Paris (France) (AFP) – Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:
– **Drone kills Iraq intelligence officer**
An Iraqi officer was killed and another wounded on Saturday in a drone attack targeting an Iraqi intelligence services building in an upscale Baghdad neighbourhood, the agency said. Another drone, filming the operation, crashed into a private sports club popular with Iraqi elites and foreign diplomats, according to the same source.
– **Putin’s best wishes**
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his best wishes Saturday for the Persian New Year, Nowruz, to Iran’s leaders and its people, assuring them of Moscow’s support as they fight the Middle East war. “Vladimir Putin wished the Iranian people strength on overcoming these severe trials and emphasised that during this difficult time, Moscow remained a loyal friend and reliable partner of Tehran,” a Kremlin statement said.
– **US-Israeli hit on Iran atomic facility**
The United States and Israel struck Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility on Saturday, said the Islamic republic’s atomic energy organisation, which reported no radioactive leak. “Following the criminal attacks by the United States and the usurping Zionist regime against our country, the…Natanz enrichment complex was targeted this morning,” the organisation said in a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency.
– **Iran warns UAE**
Iran’s military warned the United Arab Emirates on Saturday against allowing attacks from its territory on two disputed islands in the Gulf, near the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The Abu Musa and the Greater Tunb islands, which are controlled by Iran but claimed by the UAE, have long been a source of dispute between the two countries.
– **Arab nations slam Israel on Syria**
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry condemned on Saturday Israel’s strikes on Syrian army camps as “aggression,” joining other Arab nations and Turkey in calling on the international community to intervene. The Turkish foreign ministry earlier called the Israeli attack “a dangerous escalation” that must be stopped, while Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and Kuwait all joined in condemning the Israeli strikes.
– **Iran’s Hormuz offer to Japan**
Iran is willing to help Japanese ships sail the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global fuel supplies, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Kyodo News in an interview published on Saturday. In the telephone interview conducted on Friday, Araghchi denied closing the passageway, saying instead that countries attacking Iran face restrictions while others were being offered assistance. He added that Iran was prepared to ensure safe passage for Japan.
– **Israel strikes Tehran**
The Israeli military said it launched strikes on “regime targets” in Tehran early Saturday. The military earlier said it had “identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel” at least three times within six hours.
– **Iran targets US-UK base: report**
Iran recently fired two ballistic missiles toward the joint US-UK military base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing US officials. Neither missile hit the target, which is around 4,000 kilometres (2,500 miles) from Iranian territory, but the launch suggests that Tehran has missiles with longer ranges than previously thought, the report said. Contacted by AFP, the Pentagon declined to comment.
– **Israel strikes Lebanon**
The Israeli military said it launched a wave of strikes on Lebanon’s capital Beirut early Saturday targeting the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, after urging residents of several areas to evacuate. Lebanese state media said an Israeli air strike hit a house in a southern town, killing one person and wounding two others.
– **Saudi Arabia intercepts more drones**
The Saudi defence ministry said it had intercepted dozens of drones overnight in the country’s east. Neighbouring Kuwait’s military said its air defence systems were responding to a missile and drone attack on Saturday.
© 2024 AFP
