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War in the Middle East: latest developments Paris, France, March 23 (AFP) Mar 23, 2026 Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:
Minutes later, a loud blast rang out over Jerusalem, AFP reporters in the city heard. The Magen David Adom emergency services said it had no immediate reports of casualties following the strike, but had dispatched paramedics to one area where a reported impact was received.
The Iraqi official, requesting anonymity, told AFP that "an Iraqi faction fired seven Arash-4 rockets, an improved version of the Grad rocket, towards a base in the Hassakeh region".
"President Trump believes there is a chance to leverage the tremendous achievements of the (Israeli military) and the US military in order to realise the war's objectives in an agreement -- an agreement that will safeguard our vital interests," Netanyahu said in a video statement. Earlier Trump announced he had shelved plans to attack Iran's power plants in a stunning about-turn, sparked by what he said were "very good" talks with unidentified Iranian officials to bring an end to the war.
AFPTV's live broadcast showed a cloud of smoke over the southern suburbs, which are considered a stronghold of the Iran-backed militant group.
The system is a key component of Israel's multi-layered air defence shield.
The hit came days after Israel announced it had "eliminated" the intelligence chief of the Basij in a strike that also killed the force's top commander, Gholamreza Soleimani. Israel has been targeting the Basij force as part of efforts to undermine the Iranian authorities' grip on power.
"The summons follows the recent charging of two individuals, one Iranian national and one British-Iranian dual national, under the National Security Act, on suspicion of providing assistance to a foreign intelligence service," a Foreign Office spokesperson said.
"What we have seen in recent days in the Middle East risks reaching a point of no return," ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said.
"We're deploying short-range air defence systems to Bahrain at speed," Starmer told a parliamentary committee, adding that Britain was "doing the same with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia". burs-mlm/js |
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