PARIS: Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:
Iran threatens US universities in Mideast
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on Saturday threatened to target US universities in the Middle East after saying US-Israeli strikes had destroyed two Iranian universities.
In a statement, the Guard demanded a US condemnation of the bombing of universities by noon local time (0830 GMT) Monday.
Anti-war protests in Israel
Hundreds gathered in Tel Aviv and some other Israeli cities on Saturday to protest the war in the Middle East, in unauthorised demonstrations that security forces sought to disperse.
Numbers attending weekly protests against the war appear to be rising, though they are far from the tens of thousands who filled the streets last year to protest the war in Gaza.
US condemns attack on Iraqi Kurdistan leader
The United States condemned a drone attack Saturday on a residence of the leader of autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan, Nechirvan Barzani, blaming Iranian militia proxies in Iraq.
“These actions by Iran and its proxies are a direct assault on Iraq’s sovereignty, stability, and unity,” a statement from State Department deputy spokesman Tommy Pigott said.
Strike kills two police in Iraq
A strike on Iraq’s northern Mosul city killed two police officers, the ministry of interior said, blaming the attack on the US and Israel.
The ministry said the “Zionist-American” attack also wounded five policemen, as they were helping rescue colleagues wounded in the initial strike.
Iran strike on Israeli village
A direct Iranian missile strike on a village in central Israel on Saturday wounded 11 people and left a massive crater, medics said.
It hit a residential area in the village of Eshtaol, near Beit Shemesh — where an earlier strike killed nine people.
France links Paris bank bombing bid to war
France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nunez on Saturday linked a foiled attempt to bomb a Bank of America building in Paris to the war in the Middle East.
Nunez told news channel BFMTV that it made him think of similar actions that had taken place elsewhere in Europe, such as in the Netherlands claimed by opponents of the conflict.
Iran navy arms complex hit
Israel’s military said it had struck an industrial complex in Tehran used for the research and development of naval weapons as part of a wave of attacks conducted overnight.
They said it handled “the research, development, and production of a wide range of naval weaponry, including surface and sub-surface vessels, manned and unmanned equipment, as well as engines and weapons”.
Iraq paramilitary fighter killed
A strike in Iraq’s northern Kirkuk city killed one fighter from the former paramilitary coalition Hashed al-Shaabi, a medical and security source told AFP.
Two missiles fired from a fighter jet targeted a base of the Hashed al-Shaabi, or Popular Mobilisation Forces — now part of Iraq’s regular armed forces — near the international airport, according to a security official.
Aluminium firm damaged
The firm Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) said one of its sites in Abu Dhabi suffered significant damage after an Iranian attack that left six people wounded, according to authorities.
EGA — one of the world’s largest aluminium producers — said its “Al Taweelah site sustained significant damage during the Iranian missile and drone attacks at Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi”.
Lebanon rescuers, medics killed
Lebanese Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine said that 46 rescuers and five medical staff had been killed by Israel since the start of the war with Hezbollah on March 2.
Nassereddine said the figure included nine paramedic killed on Saturday.
10-year Gulf deals
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said deals he signed with Gulf nations during a tour in the region envisaged a decade-long cooperation on defence, including on establishing joint production lines.
“We are talking about a 10-year cooperation. We have already signed a relevant agreement with Saudi Arabia, we have just signed a similar agreement with Qatar, also for 10 years, we will sign one with the Emirates,” Zelensky told reporters.
Syria repels drone attack
The Syrian army said that it had repelled a drone attack from neighbouring Iraq that targeted a southern Syrian base which previously housed US forces, state media reported.
Syria’s official SANA news agency quoted the army as saying that its units were able to “repel a drone attack on the al-Tanf military base in the south of the country”.
