News roundupWar in the Middle East: latest developments

AFP
Israel hit Shiyah neighborhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where it is targeting Iran-backed group Hezbollah
Israel hit Shiyah neighborhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where it is targeting Iran-backed group Hezbollah
© AFP

The latest developments in the Middle East war:

- Trump deadline -

US President Donald Trump appeared to extend by 24 hours his deadline for Iran to make a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face devastating infrastructure attacks.

“Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!” he simply said on his Truth Social platform.

- UK protest arrests -

British police said they arrested seven people at a protest near an air base in eastern England used by US forces.

Activists had gathered to protest the alleged use of the Royal Air Force Lakenheath base as a departure point for US aircraft involved in the war in the Middle East.

- Israeli residential building hit -

The Israeli military and medics said a missile fired from Iran hit a residential building in the northern city of Haifa, injuring four people.

The building was hit by a “direct impact of a missile”, the military told AFP.

- Trump threatens ‘hell’ -

Trump threatened “hell” if Iran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, vowing in an expletive-laden social media post to strike its bridges and power plants.

Iran’s powerful parliament speaker warned Trump in response that his “reckless moves” would mean “our whole region is going to burn”.

- US rescue mission -

Trump said a missing airman from a downed US F-15 fighter jet had been found in a “daring” and “miraculous” rescue, but Iran’s military said the American operation had been “completely foiled”.

Trump, in a social media post, said “dozens” of US aircraft took part in the rescue operation and that the crew member was “seriously wounded”.

- ‘Deep’ op -

US news outlets reported that American commandos had deployed deep into Iranian territory to rescue the downed airman.

The Iranian military said the US operation had used an abandoned airport in southern Isfahan province.

Two planes meant to transport the airman and his rescuers to safety were stuck in Iran and had to be destroyed to prevent them from falling into Iranian hands, The New York Times and CBS reported.

- OPEC+ hikes quotas -

The OPEC+ oil cartel agreed to again increase oil production quotas, by 206,000 barrels per day from May.

It warned that repairing energy facilities damaged in recent attacks is costly and “takes a long time”, potentially hitting global oil supplies well into the future.

- Iran airport hit -

A US-Israeli airstrike hit the Qasem Soleimani international airport in southwestern Iran, state media reported.

- Israel targets Beirut -

Israeli strikes on south Beirut and its suburbs killed at least four people and wounded 39, Lebanese officials said.

Earlier, Israel’s military said it had begun striking the capital to take out “infrastructure sites” of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

- Pope urges peace -

Pope Leo XIV urged “those who have the power to unleash wars” to “choose peace”, in his first Easter blessing as pontiff.

“We are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and becoming indifferent. Indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people,” he told a crowd in St Peter’s Square.

- Holy Sepulchre restrictions -

Israeli security forces imposed restrictions on access to the Holy Sepulchre in annexed east Jerusalem, where Christians believe Jesus Christ was crucified, buried and rose from the dead.

In the usually lively alleyways of Jerusalem’s Old City, silence reigned on Easter Sunday, the holiday overshadowed by the war.

- Iran hits infrastructure -

Damage was reported at civilian facilities in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait, after Iran attacked critical energy and other infrastructure across the Gulf.

Iranian drones caused “severe” damage to Kuwaiti oil and petrochemical facilities, the state petroleum company said.

Officials in Abu Dhabi said they were battling fires caused by falling debris at a petrochemical facility.

- Iran, Oman talk Hormuz -

Oman and Iran held talks on easing passage through the Strait of Hormuz, the Omani state news agency reported.

“The experts from both sides put forward a number of visions and proposals regarding it,” it said.

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