(AFP) – The latest developments in the Middle East war:
Iran threatens to close Hormuz again
Iran will close the strategic Strait of Hormuz again if the United States continues its blockade of Iranian ports, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Saturday. “With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open,” Ghalibaf wrote on X, adding that passage through the waterway would depend on authorisation from Iran.
Trump says US will bring uranium back from Iran
President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States and Iran would jointly remove uranium from Tehran’s nuclear sites with excavators under any peace deal, before the material is transferred to US territory. Trump’s comment came despite Iran’s foreign ministry saying earlier that the Islamic Republic’s stockpile of enriched uranium would not be transferred “anywhere.”
Oil prices drop, stocks soar
Wall Street topped records Friday after Iran’s announcement reopening the Strait of Hormuz sent oil prices tumbling from a peak of nearly $120 a barrel to $90.38 for the Brent.
Lebanon-Israel ‘agreements’
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said that his country was on the verge of a “new phase” of “permanent agreements” and no longer an “arena” for anyone’s wars, after a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war went into force. Aoun added that direct talks with Israel were “not a sign of weakness nor a concession… negotiations do not mean, and will never mean, giving up any right, conceding any principle, or compromising the sovereignty of this nation.”
Kurds killed
Drone and rocket strikes in Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region killed three Iranian Kurds, including two women fighters, an exiled opposition group said, blaming the attack on Iran.
Iran deal ‘very close’
US President Donald Trump told AFP there were “no sticking points” left for a peace deal with Iran, adding that an agreement was “very close.” “We’re very close to having a deal,” Trump said in a brief telephone interview. Asked what unresolved issues were left, Trump said: “No sticking points.”
Boeing’s war boost
The Middle East war has so far boosted Boeing’s defense business and hasn’t affected deliveries to airline customers confronting high jet fuel prices, the company’s CEO said. Kelly Ortberg cited a recent agreement with the US military to triple production of PAC-3 seekers, which identify and strike hostile aircraft and weapons, as an example of increased demand due to the war.
One killed despite truce
Lebanese state media said an Israeli strike on a motorcycle in the south killed one person, despite the start of a 10-day ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war.
Israel killed 2,300 in Lebanon
Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed nearly 2,300 people since March 2, Lebanon’s health ministry said, on the first day of the ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war. In a statement, the ministry said that at least 2,294 have been killed, in a preliminary toll that included 274 women, 177 children, and 100 health workers and rescuers.
France, UK Hormuz mission
France and the UK will lead a multinational mission to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz as “soon as conditions allow,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said after co-chairing a meeting on the issue with French President Emmanuel Macron.
© 2024 AFP
