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The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
UPDATE | Iranian media reports that the death toll from the Shahid Rajaee Port explosion in Bandar Abbas has risen to 46.
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⭕️ Iran announces readiness to export petrochemicals to accelerate Africa’s industrial growth
Iran’s first vice president, Mohammadreza Aref, announced Tehran’s readiness to boost Africa’s industrial development through petrochemical exports, emphasizing Africa as a strategic partner rather than just a consumer market.
Speaking at the third Iran-Africa International Economic Conference, Aref said it is time for the Global South to "write its own rules," and highlighted Iran’s willingness to share expertise and collaborate on clean energy, mining, agriculture, and infrastructure projects across the continent.
⭕️ For the first time, North Korea confirms troop deployment to Russia
North Korea confirmed for the first time that it sent troops to fight for Russia in Ukraine’s Kursk region, with Kim Jong-un calling them “heroes” and vowing to honor the fallen, according to KCNA. Russia praised its “Korean friends,” with Putin personally thanking Kim Jong-un and the North Korean people for their support.
Meanwhile, South Korea condemned the move as a “criminal act” violating UN resolutions.
⭕️ Overnight, the US bombed a center for illegal migrants in Saada, Yemen, killing at least 68 African migrants according to Yemeni Civil Defense, and injuring at least 47.
The center was housing 115 migrants.
Sanaa's interior ministry said the shelter, located in Saada’s reserve prison, was under the supervision of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Red Cross.
❗️Israeli army claims in a statement that the building it targeted in the southern suburb of Beirut was storing "precision missiles."
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Iran says Rajaee Port explosion unrelated to defense sector
Western media reports claim the explosion, which has killed at least 36 and injured over 1,000, was caused by Iran's mishandling of fuel used for ballistic missiles
❗️Palestinian Red Crescent reports that an elderly man was severely beaten by Israeli occupation forces in Tulkarem Camp, West Bank.
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⭕️ Commenting on the appointment of Hussein al-Sheikh as Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Anis Qassim — legal adviser to the Palestinian delegation at the 1991 Madrid negotiations says to Quds News Network:
– "There is nothing legal about the appointment, as it does not comply with the PLO Charter or the Palestinian Basic Law."
– "This is acrobatics, a decline, and disdain unworthy of the Palestinian people, whose decisions Mahmoud Abbas manipulates."
– "The Palestinian Central Council has no authority to amend or change the National Charter; this can only be done by the Palestinian National Council."
– "This is a disgraceful appointment made by Mahmoud Abbas, who was not elected by the people and whose mandate expired on January 7, 2009."
– "The appointment is illegitimate because it was made by an illegitimate president, thus constituting an act of contempt toward the Palestinian people."
BREAKING | At least 7 Palestinians killed in an Israeli airstrike on a tent for the displaced in Hamad City, north of Khan Yunis, south Gaza.
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❗️Gaza Ministry of Health reports that "51 martyrs and 115 injuries arrived at hospitals in the Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours," and that since Israel resumed its war on the strip on 18 March, the casualty toll has reached 2,151 deaths and 5,598 injuries.
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⭕️ Leading Qassam Brigades commander and engineer Abdullah Barghouti, who is serving the longest prison sentence in Israeli custody (67 life sentences), is suffering ongoing, severe physical abuse in Gilboa Prison, according to his family.
Detained since 2003, he has reportedly endured intensified torture since Israel's war on Gaza began in 2023, including beatings with iron rods and belts that left him with fractures, open wounds, and an inability to stand or sleep properly.
His daughter, Tala Barghouti, revealed on Facebook that the visiting lawyer "left with tears in her eyes" after witnessing his condition.
Barghouti, whose weight has reportedly dropped to just 70 kilograms, was also threatened by Israeli forces who told him, "We will kill you like we killed Sinwar, one by one."
Barghouti, who also holds Jordanian citizenship, has been denied regular lawyer and family visits, with his wife saying only five visits were allowed in 23 years. Fellow prisoners have had to sterilize his wounds with dishwashing liquid due to the complete lack of medical care.
His family is urgently appealing to Jordanian authorities and human rights groups to intervene, warning that Israel is deliberately targeting him.
At least 65 Palestinian prisoners—including 40 from Gaza—have died in Israeli custody since 7 October, 2023.
⭕️ The Israeli army announced it will extend compulsory military service by four months, classifying the additional period as reserve duty to ensure soldiers serve a full three years before discharge.
The military will also cancel pre-release leave for soldiers. The decision follows months of intense fighting and rising casualties, which have strained troop levels. (Ynet)
BREAKING | Israel targets residential apartment at the entrance to Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip.
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🇾🇪 Yemeni Armed Forces announced this morning that it targeted the Nevatim Airbase in the occupied Naqab (Negev) with a hypersonic ballistic missile.
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⭕️ Netanyahu claims Israeli F-16s stopped Iranian forces from assisting Bashar al-Assad
Speaking at a conference hosted by the Jewish News Syndicate on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Israeli F-16s intercepted Iranian aircraft last year that were attempting to deliver troops to assist former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in the time leading up to the fall of his government.
Netanyahu said Iran “had to rescue Assad” and tried to send “one or two airborne divisions” to Damascus, but Israeli forces “stopped that” and forced the Iranian planes to “turn back.”
❗️Latest casualties in Gaza as documented by journalist Yousef Fares:
– Two Palestinians were killed and others wounded in an Israeli strike targeting a tent sheltering displaced people in Al-Shafai refugee camp west of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip.
– Three Palestinians were killed and others injured in an Israeli airstrike on a house northwest of Gaza City.
– Two Palestinians were killed and others wounded in an Israeli strike on a house in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip.
– Seven Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike on a house in the Al-Sudaniya area northwest of Gaza City.
– Ten Palestinians were killed and others wounded in an Israeli strike targeting a home belonging to the Abu Mahadi family near Al-Tayeb Hall, west of Jabalia camp in northern Gaza.
– 70 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes across various areas of the Gaza Strip yesterday, Sunday.
⭕️ Last night, Israel committed a massacre by deliberately bombing Al-Saftawi Café on Salah al-Din Street near the Nuseirat and Al-Bureij refugee camps' entrances in central Gaza, killing at least 7 Palestinians and injuring several.
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❗️Lebanon: Al-Mayadeen correspondent in the south:
"An Israeli drone strike targeted the Majidiyeh plain near a Lebanese army post."
Syrian president condemns Kurdish calls for federalism
Kurds and other minorities in Syria are concerned Ahmad al-Sharaa is constructing an extremist religious government that excludes non-Sunnis
BREAKING | Israel bombs the southern suburb of Beirut's Hadath.
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BREAKING | Israeli military announces that it will bomb a building in Hadath in the southern suburb of Beirut.
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Mahmoud Abbas names top aide as PLO Vice President in move deemed ‘illegitimate, divisive’
Hussein al-Sheikh has for years been in charge of security coordination between Ramallah and Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank
UPDATE | The death toll from Shahid Rajaee Port explosion in southern Iran rises to 36.
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Israel extends compulsory service as manpower crisis plagues army
Tel Aviv has plans to expand its offensive across the Gaza Strip, but is facing a shortage of 10,000 soldiers
⭕️ Ignoring international law and sovereignty, US President Donald Trump demands that US ships be allowed free passage through the Panama and Suez Canals, arguing that "they wouldn't exist without the USA."
Writing on Truth Social, he claimed the US deserves toll-free access because it built and protected the canals, and directed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to act on the issue.
❗️The Gaza Chambers of Commerce warns of a catastrophic economic collapse and a looming long-term humanitarian disaster in Gaza, citing a 527% rise in basic food prices due to Israel’s blockade.
In a statement, it said Israel continues to use starvation and thirst as weapons against civilians by preventing private sector truck deliveries, causing near-total paralysis of goods entry.
⭕️ "Weapons can only be discussed after the occupation ends and within the framework of a national army or an agreed structure."
Hamas sources told Ultra Palestine that the movement’s delegation currently in Cairo is carrying a unified position agreed upon by Palestinian factions, setting clear "red lines" in any negotiations: preserving the resistance’s weapons, achieving a comprehensive prisoner exchange, and ending the war on Gaza.
The sources emphasized that Hamas rejects any proposals discussing disarmament before ending the occupation, and insists on a comprehensive deal covering ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal, humanitarian aid entry, reconstruction, and a full prisoner swap. They also said Hamas is open to a long-term truce of five years or more but will not entertain disarmament demands under current conditions.
A Hamas source explained that this tougher stance follows previous rounds of negotiations where Hamas showed maximum flexibility, which the Israeli side misinterpreted as weakness, leading to the need to set clearer limits.
The delegation, composed of senior Hamas leaders including Khaled Meshaal and Khalil al-Hayya, aims to reaffirm these principles in talks with Egyptian officials. According to the sources, Hamas will also [again] express readiness to support a national consensus government or a societal support committee to administer Gaza post-war, stressing that its approach is to end the aggression and rebuild Gaza without surrendering core resistance principles.
❗️Yemen's (Sanaa) Ministry of Health reports 12 casualties in an initial toll after US strikes targeted civilian and residential areas in the capital, killing two and wounding several others, including women and children.
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UPDATE | At least 25 people killed in the explosion at Shahid Rajaee Port in south Iran's Bandar Abbas, and over 1,000 injured.
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