UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivered a blunt warning at the Security Council stakeout, saying the Middle East war is “out of control” and threatening wider regional and global fallout. He urged an end to escalation, announced a new UN envoy, and linked the conflict directly to rising risks for energy, food security and civilian lives.

The Strait of Hormuz alliance shift did not emerge from a naval deployment, but from a recalibration in Washington. Japan and key European powers moved closer to U.S. strategic expectations, signaling alignment without full military commitment as the burden of securing Hormuz begins to redistribute.

Israel said overnight airstrikes in Tehran killed Ali Larijani, Iran’s top security official, though Iranian state media had not immediately confirmed his death.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi heads to Washington promising candid talks with President Trump as the Iran war hits Japan’s economy, exposing the cost of alliance loyalty under energy shock.

The Security Council met under the shadow of renewed violence along the Israel-Lebanon border, with U.N. officials warning that recent escalation has erased months of progress, displaced hundreds of thousands, and pushed the region closer to a wider war.

Iran may not be trying to win this war outright. It may be trying to outlast it. After taking heavy blows, Tehran appears to be betting that endurance, missile pressure and energy disruption can achieve what battlefield superiority cannot.

The reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a coordinated U.S.–Israeli strike has sent shockwaves across the Middle East. What may have been intended as a preventive blow against a nuclear-capable Iran has instead triggered rapid escalation, proxy retaliation, and rising terrorism concerns, revealing how one strategic decision can reshape regional stability and global security.

The UN Security Council met in emergency session as tensions between the United States, Israel and Iran escalated sharply. Diplomats warned the crisis could expand into a broader regional war.

The United States and Israel launched major strikes on Iran Saturday, with President Donald Trump announcing “major combat operations.” Iran vowed retaliation and reportedly fired missiles at U.S. bases across the Gulf, raising fears of a broader regional war.

President Donald Trump launched the Board of Peace at the World Economic Forum in Davos, presenting it as a new vehicle for conflict resolution beginning with Gaza. But behind the ceremony, diplomats voiced unease over how the initiative may intersect with the United Nations’ authority and existing mandates. Several governments are now weighing whether the new body complements global diplomacy or complicates it.