A senior Iranian official says Tehran finds the latest U.S. response to a proposal to end the war “insufficient” and warns of attacks on regional data centers and cables if fighting intensifies again.
Meanwhile, Israel’s former attorney general took the witness stand in corruption cases against Benjamin Netanyahu, as the political future of the country’s longest-serving prime minister hangs in the balance with elections weeks away.
Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Saturday. Read our full coverage here.
Iran says latest US response is ‘insufficient’
The head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council says Tehran finds the latest response from the United States “insufficient” as efforts at negotiations to end the war and fully open the Strait of Hormuz limp along.
The comments by Mohsen Rezaei, a former Revolutionary Guard commander, were carried by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.
Rezaei added that Iran is no longer responding to the U.S. and said Washington must clarify certain issues, without giving details. He said the U.S. has accepted some of the seven conditions but others remain unclear.
Iran’s delegation to the annual U.N. gathering of world leaders last month proposed a sped-up agreement that echoed the memorandum of understanding that collapsed days after the U.S. and Iran signed it in June. The new proposal was rejected, but the two sides have remained in contact via mediation.
Rezaei also threatened “cables, data centers, AI facilities and other sites in the region” if intense fighting breaks out again.
Former legal adviser testifies in Netanyahu corruption case
Israel’s former attorney general took the witness stand in Netanyahu’s long-running corruption trial.
Avichai Mandelblit indicted the prime minister seven years ago for fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes. The charges were the first-ever against a sitting Israeli prime minister.
Netanyahu was in the courtroom to hear Mandelblit testify. The prime minister handpicked Mandelblit, his former Cabinet secretary, for the attorney general job. His tenure ended in 2022.
“The truth comes to light,” Netanyahu said before entering the courtroom. He has been accused of offering or exchanging favors with wealthy associates and media moguls for political gain. He denies any wrongdoing.
Saudi Arabia on alert as Houthis warn of new strikes
A projectile struck the same passenger terminal at the Riyadh international airport that was hit on Saturday. The airport had been closed after Saturday’s attack, which killed 12 people, but Saudi authorities reported injuries in the latest attack.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for both attacks on King Khalid International Airport, which has been targeted every day since Wednesday.
Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, the Houthis’ military spokesperson, urged “everyone to take our warnings seriously” about the risks of flying in Saudi airspace.
Gaza residents return to rubble as strikes continue
Residents in central Gaza returned home to assess the damage caused by Israeli strikes after they had been warned to evacuate the day before.
Bassam Abed said at least 10 residences housing some 300 families were reduced to rubble. He said families were not given enough time to flee.
“Women slept outdoors. We did not take clothes,” Abed said.
The Israeli military said it had targeted militant infrastructure, including weapons storage facilities, a rocket launch site and a command center used by Hamas militants to carry out attacks on Israeli soldiers.
Trump officially lifts ban on direct flight to Lebanon
U.S. carriers may be reticent to begin offering flight to Lebanon soon, however, as the war with Iran continues to disrupts air traffic in the region and questions over Hezbollah’s influence in parts of the country persist. Direct flights between the two countries were suspended in 1985 by the Reagan administration after the hijacking of TWA Flight 847.
The Lebanese embassy in Washington said on social media that it welcomed the move as “a major step toward resuming direct flights.”
The U.S. embassy in Beirut said the change would make it easier for family members to visit one another and for American businesses to invest in Lebanon. “We look forward to working with our Lebanese partners to turn this opportunity into a reality,” the statement added.
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