Mena Today

The United States and Israel pounded Iran on Tuesday with what the Pentagon and Iranians on the ground said were the most intense airstrikes of the war, despite global markets betting that President Donald Trump will seek to end the conflict soon.

Israel's military pounded the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs with air strikes on Tuesday and its troops pushed deeper into the country's south, as an Israeli envoy said the key to ending the war was disarming Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. 

Russia has so far been the only winner from the war in the Middle East as energy prices soar and attention for its war against Ukraine has faded, EU Council President Antonio Costa said on Tuesday.

Congo Republic President Denis Sassou Nguesso looks set to extend his decades-long rule in elections on Sunday, even as his advanced age and a term limit fuel speculation about who will eventually succeed him. 

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday they would not allow "one litre of oil" to be shipped from the Middle East if U.S. and Israeli attacks continue, prompting a warning from President Donald Trump that the U.S. would hit Iran much harder if it blocked exports from the vital energy-producing region.

UAE's foreign ministry condemned a drone attack on its consulate in Iraqi Kurdistan's Erbil, it said in a statement early on Tuesday.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun launched a scathing attack on Hezbollah Monday, accusing the Iran-backed group of deliberately seeking to trigger Lebanon's « collapse », and calling for direct negotiations with Israel to end the war.

 Madagascar's President Michael Randrianirina, who seized power in October, has dismissed his prime minister and the entire cabinet on Monday, his spokesperson said in a statement.

Oman's Muscat International Airport said on Monday it did not send a message seen by some charter executives that asked private jets to avoid using the site for "additional flights," to give priority to government and commercial traffic.

Saudi Arabia began oil output cuts, becoming the latest Gulf producer impacted by the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran that has halted ship traffic in the region, sending crude prices up nearly 30% on Monday to $119 a barrel and prompting G7 countries to consider releasing emergency oil stocks.

The United Arab Emirates ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva called on Monday for a de-escalation of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and a return to negotiations.

The U.S. Justice Department has agreed to resolve its long-running criminal prosecution of Turkish state-run lender Halkbank, the judge overseeing the case said in a court filing on Monday, without providing further details of the deal.