Iran war day 76: Vance says progress made in talks; Israel pounds Lebanon

In the Gulf

• Netanyahu’s UAE visit: The Israeli Prime Minister held a “secret” meeting with the UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, his office said. “The visit marked a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.”
• UAE denies Netanyahu visit claims: The UAE has rejected statements from Netanyahu’s office. In a statement carried by state news agency WAM, the UAE said reports of a Netanyahu visit or the presence of an Israeli military delegation were “baseless”, stressing that its ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords are public and “not based on secrecy or clandestine arrangements”.

In the US

• Senate backs Trump: US senators narrowly rejected a resolution curbing President Trump’s power to wage war on Iran – their first vote on the conflict since a 60-day deadline expired for the White House to seek formal authorisation.
• Trump dismisses China role on Iran: The US president said Washington does not need Beijing’s help to end the war in Iran or reopen the Strait of Hormuz, ahead of his China visit. “We’ll win it one way or the other, peacefully or otherwise,” Trump said, while analysts in Tehran said the summit was not seen as a threat to strong Iran-China ties.
• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has defended the war on Iran, claiming this time that Tehran was building a huge arsenal as a prelude to a nuclear weapon, which Tehran has always denied it is trying to obtain. “Iran was building up a conventional capability, where they would have so many missiles and so many drones, that they could overwhelm anyone’s defences,” Rubio told Fox News.

In Lebanon

• Israel-Lebanon talks: Officials from Lebanon and Israel will convene in Washington, DC, later on Thursday for a new round of peace negotiations as their “ceasefire”, which is in name only and due to expire, remains technically active despite Israel killing dozens of Lebanese people daily.
• Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reports that a series of Israeli overnight and early morning attacks have targeted multiple locations across southern Lebanon.
• Hezbollah on Thursday said it has carried out several attacks on Israeli army positions in or near the southern Lebanese town of Biyyada.
• Lebanon says 10,000 homes hit: More than 10,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed in Lebanon since a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hezbollah, the head of the country’s National Council for Scientific Research said.
• At least 12 killed in Lebanon – Israel intensified strikes on Lebanon with the Ministry of Public Health reporting 12 people were killed in attacks on Wednesday, mostly south of Beirut, despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.