Middle East crisis

Peace Talks
Iranian Summit: Deal with US hinges on frozen assets

A potential deal between the US and Iran hinges on the Trump administration agreeing to release $24 billion, equivalent to around SEK 230 billion, in frozen Iranian assets. This is what Mohsen Rezaei, military advisor to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said in an interview with CNN.

- The negotiations have reached a deadlock, and Trump must break it, he says.

American sources say that the US is reluctant to release the assets, as it would mean losing an important advantage in the negotiations. Trump is also said to have expressed that a deal with Iran must look stronger than the one Barack Obama made with the nation in 2015.

Iran war
CNN: Israel attacked Iran from bases in Azerbaijan

In connection with the war against Iran, Israel secretly placed elite soldiers and intelligence forces in Azerbaijan, Iran's neighbor to the north, CNN reveals with reference to several sources. The forces were placed close to the border and gave Israel increased opportunities to operate militarily in Iran, and with the help of drones to follow the course of events.

According to CNN, the deployment was one of several in the countries surrounding Iran, which is sometimes believed to have occurred without the consent of the countries in question. The Israeli military is said to have greatly expanded its reach on Iranian territory.

In a statement, a representative from the Azerbaijani embassy in Washington firmly rejects that the country's territory is being made available for operations against third parties. 

Israel-Hezbollah
Several dead in Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon

More than 20 people have been killed in attacks on various parts of southern Lebanon on Friday, Lebanon's health ministry said, according to AFP.

These include attacks on the cities of Tyre and Zebdine, but according to state-run Lebanese media, Israel is said to have attacked more than 40 targets during the day. At least five people were killed in an attack on the Nabatieh region, including a medic.

Early on Friday, the Israeli military IDF issued a call for civilians in three Lebanese towns to leave the area.

At the same time, the Iran-backed Shiite militia Hezbollah announced that it had attacked Israeli troops in southern Lebanon. The IDF stated that two soldiers had been seriously injured.