United News of Bangladesh

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it carried out what it described as “self-defense strikes” against Iranian radar and drone facilities in the city of Goruk and on Qeshm Island over the weekend. In a statement posted on X, CENTCOM said the operation was launched in response to what it called “aggressive Iranian actions,” including the reported shutdown of a US MQ-1 drone operating in international waters. No agreement with US without tangible results, Iran’s Ghalibaf says According to CENTCOM, US forces targeted and destroyed Iranian air defense systems, a ground control station, and two one-way attack drones that it said posed a clear threat to vessels transiting regional waters. The US military said the strikes were aimed at neutralizing threats to maritime security and protecting ships operating in the region. With inputs from Al Jazeera

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said that a “true friendship” is emerging between Washington and Islamabad, crediting Pakistan’s leadership for assisting efforts to negotiate an end to the war in Iran. Speaking at a question-and-answer session after his address at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, his remarks were later released on YouTube by the summit organiser, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). Hegseth praised Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, saying they played a constructive role in peace negotiations related to the Iran conflict. He described the development as an “unexpected development and a true friendship” between the United States and Pakistan. The US defence chief also said the strengthening ties were reflected in President Donald Trump’s ability to help broker peace between India and Pakistan during their military confrontation last year. Source: Al Jazeera 

Rescue workers in Laos on Saturday safely evacuated four more villagers who had been trapped inside a flooded cave for 10 days, a day after another survivor was successfully brought out. Two villagers remain missing, and search operations are continuing. Lao and Thai rescue teams shared updates on social media, posting photos showing the rescued men lying on stretchers, wearing oxygen masks and wrapped in foil blankets. According to rescuers, the villagers entered the cave last week in search of valuable minerals but became trapped when flash floods blocked the exit. Another villager managed to escape and alerted authorities about the seven people left inside. The Lao organization Rescue Volunteer for People said water levels inside the cave had fallen enough to allow four survivors to leave with divers who had been delivering food and water. Video footage shared by Thai rescuer Chakkit Taengtang showed the mud-covered men being helped out one by one before being embraced by emotional rescuers. The first survivor was rescued on Friday in an operation that took about 30 minutes. Five villagers — identified as Khamla, Mued, Ee, Ing and Laen — were found alive on Wednesday. Rescue teams from Laos, Thailand, Japan and Malaysia, along with specialists from Indonesia, France and Australia, joined the operation in Xaisomboun province, about 120 kilometers north of Vientiane. Several had participated in Thailand’s 2018 cave rescue. Rescuers are now preparing to search deeper into the heavily flooded cave for the two missing villagers.

Hezbollah on Saturday claimed responsibility for an ambush targeting Israeli troops in southern Lebanon and a series of rocket attacks on northern Israel. In a statement, the group said its fighters launched a dawn operation against a unit of Israeli soldiers that was attempting to advance toward Ghandouriyeh in the Nabatieh district. According to Hezbollah, explosive devices were detonated against the troops before they were targeted with rocket fire. The group claimed the attack caused casualties among Israeli soldiers, who were subsequently evacuated under heavy smoke cover. Hezbollah said the area was later subjected to Israeli air and artillery strikes. In response to what it described as continued Israeli attacks, Hezbollah said it also fired several rockets toward northern Israel, targeting the settlement of Kiryat Shmona, the country’s northernmost city. Israeli media reported that warning sirens sounded throughout the night in the area and that several incoming rockets were intercepted, according to local news outlet Ynet. Hezbollah further claimed that it had shot down an Israeli Hermes 450 drone over the town of Zotar al-Sharqiya using a surface-to-air missile. The Israeli military had not commented on any of the claims at the time of reporting. Source: Al Jazeera 

Lebanon’s Culture Minister Ghassan Salame has warned that continued Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon are placing several important heritage sites at “serious danger,” including landmarks in the ancient city of Tyre. Salame said bombardments had fallen very close to the archaeological ruins of Tyre, a site recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. He also reported that the medieval Beaufort Castle, which overlooks the southern city of Nabatieh, was directly struck in an Israeli attack. According to Salame, the historic fortress dates back to the 12th century. The minister expressed concern that the ongoing strikes could cause significant damage to Lebanon’s cultural and historical heritage. Source: Al Jazeera 

US and Iranian negotiators have reached a tentative agreement to extend the ceasefire in the three-month-long conflict by another 60 days and begin a fresh round of discussions on Iran’s nuclear programme, according to a US official familiar with the negotiations. Iran has not immediately confirmed the agreement. US Vice President JD Vance acknowledged on Thursday evening that a tentative deal had been reached but said it remained uncertain whether President Donald Trump would approve it. “It’s hard to say exactly when or if the president’s going to sign,” Vance told reporters. He added: “We’re going back and forth on a couple of language points.” The proposed memorandum of understanding comes as the fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran appeared increasingly unstable. The latest escalation occurred less than a day earlier when Kuwait intercepted missiles launched from Iran, according to US Central Command. Proposal focuses on Strait of Hormuz According to the US official, the memorandum stipulates that Iran would not be permitted to impose tolls in the Strait of Hormuz and would be required to clear all mines from the strategic waterway within 30 days. During the conflict, Iran effectively shut down the strait, through which nearly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passes. The disruption triggered sharp increases in global oil prices. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at a news briefing on Thursday that oil prices could “come down very quickly” once an agreement is finalized. Iran has allowed limited commercial shipping through the strait in recent days, with around two dozen vessels passing daily compared with more than 100 per day before the war. However, Tehran has also imposed tolls on some ships and established a gatekeeper agency earlier this month, prompting another round of US sanctions this week. Under the tentative arrangement, the US would gradually ease its naval blockade on Iranian ports and relax sanctions, enabling Iran to increase oil exports. Despite progress toward a deal, the US Treasury Department announced additional sanctions targeting the Iranian military’s oil sales network. The sanctions, first reported by AP, are part of the Trump administration’s continued economic pressure campaign against Tehran. Nuclear issue still unresolved One of the key issues expected to be negotiated during the 60-day ceasefire concerns Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran possesses 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60 percent purity, close to weapons-grade level. Vance suggested that negotiators were attempting to settle broad terms concerning the uranium stockpile in the tentative agreement, while specific details would be discussed during follow-up talks. He said discussions were continuing over “a couple of issues on the nuclear stuff, the highly enriched stockpile, and also the question of enrichment.” Iran has not publicly agreed to surrender the uranium stockpile, which is believed to be stored beneath three nuclear sites heavily damaged in US airstrikes last year. Nuclear experts have suggested Iran could consider transferring the uranium to China or Russia, both of which maintain close ties with Tehran. However, Trump said on Wednesday that he “wouldn’t be comfortable” with such an arrangement. Although Trump and his administration have repeatedly stated that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon remains a key objective, Vance described the results of the war in more limited terms. “We’re in a position where we could substantially set back their nuclear program, not just during the term of this president but over the long term,” Vance said. “That’s a very very good thing for the American people.” Iran, which has consistently maintained that its nuclear programme is peaceful, has insisted that any agreement must also include an end to Israel’s military operations in Lebanon against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group. Tensions escalated further in Lebanon on Thursday after Israel launched an airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs and carried out additional strikes in the southern coastal city of Tyre. At least 14 people were killed across southern Lebanon.

Russia has urged the United States and Iran to continue diplomatic engagement and avoid a return to military conflict, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. Zakharova said Moscow is calling on both Washington and Tehran to maintain dialogue and prevent the situation from sliding back into military confrontation. She also reiterated Russia’s readiness to assist in the removal of enriched uranium from Iran, though she stressed that Moscow “is not imposing its initiative”. The remarks came as US President Donald Trump said Washington would not allow Iran to retain its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The fate of the estimated 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60 percent, which Iran is believed to possess, remains a major sticking point in ongoing peace negotiations. Meanwhile, a Democratic senator criticised Trump’s handling of the conflict, warning that the US president was making “mistake after mistake”. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut said Trump’s apparent threat to “blow up” Oman was “just one more sign of why this war has gone off the rails”. “They are in constant panic mode making mistake after mistake,” Murphy wrote on X. Trump has faced mounting criticism in recent days from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers over his management of the conflict involving Iran.

Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, says a return to war would benefit no one. “They are right now in between this very dangerous zone of war and peace, and it is not in anybody’s interest that this war continues,” she told reporters during a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Cyprus today. #From Al Jazeera 

Foreign Ministry spokesman ⁠Esmaeil Baghaei says Iran stands in solidarity with Oman following what he described as “US officials’ threats”. His remarks came after Trump threatened to “blow up” Oman if it did not “behave ⁠just like everybody ⁠else” regarding control over the Strait of Hormuz. Baghaei also condemned the recent US attack on areas in Iran’s Bandar Abbas. #From Al Jazeera 

Kuwait said it came under a missile and drone attack on Thursday, raising fresh concerns over the already fragile ceasefire in the ongoing Iran conflict. The Kuwaiti military confirmed the attack but did not provide details about the targets or damage. Kuwait has been repeatedly targeted during the conflict, including earlier strikes by Iran and Iran-backed militias based in Iraq. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the latest attack. The incident comes at a tense time in the Middle East, where uncertainty remains over the ceasefire and ongoing negotiations between the United States and Iran. Talks have yet to result in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz a key global shipping route. The strait, which connects the Persian Gulf to the open sea, once carried about 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas supplies. Its closure has already triggered a global energy shortage, with experts warning the situation could worsen in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, Washington is pressuring Tehran to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, while Iran is demanding relief from economic sanctions and access to frozen assets to help its struggling economy. Earlier on Thursday, US officials said American forces shot down four Iranian attack drones near the Strait of Hormuz. The US military also struck a drone control facility in Bandar Abbas that was preparing to launch another drone. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard later confirmed the strike near Bandar Abbas International Airport and said it had carried out a retaliatory attack on the base responsible. However, it did not give details, and it remains unclear whether the attack on Kuwait is directly linked to that retaliation.