War: latest news. Putin: Russia ready to mediate in the Middle East conflict

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will leave for Turkmenistan tomorrow to attend the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as a guest of honour, and the environmental summit of the Caspian Sea littoral states. This was reported by the IRNA news agency, which added that the president will hold a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the two events. Yesterday, Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov announced that a meeting had been arranged between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart. “Naturally, the agenda will include issues relating to the development of bilateral cooperation and, of course, the tense situation in the Middle East,” said Ushakov. The two leaders held a telephone conversation today to mark Putin’s birthday.

The number of Palestinians killed today by Israeli forces in various parts of the Gaza Strip has risen to five. Al Jazeera reports this, noting that two further people were killed in attacks in Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave. Earlier this morning, hospital sources had told the Wafa news agency of three deaths, including a Civil Defence rescuer who was killed whilst trying to reach and assist the wounded in a displacement camp near Kamal Adwan Hospital, in the north of the Strip. In a statement, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said they had killed “two Hamas terrorists as they were leaving Kamal Adwan Hospital”.

US Vice-President JD Vance stated in an exclusive interview with Reuters that Iran must implement a “significant” reduction in its nuclear enrichment capacity to meet US demands and bring an end to the seven-month-long conflict between the two countries. According to Vance, any agreement with the US would require Iran to actually reduce its nuclear enrichment capacity, rather than merely offering assurances about future reductions in its nuclear programme. “If you don’t want a nuclear weapon, why do you need 60 per cent enriched fuel? And if you want to demonstrate a commitment not to build a nuclear weapon, you must not produce highly enriched fuel. It is a fundamental issue, an essential requirement,” Vance said in the interview. “I believe that, if they intend to demonstrate in practical terms that they do not wish to build a nuclear weapon, they should take significant action to curtail their enrichment capacity” and this time, the US Vice-President concluded, “we will not accept words in place of deeds”. When asked about Vance’s remarks, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Washington’s “demands and ideas” regarding Iran’s nuclear programme are at odds with Tehran’s positions.

On the day Israel marks the third anniversary of 7 October, the IDF has released new figures on operations carried out across all fronts. Since the start of the war, the army has stated that it has struck around 100,000 targets: 65,000 in the Gaza Strip, 28,000 in Lebanon and Syria, 4,500 in Iran and 80 in Yemen. In terms of casualties, 970 soldiers, reservists and members of the local security forces have been killed and a further 6,424 wounded in the fighting. Of these, 472 were killed and 3,004 wounded during the ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Mohammadreza Naqdi, an adviser to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, stated today that Tehran has “full control” of the Strait of Hormuz, which will remain closed until the United States meets Iran’s demands. “The Strait of Hormuz is closed and the armed forces have full control of it. This situation will persist until Iran’s legitimate demands are met,” said the adviser, as quoted by Iranian media. Today, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Iran had “completely lost” control of the Strait. Naqdi went on to add: “Soon, several routes created by the aggressors through explosions and the destruction of certain rocky areas in the Strait of Hormuz will also be blocked.”

A Palestinian man was killed and 14 others were injured today during an attack by extremist Israeli settlers on olive pickers from the town of Burqa, north-west of Nablus, whilst they were working on their land east of Tulkarm. This was reported by the Palestinian news agency Wafa. The Ministry of Health in Ramallah stated that the victim was Ali Hassan Yasser al-Bazzari, aged 44, who was “killed in an attack carried out by Israeli forces and settlers in Burqa”.

Three years on from the start of the war, following the massacre of 7 October 2023, the IDF reports that it has struck around 100,000 targets across all fronts: 65,000 in Gaza, 28,000 in Lebanon and Syria, 4,500 in Iran and 80 in Yemen. Around 31,500 rockets and missiles have been fired at Israel: 20,000 from Lebanon, 10,200 from Gaza, 1,200 from Iran, 90 from Yemen and 50 from Syria. In terms of casualties, 970 IDF soldiers were killed in action, and over 70 per cent of those wounded in combat have returned to duty.

Iran has “lost complete control” of the Strait of Hormuz, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said, adding that Tehran’s economy is “in total and complete freefall”. “The volume of oil flowing out now is almost the same as it was before the conflict began. So they have lost complete control of the Strait,” Rubio said at the end of his meeting in Athens with the Greek Foreign Minister, Giorgos Gerapetritis, during joint press statements.

To mark the anniversary of the attacks carried out by Hamas on 7 October 2023, the Head of State, Sergio Mattarella, issued a warning “so that the barbaric and uncivilised scourges of terrorism, anti-Semitism and all forms of hatred based on ethnicity and religion may be condemned forever and firmly rejected, both in the Middle East and throughout the world”.

Overnight, the IDF carried out several operations across the West Bank, arresting and questioning dozens of wanted suspects accused of involvement in terrorist activities and incitement to hatred, including expressing support for Hamas in relation to 7 October 2023. This was reported by the Times of Israel. The Wafa news agency reports that the army raided several homes in the village of Beit Duqqu, north-west of East Jerusalem, in the early hours of today. Arrests were made among residents and on-the-spot interrogations took place.