Detour.
Still counting in California.
1. A civilian was killed and dozens of others were injured at Kuwait’s international airport yesterday after Iran fired a barrage of missiles and drones at the country, Kuwait and the United States said. It was one of the biggest Iranian strikes and the first known fatality in a Gulf nation since the cease-fire took effect in April. The attack inflamed tensions in the region as indirect peace talks between Iran and the United States dragged on with no clear resolution. A spokesman for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said it had not fired at the airport and blamed the damage on U.S. Patriot missile interceptors that failed to hit Iranian missiles and fell on the building. (Source: nytimes.com)
1. A civilian was killed and dozens of others were injured at Kuwait’s international airport yesterday after Iran fired a barrage of missiles and drones at the country, Kuwait and the United States said. It was one of the biggest Iranian strikes and the first known fatality in a Gulf nation since the cease-fire took effect in April. The attack inflamed tensions in the region as indirect peace talks between Iran and the United States dragged on with no clear resolution. A spokesman for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said it had not fired at the airport and blamed the damage on U.S. Patriot missile interceptors that failed to hit Iranian missiles and fell on the building. (Source: nytimes.com)
2. President Trump has told aides privately that he would consider ending the ceasefire with Iran if Tehran kills American troops, U.S. officials said, insisting that the weeks-long pause in airstrikes remains intact despite a steady stream of violent skirmishes. The president’s reluctance to reignite the war suggests he might be willing to withstand smaller flare-ups for weeks—or even months—to avoid a broader conflict in the Middle East. The U.S. and Iran this week engaged in some of the most intense fighting yet since a ceasefire went into effect in early April, with Iran firing missiles and drones on regional U.S. bases and Kuwait’s international airport. The attacks left one person dead. (Source: wsj.com)
3. President Trump yesterday said the war in Iran was “not a big thing” for the United States in his latest attempt to play down the effects of the war by pointing to the economy. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump asserted that the conflict, which has killed at least 13 U.S. service members and an estimated 1,700 Iranian civilians, drained military stockpiles, and inflicted financial pain on working-class Americans, was going better than expected. He maintained he was “very proud” of what he called a “detour” to Iran. “We have the highest stock market in history with a military conflict going on, or a war — some people call it war, some people call it a military — it’s not a big thing for us,” Mr. Trump said. “We have a great military. It’s not a big thing for us.” (Source: nytimes.com)
4. Israel and Lebanon have agreed to implement a US-brokered ceasefire, as Washington seeks to stop fighting between the Iran-backed militant group Hizbollah and Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. In a joint statement with the US on Wednesday, Israel and Lebanon said they had agreed to a cessation of hostilities contingent on Hizbollah withdrawing its fighters from south Lebanon and halting its attacks on Israel. “The ceasefire is contingent on a complete cessation of Hizbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hizbollah operatives from the south Litani sector,” said the statement published by the US state department. (Source: ft.com)
5. Israel’s military was reported to have carried out more deadly strikes in Lebanon earlier today, hours after the Trump administration has said the two neighbors had agreed to a conditional ceasefire. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Israeli drones had struck along roads at several locations in the south of the country, with at least one attack killing a Lebanese soldier. The Lebanese Army Command said in a statement: “Amid the ongoing brutal Israeli attacks on Lebanon, an army soldier was martyred after being targeted in a hostile Israeli airstrike.” Airstrikes and shelling were also reported in the area and roads around Tyre, on the Mediterranean coast. (Source: thetimes.com)
