KEY POINTS
- US blocks United Nations from recognizing Palestinian state through full membership
- Tehran downplays Israeli attacks within Iranian territory
- Italian FM Antonio Tajani says Israel gave a last-minute heads-up to US regarding Iran attack
The conflict in the Middle East has reached a new high after the United States confirmed that Israel carried out a strike within Iranian territory. The escalation comes as the Israel-Hamas war rages on, with it entering Day 195 on Friday.
The Middle East is bracing for further escalation of already heated tensions following three explosions near a major military airbase near Isfahan. A U.S. official confirmed to CNN that Israel conducted an airstrike in Iran, but Tehran has yet to identify the source of the strike.
- EU sanctions West Bank settlers who committed 'serious human rights abuses'
- Blinken says Houthi attacks preventing aid deliveries to vulnerable recipients
- IDF assassinates PIJ Nur Al-Shams commander: Local reports
- US sanctions fundraisers for West Bank violent settlers
- US not involved in 'offensive operations' against Iran: Blinken
- Protesters calling for hostages' release block Israel's Highway 1
- Lufthansa cancels Israel, Iraq flights through Saturday
- US official says Washington unsurprised by Israeli strike in Iran: Report
- Ambulances have entered the bombed area in Iran: Arab media
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was committed to deescalating the situation in the region after Iran rained drones and missiles toward Israel on Saturday, prompting the Israeli airstrike earlier Friday.
In the Israeli-Lebanese border where fire exchanges have been ongoing since the war in Gaza started, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it attacked a military structure of the Iran-backed Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) on Friday morning warned commercial vessels across Middle Eastern waters to report any drone activity in the area after it was made aware of media reports "of an Israeli military strike against Iran."
The intense situation in the Middle East stems from decades of fighting in the Israel-Palestine conflict that ultimately blew up on Oct. 7, when Iranian-backed Hamas militants launched a shock attack in Israel, killing over a thousand people and dragging some 252 hostages into the Gaza Strip.
The live update has ended.
Ambulances enter bombed area in Iran: Arab report
Ambulances were seen entering the area that was struck by an Israeli strike Friday, Sky News in Arabic reported, citing Iranian sources.
Israel has yet to officially confirm it struck inside Iran, but multiple senior U.S. officials have confirmed the attack to American news outlets.
