What we're covering
• Drones struck: US forces shot down two Iranian drones that were threatening maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the military said, a day after Iran and the US exchanged strikes and Tehran fired on Kuwait and Bahrain.
• Paying for repairs: The US plans to allow Iranian assets to be used to support repairs in Gulf states impacted by future Iranian attacks, a source said.
• Peace talks: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is in Iran for further negotiations. The recent strikes have increased the strain on the fragile truce between Washington and Tehran.
• Clashes in Lebanon: The Israeli and Lebanese armies have both reported personnel deaths in southern Lebanon. Israel says its offensive in the country is targeting Hezbollah, which has rejected a ceasefire extension reached by the Israeli and Lebanese governments.
Israel intercepts two projectiles from Lebanon, its military says
The Israel Defense Forces said on Sunday it intercepted two projectiles that crossed from Lebanon into northern Israeli territory.
This came “following the sirens that sounded… in the Yiftah and Ramot Naftali areas,” it said, just before 9 a.m. local time on Telegram.
Fighting between the Israeli military and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah has intensified in southern Lebanon despite a US-mediated ceasefire agreed by the Israeli and Lebanese governments earlier in the week. Hezbollah, which was not party to the agreement, has rejected the pact.
Volatility in the Middle East tests ceasefire agreements. Here's the latest
A recent exchange of fire between Iran and the US is testing a truce agreement between the countries.
And in Lebanon, clashes between Israeli forces and the Hezbollah militant group have intensified despite the renewal of a US-brokered ceasefire between the governments of Israel and Lebanon.
Here are the headlines from the region:
Strait of Hormuz: The US military downed two more Iranian drones on Saturday, according to US Central Command, adding that they had been threatening international traffic in the crucial waterway. This came a day after US forces shot down four other Iranian attack drones that were launched toward the strait.
Lebanon: The Israeli and Lebanese armies both reported personnel deaths in southern Lebanon. Two Israeli soldiers were killed in separate incidents, according to their military. The Lebanese army said several of its soldiers, including a high-ranking officer, were killed in an Israeli strike. At least 3,593 people have been killed and 10,990 wounded in Lebanon since March 2, the health ministry said on Saturday.
Peace effort: Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is in Tehran for a new round of negotiations on behalf of the US. The talks are deadlocked over $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets, a top official previously told CNN.
Gulf states: The US is planning to allow Iranian assets to be used to support repairs for war damage in Gulf nations, according to a source familiar with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s thinking. Kuwait and Bahrain recently intercepted Tehran’s attacks after US forces struck radar surveillance sites in Iran’s coastal areas.
CNN’s Aleena Fayaz, Lauren Chadwick, Kevin Liptak, Oren Liebermann, Dalia Abdelwahab, Billy Stockwell and Eyad Kourdi contributed reporting.
US military downs 2 more Iranian drones
The US military downed more Iranian drones, which it said were threatening vessels in shipping chokepoint the Strait of Hormuz.
The military said it remains ready to “continue defending against Iranian aggression.”
The drones’ downing comes after the US struck down four other attack drones on Friday.
US plans to allow Iranian assets to be used for rebuilding in Gulf states, source says
The United States plans to allow Iranian assets to be used to support rebuilding in Gulf countries impacted by future Iranian attacks, according to a source familiar with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s thinking.
The Treasury Department will also consider using Iranian assets to support repairs for past damage, according to the source who confirmed earlier reporting from Reuters on Saturday.
Bessent’s team will assess conditions in Gulf countries and request estimates of the cost of repairing damage inflicted by Iran since the start of the conflict.
The US plan comes as Tehran has once again targeted Gulf states, with Kuwait and Bahrain recently intercepting ballistic missiles launched from Iran. Several Gulf states have faced repeated Iranian attacks since the US and Israel first launched strikes in February.
Pakistan’s interior minister in Tehran for further negotiations
Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Tehran, Iran, on Saturday for a new round of negotiations on behalf of the United States.
Naqvi was set to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during the visit, semi-official Tasnim News agency reported. Semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) separately reported that Naqvi carried a letter from Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has continued to keep a low public profile since assuming his post in March.
This new round of talks comes as Pakistan has been attempting to position itself as a regional mediator in the wake of the US-Iran war.
