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Middle East live: Iran allows several Iraqi oil tankers to pass through Hormuz strait

Iran on Saturday said that any country participating in the United States’ “economic war” against the Islamic republic would be considered “an enemy”. The warning came after President Masoud Pezeshkian…

Middle East live: Iran allows several Iraqi oil tankers to pass through Hormuz strait

Iran says any country joining US sanctions considered 'enemy'

Iran on Saturday warned countries against participating in the United States' "economic war" against the Islamic republic, saying they would be considered enemies.


"We declare to all countries... do not join the economic war waged by the United States. Any country participating in the imposition of economic restrictions against us is considered an enemy," said Mohsen Rezai, the head of Iran's supreme national security council, on state television.

Blast on security forces' bus near Damascus causes injuries, state media reports

An explosive device detonated on a bus carrying security forces near the Syrian capital on Saturday, resulting in injuries among the passengers, state media reported.


"An explosive device targeted a bus carrying Internal Security Forces personnel on the Maarounah-al-Tal road in Damascus countryside, leaving several personnel injured," state news agency SANA reported, adding that the attack was under investigation.

Dozens of UK, French ex-ambassadors accuse Israel of ethnic cleansing in open letter

Former British and French diplomats are urging action over what they say is Israel’s "erasure"of Palestine. More than 100 of those diplomats have penned a letter to the French President and the British Prime Minister calling for a ban on trade and arms sales to press Israel to accept a Palestinian state.


the broadcaster speaks to one of the signatories – Sir Vincent Fean, British former Consul-General Jerusalem and current trustee of the Britain Palestine Project to understand what does he hope the letter will achieve? 

Iranian official urges Qatar to move detained pilots to hospital on land, Tasnim says

An ⁠Iranian military ​official called on Qatar ​on Saturday to transfer detained Iranian pilots to a hospital ​on ‌land, ⁠saying they were being held ‌on water and were in "poor ⁠physical condition", Tasnim news agency reported.


Mohammad Baqerzadeh, ​commander of the ‌Committee for the Search for Missing Persons of ‌Iran's Armed Forces General Staff, said ​the location where the pilots were being held was unsuitable ​and requested that ​the International ​Committee of the Red Cross send ​an air ambulance to Qatar to expedite the return of injured and ⁠sick detainees to Iran.

Repair of Iran's South Pars phase 14 refinery is 70% complete, state news agency says

The ⁠repair of ​Iran's South ​Pars Phase 14 gas refinery, hit during an ​Israeli ‌attack ⁠in June last ‌year, is 70% complete, the ⁠Pars Oil and Gas Company's ​chief executive said, according ‌to Iran's oil ministry news agency ‌SHANA.


The refinery would ​be fully restored by the end of ​the year, CEO Touraj ​Dehqani said, ​and the damaged ​section will be fully integrated into the production cycle, he ⁠added.

Israel says US criticism of strike on Syria 'full of inaccuracies'

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz on Saturday condemned US ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who is also Washington's point man on Syria, after he criticised an Israeli strike on a Syrian military base near Turkey.


Katz wrote on X that Israel had passed on "intelligence information to the authorised parties in the United States" before the strike, and that Barrack's comment was "full of inaccuracies and positions that contradict the stance of US President (Donald) Trump himself regarding the Golan Heights".

Syria condemns Israeli strike as 'flagrant violation of sovereignty'

Syria condemned an Israeli strike southwest of Damascus that wounded one person on Saturday, the second such attack in a week.


"This attack constitutes a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic and the integrity of its territory, and a blatant breach of international law, and comes in the context of repeated Israeli attacks on Syrian territory," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Turkey seeks arrest warrant for Israeli PM Netanyahu, fueling tensions

Turkey and Israel traded insults on Friday, after Ankara announced it was seeking an international arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of "genocide" because of the interception of an aid flotilla bound for Gaza. Netanyahu's office accused Turkey of hypocrisy. Our correspondent in Turkey Jasper Mortimer analyses the situation.

Repair of Iran's South Pars phase 14 refinery is 70% complete, says SHANA

The ⁠repair of ​Iran's South ​Pars Phase 14 gas refinery, hit during an ​Israeli ‌attack ⁠in June last ‌year, is 70% complete, the ⁠Pars Oil and Gas Company's ​chief executive said, according ‌to Iran's oil ministry news agency ‌SHANA.


The refinery would ​be fully restored by the end of ​the year, CEO Touraj ​Dehqani said, ​and the damaged ​section will be fully integrated into the production cycle, he ⁠added.

US and Iran keep up hostile rhetoric ahead of new sanctions

The United States and Iran exchanged defiant messages ahead of Monday's scheduled announcement of new US economic sanctions that could impact the Islamic Republic and Tehran's most important trading partners including China.


Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Saturday ⁠that the imminent US announcement of new economic sanctions on Iran was an "assertion of extraterritorial sovereignty over every independent member state of the United Nations."


US President Donald Trump, who has warned of economic consequences against any ​country that provides "any type of lifeline to Iran," said on Friday that Washington was observing "what happens" in the conflict.



Iranian official urges Qatar to move detained pilots to hospital on land, Tasnim says

An ⁠Iranian military ​official called on Qatar ​on Saturday to transfer detained Iranian pilots to a hospital ​on ‌land, ⁠saying they were being held ‌on water and were in "poor ⁠physical condition", Tasnim news agency reported.


Mohammad Baqerzadeh, ​commander of the ‌Committee for the Search for Missing Persons of ‌Iran's Armed Forces General Staff, said ​the location where the pilots were being held was unsuitable ​and requested that ​the International ​Committee of the Red Cross send ​an air ambulance to Qatar to expedite the return of injured and ⁠sick detainees to Iran.


Iran grants permission for Iraqi oil tankers to pass through Strait of Hormuz,

⁠Iran ⁠has ​granted permission ​for a number of Iraqi oil tankers ​to ‌pass ⁠through the ‌Strait of Hormuz following ⁠repeated requests from Baghdad through ​various channels, Iran’s ‌state news agency IRNA ‌reported on ​Saturday.


IRNA said obtaining special permission for Iraqi ​tankers was one ​of ​Baghdad’s main requests ​during Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf’s visit ⁠to Iraq.


Welcome to our liveblog.

Yesterday's key developments: 

  • Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the war with the US should end since the world has already accepted that Iran has won. 

  • ⁠US ⁠President Donald ​Trump said ​he did not think that Iran was ready make ​the "right deal", ‌and ⁠that Washington was observing "what happens" ‌in the conflict.

  • The Strait of Hormuz remained bottled up with thousands of seafarers stranded on hundreds of vessels, ship-tracking data showed.

(the broadcaster with AFP, AP and Reuters)

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