US-Iran war: Israel shared information about Iran plotting to assassinate Trump; fighting in West Asia escalates | Best Update

Days after Iran’s military attacked a commercial vessel passing through the Strait of Hormuz, US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday (local time) that the ceasefire was “over”, with the US military launching new strikes through Tehran.

According to a CNN report, Israel recently shared intelligence with the United States that Tehran had hatched a plan to assassinate Trump, a move that could add another layer of tension as an already fragile ceasefire agreement comes under pressure.

Here are the main updates on the US-Iran war

1. While one source told CNN the warning came earlier this week, another said U.S. intelligence agencies had been following persistent indications of potential assassinations targeting the U.S. president in recent weeks, but described the Israeli warning as new and linked to a specific threat. When asked to comment on the warning, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, the White House pointed to Trump’s recent remarks. In an interview with reporters, the US president said: “They want to remove the leader of the United States – me,” adding: “I’m on any list. I saw this morning that I’m on every one of their lists. And so far, I think I’ve been a little lucky, but maybe it won’t be much longer. These are evil, sick people. And we have to eradicate that way of cancer. And the way that cancer is solved, you know? I feel it.”

2. As the US and Iran engaged in two days of tit-for-tat attacks, a US official told Bloomberg on Thursday that technical talks with Tehran would continue and that Washington was committed to finding a solution with Iran. The latest remarks are likely to allay fears of a return to full-scale war after the US launched strikes on Iranian targets in response to what it called Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. The Islamic Republic has struck back at US bases in the region over the past two nights.

3. Iranian state media reported on Friday (local time) that the country’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was buried at the Imam Reza Shrine in Khamenei’s hometown of Mashhad. As a sea of people gathered outside the shrine to listen to prayers, Khamenei’s flag-draped coffin was carried into the shrine. Iran’s parliament speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, chief justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei and the slain leader’s eldest son, Mostafa Khamenei, were all present at the Imam Reza shrine. However, absent from the funeral was Mojtaba Khamenei, the supreme leader who has communicated only through statements since his appointment as supreme leader.

4. The US relaunched new strikes against Tehran early Thursday. The Islamic Republic responded by targeting US regional allies in a firefight that threatened an interim ceasefire agreement signed on June 17 to help end the war in the Middle East. The ceasefire has come under repeated pressure from mutual attacks, including Wednesday’s exchange of views. But Thursday’s offensive was broader in scope, with sirens going off at least three times in Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters, as missiles also targeted Kuwait and Qatar.

5. An Iranian official claimed that a US airstrike hit the area around Tehran’s only nuclear power plant, while explosions were also reported in other parts of the country. The US military’s Central Command said it had struck 90 targets across Iran, releasing footage that appeared to show strikes on an airfield and missile launchers. Washington said the operation was aimed at further weakening Iran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic sea route that carried about a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas before the conflict erupted after US and Israeli airstrikes in late February.