Paris (France) (AFP) – Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:
– **Trump says Iran has undergone ‘regime change’**
US President Donald Trump said Sunday that the US-Israel war had achieved regime change in Iran. “We’re dealing with different people than anybody’s dealt with before. It’s a whole different group of people. So I would consider that regime change,” Trump said.
– **Iran strikes Kuwait power station**
An Iranian strike on a power station in Kuwait killed one Indian worker and damaged a building at the site, the Gulf state’s electricity ministry said Monday.
– **Israel boosts defense spending**
Israel’s parliament passed its 2026 budget early Monday, including about $10 billion in new military spending, bringing the country’s total defense budget to about $45 billion.
– **Israel renews strikes on Iran**
The Israeli military said late Sunday that it had launched new strikes on targets across Iran’s capital Tehran.
– **Power cuts in Iran**
Iran’s energy ministry has reported power outages in Tehran, following what it said were “attacks on electricity industry facilities.”
– **Pakistan talks**
Pakistan said on Sunday that it was ready to broker and host “meaningful talks” between the United States and Iran to bring an end to their war, outlining growing support for its peace efforts, including from the United Nations and China. Foreign ministers from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey met in Islamabad.
– **Ambassador refuses**
Iran’s ambassador will not leave Lebanon despite being declared persona non grata and ordered to quit the country by Sunday, an Iranian diplomatic source has told AFP. Lebanon’s foreign ministry accused him of making statements “interfering in Lebanon’s internal politics.”
– **University hit**
A university in Iran’s central city of Isfahan said it was hit by US-Israeli airstrikes for the second time since the war erupted.
– **Kuwait attack**
Kuwait’s defense ministry said 10 service members were injured in an attack on a military camp, as Iran continues targeting positions in the region.
– **Lebanon toll rises**
Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes had killed 1,238 people in the country since the start of the latest war with Hezbollah on March 2.
– **Israeli expansion**
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered his military to “further expand” a security zone in Lebanon.
– **30 days offline**
Iran’s nationwide internet blackout has now lasted 30 days, leaving millions cut off from information and communication since the war began.
– **Iran missile unit**
The Israeli military said it had attacked a key production facility in Tehran used by Iran’s defense ministry to manufacture components for ballistic missiles.
– **Israeli industrial zone hit**
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had struck an industrial complex in southern Israel with ballistic missiles. AFP footage from the ground showed the charred shell of a warehouse billowing thick clouds of white, grey, and black smoke, while fire engines trained powerful jets of water on the blaze. The Israeli military said the impact in the zone could be from “missile shrapnel.”
– **US ‘planning ground attack’**
Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the United States was “secretly planning a ground attack” despite publicly engaging in diplomatic efforts to end the war.
– **Aircraft carrier threat**
Iran’s navy chief Shahram Irani said the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier would be targeted by the Islamic republic if it comes within range.
– **Journalists’ funeral**
Lebanon held a funeral for three journalists killed by an Israeli strike the previous day in the south of the country. The Israeli military said it carried out the attack to assassinate Ali Shoeib, a veteran correspondent for Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV, whom it accused, without providing evidence, of working as a Hezbollah operative.
– **Qatari TV office hit**
Qatari news channel Al Araby said an Israeli missile hit a building housing its office in Tehran, causing damage and, according to the Iranian Red Crescent, wounding 10 people.
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© 2024 AFP
