(AFP) – The latest developments in the Middle East war:
**Iran sites hit**
US-Israeli strikes on Iran targeted a nuclear plant, a petrochemical hub, a trade terminal, and a cement factory, Iranian media reported. An attack near the Bushehr nuclear power station killed one of the facility’s guards but caused no damage, the official IRNA news agency said. The UN’s IAEA nuclear watchdog stated that no increased radiation levels had been detected. The strike occurred just minutes before Russia began the evacuation of 198 more of its workers from the Bushehr plant, which it helped build and assists in operating. An attack on a petrochemical hub in the southwestern port city of Mahshahr wounded five people, according to the Fars news agency. Iranian media reported that a strike on a trade terminal in Khorramshahr, on the border with Iraq, killed one person. The ISNA news agency identified the fatality as an Iraqi driver, and noted that two Iranian workers were wounded. Another strike hit a cement factory in the southern port of Bandar Khamir, as reported by Tasnim news agency. Iran’s science minister, Hossein Simai Sarraf, stated that “more than 30 universities” had been targeted since the war began.
**Ships through Hormuz**
An Indian-flagged LPG tanker transited through the Strait of Hormuz, marking the latest of several vessels to successfully navigate the Gulf chokepoint in recent days. Turkey reported that a second Turkey-flagged ship also went through the strait. On Friday, tracking data indicated that one French-owned ship and one Japanese-owned vessel had passed through as well. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced on Saturday that they targeted an Israel-linked ship in a drone attack at a Bahrain port, setting it on fire. The ship was identified as the MSC Ishyka.
**Israel tells Lebanese to evacuate**
Israel, which is simultaneously targeting the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah in Lebanon, issued an “urgent warning” for residents in parts of the Lebanese city of Tyre and nearby areas to evacuate. Earlier, Lebanon’s health ministry reported that Israeli airstrikes in Tyre had wounded 11 people and damaged several buildings, including a major hospital.
**Italy PM talks energy**
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, during her visit to the Gulf, discussed energy issues with the leader of gas-rich Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. They touched on “possible measures to mitigate the shocks suffered,” according to her office.
**Iraqi fighter killed**
An attack killed a fighter in the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) in Iraq, near the Syria border. The former paramilitary coalition blamed a US-Israeli strike for the incident. The PMF, which is now part of Iraq’s regular army but includes pro-Iran factions, has been repeatedly targeted since the outbreak of war on February 28.
**Iran executions**
Iran executed two men convicted of membership in a banned opposition group and for carrying out actions aimed at overthrowing the Islamic republic. These executions were the latest in a series targeting the banned People’s Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), with four other members executed earlier in the week.
**Four injured in Bahrain**
Authorities in Bahrain reported that shrapnel from intercepted drones injured four people. Separately, two buildings in Dubai were struck by debris, including one housing the US cloud computing firm Oracle, according to United Arab Emirates officials.
**Peacekeepers wounded**
Indonesia condemned as “unacceptable” an explosion that wounded three of its UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, occurring just days after three other Indonesians were killed in separate incidents. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) stated that the blast occurred inside a UN facility near El Adeisse on Friday. Indonesia emphasized the “urgent need to strengthen protection for UN peacekeeping forces.” A UN security official informed AFP that Israeli forces had destroyed 17 surveillance cameras linked to UNIFIL’s headquarters in southern Lebanon within 24 hours. The bodies of the three Indonesians were returned to their home country on Saturday.
**Missiles fired at Israel**
The Israeli army reported that its air defenses intercepted missiles fired from Iran, which medics indicated resulted in one injury. Israel’s emergency services revealed that a 45-year-old man was treated for minor injuries caused by glass shrapnel in the central city of Bnei Brak.
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© 2024 AFP
