Trump says Iran can compete in World Cup, but he does not think it’s appropriate for their own safety
US President Donald Trump says Iran’s football team is “welcome” to attend this year’s World Cup, but adds he doesn’t “believe it is appropriate” for them to compete.
In a social media post, Trump says this is “for their own life and safety”.
Iran are scheduled to play three group matches in the tournament, which is being held in the United States, Canada and Mexico and gets under way on 11 June.
The team is due to face New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles on 15 and 21 June respectively, and Egypt in Seattle on 26 June.
The county’s minister of sports and youth Ahmad Donyamali cast the team’s participation into doubt when he said on Tuesday: “Given that this corrupt government has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances do we have the appropriate conditions to participate in the World Cup.
“Our boys are not safe, and conditions for participation do not exist.”
But, Fifa President Gianni Infantino – a close friend of Trump – said on Wednesday that he had spoken with the president who he said told him Iran was “welcome” to take part in the tournament.
1,100 children reported injured or killed in Middle East since conflict began – Unicef
The conflict in the Middle East is becoming “catastrophic for millions of children across the region”, says the United Nations agency for children, Unicef.
Since the first US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on 28 February, more than 1,100 children have been reported injured or killed in the violence, Unicef says in a statement.
The statement adds that this includes 200 children reportedly killed in Iran, 91 in Lebanon, four in Israel and one in Kuwait.
“Nothing justifies the killing and maiming of children, or the destruction and disruption of essential services that children depend on”, it says.
Unicef says it reiterates UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ call “to end the fighting and engage in diplomatic negotiations”.
It also calls on parties to take “all necessary precautions in the choice of means and methods of warfare to minimise harm to civilians, including by avoiding the use of explosive weapons that disproportionately affect children”.
FBI memo warns Iran may launch drones on California, CBS reports
A memo sent to LA law enforcement by the FBI last week warned Iran may try to launch drones at California in a “surprise attack” from the sea, CBS reports, external.
US and California law enforcement intelligence officials told the outlet there is no known, specific threat as a basis for the memo, which comes from an apparent tip from before the conflict in Iran.
California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X: “While we are not aware of any imminent threats at this time, we remain prepared for any emergency in our state”.
Asked about the reports on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews, US President Donald Trump said: “It’s being investigated, but you have a lot of things happening and all we can do is take them as they come”.
Oil hits $100 a barrel
The price of Brent crude just hit $100 (£74.79) a barrel, rising by 9% on Thursday in Asia.
Oil prices have not eased as even after dozens of countries, including the US and the UK, announced they would release record amounts of emergency reserves.
Iran has also continued its threat against ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a transit point for a fifth of the world’s oil.
US-traded crude has jumped by 9% at $95.27.
Oil prices crossed $110 a barrel on Monday and has fluctuated heavily since.
US ‘probably’ responsible for school strike, former CIA director says
General David Petraeus, the former CIA Director and Commander of US Central Command, has been asked about the US’s possible role in an attack on a school in southern Iran that Iranian authorities say killed 168 people on the first day of the war.
General Petraeus told the BBC that – while he has not directly seen the evidence being reviewed in the investigation – he believes that the US “tragically, were probably the ones, we were the only ones that have Tomahawk missiles in this particular exercise, this war”.
“And it appears that there may have been some old data when this particular building was part of a larger Iranian naval compound… some years ago,” he added.
According to CBS a preliminary assessment of the incident by the US suggests it was “likely” to have been responsible for the deadly attack but did not intentionally target the school and may have hit it in error.
Democrats demand answers over strike on Iran girls’ school
Democrats in the US Senate have written to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanding answers about the strike on a girls’ school in Iran at the start of the war that Iranian officials say killed 168 people, including around 110 children.
US media has reported that US military investigators believe American forces were likely responsible, but have not reached a final conclusion. The Pentagon has said it is investigating.
The letter is from nearly every Democrat in the Senate. It asks the Defense Secretary a series of detailed questions about the strike in Minab – starting with whether the US carried it out.
It questions whether old or faulty target analysis could have led to the girls’ school building being hit, and highlights Hegseth’s vow that there would be no “stupid rules of engagement” in the war, asking if he had complied with rules to prevent the commission of war crimes.
The strike, if a US role was to be confirmed, would amount to one of its worst single cases of civilian casualties in decades of US conflicts in the Middle East.
US President Donald Trump has said without citing evidence he believes Iran carried it out, despite video showing a US tomahawk missile hit the Iranian military base near to the school.
Asked by the BBC about the strike, Hegseth said last week the US did not target civilians and was investigating it. The Pentagon has been approached for comment about the Senators’ letter.
Oil price rises despite reserves release plan
Oil prices pushed upwards on Thursday in Asia even after major countries agreed to tap an unprecedented amount of emergency reserves to cushion the blow of the Iran war on energy supplies.
Brent rose by around 6.5% to $97.93 (£73.12) a barrel on Thursday, after easing slightly since Monday when US President Donald Trump signalled the war could end soon.
US-traded crude was up by more than 6%, trading at $92.77.
Iran has warned to expect oil to reach $200 a barrel and that no oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for energy shipments.
Major indexes were down during early trade on Thursday, with Japan’s Nikkei and Australia’s ASX 200 down by around 1%.
South Korea’s Kospi index was trading lower by around 0.4%.
Iraqi authorities say one dead after oil tankers targeted
We can bring you some breaking news now after explosions were reported on two foreign oil tankers in the Persian Gulf near the port of Umm Qasr, near the city of Basra.
The head of the General Company for Iraqi ports says it has rescued 38 crew members from the vessels, and one person has died, in comments cited by the Iraqi news agency. Search and rescue operations are ongoing.
Ship tracking websites show the two tankers suspected of being attacked surrounded by rescue boats.
It’s unclear at this stage what caused the explosions. An Iraqi security source in Basra told CNN that an Iranian boat rigged with explosives is thought to have hit the two vessels, however, the source added the investigation is ongoing.
The UK’s maritime monitor also said it has received similar reports, while Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organisation expressed “deep regret” over the incident.
Oil ports have stopped operations following the attack, Iraqi authorities say.
Earlier, Oman’s navy rescued 20 sailors from a Thai-flagged vessel that was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, about 13 nautical miles (24km) off the Omani coast, according to the country’s state news agency.