Paris (France) (AFP) – Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war on Monday:
– **Israel kills 1 near Beirut**
An Israeli strike on Hazmieh east of Beirut killed at least one person, Lebanon’s health ministry said. This marks the second strike on the residential Christian area amidst the ongoing fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. The Israeli military stated that it had “struck an IRGC Quds Force terrorist in Beirut,” referring to the foreign operations arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
– **Targeting Hormuz ‘economic terrorism’**
The chief of the UAE’s state energy company ADNOC slammed Tehran’s effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has resulted in a surge in oil prices, as “economic terrorism against every nation.” “No country should be allowed to hold Hormuz hostage,” Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber stated during virtual remarks at the annual CERAWeek conference in Houston.
– **Trump claims ‘regime change’ in Iran**
US President Donald Trump claimed that “regime change” was effectively underway in Iran, while cautioning that if talks with Iranian figures contacted by Washington do not succeed, then bombings will continue. Trump clarified that the talks were not with Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, but with individuals he described as “very reasonable.” He mentioned that so many top officials had already been killed in the conflict that “there’s automatically a regime change.”
– **Iran must abandon nuclear: Trump**
Trump, however, stated that there are “major points of agreement” in the discussions with Iran, emphasizing that Tehran must give up its nuclear ambitions and its enriched uranium stockpile.
– **Israel strikes Lebanon bridge**
The Israeli military struck a bridge linking southern Lebanon with the eastern Bekaa region, according to state media, following warnings that it would target the crossing. This strike is part of a series of attacks on bridges over Lebanon’s Litani River, located approximately 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of Israel, including the key Qasmiyeh bridge on Sunday.
– **Oil disruption ‘temporary’**
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright claimed that oil market disruptions are “temporary,” as costs surge amidst the ongoing war. “Prices have not risen high enough yet to drive meaningful demand destruction,” he stated at the CERAWeek conference.
– **UN Lebanon peacekeeper HQ struck**
The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon reported that its headquarters in Naqura was hit by a projectile, likely launched by a “non-state actor,” after Hezbollah announced it had targeted Israeli forces in the same area. Since Saturday, this coastal town in Lebanon’s far south has been a flashpoint between Hezbollah and the Israeli army.
– **’Grateful’ Merz**
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed his gratitude to Trump for delaying previously threatened strikes on Iranian power plants.
– **War going ‘very well’: Trump**
Trump informed AFP that “things are going very well” with Iran, shortly after announcing talks with Tehran and a five-day pause on targeting the Islamic Republic’s power plants.
– **Iran media report no US-Iran talks**
In contrast, Iranian media denied Trump’s claims of negotiations between Iran and the United States. “There are no talks between Tehran and Washington,” declared the Mehr news agency, citing Iran’s foreign ministry and adding that Trump’s statements were part of efforts “to reduce energy prices.” Other Iranian media outlets echoed similar reports.
– **Russia-Iran call**
Russia called for a “political and diplomatic” settlement to the war shortly after Trump’s announcement. In a call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov urged an “immediate cessation of hostilities and a political settlement that takes into account the legitimate interests of all parties involved, especially Iran,” according to the Russian foreign ministry.
– **Markets rollercoaster**
Trump’s announcement that the US and Iran were negotiating triggered a significant market reaction, with crude prices plummeting by as much as 14 percent after previously rising by about one percent earlier in the day.
– **Aircraft carrier return**
The USS Gerald Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier and a key player in the Middle East war, has returned to a base in Crete, as reported by an AFP journalist. The vessel, which took on food, fuel, and ammunition at Souda Bay in February, also reported a laundry fire on March 12 that injured two crew members.
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© 2024 AFP
