The Media Line

The moral barometer: Iran uses its people as live targets, as America values every life - opinion

Let’s not forget for one moment that one nation here believes in civilized democracy, while the other tortures its own people.

 L to R: Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and US President Donald Trump against backdrop of respective flags and missile strikes.
Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif speaks during an interview with Reuters in Islamabad, Pakistan, October 20, 2025.

Pakistan Defense Minister deletes anti-Israel post from X after diplomatic backlash

Map of Middle East

US-Iran ceasefire pauses war - nuclear, Hormuz, and Lebanon issues remain

A man stands on the rubble as emergency services operate at the site of an Israeli strike carried out on Wednesday, in Ain Al Mraiseh in Beirut, Lebanon, April 9, 2026

Voices from the Arab press: Internal Arab fractures amid Iran war


Russian report highlights ongoing terror threats in Afghanistan, challenges Taliban control

Regional security officials say cross-border threats could intensify for Central Asia and Pakistan as armed groups expand their footprint.

 Taliban soldiers celebrate on the second anniversary of the fall of Kabul on a street near the US embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 15, 2023

Buffer zones and collapse fears: Israeli and Lebanese analysts assess a war with no clear endgame

Across the border, two analysts describe a situation shaped not only by military maneuvers, but also by eroding trust, weak institutions, and a profound uncertainty about what comes next.

Smoke rises after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 2, 2026.

The name of Iran's next leader will be announced ‘soon,' according to Iran's Assembly of Experts

According to the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency, the Assembly of Experts building in Qom was targeted in a missile strike, with images on social media suggesting the building had been destroyed.

Fars News Agency has claimed that the next leader of the Islamic Republic was selected remotely; the photo shows the Assembly of Experts’ most recent session last year in Qom.

Qatar arrests 10 for espionage, sabotage, linked to Iranian IRGC

Officials said seven of those detained had been assigned to gather intelligence on critical and military sites across the country. The remaining three were allegedly preparing acts of sabotage.

Members of special IRGC forces attend a rally marking the annual Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan in Tehran, Iran April 29, 2022.

US Navy will protect Gulf shipping as Iran threatens Strait of Hormuz, according to President Trump

Trump's announcement came as oil and gas prices climbed amid concerns about shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage between Oman and Iran that is vital to global supply.

An F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron 31, launches from the flight deck of the world's largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), while supporting Operation Epic Fury on February 28, 2026.

US to provide insurance for tankers traveling through Strait of Hormuz after Iranian threats

The narrow waterway between Oman and Iran is a critical artery for global energy supplies. In 2025, roughly 13 million barrels of oil moved through the channel each day.

Oil tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz, December 21, 2018.

Arab media split as Gulf states condemn Iran while Iran-aligned actors denounce US-Israel strikes

Gulf governments emphasize sovereignty and civilian protection as Iran-aligned actors frame the confrontation as external aggression

Various Arab news paper on sale at Bin Dawood supermarket in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, December 2016; illustrative.

IRGC claim of 650 US troops killed or wounded proven false

The US military has so far confirmed the deaths of only six service members, three of whom were killed in an attack on a US military base in Kuwait.

US troops are seen before boarding an oil tanker breaching Washington's blockade on sanctioned vessels traveling to or from Venezuela, February 15, 2026.

Two endgames emerge as US-Israel strikes reshape Iran’s military posture - analysis

Tehran may either fracture under combined pressure or endure in a weakened state, stripped of key deterrent capabilities for years

People drive by a mural featuring images of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the leader of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on a building, in Tehran, Iran, March 2, 2026.

IDF hijacks Iranian TV to broadcast Farsi message from Netanyahu

A source also told The Media Line that IRIB executives and the Political Department had been aware for hours on Saturday that Ali Khamenei, supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, had been killed.

EXPLOSIONS FROM the strikes on the IRIB’s buildings, visible from different parts of Tehran.