The Lebanese army announces the death of several soldiers in an Israeli strike
The Lebanese army announced on Saturday the death of several of its members in an Israeli strike in the south of the country, despite the ceasefire theoretically in force. “Several soldiers, including an officer”, were killed “in a brutal Israeli attack” which targeted a military vehicle on the road between Khardali and Nabatiyé, the army said in a press release.
On Wednesday, at the end of a fourth session of negotiations between Lebanon and Israel in Washington, a new ceasefire agreement was announced, the truce in force from April 17 having never been respected. The agreement provides for a ceasefire conditional on a “complete cessation” of Hezbollah fire and a continuation at this stage of fire and operations by the Israeli army in southern Lebanon. But Hezbollah rejected this agreement, like the previous one.
Bahrain denounces “blatant aggression” after Iranian strikes
Bahrain, already targeted at the start of the week, denounced on Saturday the strikes carried out by Iran against its territory and neighboring Kuwait, saying it had intercepted seven missiles.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemns these new attacks,” he wrote in a statement. “This blatant aggression constitutes a clear violation of the sovereignty of both countries,” he added.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards said during the night that they had fired, in retaliation for American strikes, ballistic missiles towards the Ali Al-Salem air base in Kuwait, where American aircraft are stationed, and the headquarters of the American Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.
Iran demands the release of its frozen assets before any agreement with the United States
The military adviser to the Iranian Supreme Leader, Mohsen Rezai, declared that negotiations between Washington and Tehran were stumbling in particular over the issue of Iranian assets frozen abroad, in a television interview broadcast on Friday. “If he (Donald Trump) wishes to reach an agreement with Iran, these 24 billion dollars constitute a test” of confidence, estimated Mr. Rezaï, according to comments in English translated from Persian, taken from an interview with the American channel CNN.
Iran has been the subject of US sanctions for decades which penalize its economy and financial system. The country also saw its foreign assets frozen in the wake of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
