(AFP) – The latest developments in the Middle East war:
– **US mulls Iran proposal**
The White House said Monday it was examining Iran’s latest proposal to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, two months after a US and Israeli offensive sent shockwaves through the global economy. President Donald Trump met top security advisors to discuss an Iranian proposal after Tehran passed “written messages” to Washington via Pakistan, spelling out its red lines in negotiations including on nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz, the Fars news agency reported. The proposal was “being discussed,” spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told a White House briefing.
– **Oil rises, stocks drop**
Oil prices jumped and stocks sank Tuesday as the Iran-US impasse dragged on and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained choked.
– **Iran security guarantees**
Iran needs guarantees against another US-Israeli attack before it can ensure security in the oil-rich Gulf, Tehran’s envoy to the United Nations said Monday. “A durable and permanent cessation of aggression against Iran supplemented by credible guarantees of non-recurrence and full respect for the legitimate sovereign rights and interests of Iran” were needed, Amir Saeid Iravani told a Security Council session.
– **Four dead in Lebanon**
Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on the country’s south on Monday killed four people including a woman and wounded 51 others, three of them children, despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
– **Israel’s ‘year of fighting’**
Israel’s chief of staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir warned that the country’s military was likely to be fighting on multiple fronts throughout 2026, as it fights wars against Iran and Tehran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. “Since 7 October (2023), the IDF has been engaged in fighting in an ongoing multi-front campaign … 2026 is likely to be another year of fighting on all of those fronts,” he said, citing the date of Hamas’s attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war.
– **Hezbollah ‘threats’**
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said rockets and drones possessed by Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah remained a key threat that demanded further military action by Israel’s military in Lebanon. “There are still two central threats from Hezbollah: the 122mm rockets and the drones. This demands a combination of operational and technological activity,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “They have about 10 percent of the missiles they had at the start of the war. But these still trouble the residents of the north,” he added.
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© 2024 AFP
