Paris – Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:
Iran threatens US sites
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Saturday threatened to target US sites in the Middle East and “enemy ships” if its tankers come under fire, Iranian media reported.
“Any attack on Iranian tankers and commercial vessels will result in a heavy attack on one of the American centres in the region and enemy ships,” it said, a day after US attacks against two Iranian tankers in the Gulf of Oman.
Rubio meets with Qatari leader
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Saturday with the leader of ally Qatar and discussed the importance of “security across the Middle East,” the State Department said, highlighting the Gulf state’s role as a key intermediary for Washington as it awaited Tehran’s response on a peace proposal.
“The Secretary expressed appreciation for Qatar’s partnership on a range of issues,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement on the meeting between Rubio and Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who is also Qatar’s foreign minister.
Hezbollah says targeted Israeli troops
Hezbollah said Saturday it had targeted troops in northern Israel with a drone in response to repeated Israeli attacks on Lebanon despite an ongoing truce between the two sides.
It also announced attacks on Israeli military targets inside Lebanon using rockets and drones.
An Israeli military statement reported “several” explosive drone launches by Hezbollah into Israeli territory, saying one army reservist had been severely wounded.
Deadly Israeli strikes in Lebanon
Lebanese officials reported nine people killed in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon Saturday, with more raids targeting a highway south of Beirut outside Hezbollah’s traditional strongholds and far from the centre of ongoing fighting.
Lebanese official media reported a new Israeli strike outside Beirut, moments after two strikes on a highway linking the capital to the country’s south.
The fresh attacks came in spite of a three-week-old ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah that has done little to halt daily exchanges of fire, mostly in south Lebanon.
Iran keeps US waiting
Iran questioned the seriousness of US diplomacy after naval clashes in the Gulf, and kept Washington waiting on its response to the latest American proposal for a deal to extend the truce and launch peace talks.
On Saturday, there was no public sign of Iran’s reply to the proposal, despite US President Donald Trump saying late Friday he expected to receive it that night.
EU appeal over South Lebanon
European Union crisis management chief Hadja Lahbib on Saturday urged increased humanitarian access in south Lebanon, where Israel and Hezbollah have maintained hostilities despite the ceasefire.
“Humanitarian aid is ready, but too often it cannot reach those who need it most,” Lahbib told journalists on the second day of her visit to Lebanon, ahead of an expected EU aid delivery.
UK sends warship
The United Kingdom said it would send a destroyer to the Middle East ahead of any international mission to help protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The mission is to be co-led by Britain and France, which have previously emphasised it would be separate from the US war deployment in the region.
Iran commits to World Cup
Iran’s football federation said its men’s national team would take part in the 2026 World Cup this summer, but demanded that joint hosts the United States, Mexico and Canada agree to its conditions amid the Middle East war.
They include visas being granted; respect for the national team’s staff, Iran’s flag and national anthem; as well as demands for high security at airports, hotels and routes to the stadiums where they will play.
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Source: AFP
