Event: French

Live Blog Update| War on Iran 25 October 2026 03:15 GMT Iranian Speaker Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf will not attend the Brics parliamentary forum in New Delhi due to "certain unforeseen circumstances", the Iranian embassy in India said on X. Qalibaf was scheduled to attend the Meeting of Speakers of the parliaments of Brics member countries. The embassy said an Iranian parliamentary delegation would participate in the meeting, adding that Iran, as a Brics member, “reaffirms its commitment to active and effective participation at the highest levels in the summits and meetings of this grouping”. Statement by the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in New Delhi Regarding the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum (24 October 2026) The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in New Delhi wishes to inform that, due to certain unforeseen circumstances, H.E. Dr. Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran, will be unable to attend the Meeting of Speakers of the Parliaments of BRICS Member Countries in New Delhi. It is also emphasized that the parliamentary delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran will participate in the meeting. As one of the members of BRICS, Iran reaffirms its commitment to active and effective participation at the highest levels in the summits and meetings of this grouping. In this regard, the Iranian delegation will continue its dialogue and consultations with delegations from BRICS member countries, with a view to expanding and deepening bilateral and multilateral cooperation, particularly in the field of parliamentary relations and cooperation. The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran also expresses its sincere appreciation to the Government of the Republic of India for its gracious hospitality and the arrangements made to host this meeting. It wishes the Meeting of Speakers of the Parliaments of BRICS Member Countries every success and…

US President Donald Trump has said Washington could strike Iran "as soon as tomorrow", or reach a “big, beautiful” agreement with Tehran. “We’re thinking about doing it, and maybe tomorrow,” Trump told reporters when asked how far he is from a possible attack on Iran. “Do you really think I’m going to tell you if I’m going to do it?” he added. Trump said Iran "wanted to make a deal, but the problem is, will they hold the deal?” He repeated that his goal was to prevent Iran from eventually developing a nuclear weapon. “I’ve got to make it permanent,” he said. “That’s the only reason I’m doing it.” On Friday, Trump said at a rally that the US “may do another little epic fury”, using the codename of the US-Israeli war on Iran earlier this year.

Iran has ramped up efforts to target U.S. personnel, and lethal plots by Tehran against American citizens have reached “advanced stages,” a senior intelligence official in the Trump administration warned in a memo seen by reporters.The alert from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton came after Washington scaled back staffing at its mission in Saudi Arabia last week in response to intensified attacks by Iran-allied Houthi forces.Those attacks on one front of the nearly 8-month-old regional conflict triggered by the Iran war have coincided with a rise in attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.Earlier this month, sources said Iran was preparing a more forceful response if the United States resumes large-scale military attacks on its territory.“Specifically, through various channels, we have received intelligence that Iran has substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel,” Clayton wrote to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a message dated Friday.“The lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against U.S. citizens have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries,” he added.CIA Director John Ratcliffe was also copied in on the unclassified memo, which was first reported by Axios.The State Department on Wednesday ordered nonemergency government employees and their family members to leave U.S. diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia and planned to withdraw family members from a number of other missions in the region, U.S. officials said.On Saturday, the U.S. State Department updated travel advisories for more than a dozen countries across the Gulf and Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Israel, citing an increased threat from Iran-aligned Houthis.“When it comes to our staffing at embassies, we constantly evaluate new information about the security environment,” a U.S. official said.“The threat of Houthi attacks and of Iranian terror plots targeting U.S. officials are…

The Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran, Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, will not participate in the BRICS Parliamentary Forum meeting to be held on October 26 and 27 in New Delhi, the Embassy of Iran announced on Saturday (October 24, 2026). This comes in the wake of reports that India refused to allow a shipment of medicines to be transported to Tehran by Iran Air.Also read | BRICS issues New Delhi Declaration, as UAE and Iran back down from tough positionsIndia insists that Iran is free to take delivery of such medical consignments through a third country like Armenia, as Indian airports and air operators would otherwise face U.S. sanctions.Iranian officials, however, argued that “humanitarian assistance” is not under any international sanction and that India should operationalise the bilateral air route “on priority basis” for humanitarian support to a fellow BRICS member country. They also claimed that some temperature-sensitive medication had become unusable after transport through third countries.Parliamentary delegation will attend“The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in New Delhi wishes to inform that, due to certain unforeseen circumstances, H.E. Dr. Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran, will be unable to attend the Meeting of Speakers of the Parliaments of BRICS Member Countries in New Delhi,” the Embassy said in its statement, adding that an Iranian parliamentary delegation would participate in the event.“As one of the members of BRICS, Iran reaffirms its commitment to active and effective participation at the highest levels in the summits and meetings of the grouping,” the Embassy of Iran said in its announcement on Saturday (October 24). When Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian visited India to participate in last month’s BRICS summit, he had declared that Iran will not be “bullied” by the United States.The problem initially came to light…

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian attends the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit in Turkmenbasy, Turkmenistan. File | Photo Credit: AP Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday (October 24, 2026) that many Iranians were struggling to put food on the table, as the economic pressure from the Middle East war with the United States mounts.Washington has in recent weeks dialled back military operations in favour of economic pressure, while Iran's leaders have said peace negotiations will only succeed without pressure and threats from Washington as the conflict remains locked in a stalemate."There are many people in this society who are struggling to put food on the table because of the war we have found ourselves in, because of the wartime conditions we are living under," Mr. Pezeshkian said in a speech shared on his website.The war began on February 28 when the United States and Israel attacked Iran, killing supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior military commanders.Iran retaliated with attacks on U.S. assets in the region and on Israel, while restricting passage through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global energy supplies.Washington responded by imposing a blockade on Iranian ports, restricting the country's oil exports and trade.A ceasefire deal mediated mainly by Pakistan in mid-June was intended to end the war and pave the way for broader negotiations, but it collapsed soon afterwards, with both sides accusing each other of violating its terms.Since then, the U.S. has carried out sporadic attacks on Iranian targets, while Iran has targeted vessels attempting to cross the strait, accusing them of violating conditions set by Tehran for safe passage.Mr. Pezeshkian called for an end to what he described as a "state of neither war nor peace", saying Tehran "must also get out of this situation", without specifying how.His remarks came…

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his wife Jeanette Rubio on October 21, 2026 | Photo Credit: AP U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday (October 23, 2026) called for Cubans to make “discreet” contact with the American intelligence services as Washington seeks to force an end to the island’s communist government.For months, President Donald Trump and other senior U.S. officials have openly hinted at a military intervention or takeover of Cuba, ramping up economic, political and legal pressure on the country.“To those who seek to create positive change in Cuba -- now is the time,” Mr. Rubio said on social media. “The disappointment of failed promises, corruption, and the privileged lives of only a few; seize this opportunity to create the change you desire through a discrete partnership with the CIA.”The unusual post appeared to confirm that the CIA is currently active in Cuba after a long history of covert operations including backing the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961.The call was mocked by Cuban officials.“Now the United States is resorting to public recruitment for the CIA,” Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio wrote on X .“There must be a great deal of desperation or misery within the agency for it to be forced to sell its services like a tube of toothpaste.”The CIA later uploaded a video to X offering instructions in Spanish for those who believe they have information of interest to the intelligence agency, encouraging them to first and foremost visit an official U.S. installation in person if they can safely travel to one.For those hoping to contact the CIA online via the cia.gov website, the agency instructed users to access the internet on a secure network like a VPN using a private browser and a burner email account unassociated with…

A culinary chef speaks with students inside a kitchen at the Ecole Ducasse, a French culinary school in the city of Gurugram, in the Indian state of Haryana, on Sept. 22. | AFP-JIJI NEW DELHI, INDIA – Fiercely proud of its culinary traditions, India is increasingly open to foreign influences, with French cooking schools attracting students eager to make their mark on the country’s growing fine-dining sector.“Ten or 15 years ago, there were far fewer young people dreaming of becoming chefs,” said Aabhas Jain, director of bakery and pastry training at Ecole Ducasse, a French culinary school also operating in India.“But with the rise of social media ... today’s students have greater ambitions in this profession,” added Jain, 36, who is also part of the Indian School of Hospitality (ISH) in the city of Gurugram, just outside New Delhi in the state of Haryana. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing, you can help us get the story right. SUBSCRIBE NOW