World News Updates: Two bodies recovered from site of avalanche at Himlung Himal base camp in Nepal

South African police launched a manhunt on Sunday after 17 people were killed and 15 others wounded in a shooting at a tavern in Wedela township, southwest of Johannesburg, Reuters reported.

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The navy of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned it will target US warships, including in the Indian Ocean, if Washington launches a fresh war against Tehran, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

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Russia has backed India's candidature for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council, saying that any reform of the UN body cannot involve additional seats being allocated to Western countries, especially Germany and Japan.

"Our principled approach is the following: UN Security Council reform cannot involve any additional seats being allocated to Western countries, especially to Germany and Japan, who are now on the path to militarism and revanchism," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in his address to the UN General Assembly.

"We are in favour of broadening the representation of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. We support Brazil's and India's candidatures for a permanent seat, and at the same time, I wish to emphasise this: we must satisfy the interests of the African continent," he said.

A record 146 countries have condemned Iran over attacks on civilian shipping, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said, arguing that Tehran is increasingly isolated.

“What you’ve seen in the last 13 days are strikes particularly focused on Iran’s terrorist activities attacking civilian shipping,” Waltz told Fox News Sunday.

“A record 146 have stood with us in condemning those activities,” he said.

Waltz described Iran’s maritime operations as “acts of desperation” and argued that Tehran was under mounting military and economic pressure.

The United States "very much" understands Taiwan's defence needs and the severe military threat it faces from China, a senior Taiwanese diplomat said on Sunday, following a Washington summit between the US and Chinese leaders.

Democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has been waiting for months for US President Donald Trump to approve a new arms sales package ⁠worth ​some $14 billion, following up on a record $11 billion deal unveiled last December.

After meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in May, Trump said he was keeping the latest arms sales package in abeyance. Trump has ​not ​mentioned the sale since last week's summit, ⁠saying only on Saturday that Xi understands his position on Taiwan.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent thanked Turkey, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the UK, for taking steps to restrict Iranian banking and aviation links, saying Washington’s economic pressure campaign was “delivering results.”

Bessent said the measures followed the launch of Operation Economic Outcast, under which the Treasury imposed sanctions targeting Iran’s financial and aviation sectors and dispatched teams to press other countries to take action.

He said Turkey and Oman had stopped Mahan Air flights, while the UAE had halted flights by Iranian airlines. The UAE confirmed this week that it had suspended Iranian airline flights, citing US sanctions.

Saudi Arabia warned UN members Saturday that attempts to block Middle East waterways are a threat to global energy security and demanded the international community do more to defend freedom of navigation, AFP reported.

"The international community has been absent from assuming its responsibilities in confronting all that threatens international peace and security," Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan told the United Nations General Assembly.

"The kingdom stresses the importance of guaranteeing the protection of freedom of navigation in all international waterways, foremost among them the Strait of Hormuz, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden," he said.

Yemen’s government forces accused the Houthis of using Iranian air defence weapons that could threaten civilian and military aircraft flying over the Red Sea.

Brigadier General Majed al-Nazili, a spokesman for the government forces, said the weapons had been modified with assistance from experts from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and were being used against warplanes and cruise missiles.

“Using Iranian weapons from Yemeni territory poses a direct threat to international air navigation routes and cannot be considered a purely domestic Yemeni issue,” al-Nazili said.

He said the weapons were unable to distinguish between military and civilian targets, potentially endangering commercial aircraft and passengers.

Sardar Shekarchi, chief spokesman of Iran’s armed forces, says that if the US intervenes in the Strait of Hormuz, it will be “slapped”.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran, as a world power, will never allow America to return to its previous position in the new world order,” Iran’s Tasnim news agency quoted Shekarchi as saying.

“Americans dream of interfering in the Strait of Hormuz, and if they interfere in the Strait of Hormuz, they will be slapped.”

Hello and welcome to our blog for all the latest updates on the Iran-US standoff. From diplomatic talks to developments on the ground, we’re covering it all live. Stay with us!