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JD Vance speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force Two to Pakistan Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\nUpdated at\u00a008.57 EDT<\/p>\n
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Netanyahu accuses Spain of ‘hostility’ after excluding it from Gaza truce centre<\/p>\n
Further to the announcement by the Israeli foreign affairs ministry of Spain\u2019s exclusion from the Civil-Military Coordination Center (see previous post<\/a>), the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has accused Madrid of \u201chostility\u201d towards his country.<\/p>\n In a video message posted today, he said:<\/p>\n double quotation markIsrael will not remain silent in the face of those who attack us.<\/p>\n Spain has defamed our heroes, the soldiers of the IDF, the soldiers of the moral army in the world.<\/p>\n Therefore, I have instructed the removal of the Spanish representatives from the coordination center in Kiryat Gat, after Spain has repeatedly chosen to stand against Israel.<\/p>\n Whoever attacks the State of Israel instead of the terrorist regimes, whoever does this, will not be our partner in the future of the region.<\/p>\n I am not willing to tolerate this hypocrisy and this hostility. I do not intend to allow any country to wage a diplomatic war against us without paying an immediate price for it.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Israel excludes Spain from Gaza coordination centre monitoring truce due to ‘anti-Israeli bias’<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s foreign affairs ministry announced Spanish representatives will not be allowed access to the US-led centre responsible for monitoring the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip due to what it described as a \u201cblatant anti-Israeli bias\u201d.<\/p>\n In a statement on its website, the ministry said the decision was made to block Spain from participating in the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in light of \u201cthe anti-Israel obsession of [Spanish] Prime Minister [Pedro] S\u00e1nchez\u2019s government and its serious harm to Israeli (and also American) interests – including during the war against Iran\u201d.<\/p>\n It added that the US was informed in advance of the decision.<\/p>\n S\u00e1nchez has arguably been the most vocal western critic of Donald Trump\u2019s war in Iran.<\/a> While most European leaders have reacted with cautious optimism at news of the ceasefire between the US and Iran, S\u00e1nchez said his government \u201cwill not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket\u201d.<\/p>\n In a statement, the Israeli foreign affairs minister, Gideon Saar, said: \u201cThe S\u00e1nchez government\u2019s anti-Israel bias is so egregious that it has lost all capability to serve as a constructive actor in implementing President Trump\u2019s peace plan and in the CMCC operating under that plan.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Vance warns Iran not to ‘play’ US in Islamabad talks<\/p>\n US vice-president JD Vance has warned Iran not to \u201cplay\u201d the US as he headed overseas for negotiations aimed at ending their war.<\/p>\n Vance, who has long been sceptical of foreign military interventions and outspoken about the prospect of sending troops into open-ended conflicts, set off Friday to lead mediated talks with Iran in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.<\/p>\n Boarding Air Force Two on his way to Pakistan, the vice president said:<\/p>\n double quotation markWe\u2019re looking forward to the negotiation. I think it\u2019s gonna be positive. We\u2019ll of course see.<\/p>\n He cited Trump, adding: \u201cIf the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we\u2019re certainly willing to extend the open hand.\u201d<\/p>\n But he said: \u201cIf they\u2019re gonna try and play us, then they\u2019re gonna find that the negotiating team is not that receptive.\u201d<\/p>\n Vance also said that Trump \u201cgave us some pretty clear guidelines\u201d on how talks should go, but he didn\u2019t elaborate. The vice president did not take questions from reporters traveling with him.<\/p>\n JD Vance speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force Two to Pakistan Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.57 EDT<\/p>\n Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Friday called on the Lebanese government to stop giving \u201cfree concessions\u201d to Israel, with the two governments due to begin negotiations in Washington next week.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will not accept a return to the previous situation, and we call on officials to stop offering free concessions,\u201d Qassem said in a written message broadcast on the party\u2019s Al-Manar TV, in which he also denounced the \u201cbloody criminality on Wednesday,\u201d when Israeli strikes killed more than 300 people in Lebanon<\/a>.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n US trade representative Jamieson Greer said on Friday that the United States is trying to have a stable relationship with China, but if Beijing is going to be involved with Iran in a way that goes against US interests, that would complicate matters.<\/p>\n In an interview on CNBC, Greer said he expected president Donald Trump<\/a> to have a good meeting next month with Chinese president Xi Jinping but not every challenge with China is resolved.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Hezbollah said it had targeted Israel\u2019s Ashdod naval base with missiles, two days after deadly Israeli airstrikes on Beirut left more than 300 people dead.<\/p>\n \u201cIn response to the enemy\u2019s violation of the ceasefire and its repeated attacks on Beirut, and after the Resistance adhered to the ceasefire while the enemy did not, the fighters of the Islamic Resistance targeted… the naval base in the port of Ashdod with missiles,\u201d the group said in a statement.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Iran\u2019s deputy foreign minister for political affairs, Majid Takht Ravanchi, said Tehran does not want a ceasefire that will allow the US and Israel<\/a> to attack again.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported remarks he made during a meeting today with foreign ambassadors and heads of organisations in Tehran.<\/p>\n A translation of his remarks read: \u201cWe do not want a ceasefire that allows the aggressor enemy to re-arm and launch another aggression.\u201d<\/p>\n He also claimed that \u201cit has been agreed that Iran\u2019s 10-point plan will be the basis for negotiations\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Saeed Shah<\/p>\n Gulf states rethink security in light of US-Israel war on Iran<\/p>\n Gulf nations will seek to add security partners as they rebuild battered economies after the US and Israel\u2019s war on Iran<\/a> and deal with an emboldened Tehran.<\/p>\n The Gulf will have to live with a continuing threat from the regime in Iran and its remaining missile arsenal. American bases on their soil turned them into targets for Iran, as it retaliated against a joint attack by the US and Israel<\/a>.<\/p>\n But, the countries say they can\u2019t tolerate Iran keeping control of the strait of Hormuz<\/a>, through which most of their trade flows. In agreeing to a ceasefire<\/a> this week, Iran insisted it would retain the hold it took during the war over the waterway, which would allow Tehran to throttle the Gulf at will. The future of the strait will be one of the main disputes to be negotiated between the United States and Iran, in talks in Islamabad due to start as soon as Friday<\/a>.<\/p>\n Gulf nations trumpeted success in largely intercepting the Iranian barrage of missiles and drones over the five weeks of the conflict, showing they can defend themselves.<\/p>\n The countries are, however, split over future relations with Iran, with a hawkish grouping led by the United Arab Emirates<\/a> and Bahrain taking a harder line, and other nations hoping for peace through renewed ties with Tehran, experts say.<\/p>\n Read the full report here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The Israeli military has claimed to have destroyed more than 200 Hezbollah rocket launchers since the start of the conflict.<\/p>\n The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement online that it destroyed more than 200 rocket launchers, including approximately 1,300 launch tubes, belonging to the Iran-backed militant group since 2 March.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Keir Starmer said he used a call with Donald Trump to set out the views of Gulf states, the Press Association reported.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a discussion with president Trump last night and set out to him the views of the region here, these Gulf states are the neighbours of Iran<\/a>, and therefore, if the ceasefire is to hold \u2013 and we hope it will – it has to involve them,\u201d the UK prime minister said in Qatar, where he was on the final leg of his Middle East tour.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have very strong views on the strait of Hormuz. We spent most of the time on the call talking about the practical plan that\u2019s going to be needed to get navigation through the strait and the role that the UK is playing.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Anwar Gargash, the UAE\u2019s senior diplomatic envoy, said on X that his country will review regional and international ties in light of attacks by Iran<\/a> to \u201cdetermine who can be relied upon\u201d.<\/p>\n The UAE\u2019s defence ministry said yesterday that its air defences have intercepted 537 ballistic missiles, 26 cruise missiles and 2,256 drones since the start of the war.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Keir Starmer said he is \u201cfed up\u201d with energy bills going up in the UK \u201cbecause of the actions of Putin and Trump\u201d.<\/p>\n The remarks, made during an interview with ITV, were a rare display of frustration by the UK prime minister who seldom calls out Donald Trump<\/a> directly in public. And, in this instance, he has linked the US president with Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n UK prime minister Keir Starmer arrives in Qatar and is welcomed by the country\u2019s minister of state for foreign affairs, Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh al-Khulaifi. Photograph: Qatar News Agency\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Starmer is due to return to the UK today after visiting allies in the Gulf for talks on how to support the US-Iran ceasefire and secure a permanent reopening of the strait of Hormuz. After travelling to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, his last stop is Qatar.<\/p>\n You can follow our UK politics blog where my colleague Andrew Sparrow is reporting the latest on the impact of war on the UK and other related news:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Pictures: Islamabad on high alert ahead of talks between Iranian and US negotiators<\/p>\n A member of the security personnel with a sniffer dog stands outside the ministry of foreign affairs in Islamabad as Pakistan prepares to host the US and Iran for talks. Photograph: Asim Hafeez\/ReutersPakistani rangers stand guard near the expected venue of the US-Iran talks in the Red Zone area of Islamabad. Photograph: Farooq Naeem\/AFP\/Getty ImagesSoldiers stand guard at a checkpoint. Photograph: Anjum Naveed\/APRiot police line up along a road near the expected venue of the US-Iran talks. Photograph: Aamir Qureshi\/AFP\/Getty ImagesPakistani security officials at a checkpoint. Photograph: Sohail Shahzad\/EPAShare<\/a><\/p>\n The UN children\u2019s agency, Unicef, reported that nearly 600 children have been killed or injured in Lebanon since the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war on 2 March.<\/p>\n More than 30 children were killed and nearly 150 injured by the wave of bombings carried out on Wednesday by Israeli troops, Unicef said.<\/p>\n In a statement, the agency said:<\/p>\n double quotation markUnicef is receiving reports of children being pulled from under the rubble, while others remain missing and separated from their families. Many are experiencing trauma, having lost loved ones, their homes, and any sense of safety. Across the country, more than one million people have been uprooted, including an estimated 390,000 children, many for the second, third, or even fourth time.<\/p>\n International humanitarian law is clear: civilians, including children, must be protected at all times.<\/p>\n