Paris (France) (AFP) – Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:
– **No US concessions**
Iranian media said Washington had failed to make any concrete concessions in its latest response to Iran’s proposed agenda for negotiations to end the war. The Mehr news agency reported: “The United States, offering no tangible concessions, wants to obtain concessions that it failed to obtain during the war, which will lead to an impasse in the negotiations.”
– **Drone strike outside UAE nuclear plant**
A drone strike triggered a fire near a nuclear power station in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, authorities said, reporting no injuries or impact on radiation levels. The fire was “in an electrical generator outside the inner perimeter of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the Al Dhafra Region, caused by a drone strike,” the Abu Dhabi Media Office stated. Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN’s nuclear agency, condemned the attack, saying on X that “military activity that threatens nuclear safety is unacceptable.”
– **’Constructive’ World Cup meeting**
FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom described as “excellent” and “constructive” a meeting held on Saturday in Istanbul with the Iranian federation to ensure Iran’s participation in the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The Iranians are scheduled to be based and play all three of their group matches in the US, despite the ongoing war in the Middle East.
– **Fresh Israeli strikes**
Israeli strikes targeted eastern and southern Lebanon, state media reported, despite a fragile ceasefire. A Hezbollah lawmaker labeled Lebanon’s negotiations with Israel a “dead-end.” Two Israeli strikes hit the town of Sohmor in eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa valley, as reported by the state-run National News Agency, which added that others occurred across southern Lebanon.
– **Iran’s speaker to China**
Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who recently emerged as a chief negotiator in talks with the United States, has been appointed to oversee relations with China, according to Iranian media. It was not immediately clear who appointed Ghalibaf to this role, but the Tasnim news agency, citing informal sources, mentioned that he would “coordinate various sectors of relations between Iran and China.”
© 2024 AFP
