American | Pakistan

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said on Wednesday they had hit dozens of US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait in response to American strikes, in a statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB. “In an initial response to this aggression, the IRGC Navy and Aerospace Force carried out a joint missile and drone operation, striking 85 key US military facilities” in the two countries, while also shooting down an MQ-9 drone, the statement said. The statement came after the US military unleashed a new wave of strikes against Iran on Tuesday and revoked a licence allowing the country to sell oil after three tankers were hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, putting pressure on an already fragile ceasefire. After a day in which huge crowds mourned Iran’s assassinated supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the holy city of Qom, US Central Command (Centcom) said it hit over 80 targets in a series of strikes intended to impose what it called “heavy costs”. The military command said it struck more than 6...

United States President Donald Trump lashed out on Friday at what he called a fresh threat against the country’s identity, taking aim at domestic “radicals and extremists” on the eve of America’s 250th birthday. In a speech dripping with patriotism, Trump lauded American exceptionalism and praised its past leaders, speaking at Mount Rushmore with its giant carved heads of four of his legendary predecessors. But he added at the foot of the iconic monument: “As we approach this magnificent anniversary, we see our American identity under a renewed attack.” He charged that there was “a resurgence of the communist menace in our land”. It is a theme that Trump has repeatedly hammered home in recent weeks, as the anti-establishment left of the Democratic Party carried a surge of US primary victories. The president has cast the rise of the left ahead of November’s midterm elections that “communists” are on the rampage, posing a major “threat” to the country. ‘Undeniable attempt’ Trump said on Friday: “In recent years...

The United States on Wednesday signed an agreement to build a new embassy compound in Jerusalem, in a move that Israel said reflected the “unbreakable alliance” between the countries. During his first term, US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December 2017 and ordered the relocation of Washington’s diplomatic mission from Tel Aviv. But the services were spread across several locations in Jerusalem until a single permanent site could be found. “The United States not only recognises Jerusalem as the eternal, indigenous, and forever capital of the Jewish people, but also that the United States says that we’re going to do something about it,” US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said during a signing ceremony at Israel’s foreign ministry. “We are going to plant our flag, our American flag, on the soil of Jerusalem for a permanent and a brand new embassy compound that will serve as our mothership of diplomatic activities here in Israel. “I would say God made that decision 3,800 y...

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had carried out attacks against a US base in Jordan and 21 other targets in the Gulf on Wednesday in retaliation for American strikes around ​the Strait of Hormuz. The clashes mark one of the biggest exchanges in hostilities since the two countries agreed to a ceasefire in April. The Iranian strikes, which included attacks in ‌Kuwait and Bahrain, came after the US military said on X it had targeted Iranian air defence, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites near the strait in response to what US President Donald Trump said was the downing of a US Apache helicopter on Tuesday. “I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful, and that’s what this one is,” Trump told ABC News on Tuesday. The escalation in violence deepens doubts about the prospects for a deal to end the war that started on February 28 with joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Tehran ​responded by firing on US bases and assets in Gulf countries and all but choked off the Strait of Horm...

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Friday said that Pak-US ties had strengthened during United States President Donald Trump’s tenure. He made the remarks during a meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Paul Kapur, the interior ministry said in a post on the social media platform X. The meeting was also attended by US Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker, Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry, and other officials. “During the meeting, discussions took place on Pakistan-US relations and the latest situation in the Middle East,” the ministry said. It added that views were also exchanged on increasing cooperation in the fields of security, counter-terrorism, and combating narcotics. “Pakistan-US relations have strengthened during Trump’s tenure,” the ministry quoted Naqvi as saying. “Pak-US relations are based on mutual trust and bilateral cooperation,” Naqvi said, adding foolproof security had been ensured for American companies working on the Reko Diq project. Accor...

Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian has released an open letter, addressing the American people, calling on them to question the motives of the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran. Below is the full text of his letter. “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful “To the people of the United States of America, and to all those who, amid a flood of distortions and manufactured narratives, continue to seek the truth and aspire to a better life: “Iran — by this very name, character, and identity — is one of the oldest continuous civilisations in human history. Despite its historical and geographical advantages at various times, Iran has never, in its modern history, chosen the path of aggression, expansion, colonialism, or domination. Even after enduring occupation, invasion, and sustained pressure from global powers — and despite possessing military superiority over many of its neighbours — Iran has never initiated a war. Yet it has resolutely and bravely repelled those who have attacked it. “The Iranian people...

ALTHOUGH it seemed that US President Donald Trump had reconsidered his plans to stage an attack on Iran last week, an American military build-up in the region points to the fact that the danger of a conflagration has yet to pass. Mr Trump has said that an “armada” of American ships is headed to the Gulf “just in case”, while adding that he did not want to “see anything happen” vis-à-vis Iran. There are also reports that the US has deployed more fighter jets to its bases in some regional states, while the Turkish foreign minister has said that Israel is “looking for an opportunity” to strike Iran. Senior Iranian officials, on the other hand, have indicated they will hit back hard if attacked. The Trumpian threats could well be mere sabre-rattling designed to bring Tehran to the table on America’s terms. However, the problem with such brinkmanship is that it can very quickly spiral out of control, and have devastating real-world consequences. It is also a fact that the US, Israel and many of their Western allie...

Indian aerospace engineering student Sudhanva Kashyap thought he had mapped out everything it would take to get to the United States, only to have his plans upended by Washington’s sudden and expensive change to its skilled worker visas. Friday’s changes to the prized H-1B visas, which included a new $100,000 fee, rattled the tech industry and left US companies scrambling to figure out the implications. Hasty clarifications from the White House that the new charge would be a one-off payment rather than the annual fee announced by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Friday only added to the uncertainty. The fee change rattled students like Kashyap, who hoped to get into an American university and from there into the US jobs market. Kashyap, a 21-year-old from the southern Indian tech hub of Bengaluru, had pictured himself going to a top-tier American university, with Stanford his goal. “Back when the fee was lower, it was still something that you could pin hopes on; it would be easier to convert the studen...

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Energy Ali Pervaiz Malik on Wednesday urged American investors and companies to explore Pakistan’s vast mineral wealth through public-private partnerships and joint ventures. Speaking at a webinar titled “Opportunities in Pakistan’s Mining Sector – Unlocking Mineral Potential”, the minister highlighted the country’s rich endowment of mineral resources, including gold, copper, coal, rare earth elements and other critical minerals vital for the global energy transition. The event was jointly organised by the Ministry of Energy and the US Embassy in Pakistan to promote investment opportunities in the country’s minerals and mining sector. Mr Malik assured that both the Government of Pakistan and the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) are fully committed to facilitating international companies seeking to partner in unlocking Pakistan’s mineral reserves. He emphasised Pakistan’s growing role in the global shift towards clean energy, citing the nation’s abundant reserves o...

American singer and actor Bobby Sherman has died at the age of 81, months after he was diagnosed with stage four cancer. To Read Lifestyle Stories in Urdu – Click Here The singer-actor, who was a teen-idol singer in the late 1960s and early ’70s, also starred in ‘Here Come the Brides’ and ‘The Partridge […]