PARIS, March 28 — Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:
New clashes in Lebanon
Israel’s military renewed its attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs yesterday, saying it was targeting infrastructure used by Hezbollah, as the Iran-backed group said the foes had clashed directly in the country’s south.
Hezbollah announced a series of attacks, including claiming its fighters had launched a surface-to-air missile at an Israeli warplane over Beirut.
In south Lebanon, Hezbollah said its fighters had clashed with “Israeli enemy army forces in the villages of Bayada and Shamaa at point-blank range with light and medium weapons”.
Iran hits Israel
A man died in Tel Aviv yesterday after the Israeli military reported missiles fired from Iran, as air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem and explosions were heard from Jericho.
A witness shared video footage with AFP apparently showing an inbound missile barrage over Jerusalem as the Israeli military said it was scrambling search and rescue teams to impact sites in central Israel.
Earlier yesterday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would exact a “HEAVY price for Israeli crimes”, after attacks on two of the country’s largest steel factories and nuclear sites.
Hopes for Iran meeting ‘this week’
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said he believed Iran would hold talks with Washington “this week” to end the month-long war in the Middle East.
“We think there will be meetings this week, we’re certainly hopeful for it,” Witkoff told a business forum in Miami. “We have a 15-point plan on the table. We expect the Iranians to respond. It could solve it all.”
Houthis warn they will join fight
Yemen’s Houthi movement warned that it would join the Middle East war if US-Israeli attacks continue to hit its ally Iran or if more countries join the conflict.
The Houthi have in the past attacked shipping in the Red Sea in response to regional conflicts, but have so far not intervened in the latest war, which is about to enter its fifth week.
Turkiye moots meeting in Pakistan
Talks between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkiye on the war in the Middle East could take place this weekend on Pakistani soil, Ankara said.
Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator between Iran and the United States as the conflict drags on, with Islamabad serving as a go-between for messages passed between the two warring sides.
UN nuclear watchdog urges ‘restraint’
The United Nations atomic watchdog repeated its call for “restraint” in the Middle East war after Israel struck two Iranian nuclear facilities, including a uranium processing plant.
“IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi reiterates (his) call for military restraint to avoid any risk of a nuclear accident,” the International Atomic Energy Agency said on X.
Rubio: US finishing in ‘couple weeks’
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he expected Washington’s war objectives in Iran to be completed “in the next couple weeks”, regardless of whether the United States sends ground troops.
“When we are done with them here in the next couple weeks, they will be weaker than they’ve been in recent history,” he said after G7 talks in Paris.
He also said Washington was open to diverting US weapons from Ukraine to the Iran war if needed.
Rubio: Iran has sent ‘messages’
Rubio also said Iran had sent “messages” to the American side, but had not responded to a US-proposed peace plan.
“We’ve had an exchange of messages and indications from the Iranian system — whatever’s left of it — about a willingness to talk about certain things,” he said.
Merz: ‘Regime change’ unlikely
The war is unlikely to lead to “regime change” in Iran, said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
“If that’s the goal, I don’t think you’ll achieve it. It’s mostly gone wrong” in past conflicts, he said at a forum in Frankfurt, pointing to the Afghanistan war.
More than 300 US soldiers wounded
More than 300 American troops have been wounded since the start of the war on February 28, US Central Command said.
A US official who asked not to be identified told AFP that 10 US soldiers remained seriously wounded.
G7 calls for Hormuz reopening
G7 foreign ministers urged an “immediate cessation” of attacks against civilians in the war and urged Iran to immediately restore freedom of navigation in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
A joint statement, released in the name of all G7 members, including the United States, “reiterated the absolute necessity to permanently restore safe and toll-free freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz”. — AFP
