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Iran’s overseas minister has met Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi within the first go to to Cairo by an official from the Islamic republic in additional than a decade, as diplomats step up efforts to keep away from a wider regional conflict.
Abbas Araghchi’s assembly with Sisi on Thursday included discussions on brokering a ceasefire in Gaza, in line with Egypt’s overseas ministry.
The diplomatic push comes as Israel mentioned it had killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the lethal October 7 assault on Israel, throughout an operation In Gaza. The Palestinian militant group has not confirmed Sinwar’s loss of life.
Israel’s war against Hamas has already spilled over from the shattered enclave into an invasion of Lebanon to focus on Iran-backed Hizbollah militants. The Center East is braced for an Israeli response to Iran’s barrage of practically 200 ballistic missiles earlier this month, which got here after Israel killed Hizbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, in a large air strike on Beirut late final month.
Araghchi’s Cairo assembly adopted in a single day strikes by US stealth bombers towards targets in Yemen, aiming to cut back threats to delivery from Iran-aligned Houthi rebels who’ve been attacking vessels within the Crimson Sea.
Majority Shia Muslim Iran has a turbulent relationship with Sunni- dominated Arab states reminiscent of Egypt, which have lengthy accused Tehran of destabilising the area by way of proxy forces, together with Hizbollah militants and Houthi rebels. Hizbollah is thought to be Iran’s strongest regional proxy power.
Though Cairo and Tehran have had fluctuating diplomatic relations for the reason that 1979 Iranian revolution, Iran’s former president Ebrahim Raisi met Sisi in Riyadh in 2023.
Arab international locations, significantly the oil-rich Gulf states, have moved to cut back tensions with arch-rival Tehran lately. Araghchi’s cease in Egypt is his eighth in a regional tour together with Saudi Arabia, as Iranian diplomats have urged Gulf states to stay “neutral” as tensions improve within the Center East.
A funeral procession was held in Iran’s Isfahan on Thursday for Abbas Nilforoushan, a senior Iranian commander killed alongside Nasrallah.
“We hit you in order that you already know we’ll strike you in your territory. The message for you was to not depend on your anti-missile defend as a result of we’ll penetrate your defences,” mentioned Main Basic Hossein Salami, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ high commander. “When you commit one other mistake and strike our targets . . . we’ll strike again painfully.”
The Houthis haven’t commented on the US strikes in Yemen however have mentioned their makes an attempt to disrupt international delivery are in help of Palestinians in Gaza. Yemeni media mentioned the strikes had hit the cities of Sana’a and Saada.
The US navy mentioned that utilizing “the B-2 bomber demonstrates US international strike capabilities to succeed in these targets, when essential, anytime, anyplace”, in what analysts perceived as a pointed message to Iran forward of an anticipated Israeli retaliation.
Israeli jets continued to strike south Lebanon, a day after IDF footage confirmed Israeli troops blowing up a village containing a historic shrine whereas detonating a Hizbollah tunnel community that it mentioned “was embedded within the coronary heart of a city, beneath the houses of Lebanese civilians”.
Hizbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah claimed on Thursday that Israeli troops had not succeeded in capturing any villages in south Lebanon, Reuters reported. However he added the militant group was working with Lebanese parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri to safe a ceasefire with Israel.
Extra reporting by Steff Chavez in Washington
