Israel Iran War News Highlights: Amid raids in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Israeli army strikes north Lebanon city for the first time

"We seem to be at that fateful moment in the Middle East amid Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s calls for a regime change in Iran and promises that ousting clerical rule in Tehran will herald a new era of peace and prosperity in the Middle East."

Despite the worldwide anger against Israel’s use of extreme force against Hamas and Hezbollah, Netanyahu has now lent a broader and breathtaking political objective to his costly military campaign — regime change in Iran. He is saying that the war against Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis — Iran’s regional allies — is not enough to ensure Israel’s security. And that the war must necessarily culminate in the elimination of the very source of the problem, the Islamic Republic of Iran. READ MORE

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi arrived in Damascus to discuss regional developments and bilateral relations with Syrian officials, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said on Saturday.

Oil prices rose than USD 6 per barrel this week and prices at the pump moved higher as well. The average price for a gallon of gas rose 5 cents from last week, AP reported.

Oil prices climbed this week as tensions in the Middle East escalated. Iran launched missiles at Israel and the Israelis threatened retaliation, raising the possibility of a disruption to the flow of oil from the region. A jump in oil prices automatically spurs fear of a spike in gas prices, but experts see reasons that may not happen.

A blast was heard and smoke was seen over Beirut's southern suburbs early on Saturday, Reuters witnesses said, as the Israeli military issued three alerts for residents of the area to immediately evacuate.

The first alert warned residents in a building in the Burj al-Barajneh neighbourhood and the second in a building in Choueifat district. The third alert mentioned buildings in Haret Hreik as well as Burj al-Barajneh.

In a statement early on Saturday, Hezbollah also said the Israeli army was trying to infiltrate the Lebanese southern town of Odaisseh and that clashes there were ongoing.

Addressing worshippers with a rifle by his side, Khamenei says Muslim nations have to "strap the belt of defence from Afghanistan to Yemen, from Iran to Gaza and Lebanon", AFP reported

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday defended Iran's missile attack on Israel as "legal and legitimate". 

"The operation of our armed forces a few nights ago was totally legal and legitimate," he said. Iran will "not delay nor rush to respond to Israel".

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, is leading today's Friday prayer in Mosalla, Tehran.

"Head of three branches of the government, President Masoud Pezeshkian , Speaker of the parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Judiciary Chief, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i, are also attending," Tehran correspondent of the AFP said in a post on X

Mizan News Agency published this photo of the Supreme Leader and the Heads of Three Branches of the Government from today's ceremony. (Credit: X/ @SaeedAzimi1772 )

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi who landed in Beirut a while ago is set to meet Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and speaker of parliament Nabih Berri, who is a close ally of Iran-backed Hezbollah, according to his schedule.

As per a Reuters live broadcast showed an Iranian-flagged plane landing at Beirut airport, just hours after air strikes hit outside the airport perimeter overnight.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will be leading the Friday prayers in the country, his first in nearly five years, days after Tehran launched a missile barrage on Israel after the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

Khamenei will be leading prayers at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla mosque in central Tehran, according to his official website. The Friday prayers will follow a commemoration ceremony at 10.30 am local time for Nasrallah.

The most recent Israeli strikes in Beirut is said to have targetted senior Hezbollah leader Hashem Safieddine, news agency Reuters reported citing Axios.

The air raids targeted Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine, rumoured successor to its assassinated leader Hassan Nasrallah, in an underground bunker, Axios reporter Barak Ravid said on X, citing three Israeli officials.

Safieddine's fate was not clear, he said.

Israel's military declined comment.

India, which has strategic ties with both Israel and Iran, is attempting to stay ambivalent at the moment.

The strategic relationship with Israel, especially the defence and security partnership, has grown and deepened under the Narendra Modi government. The two sides have strong shared concerns over extremism and terrorism. Israel has emerged as a major defence supplier alongside the US, France, and Russia — and New Delhi remembers that the Israelis had stepped up at its time of crisis during the Kargil war in 1999.

Iran, on the other hand, has been a major supplier of crude to India. Also, the two countries share concerns on terrorism emanating from Pakistan and Afghanistan, and on the Taliban’s treatment of minorities and lack of an inclusive and representative government in Kabul. The Chabahar port is a project of great strategic and economic importance to India.

Past tensions between Israel and Iran have brought discomfiture to New Delhi. Widening of the conflict in the Middle East will make it difficult for India to stay ambivalent.

Flights aranged by the US have reportedly brought about 250 Americans and their relatives out of Lebanon this week even as tensions between Iran and Israel continue to flare.

Thousands of others are still there amid airstrikes and diminishing commercial flights, AP said.

In Washington, senior State Department and White House officials met Thursday with two top Arab American officials to discuss US efforts to help American citizens leave Lebanon.

India has high stakes in the West Asian region and is keenly tracking the developments even as Iran and Israel are on the brink of an all out war.

The Ministry of External Affairs has said: “It is important that the conflict doesn’t take a wider regional dimension and we urge that all issues be addressed through dialogue and diplomacy.”

New Delhi has so far not offered to play a mediatory role. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the last 10 days.

Strikes continued overnight following a series of blasts in Beirut's southern suburbs, news agency AP reported early Friday.

On Thursday, the Israeli military warned people to evacuate communities in southern Lebanon that are outside a UN-declared buffer zone. This was a considered to be a signal that it may widen a ground operation launched earlier this week against the Hezbollah militant group.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces said they had struck around 200 Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, including weapons storage facilities and observation posts.