分类： world

On Monday, a 7.5 magnitude preliminary earthquake shook the seabed off northern Japan’s Sanriku coast, triggering immediate tsunami warnings, mass evacuations, and a rare official advisory warning of an elevated risk of a subsequent massive quake over the coming week.

According to Japan’s Cabinet Office and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the shallow tremor — which struck at roughly 0753 GMT at a depth of just 10 kilometers near the Chishima Trench — has left a 1% probability of a catastrophic mega-quake striking the region within the next seven days. Officials emphasized that the advisory, only the second such notice issued in the past four months, is not a formal earthquake prediction, but urged local residents to prioritize emergency preparedness, including checking stockpiles of non-perishable food and updating emergency go-bags, while continuing regular daily activities.

Within an hour of the initial quake, JMA detected an 80-centimeter tsunami at Kuji Port in Iwate Prefecture, followed by a smaller 40-centimeter surge at a second port in the same region. Immediately after the tremor, JMA issued a full tsunami alert warning of potential waves reaching up to 3 meters, ordering coastal and riverside residents to evacuate to higher ground immediately. By contrast, the U.S.-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center later confirmed that the overall tsunami threat from the event had fully passed.

Local disaster management authorities issued non-binding evacuation orders covering more than 128,000 residents across Iwate and three other northern prefectures. Public broadcaster NHK footage showed crowds of residents driving to elevated parks and safe shelters, with many leaving work and school abruptly to reach higher ground. In Tomakomai, a Hokkaido town, one resident told reporters he picked his child up from cram school directly and drove to a hilltop park, where he planned to remain until official alerts were lifted.

As of the latest updates, no significant structural damage, injuries, or casualties have been recorded across the affected region. Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority confirmed that all nuclear power facilities in northern Japan remained fully operational with no abnormalities detected, and the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said assessments of critical infrastructure including power grids are still ongoing, with no harm reported so far.

This latest seismic event comes on the heels of another 7.5 magnitude quake that struck the same broader region in December 2023, which injured dozens of people and prompted an identical mega-quake advisory that ultimately proved unnecessary when no major subsequent quake occurred.

Monday’s advisory also arrives amid a somber national milestone: 2026 marks 15 years since the catastrophic 9.0 magnitude 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that devastated northern Japan. That disaster killed more than 22,000 people, displaced nearly 500,000 residents, and triggered a catastrophic meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Roughly 160,000 people fled Fukushima Prefecture in the wake of the disaster due to radiation contamination, and more than a decade later, around 26,000 of those displaced have never returned to their hometowns, having resettled elsewhere, facing continued exclusion from contaminated areas, or holding long-term concerns over residual radiation exposure.

JMA officials have additionally warned local residents to remain vigilant for strong aftershocks across the region throughout the coming week.

As a fragile ceasefire between Iran and the United States enters its final week, tentative diplomatic progress has failed to resolve escalating tensions in the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz, leaving upcoming peace talks hanging in the balance and global energy markets bracing for fresh volatility.

Both sides have acknowledged limited momentum in indirect negotiations mediated by third parties over recent days, but neither has offered guarantees that hostilities will end immediately once the current ceasefire expires. The latest standoff erupted Saturday, just days ahead of the ceasefire deadline, after Iranian military officials reasserted full armed control over the waterway that carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s daily oil shipments, bringing commercial shipping traffic to a near-standstill.

The clash over access to the strait follows conflicting moves from both capitals. On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced in an X post that the Strait of Hormuz would remain fully open to all commercial vessels along a pre-coordinated route for the remainder of the ceasefire, in alignment with the existing truce agreement covering Lebanon. That post remains public as of publication.

But days after Iran agreed to allow managed passage for a limited number of commercial and oil vessels as a goodwill gesture tied to ongoing negotiations, Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, confirmed Saturday that full control of the strait had been restored to Iranian armed forces. Zolfaghari accused Washington of repeated violations of the negotiated terms, labeling the ongoing U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports an act of state-sponsored piracy and maritime theft.

Iran’s top parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf reinforced Tehran’s dual approach in a Saturday national televised address, confirming that while diplomatic talks remain active, the country’s military is fully prepared for any escalation of hostilities. Qalibaf emphasized that Iran harbors no trust in U.S. commitments, framing the country’s current strategy as a “diplomacy of power” that has left Iran victorious on both the battlefield and at the negotiating table. He dismissed the U.S. naval blockade as a misguided move from an aggressor that failed to achieve its goals through military pressure, noting that Tehran’s resolve has only strengthened since the ceasefire took effect. Proposals for a long-term agreement, he added, have been relayed via third countries including Pakistan and have already undergone full review by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, 36 days into the open conflict.

U.S. President Donald Trump, for his part, struck a combative tone Saturday while confirming that indirect talks were showing early signs of progress. Trump insisted the U.S. would not be blackmailed by Tehran, lambasting Iran’s military capacity and suggesting the ongoing conflict amounted to an enforced regime change. “They have no navy, they have no air force, they have no leaders. They have nothing. Actually … it is regime change,” Trump said, adding that Washington would maintain a tough negotiating position.

According to maritime intelligence provider Lloyd’s List, reported by Al Jazeera, commercial traffic through the strait came to a complete halt Saturday after Iranian forces opened fire on multiple vessels attempting to transit the waterway. While a small number of ships moved through earlier in the day, warnings via radio that the strait was back under “strict management and control by the (Iranian) armed forces” pushed all traffic back to a standstill by Saturday evening. Audio of one incident, shared widely by international media, captures the panicked crew of the oil tanker Sanmar Diego alerting Iranian naval forces that they had received official clearance to proceed moments after coming under fire from Iranian gunboats. On Sunday, Iranian forces turned away two additional oil tankers flying the flags of Botswana and Angola, which Tasnim News Agency reported had attempted to cross the strait “illegally.”

The next round of indirect peace talks is set to get underway this week in Islamabad, Pakistan. Trump announced Sunday on Truth Social that U.S. negotiating delegates would arrive in the Pakistani capital Monday night, and two anonymous Pakistani security sources confirmed to Al Jazeera that talks are expected to convene before Friday. The sources also noted two U.S. C-17 Globemaster cargo aircraft have already landed at Rawalpindi’s Noor Khan Airbase, and major roads connecting the airbase to Islamabad’s secure Red Zone have been temporarily closed to accommodate heightened security arrangements for the negotiations.

Now in its eighth week, the Iran-U.S. conflict has already triggered the single largest shock to global energy supplies in modern history. The de facto closure of the strait sent crude oil prices soaring in the early weeks of fighting, and while prices fell roughly 10 percent last Friday and global stock markets rose on hopes that commercial traffic would resume, the latest disruption has left hundreds of vessels and an estimated 20,000 seafarers stranded in the Persian Gulf, waiting for clearance to transit the strategic waterway, according to shipping industry sources.

A rapidly unfolding crisis in the Persian Gulf’s strategic Strait of Hormuz has sent global shockwaves, after a series of escalatory moves from both the United States and Iran have pushed regional security and global energy supplies to the breaking point. What began with incendiary rhetoric from US President Donald Trump has now devolved into armed confrontation at sea and a complete breakdown of planned diplomatic negotiations, raising grave fears of a broader regional war.

On Sunday, Trump opened the week with an extreme public threat against Iran: if Tehran refused to sign a new US-brokered deal, he warned, “the whole country is going to get blown up.” Minutes later, conflicting claims emerged over a maritime confrontation in the Gulf of Oman. According to Trump’s account, US forces opened fire on an Iranian-flagged vessel, which he claimed ignored repeated warnings before being seized and disabled during operations to enforce a US naval blockade on Iranian ports. Iran’s account directly contradicts this narrative: state media affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says IRGC forces repelled US troops and forced them to retreat from Hormuz waters following the clash.

The maritime incident is the latest flashpoint in a crisis that erupted after Trump unilaterally announced plans for a new round of talks set to take place Monday in Islamabad, Pakistan, saying the US delegation would be led by Vice President JD Vance, senior advisor Jared Kushner, and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. Iran’s official government news agency IRNA swiftly refuted the announcement, calling the claim of planned talks “not true” and dismissing it as “a media game and part of the blame game to pressure Iran.”

Iran’s position has long been clear: it will not enter negotiations with the US while the naval blockade of its ports remains in place, a measure Tehran considers a direct violation of the temporary ceasefire agreed between the two nations earlier this month. When Trump confirmed the blockade would continue, Iran acted Saturday to close all shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, just one day after reopening the route following a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel.

An anonymous senior Iranian official familiar with Tehran’s internal decision-making told Drop Site News that the collapse of talks stems from what Iranian leaders see as Washington’s unworkable approach to diplomacy. “Washington’s excessive demands, unrealistic expectations, constant shifts in stance, repeated contradictions, and the ongoing naval blockade” have convinced Iran to pull back its negotiating team, the official explained. While Iran remains open to a future agreement that would secure its right to enrich uranium, deliver meaningful sanctions relief, and establish a long-term non-aggression pact, Trump’s erratic leadership and maximalist demands – including the full surrender of all Iranian enriched uranium – have destroyed any trust that he could be a reliable negotiating partner.

“Our assessment is that Trump effectively lacks both a coherent plan and the capacity to secure even a temporary agreement,” the official said, adding that Trump’s decisions are consistently shaped by daily Israeli security and political input. The official also noted that during the first round of Islamabad talks that produced the earlier two-week ceasefire, Iran explicitly warned the US delegation that public threats to destroy “Iranian civilization” would not be tolerated. Even before Sunday’s new threat, Iran had refused to commit to another round of talks.

Should Trump choose to continue military escalation rather than pursue good-faith diplomacy, the official warned, Iran will suspend all diplomatic channels indefinitely and prepare to impose far greater costs on US interests across the region. “Tehran is prepared for a long war,” the official added.

Tehran-based political analyst Mohammed Sani confirmed that Iran has used the two-week ceasefire to dramatically upgrade its military readiness. “The Americans have been bringing in more troops and equipment to prepare to attack, but the Iranians have also not been resting during these two weeks of ceasefire,” Sani told Drop Site News. “They have been preparing, repairing the underground missile cities, bringing in new air defenses, missiles, and drones. Iran is at a high standard of readiness right now. If there is another round of negotiations sometime later in the future, after another round of American attacks against Iran fail, the Iranian conditions for peace will be much tougher.”

Foreign policy experts say Trump’s reliance on coercive threats is self-defeating, pushing Iran further from the negotiating table even as the president claims he wants an exit from the conflict that has already triggered economic upheaval and dragged down his already low approval ratings. Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, noted that Trump has prioritized public optics of victory over tangible diplomatic progress. “Due to poor discipline, Trump ends up prioritizing the optics of victory over actually getting a deal,” Parsi said Sunday. “Instead of using deescalatory signals from Iran to get closer to a deal, he declares victory and seeks Iran’s humiliation, and by that, he undermines his own diplomacy.”

Global attention is now fixed on the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical chokepoints for global energy supplies, with market and diplomatic observers bracing for further escalation as both sides maintain hardline positions.

A widely circulated image posted to social media Sunday has ignited international anger after appearing to show an Israeli soldier using a jackhammer to destroy a crucifix statue of Jesus in a Christian village in southern Lebanon. The incident comes just days after a ceasefire took effect Friday, ending Israel’s military offensive launched against Lebanon on March 2 that has left much of the southern part of the country under Israeli occupation.

According to local Christian community leaders, the statue stood in Debel, a majority Maronite Christian village positioned roughly six kilometers northwest of Ain Ebel and just five kilometers from the Israeli border town of Shtula. Officials with Debel’s municipal government confirmed the statue was located within the village when contacted by Agence France-Presse, though they stopped short of verifying the extent of damage shown in the photo.

The image quickly spread across major social platforms, drawing condemnation from unexpected quarters, including prominent former allies of former US President Donald Trump aligned with the MAGA movement. Former Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has broken ranks with Trump in recent months over his handling of the Epstein files and his support for Israel’s push for conflict with Iran, shared the image sarcastically on platform X. She wrote, “’Our greatest ally’ that takes billions of our tax dollars and weapons every year,” a sharp rebuke of the decades-long US policy of robust military and financial aid to Israel.

Fellow former Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz echoed the criticism, calling the scene captured in the image simply “horrific.” Political analysts note this public backlash from key MAGA figures threatens to erode Israel’s standing among one of its most loyal support bases in the United States: white evangelical Christian voters, who have long backed Israel as a core part of their ideological beliefs.

Regional commentator Muhammad Shehada highlighted the hypocrisy he sees in the incident, captioning the viral post “’Judeo-Christian values’ in Israel” — a direct reference to the framing Israeli leaders often use to win support from Western audiences by highlighting shared cultural values with Europe and the United States.

This incident is not an isolated case, rights observers and religious leaders emphasize. Over recent years, Christian communities living in Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank have faced a steadily rising tide of anti-Christian attacks, ranging from routine street harassment to the deliberate destruction of religious sites and symbols. Clergy report multiple instances of being spat on and physically assaulted by extremist groups, while churches, cemeteries and other Christian landmarks have been repeatedly vandalized. Most of these attacks have been tied to ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups, religious nationalist extremists and Israeli settlers in occupied territories, and human rights groups say the vast majority of these incidents have gone unpunished. Israeli police have repeatedly been accused of failing to intervene to stop attacks or hold perpetrators accountable.

In response to growing outcry over the viral image, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson did not explicitly dispute the photo’s authenticity. In a post on X, the spokesperson said that “If this photo is indeed real and recent,” then the actions shown do not align with the Israeli military’s official values.

This report was originally published by Middle East Eye, an outlet that provides independent, on-the-ground coverage of the Middle East, North Africa and surrounding regions.