Noontime News Recap: Iran widens Gulf conflict as Europe faces Russia tensions and EU deadlock

Iran said its military had bombarded United States bases in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, signalling a fresh round of retaliatory strikes in the Gulf.  🔗

Sponsored

Tehran also sought an International Criminal Court probe after the Iranian Red Crescent said a US missile strike hit a wedding party in Kuhestak in southern Iran, adding to the legal and diplomatic fallout from the conflict.  🔗

In Europe, Denmark's counterintelligence chief said Russia was actively preparing sabotage operations against the country, with the defence industry singled out as a target, sharpening concerns over security threats inside the EU and NATO.  🔗

EU foreign ministers remained deadlocked after two days of informal talks in Wicklow, with Ireland's foreign minister saying they had failed to agree on trade sanctions on Israel or on further support for Ukraine.  🔗

Sponsored

Norway seized a Russian owned cruise ship near Svalbard as part of efforts to enforce a compensation award linked to Ukraine's Naftogaz and assets expropriated in Crimea, a move that could further strain relations with Moscow.  🔗

Russia also said it would close Goethe Institut centres in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Yekaterinburg after Germany announced the closure of a Russian cultural centre, deepening the tit for tat cultural row between the two countries.  🔗

In Latin America, Nicaragua's National Assembly voted to bar opposition parties from future elections and extend the terms of the president and other elected officials, in the first approval of a constitutional reform that tightens the ruling party's grip.  🔗

In the UK, a former veterans minister accused the Ministry of Defence of deliberately withholding medical records of Cold War nuclear test veterans, reviving long running concerns over official treatment of service personnel exposed to radiation.  🔗

Sponsored

#Iran #Europe #sanctions #Russia #Nicaragua #breakingrecap #recapnoon