Iranian President confirms killing of spy chief EsmaeilKhatib

Kremlin condemns ‘murder’ of Iranian leadership

TEHRAN: Iran’s President MasoudPezeshkian has confirmed Iran’s Intelligence Minister EsmaeilKhatib was killed, Al Jazeera reported. He said in a statement on X, that the killing was “the cowardly assassination”.

Trump temporarily waives maritime shipping law to ease energy costs

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday temporarily waived a century-old shipping law to help ease energy costs that have surged since US-Israeli strikes on Iran plunged the Middle East into war.

Trump’s move to issue a 60-day Jones Act waiver would lift a ban on foreign-flagged vessels transporting cargo between US ports over this period.

The 1920 law was aimed at promoting American shipbuilding, but critics argue that it hampers free trade and has raised costs for consumers.

Trump’s latest move is “just another step to mitigate the short-term disruptions to the oil market as the US military continues meeting the objectives of Operation Epic Fury,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt in a statement.

She was referring to the joint US-Israeli offensive launched against Iran on February 28. “This action will allow vital resources like oil, natural gas, fertilizer and coal to flow freely to US ports for sixty days,” Leavitt added.

She vowed that the Trump administration “remains committed to continuing to strengthen our critical supply chains.”

According to AAA motor group data, US gasoline prices have risen more than 27 percent since the start of the war.

Kremlin condemns ‘murder’ of Iranian leadership: The Kremlin on Wednesday condemned what it called the ‘murder’ of Iran’s leaders in US-Israeli airstrikes, a day after Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency confirmed that Ali Larijani, chief of Iran’s national security council and advisor to the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had been killed in Tehran.

We unequivocally condemn any actions aimed at harming the health of, or indeed murdering or eliminating, members of the leadership of sovereign and ⁠independent Iran, as well as those of other countries. We condemn such actions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about Russia’s reaction to Larijani’s death.

Russia, which built and helps run Iran’s only nuclear power station, has strongly criticised the US-Israeli air strikes against Iran, a close partner, and has called for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations.

The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported on Tuesday that Russia has been expanding its intelligence sharing and military cooperation with Tehran, providing satellite imagery and improved drone technology to aid Iran’s targeting of US forces in the region.

Asked about the media report, Peskov suggested it was fake news: ‘As you know, there are currently a great many different reports circulating about this war. The vast majority are nothing more than disinformation, so we do not consider it necessary to comment on each and every one of them.”

Israel claims it killed Iran’s intelligence minister: Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that Israeli forces had killed Iran’s Minister of Intelligence EsmailKhatib. “Last night Iran’s Intelligence Minister Khatib was also eliminated,” Katz said in a statement.

He further said that the military has been authorised to target any senior Iranian official without requiring further approval.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have authorised the IDF to eliminate any senior Iranian official for whom the intelligence and operational circle has been closed, without the need for additional approval,” Katz said in a statement.

“We will continue to thwart and hunt them all down,” he added. Monitoring Desk