Mena Today

The Iran conflict is causing a rise in tourist cancellations and a dive in new bookings in Cyprus and to a lesser extent other countries whose economies rely heavily on summer visitors.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Thursday that Israel had eliminated the Navy commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), holding him "directly responsible for the terrorist act of bombing and blocking the Strait of Hormuz."

Tehran has informed intermediaries that Lebanon and Hezbollah must be included in any ceasefire agreement with the United States and Israel, according to regional sources familiar with Iran's position.

Kuwait's Interior Ministry has announced the dismantling of a 20-member terrorist network linked to Hezbollah, including Kuwaiti, Iranian, Lebanese and other nationals. Six suspects have been arrested while 14 others fled abroad.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran was desperate to make a deal to end nearly four weeks of fighting, contradicting the Iranian foreign minister who said his country was reviewing a U.S. proposal but had  no intention of holding talks to wind down the conflict.

Israel took Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf off its hit list after Pakistan requested that Washington not target them, a Pakistani source with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters on Thursday. 

President Donald Trump will hit Iran harder if Tehran fails to accept that the country has been "defeated militarily," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday.

Hungary's centre-right opposition Tisza party has widened its lead over Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz in March, a poll showed on Wednesday, ahead of an April 12 election where the veteran nationalist is seeking re-election.

Peruvian presidential candidates Keiko Fujimori and Rafael Lopez Aliaga remain ahead in voter preferences, a new poll showed on Wednesday, pointing to a rightward tilt ahead of April's general election despite a crowded field of 35 contenders.

Israeli Channel 12 has revealed 14 of the 15 American demands transmitted to Iran as conditions for a ceasefire.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday named veteran French diplomat Jean Arnault to be his personal envoy on the conflict in the Middle East, saying it was "out of control" and the "world is staring down the barrel of a wider war."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is racing to pass a state budget and stave off early elections he would likely lose, with the war in Iran so far doing little to improve his standing in the polls.