The reopening marks a significant step in Washington’s efforts to restore its diplomatic footprint in the Gulf after regional tensions eased under a U.S.-Iran agreement reached last week.

The embassy halted services in March after Iranian drone attacks targeted U.S. diplomatic facilities in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia following joint U.S.-Israeli military strikes against Iran. The State Department subsequently suspended operations at both missions as security concerns escalated across the region.

At the ceremony in Kuwait City, Rubio participated in the raising of the American flag over the embassy compound as officials announced the phased restoration of consular services.

A State Department spokesperson said the embassy would immediately resume emergency assistance for U.S. citizens, while additional visa, consular and diplomatic services would be reinstated gradually.

Rubio’s visit forms part of a three-country Gulf tour aimed at reinforcing regional partnerships and discussing implementation of the interim agreement between Washington and Tehran that ended hostilities and reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic.

The diplomatic mission began in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday and is focused on reassuring regional allies following months of conflict that disrupted energy markets and heightened security concerns throughout the Gulf.

The agreement signed last week halted fighting between the United States and Iran and established a framework for further negotiations on broader security and political issues. The accord also paved the way for the reopening of critical shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy transit corridors.

The restoration of embassy operations in Kuwait signals improving security conditions following the ceasefire, although U.S. officials have indicated that monitoring of regional threats remains ongoing.

Kuwait hosts a significant American military and diplomatic presence and has long served as a key partner for Washington’s security strategy in the Gulf.

Rubio’s regional consultations are expected to focus on the implementation of the U.S.-Iran agreement, maritime security, energy stability and broader efforts to prevent a renewed escalation of tensions in the Middle East.

The reopening of the embassy represents one of the most visible signs of normalization since the ceasefire took effect, restoring a diplomatic facility that had been shuttered for more than three months amid one of the region’s most serious security crises in recent years.

Tajani called Trump’s remarks “serious and offensive” toward both Meloni and Italy, while announcing the cancellation of his scheduled visit to Washington this weekend.

The dispute erupted after an interview with Trump aired on Italy’s La7 television network on Friday. According to the broadcaster, Trump said Meloni had requested a photo opportunity with him during the recent G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains and claimed she had “begged” for it. La7 published a dubbed version of the exchange online.

Responding in a video statement, Meloni described Trump’s account as “completely fabricated” and expressed surprise at the comments.

“Donald Trump’s statements are completely fabricated. I am frankly stunned,” Meloni said. “I don’t know why the president of the United States behaves this way toward his own allies.”

She added: “Italy and I do not beg.”

The unusually direct public rebuttal marked one of Meloni’s sharpest responses to Trump since the start of his second term. The Italian leader had initially sought to preserve close transatlantic ties and position herself as a bridge between Washington and the European Union, including by attending Trump’s inauguration as the only European Union head of government present.

Relations between Rome and Washington, however, have become increasingly strained over several foreign policy issues. Meloni has criticized the U.S.-Israel military campaign against Iran as illegal, while Italy remains a firm supporter of Ukraine, an issue that has also generated friction with Trump.

Differences over U.S. tariffs and Washington’s support for Israel’s military operations in Gaza have further complicated bilateral relations.

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto also rejected Trump’s characterization, saying he could not imagine Meloni asking anyone for a photograph.

“I can, however, imagine how much it cost her to set aside what Trump had said weeks ago, to serve the interests of Italy, of Europe, and of the West,” Crosetto wrote on X.

He added that such remarks did not benefit either country or the broader Western alliance.

The controversy follows earlier criticism directed at Meloni by Trump in an interview with Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper in April, when he faulted her opposition to the U.S.-Israel military campaign against Iran. Meloni did not publicly respond at the time.

The latest exchange has brought those tensions into the open, underscoring the challenges facing one of Washington’s traditionally closest partners in Europe as disagreements widen over key geopolitical issues.

The meeting took place in Evian-les-Bains, France, where Modi attended the summit as a guest of French President Emmanuel Macron. It came a week after India formally protested a U.S. strike on a tanker in the Gulf of Oman during Washington’s military campaign aimed at restricting oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Appearing alongside Modi, Trump dismissed suggestions of tensions between the two countries

The ministry said missile, rocket and air defense systems accounted for 29% of export deals, making them the largest category of sales. Observation and optronics systems also recorded strong growth.

European countries were the biggest buyers, accounting for 36% of exports, followed by Asia-Pacific nations with 32%. Countries in the Middle East and North Africa purchased 15%.

Defense Minister Israel Katz linked the export growth to the performance of Israel’s military and defense industries during ongoing conflicts involving Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.

The announcement comes as Israel seeks to expand production of Arrow missile interceptors amid continued regional tensions and heightened demand for advanced air defense systems.

Abela called the early election last month, arguing that Malta needed a renewed mandate to navigate growing geopolitical uncertainty and shield its import-dependent economy from external shocks. Opinion surveys place Labour comfortably ahead of the opposition Nationalist Party led by Alex Borg.

The Mediterranean island nation, heavily reliant on tourism, financial services and online gaming, faces mounting pressure from rising energy costs due to the Iran conflict. The government has pledged an additional 250 million euros in subsidies to contain energy prices.

Domestic concerns have also dominated the campaign, including rapid population growth, overdevelopment, pressure on healthcare services and allegations of corruption. A 2025 Council of Europe report said Malta remained behind European standards in tackling graft.

Abela, who became prime minister in 2020 after the resignation of his predecessor during the fallout from journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination, is also facing renewed scrutiny ahead of the upcoming trial of businessman Yorgen Fenech, accused of orchestrating the 2017 killing.

India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar hosted U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi for talks focused on recent developments across the Indo-Pacific and ways to advance cooperation among the four countries, according to India’s foreign ministry.

The meeting took place against a backdrop of heightened geopolitical tensions across Asia and ongoing concerns among Quad members about China’s growing military and economic footprint in the Indo-Pacific. The grouping has increasingly emphasized cooperation on maritime security, resilient supply chains, critical technologies and strategic infrastructure.

Officials were also expected to discuss the conflict involving Iran and disruptions to energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global oil and gas trade.

The Quad has repeatedly expressed concern over Chinese activities in the South China Sea, where Beijing has asserted extensive territorial claims and expanded its military presence. China has rejected accusations of coercive behavior, saying its military posture is defensive and aimed at safeguarding what it considers sovereign rights. Beijing has also criticized the Quad, describing it as an effort to contain China’s rise and regional influence.

The talks came days after U.S. President Donald Trump visited China, a trip closely watched in New Delhi and other regional capitals for indications of any shift in Washington’s approach toward Beijing.

Rubio, who arrived in India on Saturday, said Washington wants the Quad to evolve beyond a consultative forum and pursue more tangible cooperation, including on maritime security and critical minerals. He also said officials were working toward a summit of Quad leaders later this year, though no date has been announced.

The four countries had previously aimed to hold a leaders’ summit in India last year, but the plan was postponed amid strains in U.S.-India relations, including disagreements over trade tariffs.

The Quad has emerged as one of the Indo-Pacific’s most prominent strategic partnerships, with members seeking closer coordination on regional security and economic resilience as competition between China and Western-aligned powers intensifies.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to Jaipur, Rubio said discussions involving Iranian representatives were continuing in Qatar and suggested that negotiations had entered a detailed phase focused on the wording of a potential agreement.

“There were some talks going on in Qatar today, so we’ll see if we can make progress,” Rubio said, adding that discussions were centered on specific language in an initial draft document and could require several more days to conclude.

Rubio said President Donald Trump remained committed to securing an agreement but would only support terms acceptable to Washington.
“The president’s expressed his desire to make it. He’s either going to make a good deal or no deal,” Rubio said.

The comments came after new U.S. strikes on Iranian-linked targets raised questions about the durability of efforts to halt hostilities. The military action coincided with the arrival of senior Iranian negotiators in Doha for another round of talks intended to end the conflict that has destabilized the region and disrupted global energy markets.

A central issue in the negotiations remains the status of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important maritime energy corridors. The waterway handles a significant share of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments and has become a focal point of the crisis after Iran moved to block transit through the strait.

Rubio said reopening the route was essential for international commerce and global economic stability.
“The straits have to be open,” he said.
He described the disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz as unlawful and unsustainable, arguing that freedom of navigation must be restored regardless of the outcome of the negotiations.

“They’re going to be open one way or the other,” Rubio said. “What’s happening there is unlawful, it’s illegal, it’s unsustainable for the world, it’s unacceptable.”
The latest remarks underscore Washington’s attempt to balance military pressure with diplomatic engagement as negotiators seek a framework that could end the conflict while addressing concerns over maritime security and regional stability.

The talks in Qatar are being closely watched by energy markets and regional governments, given the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz and its role in global oil and gas supplies.

In an initial statement, the military reported that warning sirens had sounded in the area of Sasa and surrounding communities after systems detected what was believed to be a hostile aircraft entering Israeli airspace.

Following an assessment, the military said the alert had been caused by a mistaken identification and that no hostile aerial object had entered the area.
“The sirens warning of a hostile aircraft infiltration were determined to have been a false identification,” the military said in a statement.

No injuries or damage were reported.

The incident occurred as Israel remains on heightened alert due to continuing regional security tensions linked to the ongoing conflict involving Iran and recent missile and drone activity across the region.

False alarms have become increasingly sensitive security events as Israeli air-defense and early-warning systems operate under elevated readiness conditions amid concerns over potential aerial threats, including drones, missiles and other unmanned platforms.

Israeli authorities did not provide further details regarding the nature of the misidentification or the systems involved in triggering the alert.

Farmers across several Sudanese agricultural regions told Reuters that escalating input costs are forcing them to scale back planting plans for key crops, including sorghum, millet, wheat and sesame, undermining production at a time when nearly half the population faces severe food shortages.

Sudan is particularly exposed to disruptions stemming from the regional conflict because it relies on Gulf countries for more than half of its fertilizer imports, according to United Nations data. The country has also become entirely dependent on imported fuel after more than three years of civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The crisis comes as Sudan remains one of the world’s most severe humanitarian emergencies. A UN-backed food security monitor estimates that about 19.5 million people, or more than 40% of the population, are experiencing crisis-level hunger, with some areas facing famine risks.

Sadig Elamin, senior food security analyst for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Sudan, said the regional conflict had compounded existing challenges facing the agricultural sector.

“The regional war has added salt to the wound,” Elamin said, warning that agricultural output could decline by at least 40% if current pressures persist.
Agriculture remains central to Sudan’s economy and livelihoods, with roughly two-thirds of the population dependent on farming. Despite vast agricultural potential that has attracted Gulf investment interest, decades of conflict, underinvestment and mismanagement have constrained productivity.

In the Jamuia agricultural scheme south of Omdurman, farmers had anticipated a recovery after RSF fighters were expelled from areas surrounding Khartoum last year. Instead, they now face fertilizer prices that have risen 67% from a year earlier, while diesel costs used to power irrigation pumps have more than doubled, according to national surveys.

“At that price we don’t make a profit, you spend your whole profit on the diesel,” farmer Bashir Ismail told Reuters.

Omar Al-Ebeid, secretary of the scheme’s farmers’ committee, said only 500 of the project’s 10,000 feddans, equivalent to about 4,200 hectares, had been planted midway through the season.

Farmers also criticized the army-aligned government for failing to provide sufficient support as state resources are increasingly directed toward the war effort.

Mohamed Balla, who heads a farmers’ collective in the Gezira scheme, once responsible for around half of Sudan’s sorghum and wheat production, said damaged infrastructure and rising costs were discouraging cultivation.

“The RSF left in February of last year. Nothing has been fixed since then,” Balla said.

He added that crop prices have remained largely unchanged despite soaring costs for agricultural inputs. “Two sacks of wheat buy you one sack of urea. So we won’t grow it again.”

National cereal production had already fallen by about 25% from pre-war averages, according to FAO estimates. Analysts warn further declines could intensify food shortages and increase reliance on humanitarian assistance.

Sudan’s Agricultural Bank, traditionally a major source of financing for farmers, has also struggled amid the conflict. Farmers say financing terms have become increasingly burdensome, pushing many producers into debt.

The bank’s leadership told Reuters it was seeking to ease pressure on farmers by offering inputs on more favorable repayment terms and extending financing periods.

Fatma Yousif, director of agricultural production at Sudan’s Agriculture Ministry, said authorities were coordinating with the bank to establish a financing fund and examining options to help farmers manage fuel costs. She said efforts were also underway to rehabilitate irrigation infrastructure damaged during the conflict.

In western Sudan, insecurity continues to hamper production in Kordofan and Darfur, regions critical for sesame, peanuts, millet and gum arabic exports.
“There is no funding for farmers, no machinery for planting and plowing the land, and no security because the RSF and other gangs loot the crops and demand money at every checkpoint,” said Mohamed Adam, a farmer displaced from West Kordofan to the army-held city of El Obeid.

Farmers in the region reported widespread looting of tractors and agricultural equipment, recruitment of farm laborers into armed groups, and mass displacement of rural communities, leaving large areas of farmland unprepared for the approaching rainy season.

Khalid Abdellatif, a director at agricultural supplier CTC Group, said transporting farming supplies into conflict-affected areas had become increasingly costly and dangerous, with small-scale farmers bearing the brunt of the disruption.

The meeting in Andong, a historic southeastern South Korean city known for its UNESCO-listed folk village, marked the second leg of an unprecedented series of hometown summits between the leaders. In January, Lee traveled to Takaichi’s hometown of Nara, becoming the first South Korean leader to hold a bilateral summit in a Japanese counterpart’s hometown.

South Korea’s presidential office said the latest meeting was intended to reinforce mutual trust and maintain momentum in bilateral ties, while Takaichi said before the talks that cooperation between Seoul and Tokyo was increasingly important given instability in the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East.

The summit agenda included economic and energy cooperation, the impact of the Iran conflict and broader regional security concerns, according to officials from both governments.

Analysts said the meeting reflected a strategic decision by both countries to prioritize coordination over unresolved historical disputes rooted in Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

“The two countries put more emphasis on agenda for cooperation than contentious issues,” said Choi Eunmi, a Japan specialist at the Seoul-based Asan Institute for Policy Studies. “They would now think constantly fluctuating or negative bilateral ties won’t be helpful to anyone.”

Relations between South Korea and Japan improved significantly in 2023 after previous administrations sought to move beyond disputes involving wartime forced labor and the issue of so-called comfort women, while strengthening coordination on regional security and supply chain resilience.

Both countries remain key United States allies confronting shared concerns over China’s regional influence and North Korea’s expanding nuclear and missile programs.

Observers initially questioned whether ties would remain stable after Lee, viewed as a political liberal, and Takaichi, known for her conservative nationalist credentials and hawkish security positions, entered office last year. However, the two leaders have maintained frequent engagement and public displays of cooperation.

In August last year, Lee selected Japan as the destination for his first bilateral summit after taking office, an unusual diplomatic move for a South Korean president. During a January meeting in Nara, the leaders participated in a public music session featuring K-pop songs, including BTS’ “Dynamite,” reflecting efforts to project warmer bilateral relations.

Analysts say broader geopolitical shifts have accelerated the rapprochement between Seoul and Tokyo, including concerns over US President Donald Trump and his administration’s trade and security policies, as well as the economic fallout from the Iran conflict.

Both South Korea and Japan have pledged major investments in the United States, while navigating uncertainty linked to tariffs, supply chain disruptions and evolving US security commitments in Asia.
Experts cautioned, however, that unresolved historical grievances could still trigger future tensions if left unaddressed.

“Both countries aren’t talking about how to resolve and prevent recurrences of conflicts over those issues,” Choi said. “We don’t know when they could occur again.”