Paris (France) (AFP) – The latest developments in the Middle East war:
Several loud explosions were heard over Jerusalem after the Israeli military warned it had detected missiles inbound from Iran. AFP journalists heard at least six blasts. Earlier in the day, missile attacks on Tel Aviv and parts of central Israel wounded five Israelis, said the rescue services.
Two family members of slain Iranian general Qassem Soleimani have been arrested in the United States after their residency permits were rescinded, the US State Department said Saturday. Federal agents detained the niece and grand niece of Soleimani, killed in a US drone strike in the Iraqi capital Baghdad in January 2020 — the final year of US President Donald Trump’s first term in office.
Trump said Iran had 48 hours to make a deal on opening the vital Strait of Hormuz or face “Hell.” “Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Time is running out — 48 hours before all Hell will reign (sic) down on them,” the president said Saturday.
Israel’s military renewed strikes on the southern Lebanese city of Tyre after issuing evacuation warnings, following attacks on nearby buildings that damaged a hospital. Israel has carried out strikes across Lebanon and launched a ground invasion in the south after Hezbollah entered the war in the Middle East on the side of its backer Iran on March 2.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the war had led to a “geostrategic impasse” and called for new efforts to end the conflict, during a telephone conversation with NATO chief Mark Rutte, his office said.
US-Israeli strikes on Iran targeted a nuclear plant, a petrochemical hub, a trade terminal and a cement factory, Iranian media reported. A strike near the Bushehr nuclear power station killed a guard but caused no damage, the official IRNA news agency said. The UN’s nuclear watchdog said no increased radiation levels had been detected.
An Indian-flagged LPG tanker transited the Strait of Hormuz — the latest of several vessels to make it through the Gulf chokepoint in recent days. Turkey said a second Turkey-flagged ship also went through the strait. On Friday, tracking data showed one French-owned ship and one Japanese-owned vessel had passed through the previous day.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, on a visit to the Gulf, discussed energy issues with leader of gas-rich Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and “possible measures to mitigate the shocks suffered,” said her office.
An attack killed a fighter in the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) in Iraq, near the Syria border, the former paramilitary coalition said, blaming a US-Israeli strike. The PMF — now part of Iraq’s regular army but containing pro-Iran factions — has been repeatedly targeted since the outbreak of war on February 28.
Iran executed two men convicted of membership of a banned opposition group and carrying out actions aimed at overthrowing the Islamic republic. They were the latest in a series of executions targeting the banned People’s Mujahedin of Iran (MEK). Four members were executed earlier in the week.
Shrapnel from intercepted drones wounded four people in Bahrain, authorities said. Separately, two buildings in Dubai were hit by debris, including one housing the US cloud computing firm Oracle, United Arab Emirates authorities said.
Indonesia slammed as “unacceptable” an explosion that wounded three of its UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, just days after three other Indonesians were killed in separate incidents.
The Israeli army said its air defences responded to missiles fired from Iran, which medics reported wounded one person. Israel’s emergency services said a 45-year-old man was treated for minor injuries from glass shrapnel in the central city of Bnei Brak.
© 2024 AFP
