Paris (France) (AFP) – Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:
– **Syria ‘harmony’**
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said he is working to keep his country out of the war. “It is important to remember that Syria has always been an arena of conflict and strife during the past 15 years and before that, but today it is in harmony with all neighbouring countries regionally and internationally,” he said, adding that Damascus stood “in full solidarity with the Arab states”.
– **UK ‘participation’**
Iran’s foreign minister told his UK counterpart in a phone call that Tehran would view any US use of British bases as “participation in aggression.” “These actions will certainly be regarded as participation in aggression and will be recorded in the history of relations between the two countries,” said Abbas Araghchi, according to a statement released by Iran’s foreign ministry, which did not say when the phone call took place.
– **Guards’ spokesman killed**
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement on their website that their spokesman, Ali Mohammad Naini, had been killed in US-Israeli strikes. Earlier, Naini refuted remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Iran could no longer produce ballistic missiles, saying there was “no concern” and “even under wartime conditions we continue missile production”.
– **Crude prices dip**
Crude prices slipped, after US and Israeli leaders said that Israel would no longer target any more of Tehran’s energy infrastructure.
– **Sri Lanka refusal**
Sri Lanka refused permission to the United States to station two of its warplanes at an airport in the island’s south in early March, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told parliament. Sri Lanka maintains close ties with the United States, its biggest export market, and Iran which is a key buyer of tea, its main export commodity.
– **Gulf attacks**
Drone attacks hit Kuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery, causing several fires but no casualties, state media said. Earlier, Kuwaiti and Emirati authorities said air defences were responding to missile and drone attacks and Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said it had intercepted and destroyed more than a dozen drones in the country’s east and another in the north. Bahrain’s interior ministry said that shrapnel from an “Iranian aggression” caused a fire at a warehouse, which was brought under control and resulted in no injuries.
– **UAE arrests**
UAE authorities have arrested at least five members of a “terrorist network” linked to Iran and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, state media said. The alleged network had “sought to infiltrate the national economy” as part of “a pre-established strategic plan in coordination with external parties linked to Hezbollah and Iran”, the official WAM news agency said, citing the UAE State Security Apparatus.
– **Tehran strikes**
The Israeli military said it launched a wave of strikes on Tehran, following Iranian missile fire at Israel overnight. A military statement said Israeli forces had “begun a wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime across Tehran.”
– **Jerusalem blasts**
Israel’s military said it had identified three rounds of missile fire in the hour and a half preceding midnight (2200 GMT), and another a few hours later. AFP reporters heard several loud blasts over Jerusalem late Thursday night. The Magen David Adom emergency services reported no casualties, but police said there was damage in several locations.
– **Migration fears**
European Union leaders vowed to “fully mobilise” to prevent “uncontrolled migratory movements” towards the 27-nation bloc, as the Iran war sparked concerns of a repeat of a 2015 migration crisis during Syria’s civil war.
– **Qatar gas exports**
Qatar’s energy minister said attacks on the country’s energy installations would slash its export capacity of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 17 percent and take three to five years to repair. “We will be compelled to declare force majeure for up to five years on some long-term LNG contracts,” Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said in a statement.
– **War’s end**
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a press conference he saw “this war ending a lot faster than people think.” “We are winning and Iran is being decimated,” Netanyahu said, adding that Iran was no longer able to enrich uranium or to build ballistic missiles. He also denied that Israel “dragged” the US into the war, saying “Does anyone really think that someone can tell President Trump what to do?”
burs/yad
© 2024 AFP
