France 24 is reporting that tensions are escalating in the Middle East, with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warning that any challenge to the country's control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz would increase tensions despite ongoing peace negotiations. It said this warning followed a new exchange of strikes between Iran and the United States.
Tehran launched drone and missile attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait in response to U.S. airstrikes on 10 Iranian sites. France 24 reported that Bahrain's air defenses intercepted Iranian missiles and drones, with a residential building damaged in Muharraq but no deaths. Kuwait's army said it intercepted two ballistic missiles Sunday morning and condemned the attacks. Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility for the attacks and threatened a "complete halt" to negotiations if the U.S. continues its strikes. Iraq's Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein met with Araghchi, emphasizing the importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting the U.S. naval blockade on Iran.
Separately, France 24 reported that a helicopter belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco crashed Sunday in Ras Tanura on Saudi Arabia's eastern coast, killing 14 nationals. The cause of the crash was unknown. Aramco had resumed crude oil loadings at its Ras Tanura terminal on Friday after a nearly four-month halt.
Fighting has also continued in Lebanon despite a new framework agreement aimed at ending the conflict. The Israeli military said it killed Hezbollah militants and struck a rocket launcher near Nabatieh in southern Lebanon. It also reported that a 21-year-old platoon commander, Capt. David Hazutt, was killed in combat in southern Lebanon, bringing Israel's military losses to 38 soldiers and one civilian contractor since early March. Hezbollah rejected the peace deal outright, and Lebanon's state news agency reported a new Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of Deir Seryan and Taybeh.
In another development, the Israeli government unanimously recognized the massacres of Armenians during World War I as genocide. France 24 said the move is widely seen as a rebuke to Turkey and signals a deepening rift between the two countries. The cabinet's decision still requires ratification by parliament.