Paris (France) (AFP) – The latest developments in the Middle East war:
– **French peacekeeper killed**
A French soldier was killed and three others wounded in an attack on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon that appeared to have been carried out by Hezbollah, French President Emmanuel Macron said. “Everything points to Hezbollah being responsible for this attack,” he said on X, urging Lebanese authorities to arrest the perpetrators. Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a 10-day ceasefire on Thursday in order to negotiate an end to six weeks of war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
– **Israeli ‘yellow line’**
The Israeli military said it had established a “Yellow Line” demarcation in the part of southern Lebanon it has invaded, similar to the one separating its forces from territory still held by Hamas in Gaza. The army added it had already struck suspected militants approaching its troops along the line.
– **Hezbollah ‘not concerned’ with talks**
Senior Hezbollah official Mahmud Qamati said his group was not concerned by Lebanon’s planned direct talks with Israel, labelling them a failure. Qamati said in Beirut his group was “not concerned with the negotiations being conducted by the state,” dubbing them “a failure, weak, defeated…and submissive negotiations.”
– **No date for Iran-US talks**
No date has been set for the next round of Iran–US peace talks brokered by Pakistan following the failure of an initial round, Iran’s deputy foreign minister said. “Until we agree on the framework, we cannot set a date,” Saeed Khatibzadeh told journalists in Turkey. Khatibzadeh said both sides were currently focused on finalising a framework of understanding before proceeding with further negotiations.
– **Gunboats fire on tanker**
Iranian gunboats fired on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, a British maritime security agency reported. The tanker’s captain reported being approached 20 nautical miles northeast of Oman by two gunboats of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC), which without any radio warning “then fired upon the tanker,” the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre said in an online statement. “Tanker and crew are reported safe. Authorities are investigating.”
– **Supreme leader’s warning**
A statement said to have been issued by Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, warned that Tehran’s navy was ready to defeat US forces. In a statement on his Telegram channel, Khamenei — who has not been seen in public since before the start of the war — said Iran’s “brave navy stands ready to make the enemies taste the bitterness of new defeats.”
– **Trump ‘talks a lot’**
US President Donald Trump “tweets a lot,” Khatibzadeh also said, after Washington threatened fresh strikes if no deal was reached with Tehran. “The American side tweets a lot, talks a lot. Sometimes confusing, sometimes, you know, contradictory,” he told journalists.
– **Egypt hopeful of peace**
Egypt and Pakistan are working “very hard” as mediators to bring about “a final agreement between the United States and Iran,” Egypt’s foreign minister said. “We hope to do so (reach an agreement) in the coming days,” Badr Abdelatty said, adding: “We are pushing very hard in order to move forward.”
– **Hormuz closed again**
Iran’s central military command said it would resume “strict management” of the Strait of Hormuz, reversing a decision to unblock the strategic channel as part of negotiations with Washington. In a statement shared on state television, the headquarters said Washington had broken a promise by continuing its naval blockade of ships sailing to and from Iran’s ports.
– **Turkey slams Israel**
Turkey’s foreign minister accused Israel of using security as a pretext to acquire “more land.” “Israel is not after its own security. Israel is after more land. Security is being used by the Netanyahu government as an excuse to occupy more land,” Hakan Fidan told the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
© 2024 AFP
