Following the killing of Ali Larijani, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Al Jazeera that Iran’s stance against the development of nuclear weapons would not change significantly. Meanwhile, Lebanon said that at least 111 children have been killed and 334 wounded in Israeli strikes since 2 March, when the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah joined the regional war by firing into Israeli territory.
Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday, will host a consultative meeting of foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic countries as the war with Iran shows no sign of abating. The Saudi Foreign Ministry said the meeting in the capital, Riyadh, will include a discussion of means to "support regional security and stability." Gulf Arab states have repeatedly come under fire from Iran, raising anger towards Tehran, as well as the United States and Israel, for the ongoing conflict.
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As things stand, here are five of the latest updates regarding the conflict in the Middle East:
1. In the latest round of airstrikes, Israel tasked its air force with targeting Iran’s Intelligence Minister, Esmail Khatib. The strikes were successfully carried out, and officials are currently assessing the outcome of the operation, reports said. Iran is yet to respond to the incident, and it remains to be seen if the strike caused casualties.
2. It is unreasonable for Israel to expect the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah, France’s special envoy for Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said. He argued that Israel is demanding something they could not achieve themselves when the ball was in their court.
“Israel occupied Lebanon for a very long time and failed to eradicate Hezbollah’s military capacity. Therefore, they cannot now ask the Lebanese government to do that job in three days under bombardment,” Le Drian was quoted as telling France Info radio.
3. Israel's military on Wednesday acknowledged that its tank fire hit a UN position in southern Lebanon on 6 March, wounding Ghanaian peacekeepers—an incident that underscores the growing risks as Israeli operations expand. Initial findings by an internal UN inquiry had suggested Israel was behind the attack, a Western military source told Reuters. The UN peacekeeping mission, known as UNIFIL, is stationed in southern Lebanon to monitor hostilities along the demarcation line with Israel.
4. The Arabian Travel Market, which usually takes place in the April–May window, has been rescheduled to 17–20 August at the Dubai World Trade Centre, its organisers said in a statement. "The decision to reschedule the event has been made to prioritise the safety and well-being of customers, partners, and colleagues, and to give the global travel and tourism community greater confidence and flexibility to attend," the events company RX said.
5. The Iranian armed forces have been cleared to make use of weapons in their arsenal that have not been used in the war so far, the Islamic Republic's army spokesperson was quoted as saying.
Asked about Iranian strikes in the Gulf targeting not only US military bases but also impacting residential or commercial areas, Iran's Foreign Minister said this was because US forces had relocated to urban areas. "Wherever American forces were gathering, wherever there were facilities belonging to them, they were targeted," the top Iranian diplomat said.
