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Middle East
Trump says considering 'winding down' Iran war, US eases oil sanctions
U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he was considering "winding down" military operations against Iran, as the United States temporarily e...
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Lebanon
Israel bombs Beirut's southern suburbs and south Lebanon
The Israeli military said it launched a wave of strikes on Beirut's southerb suburbs, claiming to target Iran-backed Hezbollah early Satu...
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The Syrian presidency vowed to punish those who committed violations against Druze-majority Sweida's residents, as government forces were accused of summary executions and other abuses by right groups, witnesses and local factions.
In a statement, the presidency said they "strongly condemn these heinous acts and affirm our full commitment to investigating all related incidents and punishing all those proven to be involved".
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The Israeli military said Wednesday it was working to stop people crossing from Syria, after deadly unrest between Druze and Bedouin fighters.
"A short while ago, (Israeli) troops identified dozens of suspects attempting to infiltrate Israeli territory from the area of Hader in Syria," a statement said, adding that soldiers and border police were "operating to prevent the infiltration".
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Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that Israel's attacks during last month's 12-day war were intended to weaken the Islamic republic's system and spark unrest to topple it.
"The calculation and plan of the aggressors was to weaken the system by targeting certain figures and sensitive centers in Iran," said Khamenei in a statement published on his website. He said the move was meant to stir "unrest and bring people into the streets to overthrow the system."
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A senior Hamas official on Wednesday rejected claims of progress in Gaza ceasefire talks, adding the Palestinian militant group had not received maps planning for Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territory.
"(Israel) has not yet delivered any new or revised maps regarding military withdrawals from the Gaza Strip," Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas political bureau, told AFP, accusing Israel of wanting to "prolong military control" in Gaza for the long term.
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Syria state media said that the Israeli military struck the Druze-majority city of Sweida, where Syrian government forces have deployed despite Israeli warnings.
"Israeli occupation drones target the city of Sweida," state-run SANA said.
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Hezbollah condemned an Israeli air strike that killed 12 people in the Bekaa Valley on Tuesday, as a "major escalation".
In a statement, the group said Israel's attack "constitutes a major escalation in the context of the ongoing aggression against Lebanon and its people". It called on Lebanese authorities to "take serious, immediate, and decisive action" to uphold a November ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
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The Kremlin warned Tuesday that US President Donald Trump's pledge of more weapons for Kyiv and threat of sanctions targeting Russian trading partners could embolden Ukraine and further delay already stalled peace efforts.
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Israeli warplanes on Tuesday carried out strikes on the Wadi Faara area in northern Bekaa, one of them targeting a Syrian refugee camp, killing 12 people, including seven Syrians, and wounding eight others, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.
A security source told Reuters that the dead include five Hezbollah fighters.
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Gaza ceasefire talks remain in their "first phase" after more than a week of talks, even as mediators step up efforts to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas, Qatar said Tuesday.
"Discussions on the framework agreement are still ongoing. Both delegations are present here in Doha, and the mediators are intensifying efforts to reach an agreement," Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari told reporters.
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A drone strike forced a U.S. company to suspend operations at an oil field in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region Tuesday, amid a wave of similar attacks targeting the region's energy infrastructure.
The Kurdistan natural resources ministry said the Sarsang oil field in Duhok province was hit, calling the strike "an act of terrorism against the Kurdistan Region's vital economic infrastructure".
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