His office did not provide did not provide any additional details about the South Carolina Republican and said his family “appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.”

“Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead!” Trump posted on social media early Sunday morning. “He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!! DETAILS AND ARRANGEMENTS TO FOLLOW. So sad!”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said “my heart is heavy this morning to learn the passing of my friend and colleague, Senator Lindsey Graham.”

“Lindsey’s long and dedicated service in the Air Force and in Congress carried him to far-flung regions of the world,” Thune said. “He was a strong advocate for the United States and a strong ally to freedom-loving countries across the globe. He believed in the might of America to achieve good in the world and dedicated his life to advancing that cause.”

First elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002 after serving in the House, the former Air Force lawyer long promoted a policy of robust U.S. military interventionism and strong national defense that in later years, would put him at odds with the growing isolationist wing of the Republican Party.

But in recent years, Graham also became well known for his close ties with Trump, whom he briefly ran against for the party’s presidential nomination in 2016.

Graham and Trump’s relationship would begin on a rough note, with the senator calling the then-businessman “unfit for office.” Graham also used a profanity to describe Trump after he made disparaging comments about former Sen. John McCain, Graham’s best friend in the Senate and a Vietnam War veteran. McCain and Graham, along with former Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., were known as the “Three Amigos” and frequently traveled to push their hawkish foreign policy views around the globe.

Not long after, Trump read out Graham’s personal cellphone number during a campaign rally in South Carolina and continued to belittle him throughout 2016 as Graham made it clear he would not support Trump, even though he was the party’s presidential nominee.

But Graham shifted significantly once Trump won the White House, emerging as one of Trump’s top allies — speaking with him frequently and becoming a regular presence on the golf course alongside the president — even as McCain remained a critic.

In a 2018 interview with The Associated Press, Graham explained his pivot by saying McCain taught him that the country must move forward after elections and that meant “you have an obligation” to help the president. McCain ran twice for the White House.

“And I’ve tried to be helpful where I could because I think he needs all the help he can get,” Graham said of Trump. “You can be a better critic when people understand that you’re trying to help them be successful.”

Graham appeared to break with Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying, “Count me out. Enough is enough.” But the senator returned to the fold and remained close with the president during his second term.

Graham especially advised Trump on foreign policy matters such as Iran and Russia, and had just announced an agreement on Friday with the Trump administration to move forward on a package of Russia sanctions. The senator had been in Ukraine to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said that the senator visited his country 10 times during the years of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

“Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer,” Zelenskyy said.

His travels made him a familiar face to dozens of world leaders.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday mourned Graham’s death, calling him “a great friend of Israel” and “a cherished friend of mine.”

Netanyahu said Graham understood that the security of Israel and the United States is inseparable and devoted his life to defending America, strengthening the U.S.-Israel alliance and standing up for the free world.

“Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend,” Netanyahu said, extending condolences to Graham’s family and the American people.

Graham had been serving as the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, giving him a central role during Trump’s second term as Republicans pushed major legislation on party-line votes with a slim majority in the chamber.

His committee oversaw a process called reconciliation, a Senate procedure that allowed Republicans to pass significant policies such as last year’s tax law without the threat of a Democratic filibuster.

He had previously led the Senate Judiciary Committee when Republicans confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court in 2020, and was in line to regain that gavel if the party kept control of the Senate after this year’s midterms.

Graham was a key player in the Senate’s efforts to craft a massive immigration overhaul in 2013 as a member of the so-called Gang of Eight, a bipartisan group that wrote a sweeping measure that would have altered virtually every part of U.S. immigration law. It passed the Senate with 68 votes but was never taken up by the House, so it did not become law.

But Graham’s views on immigration, particularly an endorsement of a pathway to citizenship for people in the U.S. without legal status, put him at odds with some Republican factions.

He sometimes faced primary challenges in his home state of South Carolina, but he won the nomination outright in June while running for a fifth term. Graham was slated to face Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediatrician from Charleston, in November’s general election.

The senator addressed the president in his victory speech last month, saying, “I’m going to help you change this world and change this country.”

The sparse statement by Graham’s office, which did not explain his death, comes during a stretch of concern about a lack of transparency about lawmakers’ health.

Rep. Tom Kean Jr., a New Jersey Republican, was absent without explanation for months before returning to Congress and disclosing that he had been diagnosed with depression.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, was hospitalized weeks ago for undisclosed health reasons.

Republicans hold a narrow 53-47 majority in the Senate. Under South Carolina law, Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, will appoint a temporary replacement for Graham, and that person will serve until January.

McMaster said in a statement that Graham was “irreplaceable.”

“The fiercest of fighters for South Carolina and America — and a loyal and steadfast friend,” McMaster said. As he offered condolences to his family, he added: “We shall not see his likes again.”

Graham was not married and did not have children. His closest living relative is sister Darline Graham Nordone, whom he helped raise after both their parents died.

Starmer says he will remain caretaker prime minister until his Labour Party chooses a new leader — with expectations growing that it will be former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

Burnham confirmed on social media that “I will put myself forward as part of this process.” Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who was considered his main rival for the top job, said he will back Burnham.

It was Burnham’s victory in a special parliamentary election last week that triggered Starmer’s decision to resign. After nearly a decade out of Parliament as the mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham returns to Westminster and will be sworn in as a lawmaker later on Monday.

Only members of Parliament can stand for the party leadership.

Streeting’s statement makes it more likely that Burnham will be selected without a leadership contest.

Starmer is the sixth prime minister in a decade to stand outside No. 10 Downing St., and announce a premature departure. His statement came the day before Britain marks the 10th anniversary of its vote to leave the European Union, a decision that still roils the country’s economy and politics.

After weeks of insisting he would fight to keep his job, Starmer conceded to growing pressure to hand over to a new leader who can try and revive the government’s flagging fortunes. He led Labour to a landslide election victory in July 2024, but since then his popularity and that of the party have plummeted.

A new leader in place within weeks

Starmer made the announcement outside his official residence, where he delivered his first speech as prime minister two years ago. His voice choked with emotion near the end of the brief statement, which was watched by his staff, Cabinet ministers and scores of journalists.

“The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election,” Starmer said. “I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.”

He said he spoke to King Charles III, Britain’s constitutional monarch, to inform him of the decision.

Starmer spent the weekend pondering his future following Burnham’s special election victory.

It’s unclear whether Burnham, who is due to be sworn in as a member of Parliament later Monday, will now face a coronation or a challenge. Starmer said nominations for a leadership contest will open July 9, and the new leader will be in place by the time Parliament returns from its summer break on Sept. 1.

If Burnham is the only candidate, the change could come by mid-July.

Starmer struggled to fulfill election pledges

Starmer has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living. He has been hamstrung by repeated missteps, including his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as U.K. ambassador to the United States.

Labour is losing liberal voters to the growing Green Party and facing a rising Reform UK, the Nigel Farage -led anti-immigration party that consistently leads in nationwide opinion polls.

U.S. President Donald Trump weighed in even before an announcement, linking Starmer’s exit to two of the Republican leader’s recurring grievances: immigration and renewable energy.

“Keir Starmer will resign as Prime Minister of The United Kingdom. He failed badly on two very important subjects- IMMIGRATION AND ENERGY (OPEN NORTH SEA OIL!). I wish him well! President DJT,” Trump posted on his social media platform.

Starmer’s initially warm relationship with Trump has soured in recent months over issues including the Iran war, which the U.K. didn’t join.

Praised on the world stage

In contrast to missteps domestically, Starmer has won praise for his international role, notably in rallying European support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion, and working to mitigate the economic and political turmoil unleashed by the Iran conflict.

A NATO summit in Turkey next month may be his last foray on the world stage as Britain’s leader.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, posting on X, thanked Starmer for his support and cooperation “that have helped make our Europe and our protection of life stronger.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised Starmer’s legacy.

“It can take many leaders years to grow into the statesman you became in just two years,” she said on X. “European and Ukrainian security is stronger because of you. Thank you, dear Keir.”

While many Labour lawmakers have rallied behind Burnham, some have said that Starmer had been treated unfairly. London legislator Neil Coyle railed on X against “the prospect of an utter stitch-up & the media circus being rewarded.”

Many hope Burnham can connect with voters

Burnham is the front-runner to succeed Starmer because many people see him as the best person to defeat the anti-immigration Reform Party at the next election, said Olivia O’Sullivan, an analyst at London’s Chatham House think tank.

Burnham appeals to Labour Party lawmakers who were frustrated by the way Starmer has governed, O’Sullivan said. Many hope that he will set out a “clearer vision” and connect with voters in parts of the country that are in danger of turning to Reform.

Still, O’Sullivan cautioned that may not translate into genuine change.

“It’s absolutely correct that that is not the same thing as offering a radically different set of policies or even a particularly clear policy program,” she said.

___

Associated Press writers Danica Kirka in London and Sam McNeil in Brussels contributed.

“Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,” Trump said on social media, with no details on timing. He said he had spoken with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain, and separately with Israel.

He described it as a “Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to PEACE” that still must be finalized by the United States, Iran and the other countries that participated in Saturday’s talks.

There was no mention of Iran’s nuclear program and highly enriched uranium, which Iran has sought to discuss later.

There had been growing optimism among officials

The United States and Iran were closing in on a deal to end the war, a regional official with direct knowledge of the Pakistan-led mediation efforts said earlier Saturday, after the U.S. weighed a new round of attacks on the Islamic Republic.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door deliberations, cautioned that “last-minute disputes” could blow up the efforts. This is not the first time in recent weeks that a deal has been described as close.

He said the potential deal would include an official declaration of the war’s end, with two-month negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program. The Strait of Hormuz would be reopened and the U.S. would end its blockade of Iran’s ports.

Iran, meanwhile, had signaled “narrowing differences” in negotiations with the U.S. after Pakistan’s army chief held more talks in Tehran, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told journalists in India that “there’s been some progress made” and “there may be news later today.”

Both Iran and the U.S. emphasized their key positions and have warned of the risks of resuming attacks and disrupting their ceasefire. Rubio repeated the U.S. stance that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon and must turn over its highly enriched uranium, and the Strait of Hormuz must be open.

Iran describes it as a ‘framework agreement’ for more talks

Iran state TV earlier quoted Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei as describing the draft as a “framework agreement” and adding: “We want this to include the main issues required for ending the imposed war and other issues of essential importance to us. Then, over a reasonable time span, between 30 to 60 days, details are discussed and ultimately a final agreement is reached.”

He said the Strait of Hormuz is among the topics discussed.

“Over the past week, the trend has been toward narrowing differences,” Baghaei told Iran’s official IRNA news agency, adding that nuclear issues are not part of current negotiations.

“Our focus at this stage is on ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon,” Baghaei said, adding that lifting sanctions on Tehran “has explicitly been included in the text and remains our fixed position.”

The Iranian-backed Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV reported that the Lebanese militant group’s leader, Naim Kassim, received a letter from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying Tehran will not abandon its allies. There is a fragile, U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon, a conflict that began two days after the Iran war started.

Limiting Tehran’s support for armed proxies in the region has been a stated goal in the war, along with targeting its ballistic missile program.

Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the lead negotiator in historic face-to-face talks with the U.S. last month in Islamabad, said Iran has rebuilt its military assets and if Trump resumes attacks, the result would be “more crushing and more bitter” than at the start of the war.

State TV said he spoke after meeting with Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir, who also met with Araghchi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials. Qatar sent a senior official to Tehran to support Pakistan’s efforts.

Trump had said ‘serious negotiations’ were underway

Trump earlier said he was holding off on a military strike against Iran because “serious negotiations” were underway, and at the request of allies in the Middle East. Trump has repeatedly set deadlines for Tehran and then backed off.

The U.S. and Israel sparked the war with attacks on Feb. 28, cutting short nuclear talks with Iran. Tehran retaliated by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the region’s oil, natural gas and fertilizer, causing global economic pain.

The U.S. then blockaded Iranian ports. The U.S. Central Command on Saturday said U.S. forces had turned away more than 100 commercial vessels and disabled four since the blockade began April 13.

___

Magdy reported from Cairo and Lee from Washington. Associated Press writers Darlene Superville and Aamer Madhani in Washington and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.

“It’s always shocking when something like this happens. Happened to me, a little bit. And that never changes,” a subdued Trump told reporters in a hastily organized news conference at the White House late Saturday. Only a short time before, a man with guns and knives tried to rush past the security perimeter inside the Washington hotel where the Republican president was about to address the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

Authorities are in the early stages of determining what happened and why. The shooting suspect was taken into custody and identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California.

Trump said he was undoubtedly the target. The presidency is “a dangerous profession,” he said. Trump said violence associated with politics had escalated in the United states and around the world. ”No country is immune,” he said.

He also suggested it was a sign of how successful his presidency has been.

“I’ve studied assassinations, and I must tell you the most impactful people — the people who do the most, take a look at Abraham Lincoln,” Trump said. He added: “The people that make the biggest impact, they’re the ones that they go after. They don’t go after the ones that don’t do much.”

Trump called for Americans to put aside their differences and unite. That was a break from his usual gleefully combative political tack.

“We have to, we have to resolve our differences,” the president said. “I will say, you had Republicans, Democrats, independents, conservatives, liberals and progressives. Those words are interchangeable, perhaps, but maybe they’re not. But yet everybody in that room, big crowd, record-setting crowd, there was a record-setting group of people, and there was a tremendous amount of love and coming together. I watched, I watched, and I was very, very impressed by that.”

Echoes of what Trump said after 2024 incidents

Trump has called for national unity before, only to quickly pivot.

By Sunday morning, Trump was using the incident to promote the White House ballroom project, a work in progress on site where the East Wing, which he ordered demolished, had stood. He said on social media that what happened Saturday night “would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House. It cannot be built fast enough!”

Trump also scoffed at a legal challenge against the construction, calling it the “ridiculous ballroom lawsuit.”

After the shooting in 2024 during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when Trump was wounded in the ear and a supporter was killed, the president strode into the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee two days later. Later that week, he gave a speech, in accepting the presidential nomination, that featured a softer and deeply personal message, drawing directly from his brush with death.

“The discord and division in our society must be healed. We must heal it quickly,” Trump said then. “As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny. We rise together. Or we fall apart.”

Such calls were short-lived, though.

Trump used that same speech to veer back into the combativeness that has become his trademark. He repeated false claims about the 2020 election was stolen from him and assertions that Democratic President Joe Biden had done “unthinkable” damage to the nation.

The pattern played out anew in September 2024, when Secret Service agents fired at a man who was armed with a rifle as Trump played golf at his resort club in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Steve Witkoff, Trump’s golf partner when the second incident occurred, described Trump’s initial reaction as “courageous and stoic.” It was not long before Trump was talking constantly about “radical” Democrats and “left-wing lunatics.” He branded Ryan Routh, the man sentenced to life in prison for trying to kill him, a “sick” individual.

Unlike the first two incidents, Saturday’s occurred with first lady Melania Trump by his side.

The president seemed to describe his wife as being rattled but also “very cognizant, I think, of what happened.”

“I think she knew immediately,” Trump said. “She was saying ‘It’s a bad noise.’”

He added, “It was a rather traumatic experience for her.”

The president said the military could end its offensive in two to three weeks and that the U.S. “will not have anything to do with” what happens next in the strait that has been closed by the Islamic Republic. Instead, he told reporters, the responsibility for keeping the vital waterway open will rest with countries that rely on it.

There’s “no reason for us to do this,” Trump said after signing an executive order that seeks to restrict mail-in voting. “That’s not for us. That’ll be for France. That’ll be for whoever’s using the strait.”

The White House said Trump would deliver a prime-time address Wednesday evening to update the public on the war.

In other developments, the closure of the strait sent average U.S. gas prices past $4 a gallon, and U.S. strikes hit the central city of Isfahan, sending a massive fireball into the sky. Tehran attacked a fully loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker in the Persian Gulf.

The attacks showed the intensity of the war more than a month after the U.S. and Israel launched it. The conflict has left more than 3,000 dead and caused major disruptions to the world’s supply of oil and natural gas, roiling global markets and pushing up the cost of many basic goods.

Trump, whose comments have vacillated between talk that diplomatic progress is being made with Iran and threats to widen the war, had earlier shared footage of the attack on Isfahan.

Fuel prices rise, rattling global markets

Iran’s stranglehold on the strait, the waterway leading out of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported during peacetime, has driven up global oil prices, as have Tehran’s attacks on regional energy infrastructure.

Spot prices of Brent crude, the international standard, hovered around $107 a barrel Tuesday, up more than 45% since the war started Feb. 28.

In a social media post, Trump directed blame at U.S. allies such as the United Kingdom and France that have refused to enter a war with no clear endgame that they were not consulted on.

“You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us. Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!” Trump wrote.

He singled out France for not letting planes fly over French territory while taking military supplies to Israel.

France has allowed the U.S. Air Force to use the Istres base in southern France because it had guarantees that planes landing there would not be involved in carrying out strikes.

Allies have refused to get involved

Spain, which has emerged as Europe’s loudest critic of the war, said Monday that it had closed its airspace for U.S. planes involved in the conflict.

Italy recently refused to allow U.S. military assets to use the Sigonella air base in Sicily for an operation linked to the offensive, an official with knowledge of the matter said, confirming a local press report. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto wrote on X that Italy is still allowing the U.S. to use its bases, adding that there has been no cooling of relations between the two countries.

Journalist kidnapped in Iraq identified

An American journalist was kidnapped Tuesday in Baghdad, and Iraqi security forces are pursuing her captors, Iraqi officials said. The journalist was identified as freelancer Shelly Kittleson by Al-Monitor, one of the news outlets she worked for.

A U.S. official blamed the Iranian-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah.

Two cars were involved in the kidnapping, one of which crashed, and a person inside was apprehended. The journalist was then transferred to a second car that fled the scene, according to two Iraqi security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case.

Dylan Johnson, U.S. assistant secretary of state for public affairs, said on X that the State Department had “fulfilled our duty to warn this individual of threats against them.”

In a statement, Al-Monitor said it stands by her “vital reporting.” Kittleson has been a longtime freelancer in the region, reporting extensively from Syria and Iraq.

Another aircraft carrier deploys to Middle East

The aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush deployed Tuesday from Norfolk, Virginia, and is slated to head to the Middle East, two U.S. officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans.

It would be the third carrier sent out to support the Iran war, along with the USS Gerald R. Ford, which is now undergoing repairs, and the USS Abraham Lincoln, which arrived in the region in January.

Trump warned this week that if a ceasefire is not reached “shortly,” and if the strait is not reopened, the U.S. would broaden its offensive, including by attacking the Kharg Island oil export hub and possibly desalination plants.

Speaking at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would not say if U.S. ground forces would enter the war. “We don’t want to have to do more militarily than we have to,” he said.

A ground invasion could alienate Iranians who despise the ruling theocracy and who rose up in mass protests that were crushed earlier this year. Some could see it as an attack on Iran itself and rally around the flag.

Since the Iran war began, 13 U.S. service members have been killed and 348 wounded, six seriously, according to a formal count provided Tuesday by Capt. Tim Hawkins, spokesman for U.S. Central Command.

Iran hits oil tanker as Israel strikes Iran and Lebanon

The Israeli military said early Wednesday that it had killed a senior Hezbollah commander and another senior leader in two separate strikes in the Beirut area.

Military officials said they launched strikes targeting what they described as Hezbollah infrastructure in the Lebanese capital. Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel plans to control the area south of the Litani River — some 20 miles (about 30 kilometers) north of the border.

Israel invaded southern Lebanon after Hezbollah began launching missiles into northern Israel days after the outbreak of the wider war. Many Lebanese fear another prolonged military occupation.

In Iran, authorities say more than 1,900 people have been killed, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel.

Two dozen people have died in Gulf states and the occupied West Bank. In Lebanon, officials said more than 1,200 people have been killed, and more than 1 million displaced.

Ten Israeli soldiers have died in Lebanon, including four announced Tuesday.

Iran meanwhile struck a key water and electrical plant in Kuwait, and an oil refinery in Israel came under attack. Israel and the U.S. launched a new wave of strikes on Iran, as the war raged with no end in sight.

Trump’s new threat came in a social media post. Earlier comments to the Financial Times suggested American troops could seize Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub. Trump has repeatedly claimed to be making diplomatic progress— though Tehran denies negotiating directly — while ramping up his threats and sending thousands more U.S. troops to the Middle East.

Trump told the New York Post that the U.S. is negotiating with Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf. The former Revolutionary Guard commander, who has taunted the U.S. on social media, dismissed the talks facilitated by Pakistan as a cover for the latest American troop deployments.

Trump says diplomacy is going well but threatens major escalation

In a social media post, Trump said “great progress is being made” in talks with Iran to end military operations. But he said if a deal is not reached “shortly,” and if the Strait of Hormuz is not immediately reopened, the U.S. would broaden its offensive by “completely obliterating” power plants, oil wells, Kharg Island and possibly even desalination plants.

The strait is a crucial waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped in peacetime.

The laws of armed conflict allow attacks on civilian infrastructure such as energy plants only if the military advantage outweighs the civilian harm, legal scholars say. It’s considered a high bar to clear, and causing excessive suffering to civilians can constitute a war crime.

A 22-year-old resident of Karaj, near Tehran, said his area lost power for several hours overnight following nearby strikes.

“I was really scared. I thought that they’d hit the power plants and that we are not going to have power anymore,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity out of security fears.

Iran says US demands are ‘excessive, unrealistic and irrational’

The U.S. already has targeted military positions on Kharg. Iran has threatened to launch its own ground invasion of Gulf Arab countries and mine the Persian Gulf if U.S. troops set foot on its territory.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tehran had received a 15-point proposal from the Trump administration containing “excessive, unrealistic and irrational” demands, while denying there had been any direct talks.

Qalibaf, the parliament speaker Trump says he is negotiating with, said Iranian forces were “waiting for the arrival of American troops on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional partners forever,” according to state media.

Twice during Trump’s second term, the U.S. has attacked Iran during high-level diplomatic talks, including with the Feb. 28 strikes that started the current war.

Iran attacks Israel and Gulf infrastructure

Sirens sounded at dawn near Israel’s main nuclear research center, a part of the country that has been targeted repeatedly in recent days. Israel’s military also said it had taken out two drones launched from Yemen, where the Iran-backed Houthi rebels entered the war on Saturday with their first missile attack.

Iran kept up the pressure on its Gulf Arab neighbors: Saudi Arabia intercepted five missiles targeting its oil-rich Eastern province; a fireball erupted over Dubai, United Arab Emirates, as a missile was intercepted; and in Kuwait, an Iranian attack hit a power and desalination plant, killing one worker and wounding 10 soldiers, the state-run KUNA news agency reported.

An Emirati official signaled that the UAE wants more than just a ceasefire.

“An Iranian regime that launches ballistic missiles at homes, weaponizes global trade and supports proxies is no longer an acceptable feature of the regional landscape,” Noura Al Kaabi, a minister of state at the UAE’s Foreign Ministry, wrote in a column published by the state-linked, English-language newspaper The National.

She added: “We want a guarantee that this will never happen again.”

NATO air defenses intercepted a ballistic missile over Turkey that was fired from Iran, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said, in the fourth such incident since the start of the war. Iran has denied firing the previous missiles. Turkey is taking part in mediation efforts.

Israel launched a new wave of attacks on Iran, saying it was striking “military infrastructure” across Tehran. Explosions were heard in the Iranian capital and Iranian state media reported a petrochemicals plant in Tabriz, in the north, sustained damage in an airstrike.

Peacekeepers killed in Lebanon, where Israel is battling Hezbollah

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, where Israel is battling the Iran-backed Hezbollah, said three peacekeepers have been killed in less than 24 hours. The peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL did not say who was responsible for the deaths overnight and into Monday.

Two of the peacekeepers were killed when an explosion of “unknown origin” destroyed their vehicle, and a third was killed earlier when a UNIFIL base was hit by a projectile. All three peacekeepers were from the Indonesian army, U.N. officials said.

An Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb killed one person and wounded 17, including four children, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

Over the weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military would widen its invasion, expanding the “existing security strip” in southern Lebanon.

In Iran, authorities say more than 1,900 people have been killed, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel.

Two dozen people have been killed In Gulf states and the occupied West Bank. In Lebanon, officials said more than 1,200 people have been killed, and more than 1 million have been displaced.

Six Israeli soldiers have died in Lebanon, while 13 U.S. service members have been killed in the war.

Oil prices rise again as concerns of global energy crisis grow

Iran’s attacks on the energy infrastructure of the region and its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz have threatened global supplies of oil, natural gas and fertilizer. They have sent fuel prices skyrocketing and given rise to growing concerns about an energy crisis.

Trump has said that Iran had agreed to allow 20 oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz starting Monday as “a sign of respect.” There wasn’t any information on whether those ships were actually moving.

Brent crude oil, the international standard, was trading around $115 Monday, up nearly 60% from when the war started.

While the test was in line with Kim’s stated goal of acquiring more agile, hard-to-detect missiles targeting the U.S. and its allies, some experts speculate North Korea’s claim may be an exaggeration. Missiles with built-in solid propellants are easier to move and conceal their launches than liquid-fuel weapons, which in general must be fueled before liftoffs and cannot last long.

The official Korean Central News Agency reported Kim watched the ground jet test of the engine using a composite carbon fiber material. It said the engine’s maximum thrust is 2,500 kilonewtons, up from about 1,970 kilonewtons reported in a similar solid-fuel engine test in September.

KCNA reported the test was conducted as part of the country’s five-year arms build-up meant to upgrade “strategic strike means,” a term referring to nuclear-capable ballistic missiles and other weapons. Kim said the latest engine test had “great significance in putting the country’s strategic military muscle on the highest level,” according to KCNA. The agency did not say when or where the test occurred.

North Korea’s report on the latest test could be “bluffing” as it didn’t disclose some key information like the engine’s total combustion time, said Lee Choon Geun, an honorary research fellow at South Korea’s Science and Technology Policy Institute.

When North Korea reported about the previous engine test in September, it described it as the ninth and final ground test of a solid-fuel engine that it earlier said would be used for intercontinental ballistic missiles. Observers predicted at the time North Korea would soon test-launch an ICBM loaded with that engine, but it hasn’t done so yet.

North Korea’s solid-fuel engine program may be facing some delays or the country might have determined to develop a better engine, possibly with Russian assistance, Lee said. Cooperation between the countries has deepened in recent years, with the North sending troops and conventional weapons to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.

In recent years, North Korea has test-fired a variety of ICBMs demonstrating the potential range to reach the U.S. mainland, including solid-fuel ones. But some of North Korea’s past claims about major weapons tests drew outside skepticism. In 2024, North Korea claimed to have successfully test-launched a multiwarhead missile, but South Korea quickly dismissed it as deception to cover up a failed launch.

Some foreign experts say North Korea still faces technological hurdles before it has a functioning ICBM, such as ensuring its warheads survive the harsh conditions of atmospheric reentry. But others dispute that assessment given the number of years the country has spent on its nuclear and missile programs.

Possession of more powerful and efficient solid-fuel engines would allow North Korea to build smaller ICBMs that can be launched from submarines or land-based mobile launch trucks, Lee said. Other observers say a push to increase the engine power is likely associated with efforts to place multiple warheads on a single missile to increase chances of defeating U.S. defenses.

North Korea has pushed hard to expand its nuclear arsenal since Kim’s high-stakes diplomacy with U.S. President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019. In a ruling Workers’ Party congress in February, Kim left open the door for dialogue with Trump but urged Washington to drop demands for the North’s nuclear disarmament as a precondition for talks.

With the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran entering its second month and Russia’s ongoing campaign in Ukraine, Leo dedicated his Palm Sunday homily to his insistence that God is the “king of peace” who rejects violence.

“Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” Leo said. “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: ‘Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood.'”

Leaders on all sides of the Iran war have used religion to justify their actions. U.S. officials, especially Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, have invoked their Christian faith to cast the war as a Christian nation trying to vanquish its foes with military might.

Russia’s Orthodox Church, too, has justified Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “holy war” against a Western world it considers has fallen into evil.

Palm Sunday marks Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem in the time leading up to his crucifixion, which Christians observe on Good Friday, and resurrection on Easter Sunday.

In a special blessing at the end of Mass, Leo said he was praying especially for Christians in the Middle East who are “suffering the consequences of an atrocious conflict. In many cases, they cannot live fully the rites of these holy days.”

Earlier Sunday, Jerusalem police prevented the Catholic Church’s top leadership from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass in private. It was the first time in centuries church leaders were prevented from celebrating Palm Sunday at the place where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, the Patriarchate said.

Israeli police said the request for access from Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and others had been denied, since all holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem were closed to worshippers for security reasons. A police statement said freedom of worship would continue to be upheld “subject to necessary restrictions.”

Following a torrent of criticism, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would try to partially open the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the coming days.

Leo said that during Holy Week, Christians cannot forget how many people around the world are suffering as Christ did. “Their trials appeal to the conscience of all. Let us raise our prayers to the Prince of Peace so that he may support people wounded by war and open concrete paths of reconciliation and peace,” Leo said.

A Holy Week that recalls Pope Francis’ suffering

For many people at the Vatican, the start of Holy Week this year brings back memories of the final suffering days of Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday.

When Holy Week opened last year, Francis was still recovering at the Vatican after a five-week hospital stay for double pneumonia. He had delegated the liturgical celebrations to others, but rallied on Easter Sunday to greet the faithful from the loggia of St. Peter’s Square. Most poignantly, he then made what became his final popemobile loop around the piazza.

Francis died the following morning after suffering a stroke. His nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti, later told Vatican Media that Francis had told him: “Thank you for bringing me back to the square” for the final salute.

Leo is due to preside over this week’s liturgical appointments and is returning to tradition with the Holy Thursday foot-washing ceremony that commemorates Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples.

During his 12-year pontificate, Francis famously celebrated the Holy Thursday ritual by traveling to Rome-area prisons and refugee centers to wash the feet of people most on society’s margins. His aim was to drive home the ritual’s message of service and humility, and he would frequently muse during his Holy Thursday homilies “Why them and not me?”

Francis’ gesture had been praised as a tangible evidence of his belief that the church must go to the peripheries to find those most in need of God’s love and mercy. But some critics bristled at the annual outings, especially since Francis would also wash the feet of Muslims and people of other faiths.

Leo restores Holy Week foot-washing tradition

Leo, history’s first U.S.-born pope, is returning the Holy Thursday foot-washing tradition to the basilica of St. John Lateran, where popes performed it for decades. The Vatican hasn’t yet said who will participate, though Popes Benedict XVI and John Paul II normally washed the feet of 12 priests.

On Friday, Leo is due to preside over the Good Friday procession at Rome’s Colosseum commemorating Christ’s Passion and crucifixion. Saturday brings the late night Easter Vigil, during which Leo will baptize new Catholics, followed a few hours later by Easter Sunday when Christians commemorate the resurrection of Jesus.

Leo will celebrate Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square and then deliver his Easter blessing from the loggia of the basilica.

Jerusalem’s major holy sites, including the church, are closed because of the ongoing Iran war, as the city has come under frequent fire from Iranian missiles.

The Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem called the police decision “a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure.” It prevented two of the church’s top religious leaders, including the Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and the head of the Custos in the Holy Land, from celebrating Palm Sunday at the place where Christians believe Jesus was crucified.

Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem and launches the Holy Week commemorations for Christians which culminates in Easter.

Israeli police said they had notified church authorities on Saturday that no Mass could take place on Palm Sunday because of safety considerations, the lack of access for emergency vehicles in narrow alleys of the Old City and lack of adequate shelter.

However, the Latin Patriarchate said the Church of the Holy Sepulchre had been hosting Masses that aren’t open to the public since the Iran war began on Feb. 28, and it was unclear why Sunday’s Mass and access by the two priests was any different.

“It’s a very, very sacred day for Christians and in our opinion there was no justification for such a decision or such an action,” said Farid Jubran, the spokesperson for the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

Jubran said that the church had requested permission from police for a few religious leaders to enter the church for a private celebration on Sunday — not one that was open to the public. The Patriarchate said that the decision impeded freedom of worship and the status quo in Jerusalem.

The traditional Palm Sunday procession normally sees tens of thousands of Christians from around the world walk from the Mount of Olives down the narrow, hilly streets toward the Old City, waving palm fronds and singing.

The Patriarchate canceled the traditional processional last week because of safety concerns, and has held Masses limited to fewer than 50 worshippers in compliance with the Israeli military’s guidelines for civilians.

Pizzaballa celebrated Mass in the nearby St. Savior’s Monastery, a soaring marble church which is located next to an underground music school that the Israeli military has deemed a safe shelter space. Later on Sunday, Pizzaballa held a prayer for peace at the Dominus Flevit Shrine on the Mount of Olives, but kept his homily concentrated on Jesus and didn’t mention the morning’s incident.

Pope Leo XIV, at the end of Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square, prayed for all Christians in the Middle East who he said were living through an “atrocious” conflict. He said that “in many cases, they cannot live fully the rites of these holy days,” though he didn’t elaborate.

The Vatican spokesman didn’t immediately respond when asked to comment on the Jerusalem incident.

US, France and Italy criticize decision

The closure sparked a wave of criticism that Israeli authorities had gone too far in restricting worship, including from Israel’s top ally, the United States.

U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee said the incident was “an unfortunate overreach” that was hard to justify.

He noted in a statement that the proposed prayer with Pizzaballa and the others was well below the 50-person limit for gatherings. “For the Patriarch to be barred from entry to the Church on Palm Sunday for a private ceremony is difficult to understand or justify,” he wrote.

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the incident, which he said had added to the “concerning increase in violations of the status of the Holy Sites in Jerusalem.” In a post on X, Macron wrote: “The free exercise of worship in Jerusalem must be guaranteed for all religions.”

Italian authorities across the political spectrum condemned the move to restrict Pizzaballa, an Italian cardinal considered a leading papal contender in the 2025 conclave, to access the church.

The Italian government formally protested the incident to Israeli authorities and summoned Israel’s ambassador to Rome for clarification.

Premier Giorgia Meloni said that the police action “constitutes an offense not only against believers but against every community that recognizes religious freedom.”

Meloni’s conservative government tried to keep a balanced position with Israel during the war in Gaza, supporting Israel’s right to defense but condemning the toll on Palestinians. The Italian leader has also said that Italy won’t participate in the Iran war, while affirming that the Islamic Republic can’t be allowed to possess nuclear weapons.

Israeli leader explains closure

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there was no “malicious intent” and that the cardinal was prevented from accessing the church because of safety concerns, but that Israel would try to partially open the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the coming days.

“Given the holiness of the week leading up to Easter for the world’s Christians, Israel’s security arms are putting together a plan to enable church leaders to worship at the holy site in the coming days,” Netanyahu wrote on X.

The Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, is also mostly closed because of safety issues, but authorities are letting up to 50 people at a time pray in an enclosed area adjacent to the plaza.

Smaller churches, synagogues, and mosques are open in Jerusalem’s Old City if they are located within a certain distance of a bomb shelter deemed acceptable by Israel’s military and, if gatherings are kept under 50 people.

Metal shutters are drawn on nearly all stores in the Old City, home to key holy sites, and only scattered footsteps echo on deserted stone alleyways. Vast plazas are missing the typical throngs of faithful and tourists.

Jerusalem has largely escaped past wars, with Israel’s enemies appearing to be hesitant to launch missiles near the city’s Muslim holy sites. But since Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, Jerusalem has repeatedly come under fire.

Earlier this month, an intercepted Iranian missile sprayed shrapnel on the rooftop of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, just steps from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, one of the most important sites in Christianity. The church, built on what is revered by many Christians as the site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection, remains closed under Israeli military guidelines prohibiting gatherings of more than 50 people.

Missile debris also hit a road leading to the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray.

From his office overlooking the plaza at the Western Wall, now also closed to worshipers, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, lamented the empty plaza.

“The heart aches greatly, it bleeds, seeing the Western Wall as it looks now,” he said.

The massive priestly blessing for Passover, which usually draws tens of thousands, will take place with just 50 worshippers, Rabinowitz said. That’s the maximum allowed to pray together in the enclosed area by the Western Wall under wartime safety guidelines — reminiscent of the restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic.

Easter celebrations are canceled

The Latin Patriarchate canceled the Palm Sunday procession in Jerusalem, complying with Israeli military guidelines that limited gatherings to under 50 people.

Despite that, the Patriarchate said Jerusalem police prevented the Catholic Church’s top leaders from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate the Mass marking Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

The church called it “a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure” and said it was “the first time in centuries” that its leaders were prevented from celebrating Palm Sunday at the place where Christians believe Jesus was crucified.

The Jerusalem police said the leaders were informed that they could not enter the church due to safety concerns, since it does not have adequate emergency access or shelters in case of a missile attack.

The traditional Palm Sunday procession normally sees tens of thousands of Christians from around the world walk from the Mount of Olives down the narrow, hilly streets toward the Old City, waving palm fronds and singing.

Rami Asakrieh, the parish priest for Jerusalem’s Catholics, said the community will sorely miss the procession, a deeply emotional and spiritual part of the holiday. But the cancellation is also a reminder that faith comes internally from the heart, not from external actions, he added.

“We are celebrating resurrection, resurrection is from death and winning the pain and the war,” he said. “It will not come by having fear, but by having faith.”

A local Catholic high school, empty of students as classes have been canceled, was also recently hit by debris from an Iranian missile interception, Asakrieh said.

A Franciscan priest, Asakrieh is still celebrating Mass for up to 50 parishioners at the Saint Savoir monastery’s cavernous marble hall, near the centuries-old complex’s music school, the Magnificat Institute. The school was built in what was once the convent’s basement, which has been approved by the Israeli military as a suitable shelter.

Jerusalem’s smaller synagogues, mosques and churches are also open to groups of up to 50 people — if they are located close to a shelter or a safe space.

Closed for most of Ramadan

Next to the Western Wall is Al Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam’s third-holiest site, which has also stood empty since the war started, canceling prayers during most of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ended 10 days ago.

Fayez Dakkak, a third-generation Muslim storeowner in the Old City whose shop has catered to Christian pilgrims since 1942, said he was heartbroken over Al Aqsa’s closure during the Islamic holy month.

“It’s like there was no Ramadan for us,” Dakkak said. He added that he prayed several times at a local mosque but that it can’t compare to being able to pray at Al Aqsa.

Police orders have closed his shop, along with all non-food stores in the Old City — also part of the safety guidelines during the war.

Dakkak said that for years now, as the numbers of pilgrims and tourists plummeted, he’s barely been able to make ends meet. Still, it would have been nice to open his shop for some semblance of routine and just chat with other storeowners.

Cleaning for Passover, running for the shelter

Israelis have also grown weary after nearly a month of daily sirens, 16 civilian deaths and dozens of people seriously injured.

For seder, Jewish families are planning smaller, stripped-down ceremonial Passover dinners that commemorate the Jewish exodus from Egypt — a far cry from times when large family gatherings often welcomed relatives from abroad. Israel’s Ben Gurion airport has been operating on a severely limited basis throughout the war. Many point out the irony that ahead of Passover, Israelis are fleeing the country through the land border crossing with Egypt to the Sinai desert, while the holiday commemorates the story of ancient Israelites leaving Egypt via Sinai to Israel.

Observant Jewish families are frantically cleaning for Passover to remove traces of leavening, which requires “turning the house upside-down in between running for the shelter,” said Jamie Geller, a cookbook author who works in Jerusalem’s Old City.

From her office at Aish, a Jewish educational institute with headquarters next to the Western Wall plaza, Geller can see where shrapnel dented and smashed rooftops, roads and a parking lot in the area.

“It’s shocking,” she said. “The Old City has always been a bit off limits for international terror and war, but not this time.”