Iran-US tensions LIVE: Head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog has said that the US military build-up in the Middle East means Iran’s window to reach a diplomatic agreement over its atomic activities is at risk of closing. “There is not much time but we are working on something concrete,” Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi told Bloomberg. Iran-US tensions LIVE: Asking the Polish citizens to leave Iran in view of Tehran’s simmering tensions with Washington, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said, that due to the potential for armed conflict evacuation may no longer be possible in a matter of hours. “Please leave Iran immediately… and do not go to this country under any circumstances,” Tusk said. Iran-US tensions LIVE: As tensions between US and Iran continue to escalate, Poland has asked its citizens in Iran to leave immediately. This comes amid reports of possible US strikes against Iran as soon as this weekend. US Senator Ted Cruz said that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has only one option, and that is to leave power. “His regime is in tatters. He wants time to rebuild. I don’t think President Trump is going to fall for that. I think the only deal the ayatollah can make is to say, I’m out of here. Let me leave. Let me go to Russia. Let me go to somewhere else other than here,” Cruz said in an interview with Fox News.

GENEVA: Israel’s increased attacks and forcible transfers of Palestinians “raise concerns over ethnic cleansing” in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the United Nations said Thursday. The UN human rights office said the cumulative impact of Israel’s military conduct during the war in Gaza, plus its blockade of the territory, had inflicted living conditions “increasingly incompatible with Palestinians’ continued existence as a group in Gaza”.

Seoul: Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life in prison for his brief imposition of martial law in December 2024. Judge Jee Kui-youn said he found Yoon guilty of rebellion for mobilizing military and police forces in an illegal attempt to seize the liberal-led National Assembly, arrest politicians and establish unchecked power for a “considerable” time.A special prosecutor had demanded the death penalty for Yoon, saying his actions posed a threat to the country’s democracy and deserved the most serious punishment available, but most analysts expect a life sentence since the poorly-planned power grab did not result in casualties. South Korea has not executed a death row inmate since 1997, in what is widely seen as a de facto moratorium on capital punishment amid calls for its abolition. As Yoon arrived in court, hundreds of police officers watched closely as Yoon supporters rallied outside a judicial complex, their cries rising as the prison bus transporting him drove past. Yoon’s critics gathered nearby, demanding the death penalty. The court also convicted and sentenced several former military and police officials involved in enforcing Yoon’s martial law decree, including ex-Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, who received a 30-year jail term for his central role in planning the measure and mobilizing the military.

Britain’s ex-Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, the BBC reported, marking the first time the Duke of York has been detained in connection with allegations linked to his public role, amid constant scrutiny over his links with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, commonly known as Prince Andrew, was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The BBC said it was unclear which police force carried out the arrest, though vehicles believed to be unmarked police cars were seen earlier at Sandringham in Norfolk, where he has been living since leaving his Windsor residence. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Thames Valley Police said: “As part of the investigation, we have today (Thursday) arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office and are carrying out searches at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk.