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The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
❗️For at least the third time this week ,Hebrew media reports a that a "difficult security incident" has occured north of Rafah in southern Gaza. Details are not yet confirmed.
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US prepares $100bn arms deal with Saudi Arabia ahead of Trump visit
The mega deal comes as Washington continues to push for the normalization of ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel
❗️Paraguay has officially labeled Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) a “terrorist” group and expanded its definition of Hamas and Hezbollah to cover all branches of the two organizations, as stated in a presidential decree released Thursday.
“The Government of Paraguay has resolved to include the organization Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps due to its systematic involvement in human rights violations and participation in terrorist activities on a global scale,” Paraguay’s government said in a statement.
❗️A large crowd gathers in Geneva, Switzerland, to protest in support of Gaza and Palestine.
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❗️Al-Akhbar's correspondent in southern Lebanon:
"For the second day in a row, the French contingent within UNIFIL is conducting intensive patrols inside Wadi al-Saluqi."
❗️Qassam Brigades:
"In continuation of the 'Breaking the Sword' ambush, Qassam fighters yesterday, Thursday, successfully sniped four soldiers and officers of the [Israeli] occupation army, leaving them dead/wounded on al-Awda Street east of Beit Hanoun town, in the northern Gaza Strip."
❗️The new Syrian flag was raised in front of the UN building in New York in the presence of Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani.
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❗️Israeli War Minister Israel Katz and Chief of Staff of the military Eyal Zamir held a meeting with US CENTCOM chief Michael Kurilla today focused on "several security and regional issues," according to Katz's office.
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⭕️ In an interview with Time, when asked about "the last hurdles of Saudi-Israeli normalization," US President Donald Trump emphasized his strong personal ties with Saudi leadership and highlighted a $1 trillion investment Saudi Arabia has agreed to make in the US economy.
Although he did not provide specific details on the remaining obstacles, Trump expressed confidence in his foreign policy "achievements" and suggested that Saudi Arabia is likely to join the Abraham Accords soon, predicting rapid progress.
⭕️ Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said his views have evolved and that he traveled to the US to rehabilitate his image, speaking at an event in New York this week.
“This is one of the reasons I’m here in the US. My name is often mentioned in all kinds of ways that are not accurate or that were in the past,” he said. “I did a lot of things [that] came from one source — my love for Israel.”
During his speech, a protester burst into the room shouting, “Get the f*** out of New York, Itamar,” and “Palestine will be free.”
Ben Gvir responded to the protester saying, “It’s good that they’re allowed to shout. In Syria and Egypt, you cannot shout like this,” and adding, “In America and Israel, we allow people to shout and protest.”
Thousands flooded the streets of northern Yemen’s Saada governorate, rallying under the slogan ‘We stand with Gaza—despite the US and its crimes.’
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⭕️ The US military claims that a blast on Sunday near a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) world heritage site in Yemen's capital city of Sanaa was caused by a Yemeni missile and not an American airstrike.
The US said that the damage was caused by a "Houthi air defense missile" after reviewing "local reports, including videos showing Arabic writing on missile fragments found at the market."
Spain terminates multimillion deal with Israeli weapons maker
Coalition authorities in Madrid have stressed their commitment to 'the Palestinian cause and peace in West Asia'
Palestinians sing chants praising the Qassam Brigades during a funeral in northern Gaza.
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⭕️ During a visit to Moscow on Friday, Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad announced plans to enhance cooperation with Russia in sectors including agriculture and banking. Speaking on state TV, he also said that Iran is set to sign a $4 billion deal with Russian companies for the development of seven Iranian oilfields.
At a January meeting in the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that Russia could eventually supply up to 55 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas annually to Iran, beginning with smaller volumes of up to 2 bcm. That 55 bcm figure would match the capacity of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Europe, which was damaged by explosions in 2022 and has remained inactive since.
❗️Quds Brigades:
"We targeted the Zionist enemy forces and vehicles positioned on Al-Muntar Hill, east of Gaza City, with mortar shells."
❗️The Israeli military announced that three new F-35I fighter jets arrived at Nevatim Airbase last night, expanding the Israeli Air Force’s F-35 fleet to 45 aircraft.
The jets are part of Israel’s initial order of 50 F-35s, with an additional 25 ordered last year.
❗️At least four Palestinians were killed and others injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting a home in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip. In a separate attack, nine more Palestinians were killed when Israeli forces bombed a house east of Khan Yunis.
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❗️A Palestinian youth Abdelkhaleq Mousab Jbour was murdered by Israeli forces during their raid the on village of Salem, east of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank.
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❗️Gaza Ministry of Health:
– "84 martyrs (6 recovered) and 168 injuries arrived at Gaza hospitals during the past 24 hours."
– "The toll from the Israeli aggression has risen to 51,439 martyrs and 117,416 wounded since 7 October 2023."
– "The toll since 18 March 2025 has reached 2,062 martyrs, 5,375 wounded."
❗️US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that President Donald Trump is the hardest working leader in the world when it comes to preventing and ending wars.
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Indian, Pakistani troops exchange fire as UN urges 'maximum restraint'
A deadly terror attack by a militant group against Indian tourists in Pahalgam earlier this week has prompted calls for a violent response against Pakistan
⭕️ Trump blames Biden for the deaths of children in Gaza
In an interview with Time Magazine, Donald Trump blamed Joe Biden for the deaths of children in Gaza at the hands of Israel.
According to Trump, the reason is that "[Biden] allowed Iran to become rich" after it had been "broke."
To correct the interviewer, over 600 children in Gaza have been killed by Israel since it collapsed the ceasefire on 18 March, 2025.
❗️Statement by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
"After more than a year and a half of genocidal war waged by the usurping Zionist entity—backed by the US administration—against our people in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank, and despite the escalating violations and threats targeting Jerusalem and its holy sites, the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s (PLO) Central Council meeting came not in response to our people’s suffering, but rather in response to international and regional pressures aimed at creating a dual-position for the Deputy President of the Ramallah Authority and the Chair of the PLO Executive Committee.
Although the 32nd session raised slogans such as 'No to displacement, no to annexation; steadfastness in the homeland; saving our people in Gaza and ending the war; protecting Jerusalem and the West Bank; and yes to inclusive national unity,'—which reflect the critical state of the Palestinian cause—these were sidelined as if they were secondary or non-urgent matters. The speech by the head of the authority went even further, not only using inappropriate language but also adopting and promoting the narrative of the occupation by claiming that releasing prisoners would “remove pretexts” and “stop massacres,” even as the occupation continues rejecting all ceasefire proposals and the Authority itself fails to stop settler invasions and desecration of towns, villages, and holy sites in the West Bank.
It is astonishing that the Council’s meetings concluded without issuing a final statement reflecting its outcomes—underscoring that the true purpose of the meeting was to push through items aligned with external pressure, with no relation to the slogans it raised.
The boycott by numerous Palestinian factions and the exclusion of resistance forces, along with the absence of resolutions serving the Palestinian people, renders the Council’s outcomes irrelevant and void of any value—especially in light of the ongoing failure to implement the outcomes of many previous meetings.
We call on the Ramallah Authority to end its policy of betting on external powers and to cease confiscating the Palestinian national decision in service of partisan, factional, or personal agendas—at the expense of the interests of our people, our cause, and our holy sites."
❗️Al-Araby TV correspondent:
"At least 13 martyrs in Israeli raids on Gaza since dawn today."
⭕️ A new Ipsos poll reveals a major global sentiment shift: for the first time ever, more people say China will have a more positive impact on the world than the US.
22,715 people across 29 countries were surveyed.
Syria’s interim president ‘interested’ in joining Abraham Accords
The Israeli army has been bombing Syria relentlessly since the ousting of Assad, and has occupied large swathes of the country’s south
BREAKING | Al-Masirah:
"Six US air raids on the Hodeidah governorate, western Yemen."
⭕️ An exclusive report by Al-Monitor claims Turkiye has cut off electricity exports to Iraq due to more than $70 million in unpaid arrears.
The 300-megawatt power link, which became operational last fall, was halted roughly a week ago as Turkiye's energy minister Alparslan Bayraktar told Iraqi officials that Ankara was “not in the business of charity.”
The stoppage comes just before Iraq’s summer season, when demand for electricity spikes and Baghdad struggles to meet only 60% of its needs.
Iraq is now seeking a line of credit to resume purchases and has also asked both Turkiye and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for more power.
Tensions remain between Baghdad and Ankara over a $1.5 billion arbitration ruling related to Kurdish oil exports via Ceyhan. Turkiye has reportedly asked Iraq to drop a second arbitration case, but Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani claims only parliament can make that decision — a claim Kurdish officials dispute.
❗️Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will travel to Oman this evening (Friday) to lead a delegation in the third round of indirect talks with the United States, which are set to take place on Saturday. (IRNA)
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