Washington (United States) (AFP) – Here are the latest main events related to the war in the Middle East:
– **Air strike hits Hezbollah stronghold**
An air strike hit the Hezbollah stronghold of south Beirut early Thursday, after Israel had issued a warning to residents. Elsewhere, three people were killed in a pair of Israeli strikes on vehicles along Beirut’s airport highway, Lebanon’s health ministry said. Prior to these strikes, officials had said 72 people had been killed and more than 83,000 others displaced since the start of a new round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
– **’Historic gains’**
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that Israel and the United States had made “historic gains” in their war against Iran. A spokesperson for Netanyahu, Shosh Bedrosian, also said in a video message that the attack was needed as Iran was using “new underground bunkers” to rebuild its atomic bomb program.
– **Turkey says missile from Iran destroyed**
A ballistic missile launched from Iran and heading towards Turkish airspace via Iraq and Syria was destroyed by NATO air defense systems, Turkish officials said. The defense ministry did not specify the missile’s intended target. Iran has been hitting sites across the region in retaliation after the United States and Israel launched strikes against it on Saturday.
– **’We’re doing well,’ says Trump**
President Donald Trump hailed the US performance in the war, saying Iran’s leaders were rapidly being killed, and vowing to push on. “We’re doing well on the war front, to put it mildly. Somebody said on a scale of 10, where would you rate it? I said about a 15,” Trump told a gathering of tech bosses.
– **Spain denies US claim of cooperation**
Spain doubled down on its opposition to Washington’s use of its bases against Iran, after Trump’s threats of trade reprisals. The White House said Madrid had now agreed to cooperate, but Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said its stance on “bases, on the war in the Middle East, on the bombardment of Iran, has not changed at all.”
– **China to send envoy to mediate**
China will send a special envoy to mediate in the Middle East, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said. Beijing is a close partner of Iran and has said it backs Tehran in defending its sovereignty, while urging the United States and Israel to cease their attacks.
– **US mulls role in post-war Iran**
The White House said Trump is weighing a US role in Iran after the American-Israeli operation against the Islamic republic concludes. “I think it’s something the president is actively considering and discussing with his advisors and his national security team,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
– **Qatar, Turkey ire**
Qatar’s PM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani lambasted Iran’s foreign minister during a call, accusing Tehran of trying to drag their neighbors into war. Turkey, meanwhile, summoned the Iranian ambassador after a missile — apparently targeting a Cyprus base — landed in Turkish territory.
– **Cargo crisis deepens**
Danish shipping giant Maersk said it was suspending bookings in the Gulf until further notice following a risk assessment. Maersk had said previously that it was halting passage through the Suez Canal and the narrow Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and crucial for oil tankers, in the Gulf. Several shipping groups made similar announcements.
– **Hormuz crew rescued**
The Omani navy rescued 24 crew members of a container ship struck by missiles in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian forces claimed “complete control” of the strait a day after Trump said the US Navy was ready to escort tankers through the channel.
– **Sri Lanka recovers 87 bodies**
A US submarine torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, as the effects of the war in the Middle East spread to yet another country. “We have collected 87 bodies, and a search is still on for the others who are still missing,” a Sri Lankan navy official told AFP.
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© 2024 AFP
