(AFP) – Here are the latest developments Wednesday in the Middle East war:
– **Khamenei vows revenge**
Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written message that the killers of security chief Ali Larijani, who died in an Israeli strike, “will have to pay for it.” “Every drop of spilled blood comes at a price, and the criminal murderers of these martyrs will soon have to pay it,” added Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since taking office. Russia has also condemned Larijani’s killing.
– **Blasts over Saudi capital**
Saudi Arabia said its air defences were countering ballistic missiles after AFP journalists heard loud explosions echoing over the capital Riyadh.
– **’Debris’ hits Israel airport**
The Israeli military told AFP that “debris” had hit Ben Gurion international airport following Iranian missile fire, without specifying when the incident occurred. Earlier, medics said missiles from Iran killed two people near Tel Aviv, bringing the death toll from missiles fired on the country to 14.
– **UAE, Qatar condemn gas field strikes**
United Arab Emirates condemned the targeting of Iranian facilities in a gas field shared with Qatar, calling the attack a “dangerous escalation.” Iran said the United States and Israel were responsible. Qatar also condemned Israeli attacks on facilities linked to Iran’s massive South Pars gas field — an extension of Qatar’s own North Field — as “dangerous and irresponsible.” Iran’s military said it would in turn “severely strike” energy infrastructure across the Gulf. Gas imports in Iraq, highly dependent on Iranian supplies, were immediately halted, authorities said, adding that it would have a knock-on effect on power supplies there.
– **NATO discusses Hormuz**
NATO chief Mark Rutte said allies were discussing the “best way” to re-open the Strait of Hormuz, the key oil corridor where Iran has choked off much of the world’s oil supply.
– **Iran confirms spy chief death**
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian confirmed what he called the “cowardly assassination” of the country’s top intelligence official, Esmail Khatib, who Israel said had been killed in a strike.
– **Germany ‘would have advised against’ war**
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Berlin “would have advised against” starting a war with Iran, had it been consulted by the US or Israel. While Tehran “bears responsibility” for the crisis in the region, Merz said Berlin had “made it clear that we still have many questions regarding this war,” and Israel and the US had shown “no convincing plan as to how this operation could succeed.”
– **Oil jumps**
Oil prices surged after the Israeli strike on South Pars. Brent North Sea crude jumped over five percent to $108.60 per barrel, while the main US oil contract West Texas Intermediate climbed 1.9 percent to $98.01.
– **Nuclear plant hit**
The UN nuclear watchdog said Iran reported a strike on the country’s only operational nuclear power plant but that it caused no damage. Russia, which helped build the plant and has staff on site, said it had received a report of a missile strike on the plant’s inner perimeter and called the attack “completely unacceptable.”
– **Women footballers return**
The Iranian women’s national football team, including several players who withdrew an asylum bid in Australia, crossed the Turkish border back into Iran. Seven members of the delegation had sought sanctuary in Australia last week after being branded “traitors” in Iran for refusing to sing the national anthem before their opening game at the Women’s Asian Cup. Five later changed their mind while two chose to remain in Australia.
– **Iran funerals**
Iran was to hold funerals in Tehran for slain security chief Ali Larijani and another powerful figure killed by Israel, Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij paramilitary force.
– **Iran executes Swedish national for spying**
Iran executed a Swedish citizen, Sweden’s foreign minister said, after Iranian authorities announced they had carried out capital punishment for an alleged Israeli spy. “It is with dismay that I have received information that a Swedish citizen was executed in Iran earlier today,” Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said in a statement.
© 2024 AFP
