Key events
Benjamin Netanyahu will meet Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, the Israeli prime minister’s office said.
“As part of the visit, the prime minister will meet with President Trump at the White House on Tuesday and attend the funeral service for Senator Lindsey Graham, a friend of Israel,” Netanyahu’s office said, adding that he will depart for Washington on Monday.
Netanyahu’s visit comes at a time when tensions have mounted between the two leaders over the handling of the war with Iran and as Trump threatens to escalate US military action.
Since Trump’s return to the White House last year, the two have already met six times, but this will be the first such meeting in five months. At the last one in February, Netanyahu made the case for the joint offensive against Iran that Trump launched with him weeks later.
Iran pushes back on report that it rejected US ceasefire proposal sent via Iraq
Iran has pushed back on a New York Times (paywall) report from Thursday that Tehran had rejected a US ceasefire deal presented by the Iraqi prime minister, calling the report “completely diversionary and misleading,” according to state media IRNA.
The NYT reported that the proposal was the only one on the table, and Tehran was not interested in a temporary deal which left the question of control of the strait of Hormuz unresolved, citing Iranian officials.
The IRNA report claimed the proposal was for a “temporary ۱۰-day ceasefire”. Full details of the proposal have not been published.
“Iran has always regarded diplomacy as having intrinsic value,” an unnamed Iranian official said, according to IRNA. “The problem of the escalation of conflict in the region stems exclusively from the United States’ breach of its promises and violation of the commitments contained in the June ۱۸ memorandum of understanding.”
Baghdad has also denied the NYT report. Ali al-Zaidi’s trip to Iran followed his recent visit to the White House where he met with Donald Trump.
The Iraqi prime minister’s media office said the “claims” in the report were “completely baseless and had no connection to reality”, according to a statement published by the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
The office urged media outlets “to verify information, rely on official sources and refrain from circulating unsubstantiated reports or claims attributed to anonymous sources”.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps warned civilians in the Middle East on Friday to stay away from US forces, state media reported.
In an interview carried out by state TV, the IRGC said:
We warn the general public in countries where American soldiers are stationed to immediately stay out of a radius of ۵۰۰ metres from the places where American soldiers are hiding, in order to be safe.
Jordan’s military said it intercepted seven missiles and six drones launched by Iran on Friday.
The military said the interceptions, performed by air defence systems and air force planes, “resulted in no casualties or material damage,” according to AFP.
Earlier on Friday, the Iranian army said it had launched drone attacks targeting US military personnel and military targets in Bahrain and Jordan after the US carried out its ۱۳th consecutive night of strikes against Iran.
US carries out strikes across Iran as Tehran targets American bases in region
US missiles struck targets across Iran on Friday after Donald Trump vowed “major military punishment” for Tehran and its Houthi allies in Yemen for extending the Middle East war to a second major shipping chokepoint, the mouth of the Red Sea.
The US Central Command said it targeted Iranian military command centres, communication networks, drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites and maritime capabilities.
Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported that explosions were reported in Khondab, Khorramabad, Konarak and Jask.
Meanwhile, as Reuters reports, Iranian armed forces responded by firing a wave of retaliatory attacks on at US bases in neighbouring Arab countries and warning people there that they may strike non-military buildings used by US personnel.
The Iranian army said it used drones to target facilities in Bahrain and Jordan, with attacks also reported in Kuwait and Iraq.
It said Trump’s threats only strengthened its resolve.
