Iran war updates: Chinese vessels allowed to sail Hormuz as Trump meets Xi

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• The US hosted the third round of Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington, DC, with a senior State Department official calling the first day “productive and positive”. Discussions between both sides are set to continue on Friday.
• President Trump said China’s Xi Jinping offered to help open the Strait of Hormuz amid the unresolved war between Washington and Tehran.
• Israel’s defence minister has criticised Barcelona team player Lamine Yamal for waving a Palestinian flag during a Spanish league title celebration, while Spain’s Prime Minister Sanchez said he was “proud of” the footballer for the same act.
• Israeli nationalists marched through occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City chanting “Death to Arabs” and “May your villages burn”, during the annual Jerusalem Day march marking the 1967 capture of East Jerusalem by Israeli forces, and which is considered illegal under international law.
• At least four Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in northern Gaza, according to hospital sources speaking to Al Jazeera.
• Hezbollah said it launched two attacks on Israeli military targets, including a drone strike on a gathering of soldiers at the Rosh Hanikra site, in response to what it called Israeli ceasefire violations and attacks on southern Lebanon.
• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that continuing disruptions from the US-Israel war on Iran mean the global economic outlook is moving towards an “adverse” scenario with reduced growth and higher inflation risks.
• The UN reported a surge in settler violence across the occupied West Bank after a child was killed in an incident linked to Israeli settlers in the Ramallah area.
• Israeli artillery targeted hills and towns in southern Lebanon, including Nabatieh al-Fawqa, Kfar Tebnit, Jebchit and Mefdoun, while Israel’s fighter jets carried out air strikes on Majdal Selem and Haris.
• Saudi Arabia is discussing a “non-aggression” security agreement between Iran and Middle East nations, once the US-Israel war has definitively ended, according to the Financial Times.
• Iran’s foreign minister called on fellow BRICS nations to condemn what he described as US and Israeli violations of international law, as war and the fuel crisis dominated the two-day gathering in New Delhi.

The Israeli army medics have been training on the bodies of deceased Americans, according to an investigation by our colleague Dena Takruri at AJ+, in collaboration with the journalism students who broke the story.

This training has been facilitated through a little-known body donation programme between two Californian universities and the US Navy.

Watch the video below:

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Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry has issued a statement on X condemning what it described as “provocative practices” by Israeli authorities at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

The statement, which did not name any officials, cited two specific incidents: An official storming the mosque under the protection of Israeli police and another official raising the flag of Israel in the mosque’s courtyards.

According to news reports from Jerusalem Day, the officials were far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who entered the compound under police protection, raised the Israeli flag near the Dome of the Rock, and danced with supporters and Knesset member Yitzhak Kroizer, who accompanied him and was photographed prostrating towards the mosque.

Saudi Arabia called on the international community to halt practices it said violate international laws and norms, and to hold Israeli authorities accountable for what it termed “serious violations” against Islamic holy sites and Palestinian civilians.

The first day of talks between Israel and Lebanon has concluded.

This is the third round of negotiations taking place here in Washington, DC.

A State Department official told Al Jazeera that it was a full day of productive and positive talks and that they are looking forward to continuing this tomorrow.

These are ambassador-level talks, which means that we do not have representation here from top-level leadership from Israel, Lebanon or the US.

I spoke to a State Department official who, at least to me, seemed very optimistic about where the talks are right now.

We should underscore, again, that the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon is set to expire on Sunday, so certainly that is going to be a major focal point of these talks moving forward into Friday.

Lebanese officials hope that the third round of talks with Israel in the US will yield a renewed ceasefire deal.

They see these meetings as a vital opportunity to stop the current violence and establish a more stable environment for further diplomacy.

The delegation aims to use the talks to pave the way for resolving several thorny issues. High on their list is the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and reaching a clear agreement on border security.

Additionally, the discussions are expected to address the complex and sensitive issue of Hezbollah’s disarmament. By tackling these thorny subjects now, officials believe they can move towards a long-term solution for the country.

Read the full article here.

Israel has reportedly funded promotional campaigns aimed at securing a win for its entry in Eurovision.

While Eurovision is officially billed as a nonpolitical event, it has faced growing criticism for refusing to exclude Israel from participation, even as the country’s military operations continue to cause widespread devastation in Gaza and Lebanon.

This stands in contrast to 2022, when Eurovision banned Russia from the competition following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine

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Spain’s PM Sanchez has applauded Spain and Barcelona footballer Yamal for waving the Palestinian flag during the La Liga victory parade.

“Those who consider waving the flag of a State to be ‘inciting hatred’ have either lost their judgment or been blinded by their own ignominy,” Sanchez wrote on X.

“Lamine has only expressed the solidarity with Palestine felt by millions of Spaniards. Another reason to be proud of him.”

The 18-year-old waved a large Palestinian flag from an open-top bus during the team’s victory parade through Barcelona on Monday. The gesture drew immediate ire from Israeli officials.

Israel’s defence minister criticised the teenage Barcelona star for the act during the Spanish league title celebrations, claiming the display “incited hate”.

Trump has posted on social media, framing his discussions with President Xi as a validation of his administration’s domestic and foreign policies.

Trump wrote that when Xi “elegantly referred to the United States as perhaps being a declining nation”, the Chinese leader was actually “referring to the tremendous damage we suffered during the four years” of the Biden presidency. Trump added that “on that score, [Xi] was 100% correct.”

He claimed that Xi was “not referring to the incredible rise” during the 16 months of the current Trump administration.

The first day of talks between Israel and Lebanon in Washington on Thursday was “productive and positive”, a senior US State Department official said.

The discussions, hosted by the US, will continue on Friday.

Barack Obama has defended the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, arguing it curbed Tehran’s nuclear programme without triggering a wider regional conflict.

In an interview with CBS, the former US President said the agreement succeeded in removing much of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, and was supported by both US and Israeli intelligence assessments at the time.

“We pulled it off without firing a missile,” Obama said. “We got 97 percent of their enriched uranium out.

“There’s no dispute that it worked. And we didn’t have to kill a whole bunch of people or shut down the Strait of Hormuz.”

Iran’s foreign minister has called on fellow BRICS nations to condemn what he called violations of international law by the US and Israel, as the war and the related fuel crisis dominate the two-day gathering in New Delhi.

Araghchi accused the UAE, a US ally, of direct involvement in military operations against Iran, in a rare moment when Iranian and Emirati officials have been in the same room since the US and Israel’s war on Iran began at the end of February.

Araghchi said Iran was a “victim of illegal expansionism and warmongering”. He urged BRICS+ nations – a grouping comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the UAE – to resist “Western hegemony and the sense of impunity that the US believes it is entitled to”.

Read the latest about his BRICS visit here.

Iran’s foreign minister has met India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on the sidelines of the BRICS meeting in New Delhi.

According to the Iranian government, the two sides discussed bilateral ties and “regional developments” during talks.

The meeting comes after India condemned an attack on an Indian-flagged vessel off the coast of Oman, calling the targeting of commercial shipping “unacceptable”.

Let’s get you up to speed with the latest:

• At least four Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in northern Gaza.
• US President Donald Trump says China’s President Xi offered to help open the Strait of Hormuz as tensions between Washington and Tehran remain unresolved.
• In an interview with Fox News, the US president said Xi “would like to see a deal made”.
• Hezbollah said it “targeted a gathering of Israeli enemy army soldiers at the Rosh Hanikra [Ras an-Naqoura] site” near the border with Lebanon with a drone.
• Saudi Arabia is discussing a “non-aggression” security agreement between Iran and nations of the Middle East as soon as the US-Israel war on Iran definitively ends, according to the Financial Times.