(AFP) – The latest developments in the Middle East war:
– **China rejects US sanctions**
China will not comply with US sanctions against five firms targeted for purchasing Iranian oil, Beijing’s commerce ministry said on Saturday. China, a key customer for Iranian oil, stated that the US sanctions “improperly prohibit or restrict” the firms’ normal business.
– **NATO seeks details on US pullout**
A NATO spokeswoman announced that the alliance was seeking more information from Washington regarding its decision to pull 5,000 troops from Germany as the Iran war deepens transatlantic tensions. The US announcement followed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s comments that Iran was “humiliating” President Donald Trump’s administration in negotiations, which angered the American leader.
– **US Navy ‘acting like pirates’**
President Donald Trump expressed that the US Navy was acting “like pirates” while describing an operation that involved seizing a ship amid the tit-for-tat American blockade of Iranian ports. “We… land on top of it and we took over the ship. We took over the cargo, took over the oil. It’s a very profitable business,” Trump remarked at a rally in Florida. “We’re like pirates,” he added, eliciting cheers from the crowd. “We’re sort of like pirates. But we’re not playing games.”
– **Troop withdrawal ‘expected’**
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius indicated that the withdrawal of 5,000 American troops from Germany had been anticipated and emphasized that Europe needed to take greater responsibility for its own security. “That US troops are withdrawing from Europe and also from Germany was to be expected,” Boris Pistorius said in a statement sent to AFP by his ministry. “We Europeans must take greater responsibility for our security,” he added.
– **Renewed war ‘likely’**
A senior Iranian military officer stated on Saturday that renewed fighting between the United States and Iran was “likely,” shortly after Trump remarked that he was “not satisfied” with a new Iranian negotiating proposal. Mohammad Jafar Asadi, a senior figure in the Iranian military’s central command, expressed that “a renewed conflict between Iran and the United States is likely,” according to quotes published by Iran’s Fars news agency. “Evidence has shown that the United States is not committed to any promises or agreements,” he added.
– **Iran executions**
Iran hanged two men on Saturday who were convicted of spying for Israel, as reported by the judiciary, marking the latest in a series of executions in recent weeks. “Yaghoub Karimpour and Nasser Bekrzadeh were hanged for the crime of intelligence cooperation and espionage in favour of the Zionist regime,” stated the judiciary’s Mizan Online website. It was not immediately clear when the two men were arrested.
– **Lebanon says 13 killed in strikes**
Lebanon’s health ministry reported that 13 people were killed on Friday in Israeli strikes in the country’s south, including in a town where Israel’s army had issued an evacuation order despite a ceasefire.
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© 2024 AFP
