Iran War News | Trump wants to suspend “Project Freedom”.

News blog about the war in the Middle East

Trump wants to suspend “Project Freedom”.

Trump declares stop to “Project Freedom”. Rubio downplays the conflict with Iran. All developments in the news blog.

Despite a ceasefire in force, Israel and the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon continue to attack each other. Israel attacked with warplanes and drones in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese state news agency NNA reported. The town of Maifadun was also shelled with artillery. There were two deaths. The NNA also reported two deaths after an Israeli air strike in the Bekaa Valley in the east.

Israel must take “vigorous” action against the militia because of Hezbollah’s violations of the ceasefire, an Israeli army spokesman said this morning. He called on residents of other towns in southern Lebanon to leave their homes immediately. These calls are usually followed by new air strikes by Israel.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi amid tensions with the US. As China’s state news agency Xinhua reported, they exchanged ideas in the capital Beijing. Iranian state media confirmed the meeting.

At the meeting, Araghchi thanked China for condemning the Iran war started by the US and Israel, according to the Iranian news agency Isna, and called the People’s Republic “a close friend” of his country. He therefore emphasized that in the current situation the cooperation between the countries will become even closer.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Wang stressed that the fighting must stop, hostilities must not restart and negotiations are particularly important. China supports Iran in safeguarding its national security and sovereignty and appreciates its willingness to seek a political solution, it said.

The US is proposing to its partners the creation of a new multinational naval coalition for the Middle East. The alliance, called the “Maritime Freedom Construct” (MFC), is intended to create a security framework for the period after the end of the conflict and to allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz again as soon as the situation stabilizes, according to a draft from the US government that was seen by the Reuters news agency. The MFC is intended to work with a separate French-British naval mission involving around 30 countries. It is working with Iran to ensure safe passage. However, according to some states, the deployment of military units first requires a mandate from the United Nations (UN). The MFC should remain organizationally independent, but coordinate its operations closely with other operational groups, the informal document continues.