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The Cradle is an online news magazine covering West Asian geopolitics from within.
❗️Israel has killed at least 80 Palestinians in strikes across the Gaza Strip since midnight, 59 of them in northern Gaza.
(Medical sources to Al Jazeera)
⭕️ Russian President Vladimir Putin has received an invitation to visit Iran, though the timing of the trip is still under discussion, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today.
On Tuesday, Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that Putin’s visit to Iran “is currently being worked out.”
⭕️ Onur Genc, CEO of the financial group Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), stated on Wednesday that Turkish businesses and banks stand to gain from the removal of US sanctions on Syria.
"The lifting of the sanctions would allow the Turkish companies to go there now much better, and the Turkish banks to be able to finance them - so it will help," he said.
(Reuters)
❗️Gaza Ministry of Health:
– “20 martyrs (including 1 recovered body) and 125 injuries were admitted to Gaza Strip hospitals in the past 24 hours.”
– “The total death toll and number of injuries since March 18, 2025, has reached 2,799 martyrs and 7,805 injured.”
⭕️ Iraq exports over 4 million barrels of oil to US in April
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that Iraq exported 4.59 million barrels of oil to the United States in April 2025, down from 5.48 million barrels in March. Iraq ranked as the seventh-largest oil supplier to the US that month and the second-largest from the Arab world, following Saudi Arabia.
Iraq’s daily exports ranged between 136,000 and 179,000 barrels across April’s four weeks. In 2024, Iraq’s total oil and derivative exports to the US surpassed 95 million barrels, driven by rising global demand and increased Iraqi output.
⭕️ Iran and Russia have entered the second phase of linking their national payment systems, allowing Russian Mir cardholders to make payments in Iran via NFC-enabled terminals or the Mir Pay app.
Iranian officials announced that full integration will be completed by December 2025, enabling Iranians to use their phones for purchases in Russia.
The first phase, launched in November 2024, allowed Iranians to withdraw rubles from Russian ATMs, with hundreds of thousands of transactions recorded. The cooperation aims to bypass US sanctions by strengthening bilateral financial infrastructure.
(Mehr News Agency)
⭕️ Hassan Aslih, a Palestinian journalist killed by Israeli forces on Tuesday, appears in a resurfaced video expressing a somber truth: that, like many reporters killed in Gaza, his death would likely be forgotten.
Aslih, who led the Alam24 news agency and was widely respected for his frontline reporting, had been recovering from injuries sustained from an assassination attempt weeks earlier in an Israeli strike that hit a media tent near a hospital.
That previous attack claimed the lives of two fellow journalists and left several more wounded.
❗️Hamas is indirectly participating in the talks in Doha, according to CNN.
"A high-level Israeli delegation is meeting with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and US envoy Adam Boehler in Doha, Qatar, a source with knowledge of the matter told CNN Wednesday."
❗️US special envoy to west Asia Steve Witkoff presented Israeli-American released captive Edan Alexander with a Star of David necklace that had once belonged to his late son, Andrew.
“You would be doing a great honor to my son if you keep wearing this,” Witkoff told Alexander as he placed the chain around the dual national’s neck, according to Israeli Channel 12.
❗️US President Donald Trump:
"This is a once in a generation opportunity to forge a Lebanon that is prosperous and at peace with its neighbors."
⭕️ Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced today that Tehran will meet with European signatories concerning a nuclear agreement in Istanbul on Friday, following the postponement of a previously scheduled meeting on 2 May.
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❗️First images emerge from the meeting between US President Donald Trump, Syria’s interim self-appointed President Ahmad al-Sharaa (Julani), and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz.
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❗️Donald Trump: “We will work to add more countries to the Abraham Accords.”
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❗️Donald Trump: “I would like to make a deal with Iran, but it must stop supporting ‘terrorism’ in the region and abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Iran cannot be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon, and we must enforce the sanctions imposed on Tehran.”
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Israel's ruling coalition stumbles over arrest campaign of Haredi draft dodgers
After 18 months of committing genocide in Gaza, the Israeli army faces a severe shortage of about 10,000 soldiers, with reservists serving longer and responding less to call-ups
🇾🇪 In the span of less than 24 hours, the Yemeni Armed Forces announced three missile strikes targeting Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, including two hypersonic ballistic missiles and one Zulfiqar ballistic missile.
The strikes disrupted air traffic and sent thousands fleeing to shelters, according to thei military statements.
Israel escalates massacres after dropping bunker busters on Gaza's Khan Yunis
Dozens were killed in attacks on Wednesday morning after Israel carried out what it says was an assassination of top Hamas leader in Gaza, Mohammad Sinwar
⭕️ International tourism to the US dropped over 11% in March
Analysts point to rising concerns over political and geopolitical instability, border scrutiny, ICE abductions, and the impact of the US dollar as key factors deterring tourists.
The number of international travelers to the United States fell sharply in March 2025, with figures showing an 11.4% decline compared to the same period last year. Just 2.4 million visitors entered the US that month.
❗️Iran to sue Google over “Persian Gulf” distortion
Iran’s National Virtual Space Center announced plans to pursue legal action against Google and other platforms for replacing the term “Persian Gulf” with fabricated alternatives. The center’s spokesman, Hossein Dalirian, condemned the move as a deliberate falsification of a historically recognized name and a violation of Iran’s national identity.
Dalirian cited international recognition of the term, including by the UN Group of Experts on Geographical Names, and warned that tampering with such nomenclature breaches international law, including Article 19(3) of the ICCPR. Legal consultations are underway.
⭕️ Video shows Israel's massive bombing of the vicinity of the European Hospital in Khan Yunis yesterday, during which bunker buster bombs were used.
Israel claims it destroyed an underground complex belonging to the Palestinian resistance, in an attempt to assassinate top leader Mohammad Sinwar.
The attacks killed dozens of Palestinians.
❗️Israel has killed at least 70 Palestinians in strikes across the Gaza Strip since midnight, 54 of them in northern Gaza.
(Medical sources to Al Jazeera)
⭕️ ‘Shameful, unacceptable, inhumane’ – Macron blasts Israel’s Gaza policy, considers 'revisiting' EU-Israel cooperation
French President Emmanuel Macron slammed Netanyahu’s Gaza policy as “unacceptable” and “shameful,” saying, “There is no water, no medicine, the wounded cannot get out, the doctors cannot get in.”
He called the crisis “an unacceptable humanitarian tragedy,” and said he “got angry” in talks with Netanyahu, but noted Israel “depends on American weapons, not us.”
Macron revealed he visited the Egypt-Gaza border and personally witnessed that “all the aid that France and other countries deliver is blocked by the Israelis.”
“We need the United States. President Trump has the levers,” he said, emphasizing that only Washington can apply decisive pressure on Israel.
While stopping short of calling it genocide, Macron stated, “It is not up to a president of the republic to say ‘this is a genocide,’ but rather to historians.”
He urged Europeans to consider increasing pressure and sanctions, and raised the idea of revisiting EU–Israel cooperation agreements, which currently allow duty-free Israeli exports.
❗️Gaza's Indonesian Hospital:
"50 martyrs, including 22 children and 17 women, arrived as a result of Israeli bombing of northern Gaza this morning."
❗️An Israeli drone targeted a car in south Lebanon's Wadi al-Hujayr road earlier this morning, killing one person.
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❗️White House: US President Donald Trump calls on Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa (Julani) to deport Palestinian resistance factions from Syria.
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Trump announces end of Syria sanctions ahead of Sharaa meeting
The US president said he wants Syria to have 'a chance at greatness' as government forces continue to carry out targeted killings along sectarian lines
❗️US President Donald Trump meets Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa (Julani) in Riyadh.
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❗️The Gulf-US Summit is set to start shortly in Riyadh, with the attendance of US President Donald Trump.
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❗️Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan participates in a video conference meeting with his American counterpart, the Saudi Crown Prince, and the Syrian President.
(Anadolu Agency)