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The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
❗️Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz:
“When I was appointed Minister of Defense, I pledged to lead two central goals: preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and winning the war.
The IDF is currently working towards a decisive victory in all arenas.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I are committed, together with all parties, to leading a clear line that will prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
We will not allow threats of annihilation against the State of Israel.
This is our responsibility and historic role, and we will do whatever it takes to realize them.”
🇾🇪 BREAKING | Yemeni Armed Forces announces the downing of a US MQ-9 drone over Hajjah Governorate, the 20th since 7 October, 2023.
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❗️Highlights from Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem's latest speech (2/2):
– "We have options. We fear nothing. If you want to keep pushing and testing us, go ahead — you’ll see our response at the right time, which we will determine."
– "Lebanon cannot operate under American guardianship. For us, the US is evil and it sponsors Israel, the cancerous tumor that must be eradicated."
– "The primary problem in Lebanon is not the resistance’s weapons — it is the expulsion of the Israeli occupation."
– "Once Israel fulfills its commitments, Lebanon can begin discussing the remaining points of Resolution 1701."
– "The defensive strategy is about building Lebanon’s strength — how to strengthen the army and how to benefit from the resistance and its weapons."
– "The defensive strategy is not about withdrawing weapons, but about discussing diplomatic, economic, and military dimensions of a comprehensive defense policy."
– "Hezbollah has fully implemented its part of the agreement — now Israel and the Lebanese state must fulfill their obligations."
– "If the Lebanese state decides today to expel Israel by force and launch a battle, we are ready to fight at the border."
– "We hope the American-Iranian talks will reach a conclusion — that would benefit everyone."
Yemeni army targets Tel Aviv, US warships in retaliation to deadly Hodeidah attack
At least 250 Yemenis have been killed by indiscriminate US airstrikes across Yemen since mid-March
Diego Garcia: ethnically cleansed for US forever wars
As Trump threatens war on Iran, Washington weaponizes Diego Garcia – a Chagos island in the Indian Ocean built on ethnic cleansing, British colonialism, and military adventurism.
By Aidan J. Simardone
BREAKING | Israeli airstrikes on the eastern part of Gaza City.
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❗️Israeli Channel 13 quoting the commander of the 51st Battalion in the Golani Brigade:
– "The goal of our operations is to return 59 kidnapped individuals, including our battalion's fighter, Edan Alexander."
– "We are committed to fighting until victory, and we will not stop until the mission is completed."
Germany blocks Turkiye arms deal over arrest of Ekrem Imamoglu
A Turkish court has rejected an appeal for the release of the Istanbul mayor, a top opposition figure considered a rival to President Erdogan
UPDATE | Sanaa's ministry of health reports that the death toll of the US attack on Ras Issa Port in Hodeidah last night has reached 74 Yemenis.
At least 171 others were injured.
Rescue teams from the ambulance and civil defense are still identifying missing persons and searching for victims.
At least ten Palestinians, including journalist Tamer Miqdad, his daughter, and several family members, were killed last night in an Israeli airstrike on Tel al-Zaatar neighborhood in Jabalia, northern Gaza.
The number of Palestinian journalists killed since the start of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza has risen to 213.
⭕️ Gulf stock markets closed mixed on Thursday amid investor concerns over US tariff policies and the potential for a global economic slowdown.
Saudi Arabia's main index (.TASI) fell by 0.7%, weighed down by a 0.5% dip in Al Rajhi Bank and a 2.1% drop in Saudi Arabian Mining Company.
Dubai's benchmark (.DFMGI) managed to recover from earlier losses, ending 0.2% higher thanks to a strong 6.8% gain in Parkin Company.
Abu Dhabi's index (.FTFADGI) closed flat.
Meanwhile, Qatar's index (.QSI) slipped 0.6%, pressured by a 2.8% decline in Qatar Islamic Bank.
❗️Three Palestinian children were killed and others wounded in an Israeli airstrike while they were filling water in central Khan Yunis, southern Gaza.
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❗️At least six Palestinians, including two children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a barbershop in central Khan Yunis, southern Gaza.
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⭕️ "The talk of disarmament is only found on social media and among inciters," said Hezbollah’s Head of Liaison and Coordination Committee, Hajj Wafiq Safa, in an interview with Radio Al-Nour on Friday.
"Whatever you hear, it's all nonsense; don't be affected by it ... There is no force that can disarm us."
He emphasized that the discussion with the Lebanese army is solely about a defensive strategy after Resolution 1701 is properly implemented (Israel's withdrawal, the release of Lebanese prisoners, and the cessation of Israeli attacks), noting that the strategy begins with arming the Lebanese Army and protecting Lebanon.
Israeli officials head to Paris to ‘influence US position’ on Iran talks
US President Donald Trump said this week that he is ‘not in a rush’ to launch an attack on Iran, after reports that Washington rejected an Israeli proposal for a joint assault
Iran demands 'watertight guarantees' US will not ditch new nuclear deal: Report
Eight years after Trump unilaterally abandoned the JCPOA, Tehran has said a new nuclear deal is possible if Washington makes no 'unreasonable demands'
❗️BREAKING | US warplanes launch airstrikes on the Yemeni capital Sanaa.
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❗️Highlights from Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem's latest speech (1/2):
– "We will not allow anyone to disarm the resistance."
– "We will confront anyone who attacks the resistance or works to disarm it, just as we confronted Israel.”
– "The ceasefire agreement applies solely to south of the Litani River, and we have fulfilled all our obligations."
– "It [the resistance] is a reaction, especially in the event that the Lebanese state is unable to protect the Lebanese people."
– "The resistance in Lebanon is a response to the occupation, which occupies land and expands to impose a new reality."
– "Israel is expansionist — it is not satisfied with occupied Palestine; it wants to take Lebanon as well."
– "After the agreement, Israel no longer had any excuse — yet it continues its daily aggressions, which have now reached 2,700 violations."
– "We are giving diplomacy a chance — but that opportunity is not open-ended."
Palestinian women, children 'charred beyond recognition' as Israeli genocide campaign intensifies across Gaza
Israel’s defense minister publicly announced recently that Tel Aviv will continue to block humanitarian aid from entering the strip
A final goodbye ...
The grieving wife of Palestinian journalist Tamer Miqdad mourns her husband and young child, killed in an Israeli airstrike that destroyed their home in the Tel al-Zaatar neighborhood of Jabalia, northern Gaza.
US reinforces Kurdish-controlled areas in Syria amid reports of troop withdrawal
Approximately 600 US troops have reportedly withdrawn from Syria's two largest oil fields, days after Washington's Kurdish proxy reached an agreement with Turkish-backed extremists to end clashes in the Aleppo countryside
🇾🇪 BREAKING | Yemeni Armed Forces announces that it targeted Ben Gurion Airport with a 'Zulfiqar' ballistic missile, and attacked the USS Harry S. Truman and the USS Carl Vinson—marking the first attack on the Vinson since its arrival in the Arabian Sea.
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"We stand unwavering with Gaza against the US-Israeli escalation."
Despite the US airstrikes killing and wounding over 250 people, Yemenis filled the streets of Sanaa in a massive million-person march, showing solidarity with the resistance and Palestine.
Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Yahya Saree revealed several key operations, including the dowing a US MQ-9 drone, targeting Tel Aviv with a "Zulfiqar" ballistic missile, and military operations targeting the US aircraft carriers Truman and Vinson and US warships in the Red and Arabian Seas with a number of cruise missiles and drones.
This is the YAF's first-ever targeting of the ship USS Vinson.
❗️Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa (Abu Mohammad al-Julani) received Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the People's Palace today in Damascus, Syria.
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❗️Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Mossad Chief David Barnea have traveled to France to meet with US Special Envoy to west Asia, Steve Witkoff.
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WATCH | Quds Brigades fighters target Israeli soldiers and vehicles invading the city of Rafah with mortar shells and 107 missiles.
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⭕️ After returning from a visit to Syria, Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Bolat stated Türkiye’s readiness to negotiate a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with Syria.
"Syrian officials affirmed their willingness to cooperate with Türkiye across all sectors—including trade expansion, joint investments, infrastructure and energy development, as well as land and maritime transportation," he added.
❗️Medical sources to Al Jazeera:
"34 martyrs in ongoing Israeli raids on several areas in the Gaza Strip since dawn today."
"Iran can't have a nuclear weapon."
Yesterday, during a meeting at the White House with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, US President Donald Trump stated that he would "like to see Iran thrive in the future, do fantastically well," adding that he doesn't "want to do anything that's going to hurt anybody." He repeated however, that Iran must not be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon.
⭕️ Following their meeting in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held a joint press conference announcing deeper bilateral cooperation. Lavrov confirmed upcoming discussions on infrastructure and the Bushehr nuclear plant, while Araqhchi praised the strategic partnership between the two nations.
Araghchi expressed Iran’s openness to talks with the US—but only if Washington acts seriously and does not put forward "unrealistic demands." He added that while direct negotiations remain off the table, Iran is willing to engage in indirect diplomacy, with Russia serving as a key mediator.
Araghchi also condemned US aggression on Yemen and criticized Western complicity in the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing taking place in Gaza.