DIRECT. War in the Middle East: Israel strikes Lebanon; Iranian oil export resumes

1:18 p.m. – Russia supports US-Iran deal

Moscow supports the deal between the United States and Iran to end the conflict in the Middle East, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, stressing that Israel should respect it.

“The Russian minister expressed support for the memorandum of understanding reached through the effective mediation of Pakistan and Qatar to lead to a de-escalation of tensions in the region. The importance of its respect by all parties involved in the armed conflict, including Israel, was underlined.”indicates a summary of this call published by Russian diplomacy.

1:12 p.m. – Trump threatens to bomb Iran if it “doesn’t behaveâ€

Le président américain Donald Trump a menacé de recommencer à “Balancer des bombs”you are l’Iran “Not behaving well”two days before the signing in Geneva of a memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran.

“It is not (a text) final. It’s a memorandum of understanding.”et “If I don’t like it, if they don’t behave, we’ll go back to throwing bombs in their heads.â€he said on the sidelines of a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi, at the G7 summit in Evian.

12:54 p.m. – Israeli settlers set fire to two mosques in the West Bank

Groups of Israeli settlers set fire to two mosques in the West Bank on Wednesday, according to local Palestinian officials. In Jiljiliya (center), journalists noted signs of fire and vandalism, including Hebrew inscriptions on charred walls: “En avant!”, « Vengeance », “La nuit des mosques” or even “Salvation from the youth of the hills” (a movement of radical Jewish settlers).

In the building, on the lower floor, under the prayer room, sections of ceiling, walls and floors are blackened by smoke. “Settlers set fire to the ablution hall, damaged the village’s main mosque and wrote hostile expressions on the exterior walls.”declared Ossama Abdoullah, head of the village council of Jiljiliya, about ten kilometers north of Ramallah.

11:27 a.m. – Reopening of the Strait of Hormuz will be “a huge step forward”

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte welcomed the agreement reached between the United States and Iran to end the war, stressing that the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz would “Un énorme pas en avant”.

“Restoring free movement across the Strait of Hormuz will be a huge step forward. I know that many Allies – through the initiative led by France and the United Kingdom – are ready to provide their support.”he declared during a press briefing at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels.

11:18 a.m. – Pope hails US-Iran deal

Pope Leo XIV welcomed the conclusion of an agreement between Iran and the United States, which is to be signed on Friday, as “Encouraging result of patient work of dialogue and negotiation”.

“I hope that this agreement can contribute to strengthening mutual trust, security and stability in the Middle East, by promoting paths of dialogue and cooperation between peoplesâ€added the pope during his weekly audience at the Vatican.

10 h 07 – Les stocks de pétrole au plus bas

Oil stocks in OECD countries have reached their lowest level since 1990, says the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its monthly report, in a context of oil supply difficulties linked to the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz in recent months.

“Despite the significant drop in demand for oil (…), reserves continue to erode at a record rateâ€notes the IEA in its report, indicating that the reserves of OECD countries have fallen by 163 million barrels since the start of the war in the Middle East.

7:47 a.m. – Several Israeli strikes on Lebanon

Israel struck southern Lebanon several times on Wednesday morning despite the agreement reached between Tehran and Washington, reported the Lebanese national information agency (Ani, official).

These strikes particularly affected the region of Nabatiyé and Kfartebnit, according to the same source. Iran has repeated several times since announcing a deal with the United States on Monday that it must include a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon, where Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah, and the Iranian army has threatened a « réponse sévère » if the Israeli attacks continued.

6:37 a.m. – Iranian oil tankers have crossed the American blockade zone

Iranian oil tankers have crossed the zone of the American blockade of Iranian ports which had been in place for approximately two months, indicated the maritime monitoring site TankerTrackers, before the signing of an agreement between Tehran and Washington scheduled for Friday.

“At least two supertankers from the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), named Diona and Hero2, crossed the perimeter of the US Navy blockade carrying between them a total of 3.8 million barrels of Iranian crude oil.”indicated the site on X, later reporting the passage of a third Iranian tanker. “These are Iran’s first crude oil exports in two months.”he notes.

The essential news of the night

• The Iranian army threatened with « réponse sévère » to Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon which left four dead on Tuesday, despite the announcement of an agreement between the United States and the Islamic Republic to end the war, according to state media.

• The Israeli army said Tuesday it had intercepted Hezbollah rockets fired towards southern Lebanon and responded with strikes, according to a military press release.

• An Iranian deputy foreign minister assured Tuesday that the American blockade of Iranian ports, in place for about two months, was lifted, before the signing of the agreement with the United States scheduled for Friday.