(AFP) – The latest developments in the Middle East war:
– **Israel says soldier hitting Jesus statue image authentic**
The Israeli army said Monday that it had determined an image circulating on social media that shows a soldier in south Lebanon hitting a statue of Jesus Christ is authentic and depicts one of its troops. The image appears to show an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to strike the head of a statue of a crucified Jesus that had fallen off of a cross. The Israel army said it viewed the incident with “great severity,” adding that the “soldier’s conduct is wholly inconsistent with the values expected of its troops,” in a post to its official X account on Monday. The incident is being investigated by the Northern Command and is currently being “addressed through the chain of command,” the military added.
– **Oil prices bounce back on Iran war escalation**
Oil prices surged Monday on a re-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East war after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, just a day after reopening it, citing the United States’ blockade of its ports. However, lingering hopes that a deal to end the seven-week crisis continued to support equities, even as Tehran said it was not currently planning to attend peace talks.
– **US seizes Iranian ship**
President Donald Trump said Sunday that USS Spruance, a guided missile destroyer, fired on and seized Touska, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, in the Gulf of Oman, and US Marines were “seeing what’s on board!” Iran says it retaliated with drones in the direction of US military ships after one of its vessels was seized, the Tasnim news agency reported. The incident comes as the US and Iran vie for control of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas, which was virtually closed for weeks under pressure from the Islamic Republic. Tehran briefly reopened the strait Friday in recognition of the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire in Lebanon but closed it again Saturday in response to the ongoing US blockade on ships traveling to and from Iranian ports.
– **Peace talks in limbo**
Iranian state media reported Sunday that Tehran was not planning to take part in talks with the United States, hours after Trump said he was dispatching negotiators to Islamabad. “There are currently no plans to participate in the next round of Iran-US talks,” state broadcaster IRIB said, citing Iranian sources. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Sunday he had spoken by phone with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian — which he described as “a warm and constructive conversation” — and reaffirmed his government’s readiness to mediate the conflict.
– **Syria foiled Hezbollah attack**
Syria’s interior ministry said Sunday that security forces had thwarted a cross-border attack in the southern Quneitra province by a cell linked to Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group, which denied the accusation. In a statement, Syrian officials said they foiled a “sabotage plot” with hidden rocket launching equipment in a civilian vehicle, which was linked to Hezbollah and “aimed to destabilise the region.” The area borders the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
– **US negotiators going to Pakistan**
Trump said US negotiators will be in Pakistan Monday to resume talks on ending the war with Iran, as he again threatened to destroy its power plants and bridges if no deal is reached. Trump did not say who would lead the delegation, but a White House official said it was Vice President JD Vance, who led the last set of talks that failed to reach an accord. Trump said in a social media post he was offering Iran “a reasonable deal,” but if Tehran refuses, “the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran. NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!”
– **Lebanon PM to Paris**
French President Emmanuel Macron will on Tuesday meet with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Paris, his office announced, a day after a French peacekeeper was killed in Lebanon and amid a fragile 10-day truce between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
– **Israel warns ‘full force’**
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said his military will use “full force” in Lebanon — even during the ongoing ceasefire — should Israeli troops face any threat from Hezbollah. Lebanon’s military said meanwhile it has reopened a road and bridge between the city of Nabatieh and Khardali that was damaged by Israeli strikes in the south.
– **Iranian airport reopens**
Iran will resume international flights on Monday from Mashhad airport in the country’s northeast, its civil aviation authority said.
– **Turkey hopes for extension**
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday he was “optimistic” that a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States that expires on Wednesday would be extended, allowing more time for talks between the sides.
© 2024 AFP
