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Iran warns it may expand war to Indian Ocean if US attacks again

An adviser to Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned on Thursday that Tehran may expand the Middle East war to the Indian Ocean if the U.S. or Israel attacks again.

"Since the conflict has spread from the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz to the Red Sea, it is possible that, in response to more war, the front will expand even further, reaching the Indian Ocean and perhaps beyond," said Yahya Rahim Safavi in a video released by Iran's Fars news agency.

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Son of Israel's ambassador to US critically injured in West Bank ramming attack

The son of Israel's ambassador to the United States was gravely injured in a ramming attack in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday.

Neria Leiter, a reservist in Israel's military, "needs a miracle," Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said in a social media post. The ambassador's older son, Moshe Yedidya Leiter, who also served in Israel's military, was killed in Gaza about a month after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack, which triggered the war in Gaza.

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Golan will remain Syrian, vows President al-Sharaa at UN

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa insisted at the U.N. Wednesday that the Golan Heights region will remain Syrian after Colombia last month recognized Israeli sovereignty over the strategically important territory.

"Any attempts that violate our sovereignty, violate international law, will be stopped. Golan will remain Syrian territories. Any other attempts will be thwarted according to Security Council Resolution 497," al-Sharaa said at the U.N. meeting of world leaders in New York.

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Yemen's factions battling Houthis share a common enemy but not common goals

Yemeni factions fighting the Iran-backed Houthis are united mainly in one thing — their opposition to the rebels who control the country's north and have recently advanced along its Red Sea coastline.

But beyond that, the groups fighting under the banner of Yemen's internationally recognized government are divided by geography, foreign patronage and competing visions for what their country should look like if the Houthis are pushed back.

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Netanyahu rebukes Macron's remarks on Hamas

Netanyahu’s office called Macron’s remarks at the United Nations a "grotesque absurdity," objecting to his claim about the Palestinian militant group Hamas' activity in the West Bank.

Macron decried the situation in Gaza. He also criticized the escalating Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, saying Israel could not invoke Hamas to justify its actions in the territory. He used terminology in his French-language remarks that could mean Hamas has either never governed or operated in the West Bank.

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Israel says it killed Hamas leader in Gaza strike

An Israeli strike on a vehicle in Khan Younis killed two people Wednesday morning, Gaza’s Health Ministry said.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said one of those killed was Mohammad Abu Alwan, whom he identified as the head of Hamas’ finance department. He also said Israel would keep going after militants on its target list.

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'Nothing new' in latest talks with US, Iran says

A spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday Iran had maintained its negotiating stance in talks with U.S. officials, demanding the United States end its blockade on Iranian ports and release Iran's frozen assets.

Esmail Baghaei said the indirect talks took place via Qatari mediators on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

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Iran 'toughens' conditions for ending war after US deal collapse

Revolutionary Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi said on Tuesday that Iran had hardened its conditions for ending the war with the United States following the collapse of a June deal, adding Washington now had "no choice" but to accept its demands.

Iran had previously agreed with the United States to a memorandum of understanding laying out a pathway to a permanent settlement of the conflict, only for the deal to later unravel as each side accused the other of violating it.

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Latest Yemen clashes kill more than 150

Fighting in Yemen between the Iran-backed Houthis and government forces supported by Saudi Arabia has killed 154 people in the past two days, military sources from both sides told AFP on Tuesday.

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Saudi King Salman condemns Houthis as 'terrorist militia' in rare statement

The king of Saudi Arabia denounced Yemen's Houthis as a "terrorist militia" in a rare statement Tuesday reacting to an attack that authorities said targeted the holy city of Mecca last week.

King Salman, 90, praised the armed forces and security services for defending the country, and condemned the recent Houthi attempt "to target Mecca", calling it "a provocation to Muslims around the world", according to the official Saudi news agency.

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