Paris – Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:
Israel reports Yemen missile fire
Israel’s military reported on Saturday a first missile launch from Yemen since the Middle East war began on February 28.
There were no reports of any casualties or damage in Israel. Yemen’s Houthi movement warned on Friday it would join the war if US-Israeli attacks continue to hit its ally Iran or if more countries join the conflict.
Thailand-Iran deal on Hormuz strait
Thailand has reached an agreement with Iran to allow Thai oil vessels to travel through the Strait of Hormuz, its prime minister said Saturday.
“An agreement has been reached to allow Thai oil tankers to transit safely through the Strait of Hormuz,” Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said at a press conference, adding the development would alleviate concerns over fuel imports.
Five injured in UAE
UAE authorities said fires broke out early Saturday at an industrial zone following a missile and drone attack from Iran, leaving five people with injuries.
The United Arab Emirates’ defence ministry said air defences were responding to incoming cruise missiles and drones fired by Iran.
Iran plant near Bushehr targeted
A strike hit near Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant late Friday but caused no radiation leak or damage to the reactor, the UN atomic watchdog said.
The incident was the third in a series of reported strikes in Iran within the past 10 days, the IAEA said.
The Israeli military had said earlier it had struck a heavy water reactor and a uranium processing plant in central Iran, but did not mention Bushehr.
Israel hits Tehran
Israel’s military said it launched strikes on Iranian “regime targets” early Saturday, as an AFP journalist in the capital Tehran reported hearing around 10 intense blasts and seeing a plume of black smoke.
At least 12 US soldiers wounded in Saudi Arabia
An Iranian attack on a base in Saudi Arabia has wounded at least 12 American soldiers, two of them seriously, US media reported Friday.
The attack on the Prince Sultan Air Base included at least one missile and several drones, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified officials.
More than 300 American troops have been wounded since the start of the war on February 28, according to the US Central Command.
NATO ‘weren’t there’ for Trump
US President Donald Trump reiterated his disappointment with NATO allies over their refusal to send military to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.
“They just weren’t there,” he said at an investment forum in Miami. “We spend hundreds of billions of dollars a year on NATO, hundreds, protecting them, and we would have always been there for them, but now, based on their actions, I guess we don’t have to be, do we?”
“Why would we be there for them if they’re not there for us? They weren’t there for us.”
Trump also said the Iranians “have to open up the Strait of Trump”, immediately correcting himself to clarify he meant Hormuz but adding that “there’s no accidents with me”.
Saudi Arabia intercepts missile
Saudi Arabia said it “intercepted and destroyed” a missile targeting the area of the capital Riyadh.
Lebanon clashes
Israel’s military struck Beirut’s southern suburbs Friday, saying it was targeting Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
In south Lebanon, Hezbollah said its fighters had clashed with “Israeli enemy army forces… with light and medium weapons”.
Man killed in Israel
Israeli emergency responders said a man died in Tel Aviv on Friday and several others wounded across the country after the military reported missiles fired from Iran.
A Home Front Command official said a cluster bomb, which explodes mid-air and scatters bomblets across a wide area, was used in the attack.
Hopes for Iran meeting ‘this week’
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said he believed Iran would hold talks with Washington “this week” to end the month-long war.
“We think there will be meetings this week, we’re certainly hopeful for it,” Witkoff told a business forum in Miami. “We have a 15-point plan on the table. We expect the Iranians to respond. It could solve it all.”
Iran vows ‘heavy price’ for plant strikes
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would exact a “HEAVY price for Israeli crimes”, after attacks on two of the country’s largest steel factories and nuclear sites.
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Source: AFP
