Saudi Arabia said it intercepted missiles targeting the kingdom’s capital and other areas on Sunday, with falling debris damaging a Saudi-owned building. the state-owned oil giant Aramco in Riyadh’s financial district.
Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates said it rescued 22 crew members after a fire broke out aboard a cargo ship in the Arabian Sea, as risks to commercial shipping in the region remain high. And in Israel, the leader of the opposition Gadi Eizenkot officially had the first chance to form a new government.
Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Sunday. Read our full coverage here.
Aramco building in Riyadh damaged after missile interceptions
Witnesses in Riyadh said they heard a loud explosion Sunday morning and described damage to a Aramco building in the King Abdullah Financial District. The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
The Saudi Energy Ministry said there were no casualties at Aramco facilities.
The Saudi-led coalition said its air defenses intercepted two ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles targeting Riyadh and other areas on Sunday morning, blaming the Iran-backed Houthis for launching the weapons.
Houthi military spokesman Brig. General Yahya Saree said in a statement on Sunday that he had struck Riyadh’s financial district and other targets in response to attacks in recent days. on a village and a deal in Yemen, which he said left dozens dead or injured and blamed on Saudi Arabia.
— By Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut
UAE rescues 22 crew members after cargo ship fires
The UAE National Guard said the crew members – all Arab nationals – were in stable condition after being rescued when their cargo ship caught fire in the Arabian Sea. The National Guard did not identify the vessel or specify the cause of the fire.
The British military organization which monitors maritime security incidents said on Sunday that an oil tanker caught fire on Saturday northwest of Khasab, Oman, prompting the evacuation of its crew. It was unclear if this was the same incident.
Israeli president gives Eisenkot first chance to form next government
Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday evening officially gave an opposition politician Gadi Eizenkot the first chance to form the next government.
With complex coalition negotiations still ahead, it is an important step in the former military leader’s efforts to oust Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahuafter elections organized in a deeply divided country marked by attacks carried out by Hamas October 7, 2023and the multi-front wars they started.
At least 4 people killed by rock collapse in Gaza
A large slab of sandstone collapsed on makeshift tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in central Gaza on Sunday evening, killing at least four people, including three children, according to health officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs and Nasser hospitals.
Civil protection officers and residents of the town of Deir al-Balah searched through the rubble largely with their bare hands. Gaza has been hit by torrential rains in recent days, which is believed to have contributed to the collapse.
Most of Gaza’s 2 million Palestinians are still displaced or living in tent camps, where they face poor conditions and overcrowding.
Trump says US ready to resume strikes on Iran, but it’s ‘highly unlikely’
The president told CNN in a telephone interview Sunday that as long as the United States continues to see progress in negotiations with Tehran and signs a “robust agreement,” it will be “highly unlikely that there will be a need” to resume strikes.
The president, however, said the United States had identified infrastructure targets, including 38 bridges, that it would strike if military action resumed.
The region is nervous about the possibility of another all-out war.
Drone attack on gas field causes power outages in northern Iraq
The strategic Khor Mor gas field in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq was targeted by a drone attack on Sunday evening, officials said.
No casualties were reported and the extent of the damage was not immediately clear, but the attack knocked the facility out of service, causing widespread power outages.
Khor Mor is one of the most productive natural gas fields in northern Iraq, and its production is used to power power plants. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Explosions heard on Qeshm island
Residents of the island of Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz reported hearing several explosions on Sunday evening, Iranian state media reported.
Similar reports were made in previous days, without official confirmation or assertion as to their cause.
Iran hangs 3 men convicted in anti-government protests
Iran hanged three men in Karaj on Sunday who were convicted of armed rioting, damaging public property and cooperating with Israel and the United States in a nationwide attack. anti-government protests in January, state television reported.
Iran has hanged more than two dozen people on similar charges in various cities. International rights groups say political prisoners in Iran are tried in secret courts without due process.
The protests, among the largest ever against the government of the Islamic Republic, took place largely eradicated when the United States and Israel went to war with Iran on February 28.
Israeli strike kills two Palestinians in southern Gaza, health officials say
An Israeli strike killed two Palestinians, a man and a woman, on Sunday in Muwasi, a tent camp on the Gaza coast, health officials at Nasser Hospital said.
The Israeli army said it had struck a “Hamas terrorist” in the area.
Sunday’s strikes came more than a year after a ceasefire agreement was reached between Israel and Hamas, but Israel continues to launch near-daily strikes on the enclave.
US expels Lebanese diplomat for welcoming attacks on Americans
The State Department said Sunday that it declared Ibrahim Charara, Lebanon’s consul general in Detroit, “persona non grata” after reviewing messages published five years ago celebrating Hezbollah’s 1983 attack on Marine barracks in Beirut. The messages were first reported by the Washington Free Beacon.
“Anyone in the United States who celebrates or justifies terrorist attacks has no place in our country,” the department said.
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This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
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