By Olivia Le Poidevin

GENEVA, June 11 (Reuters) - The number of people displaced worldwide by conflict and persecution fell in 2025 for the first time in a decade, but levels of refugees facing long-termdisplacement remain unacceptably high, a U.N. refugee agency report said on Thursday.

Last year, 5.4 million people fled their homes, bringing the total number of refugees or people in refugee-like situations worldwide to 41.6 million, including 6 million Palestinian refugees, UNHCR said.

Between them, Reza Mansoor and Mostafa Pourmand have attended 11 World Cups to cheer on their beloved Iran, and even a war between their team and host nation the United States is not going to stop them this time.

In fact, these two self-declared "super fans" want nothing more than a showdown between the two teams -- on the pitch, of course.

To make that happen, Iran has to do what it has never done before -- get out of the group stage of football's biggest competition.

The use of a sea drone to rescue two US Army aviators apparently shot down by Iran underscores the growing importance of such vessels in Washington's naval operations, analysts said Wednesday.

Military officials told US media the operation near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday was their first-ever rescue carried out by drone at sea, with an operator piloting from afar.

Drone warfare has already taken huge leaps during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including the use of unmanned vehicles to recover wounded soldiers from frontline areas.

Twenty-two countries including the United States and European nations jointly warned Iran on Thursday to stop attacking people "on our soil".

Iran's security services were condemned for their "deplorable" use of international and local criminal gangs for plots in Europe, North America and Australia.

"Attempts to kill, kidnap, harass, intimidate, or otherwise attack people on our soil, undermines national sovereignty and international norms. These actions must stop immediately," the countries said in a joint statement.

June 10 (Reuters) - No U.S. warships have been struck in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. military said on Wednesday, after Iran's state media said initial reports indicated U.S. ships near the strait were targeted by missile and drones launched by Iranian armed forces.

Commercial ships also continue to transit in and out of the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. Central Command said in a separate post on X after Iran's top joint military command said the strait was closed for the passage of any vessels.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by Don Durfee)

June 11 (Reuters) - Iran's top joint military command announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, including oil tankers and commercial ships, saying any vessel that will attempt passage will be shot at.

(Reporting by Menna Alaa El Din, Ahmed Tolba and Yomna Ehab; Editing by Chris Reese)

By Joshua McElwee and Joan Faus

BARCELONA, June 10 (Reuters) - Pope Leo visited Barcelona's Sagrada Familia on Wednesday and inaugurated the newest of its soaring geometric spires that makes the modernist structure designed by Antoni Gaudi the world's tallest church.

At a Mass in the vast, light-infused church, Leo called it an "architectural masterpiece", before walking outside to bless the 172.5-metre (566 feet) Tower of Jesus Christ, crowned with a five-storey ceramic cross visible across the Catalan capital.

JERUSALEM, June 10 (Reuters) - A prominent Palestinian doctor captured by the Israeli military in Gaza in late 2024 and held in detention ever since appeared by video link at a Supreme Court hearing in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

Hussam Abu Safiya appeared in the video to have lost weight since being captured at a Gaza hospital, looking noticeably thinner in his face and around his abdomen. Media were briefly allowed into the courtroom before being ushered out as proceedings got underway.

LOS ANGELES, June 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the United States will hit Iran hard on on Wednesday and bomb "key facilities."

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Writing by Christian Martinez; editing by Michelle Nichols )

By Janina Nuno Rios and Angelica Medina

MEXICO CITY, June 10 (Reuters) - FIFA President Gianni Infantino defended the way soccer's governing body had handled visa issues ahead of the World Cup, saying on Wednesday that it was working to find solutions but could not override government decisions.

Speaking on the eve of the tournament opener between co-hosts Mexico and South Africa, Infantino addressed concerns surrounding Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan, who was barred from entering the U.S. despite having a valid visa.