Here are the latest developments related to the Middle East war on Saturday. An Israeli soldier died in southern Lebanon. An Israeli soldier was killed in southern Lebanon, the army announced on Saturday, bringing the number of deaths in its ranks to 21 since the beginning of the war with the pro-Iranian Hezbollah in early March.
Captain Maoz Israel Recanati, 24, “fell in combat in southern Lebanon,” the army said, without providing further details. In total, 20 Israeli soldiers and a civilian contractor have been killed in the neighboring country since the start of the conflict.
A Pakistani minister in Tehran “to facilitate” Iran-US talks. The Pakistani interior minister arrived in Tehran on Saturday “to facilitate” peace talks, currently at a standstill, between Iran and the United States, Iranian media reported.
“Mohsin Naqvi arrived today in the Islamic Republic of Iran for a two-day official visit as part of Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to facilitate discussions and promote regional peace,” the Tasnim news agency reported. The minister was received by his Iranian counterpart, Eskandar Momeni.
This visit comes just days after the visit to Tehran by the chief of the Pakistani army, powerful Marshal Asim Munir.
A Palestinian flag displayed on the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Six people were arrested and taken into custody in Paris on Friday after displaying a Palestinian flag on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower, a police source confirmed on Saturday.
This action, claimed by the environmental movement Extinction Rebellion, aimed to commemorate the Nakba, “catastrophe” in Arabic, a period during which around 760,000 Arabs from Palestine fled or were driven from their homes during the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.
Iran claims to be in talks with European countries about the Strait of Hormuz. Iran claimed on Saturday that European countries were in talks with Tehran to obtain permits to cross the Strait of Hormuz.
“After the passage of ships from East Asian countries, including China, Japan, and Pakistan, we have received information today that Europeans have started negotiations with the Revolutionary Guards’ navy to cross the passage,” the Iranian state television announced without specifying the names of these countries.
Iraqi oil exports via Hormuz drop tenfold in April. Iraqi oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz, a major conflict area in the Middle East, were nearly divided by ten in April compared to pre-war months, announced on Saturday the country’s new oil minister.
“Iraq used to export 93 million barrels a month through the Strait of Hormuz, but in April, we only exported 10 million, due to the war,” Bassem Mohammed Khudair said when he took office following the formation of a new government on Thursday.
Lebanon: Israeli airstrikes despite truce extension. Israel carried out new strikes on southern Lebanon after ordering residents of nine villages to evacuate, despite a month and a half extension of the truce negotiated between the two countries the day before in Washington.
“The Israeli defense forces have started striking Hezbollah infrastructure in several areas of southern Lebanon,” the Israeli army said in a statement. The official Lebanese National News Agency reported strikes on at least five villages in the South, leading to a movement of residents toward Sidon, the main city in the South, and Beirut.
Modi advocates for an “open and safe” Strait of Hormuz. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a six-day tour that will take him to Sweden, Norway, and Italy. This tour illustrates India’s willingness to diversify its economic and strategic partnerships while asserting itself as a major industrial and technological hub.
On Friday, during a brief visit to the United Arab Emirates, Narendra Modi called for keeping the Strait of Hormuz “open and safe,” as his country faces the economic consequences of the conflict in the Middle East.
The cost of debt rises with inflation fears, oil continues to rise. Inflationary pressures returned to the forefront of global market concerns on Friday, causing a surge in interest rates and a drop in stock markets, following a meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping that did not reassure.
Oil prices continued to rise, with the Brent crude barrel gaining 3.35% to $109.26, and the equivalent American WTI rising by 4.20% to $105.42.
Dubai hosts contemporary art fair despite war. The main contemporary art fair in the Middle East opened in Dubai on Friday despite the war.
An annual meeting of art dealers and collectors in the region, the twentieth edition of Art Dubai welcomed the public a month late, as the conflict forced organizers to revise their plans.
Israeli army says it targeted Hamas military branch leader in Gaza. The Israeli Defense Ministry announced on Friday that it had targeted the leader of the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement in Gaza.
“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, the armed forces carried out a strike in Gaza targeting the prominent terrorist Ezzedine al-Haddad, commander of the Hamas military branch and one of the main architects of the October 7 massacre,” the ministry said.
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