\Weekend Recap\: 🇮🇷 \Iran keeps Washington waiting\
By Bernie,
Iran's Foreign Ministry stated it was still reviewing the United States proposal aimed at ending the war and would issue a response "at the appropriate time." Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei dismissed deadlines set in Washington. "The deadlines set by American politicians mean nothing; we do our own work," Baghaei said, according to ISNA. Iranian officials described the document as highly technical and said it is being examined line by line, with sign-off required from the negotiating team led by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Supreme National Security Council, and the supreme leader. Speaking to reporters before traveling to Virginia on Friday evening, US President Donald Trump said, "We'll hear from them supposedly tonight." Pressed on whether he believed Tehran was slow-rolling, Trump replied, "We'll find out soon enough." As of now, Iran had not delivered a response.
🇱🇧 \Saturday strikes across south Lebanon and the Beirut highway\
The Israel Defense Forces issued evacuation warnings on Saturday morning to nine southern Lebanon villages, including Tayr Debba, Aabbasiyyeh, Burj Rahal, Maaroub, Barish, Arzoun, Jannata, Zrariyeh, and Ain Baal. The IDF stated it had struck more than 85 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon over the past day, along with an underground weapons site in the Beqaa Valley. The Lebanons National News Agency reported three killed in a strike on a car travelling between Burj Rahal and Aabbasiyyeh. The agency stated that three Israeli drone strikes on the coastal highway south of Beirut, near the town of Saadiyat, killed four people. The Health Ministry stated that drone strikes also killed a Syrian man riding a motorcycle with his 12-year-old daughter in the city of Nabatiyeh.
🇮🇱 \Hezbollah drones wound three IDF reservists\
The IDF stated on Saturday that an explosive drone fired by Hezbollah struck Israeli territory near the Lebanon border, seriously wounding a reservist soldier and moderately wounding a reservist officer and another reservist soldier. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for several attacks, including the firing of a drone at an Israeli military post in the northern town of Misgav Am.
âš“ \New Hormuz clashes reported, UK pre-positions warship\
Iranian state-affiliated media reported on Saturday what they called "sporadic clashes" between Iranian and US naval forces in the Strait of Hormuz, following overnight exchanges. There was no immediate independent confirmation. Britain's Ministry of Defence announced on Saturday that HMS Dragon, an air defence destroyer, was being relocated from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Middle East to pre-position for a potential multinational mission, jointly led by the United Kingdom and France, to protect shipping in the strait once conditions allow. "The pre-positioning of HMS Dragon is part of prudent planning that will ensure that the UK is ready, as part of a multinational coalition jointly led by the UK and France, to secure the strait, when conditions allow," a Ministry of Defence spokesperson stated.
🇺🇸 \Washington sets May 14-15 Israel-Lebanon talks\
The US State Department announced on Friday that the third round of Israel-Lebanon talks will be held in Washington on May 14 and 15. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott stated the meeting would build on the April 23 round of talks led by US President Donald Trump. The Israeli delegation will be led by Ron Dermer and the Lebanese delegation by Simon Karam, with military representatives joining ambassador-level officials for the first time. The State Department stated that "comprehensive peace is contingent on the full restoration of Lebanese state authority and the complete disarmament of Hezbollah."
🇱🇧 \Salam meets Sharaa in Damascus\
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam held talks on Saturday in the Syrian capital with Syria's interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa, discussing relations between the two countries and security cooperation. Speaking before returning home, Salam stated Lebanon would not again be used to "harm our Arab brothers, on top of them Syria."
Topics: Iran, Strait of Hormuz, Lebanon & Hezbollah
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