Middle East Crisis

Iran War
Sources: US and Israel to Attack Energy Targets in Iran

The US and Israel are planning to launch new attacks on energy infrastructure in Iran as soon as this weekend, several sources told CBS News.

However, Donald Trump has not yet given the green light for the attacks.

It is unclear when the attacks will end, but according to the sources, discussions were underway to try to round them off in time for the stock market to open on Monday.

Earlier in the day, Donald Trump told reporters that the US will “hit Iran very hard”. When a reporter asked about resuming diplomatic talks, Trump replied:

– I think we just want to win. 

Gaza War
Source: Israel will not leave Gaza until Hamas is disarmed

Israel will not leave Gaza until Hamas is “genuinely disarmed”, an Israeli source told AFP.

Hamas has previously said that the group agrees to disarm – but that Israel must fulfill its part of the agreement first.

According to the agreement, Hamas will hand over its weapons to a newly formed Palestinian authority, the so-called Palestinian Technocratic Committee.

US President Donald Trump was the first to talk about the disarmament agreement, which Hamas has announced that it has signed. No official response has yet come from Israel.

Experts: No one will want to take the first step

The agreement reached between Hamas and Trump's "peace council" stipulates that Hamas will lay down its weapons and that the Israeli military will leave the Gaza Strip. But how this will happen is a completely different question.

Bader al-Saif, a professor at Kuwait University, tells the BBC that he expects both parties to demand that the other take the first step.

Berlingske's expert Kristian Mouritzen wants to wait for the text of the agreement, but already sees major problems for Hamas if its leaders agree to disarm.

–It is pure suicide for them to give up their weapons, he says, and believes that competing groups within Gaza will then be able to attack the leaders.

Middle East expert Anders Persson tells Aftonbladet that the agreement is the biggest thing that has happened since the autumn ceasefire. However, he is still cautious about what it will lead to in practice.

–Trump's diplomacy in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran has not been very successful overall. His ceasefires tend to break down and he also tends to exaggerate successes with very big words.
 

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Sources: Preparing Iran attacks
 

TT

Published 00:46

The US and Israel are preparing major attacks on energy facilities in Iran, CBS News reports, citing several sources.

The planned attacks are described as among the largest yet against energy infrastructure during the Iran war and could begin this weekend.

Israel carried out air strikes together with the US at the beginning of the war, last winter.