US special envoy 'satisfied' with Lebanon reply to US roadmap to disarm Hezbollah
"What the government gave us was something spectacular in a very short period of time. I'm unbelievably satisfied with the response," Barrack told reporters after meeting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, without giving details of the response.
Aoun's team gave Barrack a seven-page reply to his 19 June proposal.
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Katz says Israel plans to move 600,000 Gazans to 'humanitarian' city on Rafah's ruins
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Gulf Today
5 hours ago
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Israel launches airstrikes on Yemen
Israel's military launched airstrikes early on Monday targeting ports and facilities held by Yemen's Houthi rebels, with the rebels responding with missile fire targeting Israel. The attacks came after an attack Sunday targeting a Liberian-flagged ship in the Red Sea that caught fire and took on water, later forcing its crew to abandon the vessel. Suspicion for the attack on the Greek-owned bulk carrier Magic Seas immediately fell on the Houthis, particularly as a security firm said bomb-carrying drone boats appeared to hit the ship after it was targeted by small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. The rebels' media reported on the attack but did not claim it. It can take them hours or even days before they acknowledge an assault. A renewed Houthi campaign against shipping could again draw in U.S. and Western forces to the area, particularly after President Donald Trump targeted the rebels in a major airstrike campaign. The ship attack comes at a sensitive moment in the Middle East, as a possible ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war hangs in the balance and as Iran weighs whether to restart negotiations over its nuclear program following American airstrikes targeting its most-sensitive atomic sites during an Israeli war against the Islamic Republic. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also was traveling to Washington to meet with Trump. The Israeli military said it struck Houthi-held ports at Hodeida, Ras Isa and Salif, as well as the Ras Kanatib power plant. It released footage showing an F-16 launching from Israel for the strike, which came after the Israeli military issued a warning for the area. "These ports are used by the Houthi terrorist regime to transfer weapons from the Iranian regime, which are employed to carry out terrorist operations against the state of Israel and its allies,' the Israeli military said. The Israeli military also said it struck the Galaxy Leader, a vehicle-carrying vessel that the Houthis seized back in November 2023 when they began their attacks in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war. "Houthi forces installed a radar system on the ship and have been using it to track vessels in the international maritime arena to facilitate further terrorist activities,' the Israeli military said. The Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader was affiliated with an Israeli billionaire. It said no Israelis were on board. The ship had been operated by a Japanese firm NYK Line. The Houthis acknowledged the strikes, but offered no damage assessment from the attack. Their military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, claimed its air defense forces "effectively confronted' the Israelis without offering evidence. Israel has repeatedly atacked Houthi areas in Yemen, including a naval strike in June. Both Israel and the United States have struck ports in the area in the past - including an American attack that killed 74 people in April - but Israel is now acting alone in attacking the rebels as they continue to fire missiles at Israel. Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened further strikes. "What's true for Iran is true for Yemen,' Katz said in a statement. "Anyone who raises a hand against Israel will have it cut off. The Houthis will continue to pay a heavy price for their actions.' The Houthis then responded with an apparent missile attack on Israel. The Israeli military said it attempted to intercept the two missiles launched by the Houthis, but they appeared to make impact, though no injuries have been reported. Sirens sounded in the West Bank and along the Dead Sea. The attack on the Magic Seas, a bulk carrier heading north to Egypt's Suez Canal, happened some 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Hodeida, Yemen, which is held by the Houthis. The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center first said that an armed security team on the vessel had returned fire against an initial attack of gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades, though the vessel later was struck by projectiles. Ambrey, a private maritime security firm, issued an alert saying a merchant ship had been "attacked by eight skiffs while transiting northbound in the Red Sea.' Ambrey later said the ship also had been attacked by bomb-carrying drone boats, which could be a major escalation. It said two drone boats struck the ship, while another two had been destroyed by the armed guards on board. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said the ship was taking on water and its crew had abandoned the vessel. They were rescued by a passing ship, it added. The U.S. Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet referred questions to the military's Central Command, which said it was aware of the incident without elaborating. A Yemeni inspects the damage reportedly caused by US airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen. File/AP Moammar al-Eryani, the information minister for Yemen's exiled government opposing the Houthis, identified the vessel attacked as the Magic Seas and blamed the rebels. The ship had been broadcasting it had an armed security team on board in the vicinity the attack took place and had been heading north. "The attack also proves once again that the Houthis are merely a front for an Iranian scheme using Yemen as a platform to undermine regional and global stability, at a time when Tehran continues to arm the militia and provide it with military technology, including missiles, aircraft, drones, and sea mines,' al-Eryani wrote on the social platform X. The Magic Seas' owners did not respond to a request for comment. The Houthi rebels have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group's leadership has described as an effort to end Israel's offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The group's al-Masirah satellite news channel acknowledged the attack occurred, but offered no other comment on it as it aired a speech by its secretive leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi. However, Ambrey said the Magic Seas met "the established Houthi target profile,' without elaborating. Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors. Their campaign has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically sees $1 trillion of goods move through it annually. Shipping through the Red Sea, while still lower than normal, has increased in recent weeks. The Houthis paused attacks until the U.S. launched a broad assault against the rebels in mid-March. That ended weeks later and the Houthis haven't attacked a vessel, though they have continued occasional missile attacks targeting Israel. Associated Press
Gulf Today
7 hours ago
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BRICS nations slam Trump tariffs, condemn strikes on Iran
BRICS leaders at a summit on Sunday took aim at US President Donald Trump's "indiscriminate" import tariffs and recent Israeli-US strikes on Iran. The 11 emerging nations -- including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- account for about half the world's population and 40 per cent of global economic output. The bloc is divided about much, but found common cause when it comes to the mercurial US leader and his stop-start tariff wars -- even if it avoided naming him directly. Voicing "serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff" measures, BRICS members said the tariffs risked hurting the global economy, according to a summit joint statement. Trump fired back at the bloc directly on social media Sunday night. "Any country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. Russia's President Vladimir Putin appears on a screen as he attends the opening meeting of BRICS Summit remotely with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, at the Museum of Modern Art (MAM) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sunday. Reuters Earlier, BRICS also offered symbolic backing to fellow member Iran, condemning a series of military strikes on nuclear and other targets carried out by Israel and the United States. In April, Trump threatened allies and rivals alike with a slew of punitive duties, before offering a months-long reprieve in the face of a fierce market sell-off. Trump has warned he will impose unilateral levies on partners unless they reach "deals" by August 1. In an apparent concession to US allies such as Brazil, India and Saudi Arabia, the summit declaration did not criticize the United States or its president by name at any point. No show Conceived two decades ago as a forum for fast-growing economies, the BRICS have come to be seen as a Chinese-driven counterbalance to US and western European power. But as the group has expanded to include Iran, Saudi Arabia and others, it has struggled to reach meaningful consensus on issues from the Gaza war to challenging US global dominance. BRICS nations, for example, collectively called for a peaceful two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict -- despite Tehran's long-standing position that Israel should be destroyed. An Iranian diplomatic source said his government's "reservations" had been conveyed to Brazilian hosts. Still, Iran -- a BRICS member since 2023 -- stopped short of rejecting the statement outright. The bloc also called for an "immediate" ceasefire and the "full withdrawal of Israeli forces" from the Gaza Strip, where Israel has been at war with the Palestinian group Hamas for 21 months. Hamas's armed wing welcomed BRICS's position, calling on them to "exert pressure" on Israel to "lift the criminal siege imposed on two and a quarter million people." In perhaps a further sign of the diplomatic sensitivities, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister skipped Sunday's discussions entirely, according to a Brazilian government source. World leaders partake in the 17th annual BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sunday. AP Saudi Arabia is among the world's leading beneficiaries of high-tech US military exports and is a long-standing US partner. The political punch of this year's summit has been depleted by the absence of China's Xi Jinping, who skipped the meeting for the first time in his 12 years as president. The Chinese leader is not the only notable absentee. Russian President Vladimir Putin, charged with war crimes in Ukraine, also opted to stay away, participating via video link. He told counterparts that BRICS had become a key player in global governance. The summit also called for regulation governing artificial intelligence and said the technology could not be the preserve of only rich nations. The commercial AI sector is currently dominated by US tech giants, although China and other nations have rapidly developing capacity. Agence France-Presse
