Paris (France) (AFP) – Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:
– **Global food security, trade**
The World Trade Organization warned that the war posed a dire threat to global food security and could weigh heavily on already slowing global trade. “Sustained increases in energy prices could increase risks for global trade, with potential spillovers for food security and cost pressures on consumers and businesses,” WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in a statement.
– **Iran vows ‘zero restraint’**
Iran vowed to hit hard if its energy facilities were attacked again. “ZERO restraint if our infrastructures are struck again,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X.
– **Hormuz ‘safe passage’**
Six Western allies — Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the Netherlands — said in a joint statement they were ready “to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz”.
– **’High time’ to end war**
UN chief Antonio Guterres called on all parties to end the war. “To the United States and to Israel: it’s high time to end this war that is risking to get completely out of control,” he told reporters at an EU summit in Brussels. “To Iran, stop attacking your neighbours. They were never parties to the conflict.”
– **US has no ‘time frame’**
US Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth said the US “wouldn’t want to set a definitive time frame” to end the war. “It will be at the president’s choosing, ultimately, where we say, ‘Hey, we’ve achieved what we need to.'”
– **’Unsanction’ Iran oil**
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Washington might “unsanction” Iranian oil that is already being shipped, to temper soaring energy prices. The US could also release more oil from its strategic reserves, he said.
– **Oil prices soar**
Oil prices surged 10 percent after Qatar reported “extensive” damage to the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility following Iranian strikes, sparking fears for global energy supplies. The price of European gas also jumped by more than a third after Tehran carried out attacks on Qatar’s huge Ras Laffan LNG facility.
– **Saudi, Kuwait refineries hit**
Drones struck a Saudi oil refinery on the Red Sea and caused fires at two others in Kuwait. Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said a drone crashed into the Samref refinery in the industrial zone of the Red Sea port of Yanbu, adding that damage assessment was underway. In Kuwait, drone attacks sparked blazes at the Mina Abdullah and Mina Al-Ahmadi refineries, which have a combined capacity of 800,000 barrels per day.
– **China slams Israel**
China condemned as “unacceptable” the killing of Iranian national security chief Ali Larijani by an Israeli air strike. “We have always opposed the use of force in international relations. The acts of killing Iranian state leaders and attacking civilian targets are even more unacceptable,” China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.
– **Two deaths in Iraq**
The former paramilitary coalition Hashed al-Shaabi in northern Iraq said two of its fighters were killed in the Nineveh region, where Mosul is located, and an airport in Salah al-Din province targeted in two strikes.
– **Iran executions**
Iran executed three people convicted of killing police officers and carrying out operations in favour of the United States and Israel during unrest earlier this year, the judiciary said.
– **Qatar contains gas fires**
Qatari civil defence teams have contained fires that erupted at a major gas facility following an Iranian attack, the interior ministry said. “Civil Defence has fully brought all fires under control in the Ras Laffan Industrial Area without any reported injuries. Cooling and site-securing operations are still ongoing,” it said.
– **’Not going to succumb’**
Saudi Arabia has not ruled out military action in response to repeated missile and drone attacks from Iran, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said. “The kingdom is not going to succumb to pressure, and on the contrary, this pressure will backfire… and certainly, as we have stated quite clearly, we have reserved the right to take military actions if deemed necessary,” he said.
– **Cathay suspends flights**
Hong Kong aviation giant Cathay Pacific has suspended flights to and from Dubai and Riyadh until the end of April over the Middle East war.
© 2024 AFP
