Yemen strikes Israeli military site, downs US drone
In a statement, Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesman Yahya Saree confirmed that they have successfully carried out a drone operation targeting an Israeli military site in the occupied area of Jaffa, Tel Aviv.
In a separate statement, the Yemeni Armed Forces announced that their air defense unit successfully shot down a US reconnaissance drone, identified as a Giant Shark F360, using a surface-to-air missile in the northern Saada province.
Yemenis have declared their open support for Palestine’s struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime launched a devastating war on Gaza on October 7 after the territory’s Palestinian Resistance movements carried out a surprise retaliatory attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, against the occupying entity.
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Netanyahu plans to visit US to discuss Iran, Trump”s tariffs
Israeli regime”s premier Benjamin Netanyahu is planning to visit the White House on Monday, four sources with knowledge tell Axios.
If the visit takes place as planned, Netanyahu will meet US President Donald Trump to try to negotiate a deal to remove his tariffs. They are also expected to discuss Iran and the war in Gaza, according to the report.
The report, citing an Israeli official, added that Netanyahu thinks the chances of a US-Iran nuclear deal are extremely low and wants to reach an understanding with Trump about striking Iran”s nuclear facilities when diplomacy fails.
Iranian officials have strongly warned that any attack on the country will be met with a swift and harsh response.
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Turkey reacts to Trump”s bombing threat against Iran
Turkey is not interested in a new source of instability in the region and does not want the US to attack Iran, Fidan told Reuters.
“Our region cannot tolerate another war, another big source of instability. And we don’t know what type of escalation might occur in case of such an attack. So we don’t want to see any [US] attack on Iran taking place. We need to see, as was the case in the past, peaceful negotiations employed by both sides and interested parties,” the news agency quoted Fidan as saying.
Iranian officials have strongly warned that any attack on the country will be met with a swift and harsh response.
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Russia urges resolving Iran nuclear dossier through diplomacy
The issue of the Iranian nuclear dossier should be solved only by peaceful means, all sides should maintain absolute restraint, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Commenting on US President Donald Trump”s threats to start bombing Iran if Tehran refuses to negotiate over its nuclear program, the spokesman said, “We believe that the issue of Iran”s nuclear dossier should be resolved exclusively through political and diplomatic means. All sides should exercise absolute restraint and focus precisely on diplomatic efforts when discussing all issues.”
According to TASS, Peskov pointed out that despite the fact that Russia is now engaged in restoring relations with the US, Iran remains its ally and partner. He emphasized that Moscow and Tehran have developed multidisciplinary relations.
On March 30, the US leader said he would impose additional tariffs on Iran in two weeks if the nuclear talks failed. He also threatened an unprecedented bombing of Iran in the event of a complete rejection of the deal.
Iranian officials have strongly warned that any attack on the country will be met with a swift and harsh response.
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US says ‘testing’ if Russia is serious about peace in Ukraine
“We’re testing to see if the Russians are interested in peace,” Marco Rubio told journalists in Brussels after talks with NATO allies.
“Their actions – not their words, their actions – will determine whether they’re serious or not, and we intend to find that out sooner rather than later.”
He added: “The Russians and [Vladimir] Putin will have to make a decision about whether they’re serious about peace or not. If it’s a delay tactic, [Trump]’s not interested in that. We will know soon enough, in a matter of weeks, not months, whether Russia is serious about peace or not.”
Rubio also appeared to strike a more sympathetic tone towards Kyiv, noting that the Ukrainians “have shown a willingness to enter, for example, into a complete ceasefire”.
US officials appear to be growing increasingly impatient with the lack of progress in the ongoing peace negotiations. While Trump continues to publicly suggest that Putin wants to end the war, there is growing recognition within the US administration that the Kremlin is unlikely to back down from its maximalist demands before it commits to peace conditions that would effectively dismantle Ukraine as an independent, functioning state and pull it firmly into Russia’s sphere of influence.
On Friday a Russian missile attack killed at least 18 people, including nine children, in a residential area of the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, local officials announced.
The attack on the hometown of Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, damaged residential blocks and sparked fires, Serhiy Lysak, the region’s governor, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
At least 50 people were wounded, the emergency services said, adding that the figure was growing.
Zelensky responded by calling on the west to exert greater pressure on Moscow. “The whole world sees it,” he wrote on Telegram.
“Each missile, every attack drone proves that Russia seeks only war.”
Russia claimed it had targeted a gathering of servicemen but Ukraine accused Moscow of “again spreading false information”.
“The missile struck a residential area with a playground,” the military’s general staff said in a statement on Telegram.
“Through this latest violation of the norms of international human rights, the insidious enemy shows that it is in no way seeking peace but rather intends to continue its invasion and war to destroy Ukraine and all Ukrainians,” it added.
Russia has previously rejected a US proposal for a full and immediate 30-day ceasefire, to which Ukraine had agreed. Meanwhile, neither side appears to be adhering to an earlier agreement to temporarily halt strikes on energy infrastructure during that period.
European allies have been urging Washington to take a tougher stance on Moscow and push for a serious commitment to a ceasefire, with some suggesting that a clear deadline should be set.
Moscow “owes an answer to the United States”, which had “worked very hard to come up with a mediation effort and a ceasefire proposal”, the French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said in Brussels, standing alongside the British foreign minister, David Lammy.
“[Putin] could accept a ceasefire now, he continues to bombard Ukraine, its civilian population, its energy supplies,” Lammy stated, adding, “We see you, Vladimir Putin, we know what you are doing.”
There was similar rhetoric among other European allies of Ukraine, with the German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, dismissing Putin’s talk of negotiations as “nothing but empty promises”. She accused the Russian leader of “playing for time by raising ever-new demands”.
The Kremlin this week sent an envoy to Washington, marking the first time since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion that a senior Russian official had travelled to the US for talks with American counterparts.
Kirill Dmitriev met Steve Witkoff, Trump’s senior adviser on Russia negotiations, as well as Rubio at the White House on Wednesday. Dmitriev described the meetings as evidence of a “positive dynamic” between the two countries and claimed progress had been made towards peace in Ukraine.
Rubio, the US’s top diplomat, took a more cautious stance, saying he hoped Dmitriev would deliver a clear message to Moscow.
“He’ll take some messages back, and the message is the United States needs to know whether you’re serious or not about peace,” he stated.
Trump has previously suggested he would impose a 25% or even 50% tariff on countries buying Russian oil if he concluded that Putin was obstructing peace talks.
Source: Ehsan Ghasri
Turkey, Israel may clash over Syria after base attacks
According to sources cited by Ma”an News Agency, at least three Turkish-controlled air bases in Syria have been targeted and lost in recent days following Israeli air raids. These positions were reportedly part of a joint defense arrangement with Julani”s terrorist regime, yet were attacked by the Zionist regime without prior notice.
The attacks come amid Turkey’s repeated efforts to reassure the United States that its presence in Syria poses no threat to Israeli interests. However, the intensifying raids—particularly the extensive strikes carried out on Wednesday—have sparked speculation about a looming conflict between Ankara and Tel Aviv over their diverging agendas in Syria.
Two Syrian military sources and a regional intelligence official confirmed that Turkish military teams have recently inspected the T4 and Tadmur airbases in Homs province, as well as the main airport in Hama province. The visits were reportedly aimed at assessing the condition of the infrastructure of the bases.
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