Paris (France) (AFP) – Here are the latest events in the Middle East war:
– **Dubai airport drones**
Four people were injured after two drones fell near Dubai’s airport, the government said, with air traffic operating as normal.
– **G7 ‘ready’ on oil reserves**
G7 energy ministers said they “stand ready” to take “all necessary measures” in coordination with the International Energy Agency (IEA) to tackle the rise in crude oil prices. Earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that the IEA had proposed its largest ever release of oil reserves to counter soaring crude prices. Asian stocks extended gains and crude prices fell following the WSJ report.
– **Another ship hit off UAE**
A second container ship was hit off the coast of the UAE by an unidentified projectile, a British maritime security agency said. All crew were safe in both incidents.
– **Supreme leader ‘safe’**
Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is “safe and sound” despite reported injuries, the son of Iran’s president said on Telegram. “I heard news that Mr. Mojtaba Khamenei had been injured. I have asked some friends who had connections. They told me that, thank God, he is safe and sound,” said Yousef Pezeshkian, who is also a government adviser. State television had called Khamenei a “wounded veteran of the Ramadan war” but never specified his injury.
– **Ship hit in Hormuz**
An unknown projectile hit a cargo ship in the strategic Strait of Hormuz abutting Iran, causing a fire and forcing the crew to evacuate, a maritime security agency said.
– **Doha explosions**
Several blasts rang out across the Qatari capital Doha, AFP correspondents said.
– **Israel hits Beirut**
An Israeli strike hit an apartment in central Beirut, state media reported, the second targeting the heart of the Lebanese capital since the start of the latest war with Iran-backed Hezbollah. Fresh Israeli strikes had earlier hit Beirut’s southern suburbs and south Lebanon after the Israeli army warned people to evacuate, with Lebanese authorities saying nearly 760,000 people had been registered as displaced.
– **Protester ‘enemies’**
Iranian protesters will be treated as enemies if they support Tehran’s foes, the country’s top police officer warned. “If anyone comes forward in line with the wishes of the enemy, we will no longer see them as merely a protester, we will see them as an enemy,” national police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan, in comments aired by state broadcaster IRIB.
– **New strikes on Israel**
Israel’s military said it had detected a new round of missiles heading towards the country from Iran and had activated air defenses. The barrage was “the most intense and heaviest since the start of the war”, Iranian state broadcaster IRIB said, citing a statement from Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards.
– **Saudi intercepts missiles, drones**
Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted six ballistic missiles launched toward Prince Sultan Air Base and a seventh missile headed towards the country’s east. It said it had also intercepted seven drones heading towards an oil field in the southeast of the country and eight more in the country’s east.
– **Iran targets US base in Kuwait**
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that at least two missiles targeted a United States base in Kuwait, according to Iranian news agencies Fars and Mehr. Kuwaiti authorities have not yet commented on the reports.
– **Mine-laying vessels struck**
The US military said it had destroyed 16 mine-laying Iranian boats near the Strait of Hormuz, after President Donald Trump warned of a drastic escalation if Iran moved to mine the pivotal waterway.
– **Iran women’s football asylum seekers**
Another player and a support member with the Iranian women’s football team have claimed asylum in Australia after being branded “traitors” at home over a pre-match protest, the government said. They join five other athletes who have sought asylum, while the rest of the team departed for Malaysia.
– **Iranian diplomats killed in Beirut**
Iran accused Israel of killing four of its diplomats in a weekend strike on a seafront Beirut hotel in what it called a “terrorist attack”. The Israeli military previously said it had “conducted a precise strike targeting key commanders” in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, its foreign operations arm.
© 2024 AFP
