- Pentagon readying for ground operations: report -

The Pentagon is preparing for weeks of ground operations in Iran -- potentially including raids on Kharg Island and coastal sites near the Strait of Hormuz -- though US President Donald Trump has yet to approve any deployment, the Washington Post reported Saturday.

Any ground operation would stop short of a full-scale invasion, instead involving raids by special operations forces and conventional infantry troops, the Post said, citing unnamed officials.

- Kuwait responds to missile and drone attacks -

Kuwait's military said Sunday it was responding to "hostile missile and drone" threats.

"The general staff of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces confirms that any explosions that may be heard are the result of air defense systems intercepting hostile targets," it posted on X.

- Iran threatens US universities in Mideast -

Iran's Revolutionary Guard on Sunday threatened to target US universities in the Middle East after saying US-Israeli strikes had destroyed two Iranian universities.

In a statement, the Guard demanded a US condemnation of the bombing of universities by noon (0830 GMT) Monday.

- Pakistan mediation -

Pakistan will host foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey in Islamabad on Sunday and Monday for discussions "on a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region", the foreign ministry said.

Islamabad has emerged as a key facilitator between Iran and the United States, serving as an intermediary for messages between the two sides.

- Yemen's Houthis enter war, fire missiles at Israel -

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels joined the month-old Middle East war on Saturday, claiming two missile attacks on Israel.

Until Saturday, they had sat out the latest conflict, but warned they would join it if Iran continued to come under attack.

- Anti-war protests in Israel -

Hundreds gathered in Tel Aviv and some other Israeli cities on Saturday to protest the war in the Middle East, in unauthorised demonstrations that security forces sought to disperse.

Numbers attending weekly protests against the war appear to be rising, though they are far from the tens of thousands who filled the streets last year to protest the war in Gaza.

- US condemns attack on Iraqi Kurdistan leader -

The United States condemned a drone attack Saturday on a residence of the leader of autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan, Nechirvan Barzani, blaming Iranian militia proxies in Iraq.

"These actions by Iran and its proxies are a direct assault on Iraq's sovereignty, stability, and unity," a statement from State Department deputy spokesman Tommy Pigott said.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who spoke with Barzani, called the attack "unacceptable" and described the rise in attacks on Iraqi institutions as "worrying."

- Strike kills two police in Iraq -

A strike on Iraq's northern Mosul city killed two police officers, the ministry of interior said, blaming the attack on the United States and Israel.

The ministry said the "Zionist-American" attack also wounded five policemen, as they were helping rescue colleagues wounded in the initial strike.

- Iran strike on Israeli village -

A direct Iranian missile strike on a village in central Israel on Saturday wounded 11 people and left a massive crater, medics said.

It hit a residential area in the village of Eshtaol, near Beit Shemesh -- where an earlier strike killed nine people.

- France links Paris bank bombing bid to war -

France's Interior Minister Laurent Nunez on Saturday linked a foiled attempt to bomb a Bank of America building in Paris to the war in the Middle East.

Nunez told news channel BFMTV that it made him think of similar actions that had taken place elsewhere in Europe, such as in the Netherlands, claimed by opponents of the conflict.

- Iran navy arms complex hit -

Israel's military said it struck an industrial complex in Tehran used for the research and development of naval weapons, as part of a wave of attacks conducted overnight from Friday to Saturday.

The military said the site handled "the research, development and production of a wide range of naval weaponry, including surface and sub-surface vessels, manned and unmanned equipment, as well as engines and weapons".

- Iraq fighters killed in strike -

A strike in northern Iraq on Saturday killed three fighters from the former paramilitary coalition Hashed al-Shaabi, the alliance said, blaming the United States and Israel for the attack.

Two police officers were also killed and five wounded in a strike on a Mosul police station that the interior ministry also attributed to a US-Israeli attack.

- Aluminium firm damaged -

The firm Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) said one of its sites in Abu Dhabi suffered significant damage after an Iranian attack that left six people wounded, according to authorities.

EGA -- one of the world's largest aluminium producers -- said its "Al Taweelah site sustained significant damage during the Iranian missile and drone attacks at Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi".

burs/abs/lb