Israeli military says northern Israel aircraft warnings were false alarm
The Israeli military said early on Thursday that warnings of a hostile aircraft infiltration in several areas of northern Israel had been triggered by a false identification.
Sirens had sounded in the areas shortly before the military issued the update.
Sirens sound over northern Israel over suspected hostile aircraft
Sirens warning of a suspected hostile aircraft infiltration sounded in several areas of northern Israel, the Israeli military said early on Thursday, adding the details were under review.
Houthi offensive on Bab al-Mandeb may bring 'tremendous leverage', analyst explains
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen on Wednesday said the Iran-backed Houthis had launched fresh attacks on the kingdom's south, after the rebels launched an offensive seeking to control the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Speaking with FRANCE 24's Mark Owen, Adam Baron, Fellow at the New America Foundation, says that "if you have both groups able to disrupt maritime shipping both in the Red Sea and the Gulf, this would be a tremendous exercise of leverage to put pressure for a resolution".
Trump says Iran war will end right after US midterm elections
Trump said he believes the Iran war will end "immediately" after the United States votes in midterm elections in November.
"I think the war will end immediately after the election" because Iran "can't hold out any longer," Trump told journalists, accusing Tehran of being "desperate to try and affect" the vote.
Syria condemns Netanyahu's 'illegal' entry into its territory
Syria condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's entry into its territory after he visited Israeli troops stationed in southern Syria on Wednesday, calling the move "provocative and a blatant violation" of its sovereignty.
"The Syrian Arab Republic strongly condemns the illegal entry of Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into Syrian territory and his tour of Mount Hermon, in a provocative move and a blatant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic and of international law," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Saudi-led coalition reports fresh Houthi attacks on kingdom's south
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen on Wednesday said the Iran-backed Houthis had launched fresh attacks on the kingdom's south, after the rebels launched an offensive seeking to control the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The coalition's spokesman Turki al-Maliki said in a statement the Houthis had "launched several ballistic missiles and drones toward the cities of Khamis Mushait, Abha, and Jizan", without mentioning any casualties as a result of the attacks.
Israel thanks UK's Farage for opposing sanctions
Israel's foreign minister said on Wednesday he spoke to Nigel Farage, leader of Britain's hard-right Reform UK party, to thank him for opposing sanctions imposed by the UK government.
"I thanked him for his and his party's support for Israel. He told me he was pleased to have addressed the Reform Friends of Israel event at the party conference in Birmingham last week," Gideon Saar wrote on X.
Britain's Labour government announced on Tuesday a ban on imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law, accusing settlers of "ethnic cleansing" through their rising attacks on Palestinians.
Iran says UN nuclear watchdog resolution 'will not bring any results'
Iran condemned on Wednesday a resolution adopted by the United Nations atomic watchdog's board of governors which referred the Islamic republic to the UN Security Council over its nuclear "non-compliance".
"This resolution was passed under political pressure from the US and its allies and in our view has no basis and will not bring any results," Iran's representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Reza Najafi, told state television.
UN nuclear watchdog board reports Iran to the UN Security Council for the first time in 20 years
The UN atomic watchdog’s board on Wednesday reported Iran to the UN Security Council for the first time in 20 years for failure to cooperate in a long-running investigation into uranium traces detected by inspectors at various undeclared sites in Iran.
Twenty-three countries on the IAEA’s 35-member board of governors voted for the resolution at IAEA headquarters in Vienna.
China, Russia and Niger opposed it, while eight countries abstained and one didn’t vote as it was in arrears. The resolution was put forward by the United States, Britain, France and Germany.
Diplomatic row escalates as UK, France and Canada move to sanction Israeli settlements
Britain, France and Canada said Tuesday they will ban imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, with a UK minister accusing Israel of turning a blind eye to the "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians there.
The moves prompted a furious Israel to unveil immediate counter-measures targeting Britain, as Jerusalem-based journalist Jordana Miller reports.
Iran state media says explosion heard near Hormuz
Iran's state television reported on Wednesday that an explosion was heard in the south of the country near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
"A few minutes ago, an explosion was heard from the Strait of Hormuz. The nature of the incident or its origin has not yet been announced," the state broadcaster said.
UN nuclear watchdog board reports Iran to the UN Security Council for the first time in 20 years, AP says
Iran Guards say they attacked US vessels and oil tankers in Gulf
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday they attacked two US vessels and eight oil tankers in the Gulf in response to what they called a US attack on five Iranian tankers, Iranian state media reported, citing a statement from the group.
The group said it attacked 10 ships attempting to cross what it described as a "prohibited and unsafe" area of the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran says it captured US submarine drone in Strait of Hormuz
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday it had captured a US uncrewed submarine at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian state media said the vessel was a Dive-LD, a large autonomous underwater vehicle built by California defense firm Anduril. The 5.8-metre submersible can carry out missions including mine countermeasures, seabed mapping, intelligence gathering and the inspection of underwater infrastructure such as cables and pipelines, the company has said.
"We trapped one of the most modern, intelligent and unmanned submarines of the terrorist American army at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz. This submersible is equipped with the latest technologies," the Revolutionary Guards Navy said in a statement carried by Iranian state media.
In response, a Pentagon spokesperson said an underwater drone had "malfunctioned more than a day ago."
"It was surveying regional waters in support of ongoing operations. The defective drone was an older model that neither collected sensitive data nor carried any classified sonar or radar equipment," the spokesperson said.
Israel tells British consulate in East Jerusalem to close
Israel has informed the British consulate in East Jerusalem that it must close and that diplomats assigned there will lose their accreditation within 30 days, an Israeli official and a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
British representatives assigned to a US-led Gaza coordination mission in Israel, as well as British diplomats based in Ramallah, must leave within seven days, the source familiar with the matter said.
UK maritime monitor says it received report involving several merchant ships in the northern Gulf and Gulf of Oman
Several vessels in the Gulf region were on fire, a British maritime agency reported, after Iran said it had attacked 20 ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
"Reports indicate the vessels were subject to disabling fire as part of ongoing military activity in the region," the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.
Lebanon army says Israeli escalation threatens framework deal
Lebanon's army on Wednesday accused Israel of a deadly escalation in the country's south in recent days that threatened a framework deal between the countries and the military's efforts to implement it.
The army said in a statement that continued Israeli attacks in recent days "threaten existing understandings and arrangements, and hinder the army's efforts to establish stability" in the region.
Arab, Muslim nations welcome UK-led sanctions on Israeli settlements
More than half a dozen Arab and Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, on Wednesday welcomed UK-led sanctions targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, urging other countries to take similar steps.
The foreign ministers of eight countries, which also included Jordan, in a statement said they "welcome the decision of the Government of the United Kingdom to ban the import of goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory", also hailing other Western countries for announcing their intention to restrict trade with Israeli settlements.
In message to Syrian president, Israeli defence minister says troops 'not moving'
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz addressed a message to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday during a visit to Israeli soldiers stationed in southern Syria, vowing that troops would not withdraw.
"We are here sending a very strong and clear message to the President of Syria, who sits 35 kilometres away down there in his palace in Damascus: we are here on Mount Hermon, we are in the security zone, and we are not moving from here," he said during the visit with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel to open embassy in Slovenia
Israel will open its first embassy in Slovenia on Wednesday in a turnaround in relations between the countries after populist Janez Jansa formed a centre-right government this year.
The rapprochement comes as Israel faces growing diplomatic isolation elsewhere over its West Bank policies, including import bansby Britain, France and Canada on products from Israeli settlements.
Yesterday's key developments:
- Israel said it would close the UK's consulate in east Jerusalem and bar entry to 12 British nationals, including ex-prime minister Jeremy Corbyn, in response to sanctions on Israeli settlements.
- France and 10 other countries said they would join the UK in banning goods from illegal Israeli settlements.
- Iran's navy warned of retaliatory strikes on ships after the US attacked Iranian oil tankers.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AP and AFP)
