United Arab Emirates intercepts an Iranian drone, and other news from the Middle East
An Iranian drone was intercepted early Monday over the United Arab Emirates' territorial waters, the Defense Ministry said. The attack followed an exchange of fire between Iran and the United States over the weekend, which was the first significant military action in the war for more than a month.
Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.
Iran fired a drone at the United Arab Emirates on Monday, which the UAE's Defense Ministry said was intercepted over its territorial waters.
After more than a month with no significant fighting, the U.S. attacked rocket launchers on an Iranian island on Sunday, saying they were preparing to launch mines into the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded by launching missiles at U.S. sites in Jordan, all of which were intercepted.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that his country wasn't seeking war, but that “we will respond decisively to aggressors. The UAE called the attack a “dangerous escalation” from Iran.
During the lull in fighting, the U.S. has been ratcheting up economic pressure on Iran in hopes of forcing concessions from Tehran, including reopening the vital Strait of Hormuz to shipping.
Israeli airstrikes on Monday killed at least five Palestinians in Gaza City, hospital officials said.
One strike hit the entrance of a residential building near the city’s municipal park, killing two, according to Shifa Hospital, which received the casualties. Two other Palestinians were critically wounded, the hospital said.
A second strike hit a vehicle in the city’s Tal al-Hawa neighborhood, killing three, the hospital said.
The military said it attacked suspected militants in the vehicle, without providing evidence. It didn’t comment on the first strike.
The deaths were the latest among Palestinians in Gaza since a ceasefire deal reached in October attempted to halt a more than two-year war between Israel and Hamas.
While the deaths since then have decreased, at least 1,320 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry.
The leaders of China, Russia and India gathered with other heads of state in Kyrgyzstan on Monday for the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a group billed as a counterweight to U.S. global influence.
The summit includes Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Pezeshkian was scheduled to meet with Putin on the sidelines on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was set to host meetings of the Group of 20 finance ministers in North Carolina on Monday and Tuesday, as Washington pressures other countries to help economically isolate Iran.
Israel signed a multibillion-dollar weapons deal with Greece on Monday, the largest between the two Mediterranean countries, as Israeli defense exports soar.
Israel’s Defense Ministry said the 3 billion-euro ($3.5 billion) defense export deal, dubbed Achilles Shield, is one of the country’s largest and includes a multilayered air defense system for Greece using Israeli technology.
The agreement comes as Israeli weapons exports have reached record highs with more than $19 billion last year, a 30% increase from 2024, according to official data. That is despite widespread criticism of Israel’s conduct in its wars in Gaza, with the Hezbollah militant group and with Iran.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi rejected a proposal to keep some forces from a U.S.-led coalition in Iraq after Sept. 30, when the mission is supposed to end, state media reported.
Government spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi did not give more details about the proposal or who had put it forward.
U.S. troops pulled out of bases in most areas of Iraq last year but maintained a presence in the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region. The remaining troops are supposed to leave within the next month.
Bases hosting U.S. troops in the Kurdish region have regularly come under attack since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran on Feb. 28, so their withdrawal could reduce the frequency of attacks on northern Iraq.
However, some Kurdish officials and residents have expressed anxiety about the loss of U.S. air defense systems and protection against IS and Iran-backed militias.
Countries are welcome to join the defense pact signed by Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Monday.
The three countries agreed to a defense alliance on Aug. 7 that would treat an attack on one as an attack on all. Fidan said the Mecca Defense Alliance would be willing to accept new members following the first meeting between high-level officials from the current member states.
Egypt has been touted as a potential member for the alliance of Muslim-majority states and Fidan promised close collaboration with “friendly countries.”
Monday’s meeting saw Fidan joined by his counterparts from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, as well as each nation’s defense minister and chief of staff at the alliance’s strategic, political and defense committee.
While the alliance is intended to reinforce collective defense in a way similar to NATO’s Article 5, members have stressed that it is not aimed against any specific foe.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is asking for Greece's help in implementing an agreement to end the war with Israel.
During meetings on Monday in Athens, Aoun told Greek President Constantine Tassoulas and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis that Lebanon has been through long wars and “its people are tired.”
He suggested that Greece has good relations with both Lebanon and Israel, and could help facilitate an end to decades of war.
In comments aired by local television stations, Aoun referred to the U.S.-brokered framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel signed in late June, saying “we ask Greece to do all it can to help Lebanon in implementing the agreement.”
In an apparent reference to daily Israeli airstrikes and shelling despite a June 20 Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, Aoun said that “trying to solve the problem through military force will not succeed.”
The American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is nearing Thailand, where it's expected to make a port visit after its lengthy deployment to the Middle East.
The carrier, with around 5,000 sailors and its accompanying battle group, was sailing Monday toward the Gulf of Thailand, where it was expected to make a port call near the city of Pattaya.
The Lincoln, one of the U.S. Navy’s largest warships, was supporting American efforts in the Iran war. Its deployment included a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 250 days.
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