**Paris (France) (AFP)** – Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:
– **Trump makes fresh threats**
President Donald Trump issued a new warning to Iran on Sunday, saying the Islamic republic had to move quickly to end the conflict that has shaken the Middle East and sent energy prices climbing. “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!” The war began February 28, when US and Israeli forces launched major strikes on the Islamic republic, but peace negotiations have stalled since the April 8 ceasefire and sporadic attacks continue.
– **Israeli strikes in Lebanon**
An Israeli missile strike on an apartment in eastern Lebanon on Sunday killed an Islamic Jihad commander and his 17-year-old daughter, according to Lebanese state media. Emergency workers were searching the rubble for survivors of the blast on the outskirts of the city of Baalbek. Meanwhile, Israeli strikes on towns in southern Lebanon killed five people, including two children, and left at least 15 people wounded, the Lebanese health ministry reported. Israeli attacks since the start of the war have killed more than 2,900 people in Lebanon, including over 400 since the truce began on April 17, according to Lebanese authorities.
– **Saudi Arabia intercepts drones**
Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday that it had intercepted and destroyed three drones that had entered from Iraqi airspace. Defence ministry spokesman Turki al-Maliki noted that the drones entered on Sunday morning and that the ministry “reserves the right to respond at the appropriate time and place.”
– **Israeli kills 5 in Gaza**
Israeli strikes and gunfire on Sunday killed five people in Gaza, where at least 871 people have been killed in persistent violence since an October ceasefire, as reported by health officials in the Palestinian territory. Prime Minister Netanyahu stated Israel has almost achieved its goal of eliminating all those responsible for orchestrating the October 7 attack. “I promised that every single architect of the massacre and the hostage-taking would be eliminated down to the last one, and we are very close to completing this mission,” Netanyahu said during the weekly cabinet meeting.
– **No US concessions**
Iranian media reported that Washington 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 stated, “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 reported, with no injuries or impact on radiation levels. The fire occurred “in an electrical generator outside the inner perimeter of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the Al Dhafra Region, caused by a drone strike,” according to the Abu Dhabi Media Office. Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry condemned the attack as a “threat” to the region, a sentiment echoed by UN nuclear agency chief Rafael Grossi, who stated that “military activity that threatens nuclear safety is unacceptable.”
– **Pakistani mediators in Tehran**
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met on Sunday in Tehran with Iran’s chief negotiator and speaker of parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Ghalibaf remarked, “Some governments in the region believed that the presence of the United States would bring them security, but recent events showed that this presence is not only incapable of providing security, but also creates the grounds for insecurity.” Islamabad has been mediating peace talks between Iran and the US and last month hosted a high-stakes meeting between delegations from both sides.
© 2024 AFP
