US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened a 25 per cent tariff on iPhones imported to the US, including from India, ratcheting up pressure on Apple to bring manufacturing back to the US from its international operations.

"I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their Phones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25 per cent must be paid by Apple to the US. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

The US President has targetted Apple's Indian operations in recent weeks, opening a new front even as the US and India are negotiating a mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement under Trump's reciprocal tariffs announced in April, but put on pause for 90 days.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Friday strongly condemned the United States for slapping new sanctions on individuals or entities providing Iran with certain construction-related materials.

He made the remarks in a post on social media platform X after the US Department of State claimed in a statement on Wednesday that it had found out that Iran's construction sector was being controlled "directly or indirectly" by the country's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, and identified "10 additional strategic materials that Iran is using in connection with its nuclear, military, or ballistic missile programs".

According to the US State Department, the newly identified materials include austenitic nickel-chromium alloy, magnesium ingots, sodium perchlorate, tungsten copper, and certain aluminium sheets and tubes.

Baghaei called the US move "outrageous, unlawful and inhuman", stressing: "The US multi-layered sanctions and coercive measures against Iran have all been calibrated to deprive each and every Iranian citizen of their basic human rights, and as such, these sanctions are no less than crimes against humanity."

The Indian all-party parliamentary delegation led by Janata Dal (United) MP Sanjay Jha interacted with the Japan-India Parliamentary Friendship League in Tokyo on Friday, conveying India's resolute stance of zero tolerance towards terrorism under the global outreach campaign of Operation Sindoor.

During the talks, the Japanese side, led by league chairman Yasutoshi Nishimura, expressed full support for India's resolve to counter cross border terrorism.

The Indian delegation also held a meeting with Fukushiro Nukaga, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan, continuing with the momentum of Nukaga's recent visit to India, during which he voiced Japan's unwavering support for India in its fight against terrorism.

A Norwegian man had a narrow escape as a huge container ship ran aground onto his garden, missing his bedroom where he was sleeping by scant metres, reports said on Friday.

The incident occurred in Byneset, near Trondheim city, and Johan Helberg was asleep throughout the arrival of his unexpected visitor - the 135-metre, Cypriot-flagged cargo ship, the NCL Salten.

Helberg only woke to find the ship when his neighbour, who had witnessed the ship heading for the shore, rushed to his house to alert him, reported.

"The doorbell rang at a time of day when I don't like to open," Helberg told Norwegian television channel.

US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Assistant Director in Charge Steven J. Jensen on Friday called the tragic murder of two Israeli Embassy employees outside the Jewish National Museum in Washington, both an act of terror and directed violence against the Jewish community.

Addressing a press conference, he stated that the matter has the full and unwavering attention of the FBI, and it will continue to pursue all leads and use all available resources to investigate the attack.

“With the assistance of FBI offices across the country, we're continuing to investigate and contact the subject's associates, family members, and co-workers. We are also executing search warrants for his electronic devices and reviewing his social media accounts,” Jensen said.

South Korean Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung was leading his People Power Party (PPP) rival Kim Moon-soo with 45 per cent support against Kim's 36 per cent, a survey showed Friday.

In a Gallup Korea survey conducted on 1,002 adults from Tuesday to Thursday, candidate Lee Jun-seok of the minor New Reform Party came in third with 10 percent. Eight percent said they were undecided.

The DP's Lee declined by 6 percentage points compared with a week earlier, while Kim and Lee Jun-seok saw increases of 7 percentage points and 2 percentage points, respectively.

The support for the liberal DP was at 42 per cent, compared with 36 per cent for the conservative PPP.

The margin of error was 3.1 percentage points at a 95 per cent confidence level, news agency reported.

Amid India’s objections to the International Monetary Fund bailout package to Pakistan, the IMF has said the debt-ridden country "met all the required targets" to receive the latest loan instalment.

The IMF recently gave the nod to a $ 1 billion (over Rs 8,000 crore) bailout package to Pakistan even as India expressed reservations.

The bailout came when Pakistan was retaliating to India’s Operation Sindoor -- a military strike on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

India had asked it to reconsider the bailout as Pakistan allows terrorists to use its soil for launching state-sponsored attacks against Indian citizens.

Last week, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the aid to Pakistan is a "form of indirect funding to terror" and had cautioned the international agencies, including the IMF.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry on Thursday expressed deep condolences over the killings of two Israeli Embassy staff members who were shot to death in Washington.

The shooting occurred on Wednesday (US time) as the two embassy employees were leaving an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee at a local Jewish museum, according to media reports.

The 30-year-old suspect shouted, "Free, free Palestine," as he was taken into custody, as per the reports.

Japan, which shares a 'Special Strategic and Global Partnership' with India on Thursday condemned in the strongest terms the growing threat of terrorism as the country hosted a visiting delegation of Indian Parliamentarians led by Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha.

The all-party parliamentary delegation from India, which arrived in Tokyo earlier in the day, called on Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, reaffirming India's unwavering stand against terrorism under Operation Sindoor's global outreach campaign that aims at exposing Pakistan and the global terror outfits operating from its soil.

North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles toward the East Sea on Thursday, South Korea's military said, a day after a "serious" accident occurred during Pyongyang's launch of a new warship.

The launches took place as North Korea said earlier in the day that parts of a new naval destroyer were "crushed" during its launch ceremony Wednesday, with the North's leader Kim Jong-un calling it a "criminal act" that could not be tolerated.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the North's missile launches at about 9 a.m. from the Sondok area in South Hamgyong Province, without providing further details, such as the number of missiles fired.

The military believes the missiles may have been fired from a maritime platform and are conducting a detailed analysis with US intelligence authorities.