Police thwart ‘terror attack’ at Bank of America building in Paris, officials say
Automobiles pass a former postal and telegraph building, where Bank of America Corp. is leasing space for 400 workers, in Paris, France, on Wednesday April 10, 2019. (Photographer: Christophe Morin/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Authorities in France are investigating an attempted terror attack in which a man allegedly tried to detonate an explosive device in Paris, according to officials.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez congratulated French police for thwarting the “violent” attack in Paris overnight Saturday, where the suspect attempted to set off the explosive outside the Bank of America building in the central part of the city.
The “swift intervention” of police prevented the attack, which Nuñez described as “of a terrorist nature” in a post on X.
“Vigilance remains at a very high level,” Nuñez wrote. “I commend all the security and intelligence forces fully mobilized under my authority in the current international context.”
Police had noticed two men with a shopping bag outside the building, RTL France, a French radio station, reported.
One of the bags contained a bag of liquid taped to a large firework, according to the report. Police said they approached the pair when one of the suspects attempted to set fire to the device.
One suspect was arrested on Saturday in the early morning hours, but the other suspect escaped, RTL France reported.
Additional details were not immediately available.
The National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office is leading in the investigation, Nuñez said.
Iraqi Shiite militia groups organize a military parade as part of the ‘World Quds Day’ events in Baghdad, Iraq, March 28, 2025. (Anadolu via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — U.S. officials have issued a new warning to Americans still in Iraq, advising them to leave the country immediately as Iraqi terrorist militia groups aligned with Iran may “intend to conduct attacks” in central Baghdad.
“U.S. citizens should leave Iraq now,” said the alert issued on Thursday by the United States Embassy and Consulate in Iraq, which has previously issued warnings for Americans to leave the country due to security risks.
The new alert comes as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has entered its second month.
The security alert also came just days after an American journalist, Shelly Kittleson, was kidnapped in broad daylight on a busy street in Baghdad, allegedly by an Iran-linked militia group.
“Iraqi terrorist militia groups aligned with Iran may intend to conduct attacks in central Baghdad in the next 24-48 hours,” the U.S. Embassy’s alert said.
The embassy’s statement added that Iran and Iran-aligned terrorist militias have already conducted “widespread attacks against U.S. citizens and targets associated with the United States throughout Iraq, including the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.”
The alert cautioned Americans to be aware that militia groups “may claim to be associated with the Iraqi government.”
“Terrorists may carry identification denoting their status as Iraqi government employees,” according to the alert.
In addition to U.S. citizens, terrorist militias might also target businesses, universities, diplomatic facilities, energy infrastructure, hotels, airports and “other locations perceived to be associated with the United States,” according to the alert.
While telling U.S. citizens to leave the country immediately, U.S. officials also said the only escape routes out of Iraq are overland to Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Turkey because the airspace is closed, preventing commercial airlines from flying out of Iraq.
“Local ground transportation options are functioning. Americans should depart now via one of these overland routes,” according to the alert.
For the time being, the U.S. Mission in Iraq remains open. But the alert advised Americans not to go there.
“Do not attempt to come to the Embassy in Baghdad or the Consulate General in Erbil in light of significant security risks,” the alert said.
The search for Kittleson, 49, a freelance journalist originally from Wisconsin, continued on Thursday, according to the Iraqi Ministry of Interior.
“We have no answer or explanation,” the interior ministry said in a statement on Thursday about Kittleson’s abduction.
In a security camera recording verified by ABC News and confirmed by Iraq’s interior ministry to show the moment Kittleson was kidnapped on Tuesday, the journalist is seen standing on a sidewalk as a silver car approaches before she is pushed towards the car, which then quickly speeds away.
One suspect alleged to be involved in the kidnapping was arrested when one of the cars fleeing the scene crashed and overturned, according to Iraq’s interior ministry. Kittleson had been forced into another car that got away.
Dylan Johnson, assistant secretary of state for global public affairs for the State Department, said in a statement on Wednesday that the suspect has ties to the Iranian-aligned militia group Kataib Hezbollah.
Protesters clash with forces in Srinagar, Kashmir, on March 2, 2026, as authorities impose restrictions and curbs across Kashmir in response to demonstrations over the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (Muzamil Mattoo/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Trump administration officials told congressional staff in private briefings on Sunday that U.S. intelligence did not suggest Iran was preparing to launch a preemptive strike against the United States interests, four people familiar with the briefing told ABC News.
The officials said there was more of a general threat in the region from Iran’s missiles and proxy forces, sources told ABC News.
The intel shared with staff appears to contradict some of President Donald Trump and the White House’s previous statements about Iran and the reasoning for attacking the country.
The president said in his video address announcing the strikes, “our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”
On a call with reporters this weekend, senior Trump administration officials said there were indicators that Iranians could launch a preemptive attack against U.S. forces and allies in the region.
While Trump was meeting with military leaders this weekend, he spoke with ABC News about the general threat from the Iranian regime.
“I think there was a threat. Had we not done Midnight Hammer, which was one of the greatest things [this] country has ever done, we would’ve been faced with a nuclear weapon within a month — we would have been faced with a very powerful nuclear weapon within a month,” Trump said this weekend.
“And then they were trying to build back –not there because that area was obliterated, but they were working on another site despite the negotiations — which at some points were going very well,” Trump continued. “But in the end we didn’t think they were going to get there [in terms of negotiations]. And they would’ve had in a fairly short period of time some very fairly big nuclear capacity and we were not going to put up with that.”
During a press briefing Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the attack was a response to Iranian aggression against the U.S. over a number of years.
“We didn’t start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it. Their war on Americans has become our retribution against their Ayatollah and his death cult,” Hegseth said. “It took the 47th president, a fighter who always puts America first, to finally draw the line after 47 years of Iranian belligerence.”
The U.S. and Israel launched an attack on Israel on Saturday, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran. Trump told Fox News’s Bret Baier on Monday that 49 senior leaders were killed in the initial strikes.
Following the start of the U.S.-Israel operation, Iran launched retaliatory strikes with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, regional U.S. bases and Gulf nations.
The conflict has resulted in at least four deaths of U.S. servicemembers so far, but military officials said Monday more deaths are expected.
“We expect to take additional losses,” Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a briefing. “And, as always, we will work to minimize U.S. losses. But as the secretary said, this is major combat operations.”
Caine did not specify a timeline, but said, “This is not a single overnight operation. The military objective … will take some time to achieve.”
Trump told CNN’s Jake Tapper that the U.S. military is “knocking the crap” out of Iran — but the “big wave” is yet to come.
“We haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big wave hasn’t even happened. The big one is coming soon,” Trump told Tapper Monday morning.
CNN was the first to report on what the Trump admin told congressional staff.
–ABC News’ John Parkinson and Fritz Farrow contributed to this report.
A map shows the Strait of Hormuz on a laptop computer screen in this photo illustration in Athens, Greece, on March 3, 2026. (Photo by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(STRAIT OF HORMUZ) — The conflict in the Strait of Hormuz intensified on Wednesday as the Iranian navy confirmed it targeted at least two of three ships struck by projectiles in the critical passage for the oil and shipping trades, and President Donald Trump said the U.S. military destroyed several “inactive” mine-laying boats in the strait.
The increased military activity in the Strait of Hormuz came just three days after President Donald Trump warned Iran in a post on his social media site that if it attempts to “stop the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that its navy conducted strikes on two commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday morning.
An IRGC spokesperson said in a statement that its navy struck the ships Express Room and the Mayuree Naree because both commercial vessels were allegedly “ignoring alerts and warnings from the IRGC Navy.”
“Every vessel intending to pass must obtain permission from Iran,” IRGC naval commander Adm. Alireza Tangsiri said in a social media post on Wednesday.
The Express Room, a container ship sailing under the Liberian flag, was struck by Iranian projectiles after allegedly “ignoring warnings from the IRGC Navy and came to a halt in its position,” the IRGC spokesperson said.
The Thai-flagged container ship Mayuree Naree was targeted for allegedly “ignoring alerts and warnings from the IRGC Navy and unlawfully insisting on transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to the IRGC spokesperson.
Thai officials reported that three crew members were missing from the vessel following the attack.
“The Strait of Hormuz is, without a doubt and without a moment’s neglect, under the intelligent management of the brave naval forces of the IRGC. American aggressors and their allies have no right of passage,” the Iranian spokesperson said.
Earlier Wednesday, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO) said it had received reports that three ships came under attack in the Strait of Hormuz. It did not identify the vessels, nor did it say at the time who was responsible for the attacks.
The UKMTO said one container ship was struck about 11 nautical miles north of Oman, in the passage that connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
“The vessel has requested assistance and the crew are evacuated,” the UKMTO said.
The other two container ships, according to the UKMTO, were also struck by projectiles early Wednesday. One was hit about 25 nautical miles northwest of the United Arab Emirates port city of Ras Al Khaimah, while the other was stuck northwest of Dubai, according to the UKMTO.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) released videos overnight showing attacks being carried out on Tuesday on what it described as “multiple Iranian naval vessels, March 10, including 16 minelayers near the Strait of Hormuz.”
“To date, we have struck more than 5,500 targets inside Iran, including more than 60 ships, using a variety of precision weapons systems,” CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said in a video post Wednesday.
While taking questions from reporters on Wednesday on the South Lawn of the White House before heading to an event in Kentucky, Trump said, “Look, we took out just about all of their mine ships in one night.”
“We’ve knocked out their navy. We’ve knocked out their air force. We’ve knocked out all of their air defense,” Trump also said.
When asked by a reporter if he’s encouraging CEOs of various oil companies to use the Strait of Hormuz, Trump responded, “Yeah, I think they should. I think they should use the Strait.”
Asked if there are any mines laid in the Strait of Hormuz, the president said, “We don’t think so.”
In a social media post on Tuesday, Trump said, “If Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY!”
“If for any reason mines were placed, and they are not removed forthwith, the Military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before,” Trump said in the post.
CENTCOM issued a warning to Iranian civilians on Wednesday to avoid all port facilities where it said Iranian naval forces are carrying out military operations along the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM said Iranian dockworkers, administrative personnel and crews of commercial vessels “should avoid Iranian naval vessels and military equipment.
“The Iranian regime is using civilian ports along the Strait of Hormuz to conduct military operations that threaten international shipping. This dangerous action risks the lives of innocent people,” CENTCOM said in its warning.
A spokesperson for Iran’s armed forces said Wednesday that if Iran’s ports are threatened, “all ports and docks in the region will be our legitimate targets.”
In an interview with the Iranian state television, Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi denied claims that the country’s naval forces are hiding in economic ports, and threatened heavier operations if Iran’s ports are targeted.
The chaos unfolding across the global economy stems in large part from the narrow but crucial waterway along the southern coast of Iran, which connects the Gulf of Oman to the Persian Gulf.
The Strait of Hormuz facilitates the transport of about one-fifth of the global supply of crude oil and liquid natural gas. Those products hold major implications for the prices of gasoline, plastics and European electricity, among a host of other goods.
The passage, which at its narrowest point is just 21 miles wide, is the only shipping route that stretches from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, making it a key travel hub for goods originating in oil-rich Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Iran.
Wednesday morning, the International Energy Agency said it would release 400 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserve, marking the largest oil release in the group’s history as the global economy grapples with soaring oil prices in the wake of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, and traders fear a prolonged blockade of the maritime passage.
Before the war, roughly 20 million barrels of oil passed through the Strait or Hormuz each day, but tanker traffic has now “all but stopped,” Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, said at a press conference on Wednesday.
