War in the Middle East: Latest Developments

Here are the latest developments related to the war in the Middle East, Thursday:

– Paris rules out lifting any sanctions against Iran as long as the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked The French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, dismissed the possibility of lifting any international sanctions against Iran as long as the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked.

– Australia to reserve 20% of its gas production for domestic consumption Australia will require the country’s major gas exporters to reserve 20% of their production for domestic consumption, announced Energy Minister Chris Bowen on Thursday.

– Nikkei surges, European markets await, oil stable Following optimistic comments from Donald Trump, the Tokyo Stock Exchange showed a strong increase on Thursday, with the Nikkei index rising by 5.7% to 62,915 points. Oil prices remained stable after a sharp decline on Wednesday, with Brent at $101.32 and WTI at $95.08.

– Tehran denies hitting a South Korean cargo ship Iran denied any involvement in the explosion that occurred on a South Korean cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.

– Trump sees agreement “very possible” President Donald Trump stated that reaching an agreement with Iran is “very possible” after “very good discussions” in the past 24 hours.

– Macron condemns “unjustified strikes” against the United Arab Emirates French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the “unjustified strikes against civilian infrastructure” in the United Arab Emirates and several ships, calling for a multinational mission to secure navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

– Israeli strike on southern suburb of Beirut, Hezbollah commander killed Israel conducted a strike in the southern suburb of Beirut, killing a senior Hezbollah commander, and at least 11 people were killed in strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon on Wednesday.

– French aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle heads to Gulf region The French aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle will position itself in the Gulf region, signaling the readiness of the coalition led by London and Paris to secure the Strait of Hormuz.

– US military “neutralizes” a ship attempting to breach the blockade The US forces in the Gulf enforced the blockade by neutralizing an Iranian-flagged tanker attempting to sail to an Iranian port.

– Container ship exits the Strait of Hormuz A container ship owned by French shipping company CMA-CGM managed to exit the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz.

– Iran accuses the US of trying to force Tehran to “surrender” Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused the US of attempting to destroy the country’s cohesion through naval blockade, economic pressure, and media manipulation in order to force surrender.

Published on May 7th at 9:45 AM by AFP