New US-Iran exchange of attacks threatens ceasefire

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on Sunday launched attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait in response to US air strikes on 10 Iranian sites. The Islamic Republic threatened a “complete halt” to negotiations to end the war if Washington continues its attacks. Efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without Iran’s direct oversight sparked the crossfire now gripping the region. France 24 correspondent Reza Sayah tells the latest from Tehran.

Israel govt recognises Armenian genocide in rebuke to Turkey

The Israeli government on Sunday unanimously recognised the massacres of Armenians during World War I as genocide, a move widely seen as a rebuke to Turkey and a stark signal of the deepening rift between the two countries.

“A historic decision: the Israeli government has unanimously approved Foreign Minister Gideon Saar’s proposal to recognise the Armenian genocide,” the foreign ministry said.

The cabinet’s decision must still be ratified by parliament.

Israel attacks Lebanon despite truce

Despite the signing of a new framework agreement on Friday aimed at ending the conflict, fighting has continued in Lebanon. On Sunday, the Israeli military said it had killed Hezbollah militants and struck a rocket launcher near Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, while the Iran-backed group rejected the peace deal outright. As violence persists despite diplomatic efforts, Nicholas Rushworth reports on how residents in southern Lebanon and Israel are reacting to the latest developments.

Israel military says soldier killed in south Lebanon fighting

The Israeli military said a soldier was killed on Sunday in fighting in southern Lebanon, two days after Israel and Lebanon signed an agreement aimed at ending hostilities.

Captain David Hazutt, 21, a platoon commander “fell in combat” in southern Lebanon, the military said.

His death brings Israel’s military losses to 38 soldiers and one civilian contractor since the war between Israel and Hezbollah erupted in early March.

Iran FM warns any challenge to Hormuz strait will ‘increase tensions’

Iran’s foreign minister warned on Sunday that any challenge to the country’s control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz would increase tensions despite ongoing peace negotiations to end the Middle East war.

“Any attempt to adopt new or separate arrangements compared to what is underway by the Islamic Republic of Iran, will only lead to more complicated situations and delays in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and will increase the tensions, as we witnessed in the past two nights,” Abbas Araghchi said at a news conference on a visit to Iraqi capital Baghdad.

Tehran’s top diplomat called on all parties to “adhere to the memorandum of understanding and not to allow this MoU to deviate from its course” after both sides traded attacks in recent days.

Iran FM calls for a security framework with Gulf countries

Iran’s foreign minister called on Sunday for the establishment of a security framework with Gulf countries, after Iranian strikes against US bases in the Gulf in retaliation for American attacks.

“We should reach a new framework that includes all countries in the region and without the presence or interference of any country from outside the region,” Abbas Araghchi said at a news conference on a visit to Iraqi capital Baghdad.

Iran targets Gulf states in response to US strikes, testing fragile ceasefire

Iraq foreign minister tells Iran counterpart Hormuz should reopen

⁠Iraq’s ⁠foreign ​minister said ​in a meeting on Sunday with his ​Iranian ‌counterpart ⁠that it was important ‌to reopen the Strait ⁠of Hormuz and lift the ​US naval blockade ‌on Iran.

Iraq does not support ‌expanding the scale ​of the war on the Gulf states, ​and does ​not back ​attacks on Iran, Fuad ​Hussein told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who ⁠is visiting Baghdad.

Lebanon state media reports Israeli strike on south

The Lebanese state news agency reported a new Israeli attack on southern Lebanon on Sunday, two days after the countries signed an agreement to pave the way to peace talks.

“An Israeli warplane carried out an airstrike targeting the outskirts of the towns of Deir Seryan and Taybeh in southern Lebanon,” Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.

Kuwait army says it intercepted two ballistic missiles Sunday morning

The Kuwait army says it intercepted two ballistic missiles Sunday morning, adding that no damages or casualties occured.

Iran says determined to defend sovereignty against US aggression

Iran said on Sunday it was determined to defend its sovereignty after the latest US strikes on the country, as a fragile truce in the Middle East war hung in the balance.

“Iran strongly condemns the airstrikes by the terrorist US army on several monitoring and surveillance facilities on the southern coast of the country in the early hours of Sunday,” the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that it “stresses its determination to defend Iran’s national sovereignty” against US attacks.

Iran and the United States have accused each other of violating their truce, straining negotiations meant to end the Middle East war.

Kuwait condemns new Iranian attack on its territory

Kuwait’s foreign ministry denounced on Sunday a new Iranian attack on its territory, after Tehran said it had launched strikes against US bases in the Gulf in retaliation for American attacks.

The ministry said in a statement that it “expresses its condemnation and denunciation of… in the strongest terms, the recurrence of Iran’s heinous aggression against the State of Kuwait, the latest of which was at dawn today, in a flagrant violation of its sovereignty”.

Bahrain says residential building damaged by Iranian attacks, reports no deaths

Bahrain’s interior ministry on social media said a residential building has been damaged in the Muharraq area, adding that there have been no deaths due to the incident.

“The relevant authorities are taking the necessary measures at the site,” it added.

Understanding the ‘point men’: Iran-US peace talks

Following the latest round of US-Iran peace talks, we assess the difficulties of diplomacy and the key characters at play.  France 24’s Gavin Lee spoke to Marvi Memon who served as a federal minister in the Pakistani govenrment from 2015 to 2018.

Bahrain says targeted by Iranian missiles, drones

Bahrain’s air defences intercepted Iranian missiles and drones on Sunday, the Gulf kingdom’s military said, after the US carried out new strikes against Iran.

The Bahraini military said it had “intercepted and destroyed a number of projectiles used in these treacherous Iranian attacks”, adding that it was on “maximum alert”.

Iran announced earlier that it had launched strikes against the US Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain and another base in Kuwait, in retaliation for US strikes on its territory.

• Air raid siren sounded for a second time in Bahrain
• Trump says Iran would ‘no longer exist’ after new exchange of attacks
• Israeli military says it killed Hezbollah militants and attacked a launcher in the Nabatieh area
• US military says it struck 10 targets in Iran as ceasefire is strained by 2nd day of attacks

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claims Bahrain and Kuwait attacks and threatens ‘complete halt’ in talks with US

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard on Sunday said it had carried out overnight attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait and threatened a “complete halt” could come to talks with the US if America continues its attacks.

The Guard statement, carried by the state-run IRAN newspaper, represented the sharpest threat yet to talks over the interim deal struck between Iran and the US That created a 60-day window for the two countries to negotiate a permanent end to the war.

Iran condemns US strikes as violation of interim deal

⁠Iran said ​on Sunday ​that US airstrikes targeted several monitoring and ​surveillance facilities ‌on ⁠Iran’s southern coast, ‌calling the attacks a violation ⁠of an interim deal meant ​to end the ‌four-month-old war between the two countries.

“These ‌brutal attacks … show ​that the U.S. does not place the slightest ​value and credibility ​on its ​commitments, and breaking promises ​is part of its nature,” the Foreign Ministry said ⁠in a statement.

Israeli military says it killed several armed militants in southern Syria on Saturday

⁠The ⁠Israeli ​military ​said its forces killed several ​armed ‌militants ⁠in ‌the security zone ⁠in southern Syria on ​Saturday.

The Israeli ‌military said it ‌would continue ​to operate in the area to ​remove ​any ​threats to ​Israeli civilians and its soldiers.

Israeli military says it killed Hezbollah militants and attacked a launcher in the Nabatieh area

⁠Israeli ⁠military ​said on ​Sunday it killed Hezbollah militants armed ​with ‌rocket-propelled ⁠grenades and struck ‌a rocket launcher ⁠in the Nabatieh area ​of southern Lebanon ‌to remove threats to ‌its soldiers.

The ​Israeli military said it struck the ​structure from ​which the militants ​operated and ​dismantled a rocket launcher that posed a ⁠threat.