecks in the Middle East. According to a report from Reuters sharing information from the U.K.'s Department for Transport, all U.K.-flagged vessels, which include ships registered under the flags of Gibraltar and Bermuda, were advised to avoid sailing through the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. More from Sourcing Journal China-to-US Freight Rates 'No Longer Surging'-Is it All Downhill from Here? As Houthis Warn of 'War' Amid Israel-Iran Tensions, Red Sea Shipping Still Stagnant USTR Eases Port Fees for Foreign Vehicle Carriers, Scraps LNG Export Mandate If transiting these areas, vessels must adhere to their highest level of security measures and limit the number of crew on deck during transits, said the advisory. The Union of Greek Shipowners, which represent more than 60 percent of the E.U. controlled merchant fleet, urged shipowners to send details of their vessels sailing through the Strait of Hormuz to Greece's maritime ministry, Reuters said. The Strait of Hormuz flows into the Persian Gulf, with roughly one-fifth of the world's daily oil supply passing through, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The pre-emptive airstrikes bring speculation as to the immediate future of Red Sea shipping, particularly since the Iran-aligned Houthi militant group responsible for attacks in the waterway have been in direct conflict with Israel in recent months. Ahead of Friday's attacks, the Yemen-based Houthis had warned both Israel and the U.S. that any escalation against Iran would 'drag the entire region into the abyss of war.' The militants had conducted drone and missile attacks on commercial vessels traveling through the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait starting in late 2023, which lasted throughout 2024. The U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization said it began the attacks in support of Palestinians in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. Overall, the Houthis conducted more than 130 attacks on commercial vessels in that time frame, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, a crisis monitoring organization. The onslaught resulted in container shipping firms mostly abandoning the Suez Canal, instead committing to rerouting their ships around southern Africa's Cape of Good Hope. The mass diversions lengthened East-to-West ocean shipping times by roughly one-to-two weeks. Although the Houthis have not conducted any attacks in the Red Sea in 2025, most of the major ocean carriers have refused to return to the trade artery due to a lack of safety guarantees. A circular shared by maritime security firm Ambrey early Friday said there was no impact to shipping at the time of the report. The firm warned of heightened risk to Israel-affiliated shipping in the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, similar to a warning sent out by the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) office of the Royal Navy ahead of the Israeli airstrikes. For safety precautions, Ambrey recommended thorough affiliation checks for vessels planning to transit through the affected regions. Vessels with strong affiliations to Israel are advised to avoid these areas where possible. With tensions continuing to escalate in the Middle East amid Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza, roughly 200 protesters occupied the lobby of Maersk's Manhattan headquarters on Wednesday morning. The demonstration occurred in protest of the container shipping giant's transport of military equipment to Israel, namely the reported shipping of F-35 fighter jet parts. Maersk has stated that while it carries military equipment to Israel, it does not transport weapons or ammunition to the area, or any other conflict zones. Earlier this year, the company's shareholders voted against a proposal to halt shipments of arms to Israel on the grounds that premise of the proposal was incorrect. Members of the protesting group, which was organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement and Jewish Voice for Peace, refused to move from the lobby and chanted phrases like 'Maersk, Maersk, drop the cargo, we demand an arms embargo.' The demonstrators also demanded that more food and aid be sent to Gaza. Members of the NYPD's strategic response group moved in after about an hour and cuffed protesters. At least 50 had been taken into custody by the time the protest ended. The Manhattan demonstration follows a series of protests in major cities like Copenhagen, Paris and Berlin. Last month, more than 50 activists including Greta Thunberg held a demonstration in the Copenhagen office of Maersk's tankers division in protest of the equipment shipments, as well as the carrier's overall carbon emissions. Thunberg and a group of other activists on a Gaza-bound flotilla were later detained by Israeli officials after attempting to bring food and humanitarian aid to the region. The detainees were brought to Israel before they returned to their home countries.


Washington Post
21 minutes ago
- Washington Post
How Mossad covertly prepared Israel's attack from deep inside Iran
By the time Israeli aircraft were streaking across the sky toward nuclear and military sites in Iran on Friday, secret commando teams, swarms of armed drones and explosives concealed in ordinary vehicles were emerging from hiding deep inside Iran and making their way toward slumbering targets. Among the targets were military commanders, nuclear scientists and leaders of Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — many of them 'still in their beds, in their homes,' according to a senior Israeli security official with direct knowledge of the operation who provided previously unpublished details to The Washington Post.


New York Times
22 minutes ago
- New York Times
Israel's Strikes on Iran Divide Congress, Drawing Praise and Concern
Israel's overnight missile strike against Iran divided Congress, drawing praise and strong support from members of both parties, but some lawmakers, most of them Democrats, expressed concern about regional instability and the risk the United States might be drawn directly into the conflict. Many members of Congress were quick to cheer Israel's actions and framed them as a justified response to Tehran's refusal to abandon its ambition to obtain nuclear weapons. Others, including several leading Democrats, urged restraint, warning about the potential for escalation. The divergent reactions reflected a political divide over President Trump's leadership, the use of military force, the role of diplomacy and America's obligations in the Middle East. Some Republicans in Congress applauded the operation even before President Trump praised it. 'Game on,' declared Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina and one of the most vocal Iran hawks on Capitol Hill, moments after the news broke. In a later statement, Mr. Graham said: 'Hats off to Israel for one of the most impressive military strikes and covert operations in Israeli history.' The House speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, also offered unequivocal support for the strikes, saying in a social media post late Thursday that 'Israel IS right — and has a right — to defend itself!' After Mr. Trump weighed in Friday morning, saying that Iran had brought the attacks on itself, Mr. Johnson applauded the administration's decision to back Israel's security goals and echoed the president's position that Iran 'must never obtain a nuclear weapon.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.