A tanker was struck by projectiles off the coast of Qatar in the Persian Gulf, the British military said Thursday, while Iranian state television reported that two tankers and a towboat had hit mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met Thursday with the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Thursday.
Tanker struck in Persian Gulf
A tanker was struck by two projectiles off Qatar’s coast in the Persian Gulf on Wednesday, the British military said, adding that the status of the crew was unconfirmed and the damage was unknown.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said the attack took place north of Qatar’s city of Madinat ash Shamal. It did not identify the tanker and there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
The organization said last month that it was struggling to accurately report the true number of attacks because most ships were refusing to report them.
Iranian state TV says 3 ships have struck naval mines
Iran’s state TV said Thursday that two oil tankers and a towboat caught fire after striking mines in the Strait of Hormuz. It did not provide details about possible casualties or the vessels’ flags. The claim could not be independently verified.
Quoting a statement by the Revolutionary Guard, the report said the Guard also seized two U.S. drones in the airspace over the strait. The Guard routinely makes similar statements about targeting vessels as well as damaging oil tankers in the strait.
Tehran closed the strait after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February, launching the war.
Iran’s security chief meets with Putin
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin met Thursday with the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, the Kremlin said without offering details of the meeting.
Images released by the Kremlin showed that Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov and the chief of the Russian military intelligence, Igor Kostyukov, attended the meeting alongside Putin.
The Russian Foreign Ministry maintained its advice to citizens of Russia to refrain from traveling to Iran. “In light of the remaining risks of a new escalation around Iran, our recommendations to Russian citizens remain unchanged,” ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a briefing.
Assailant kills security officer in Jordanian capital
In Jordan, an assailant attacked and killed a security officer near the Sri Lankan Embassy in the capital, Amman, on Thursday, in what Jordanian authorities described as a terrorist act.
Jordan’s Public Security Directorate said a member of its forces was assaulted with a sharp object and died “in a cowardly terrorist attack.”
Jordan’s state-run Al-Mamlaka TV reported that the assailant, who was arrested, attempted to seize a weapon from the security officer. A second security officer intervened, and both the assailant and the second officer sustained injuries, Al-Mamlaka said.
Foreign ministers of Iran, Oman discuss Strait of Hormuz
The foreign ministers of Iran and Oman have discussed ways to resume navigation through the Strait of Hormuz that lies between the two nations, Oman’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi spoke by phone with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, and confirmed the importance of reaching understandings ensuring the safety of maritime passages, the ministry said.
Boy killed in Gaza Strip, hospital says
Three Palestinians were killed in separate areas of the Gaza Strip on Thursday, according to health officials.
Israeli gunfire killed a boy in Bureij in the central part of the territory, according to Awda Hospital. A woman was fatally shot in another incident in Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital. An Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah killed one person.
The Israeli military said that they are aware of the airstrike in Deir al-Balah. The army didn’t immediately respond to a request for comments on the gunfire in Bureij and Khan Younis.
Houthis say Saudi airstrikes killed 7
The Houthi-run Ministry of Health in Yemen reported, without providing evidence, that seven people were killed and six were injured in two Saudi airstrikes on Thursday. The Saudi Ministry of Information did not immediately comment.
Anees Al-Asbahy, spokesperson of the Houthi-run ministry, said the first raid targeted a farm in Saada, northwestern Yemen. A second airstrike came as paramedics arrived, he said.
Separately, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said it intercepted and destroyed a cruise missile over the province of Medina. The military spokesperson for the Iran-backed Houthis, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, denied the claim and said their operations only target Saudi oil facilities and military bases. The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify these claims.
Israel’s President Herzog holds meetings for coalition government
Israeli President Isaac Herzog held a second day of meetings Thursday with political parties to hear their recommendations on who should receive the first opportunity to form a coalition government.
The president chooses who gets the first chance to form a government -- most likely current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or his main rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot.
Herzog’s office said the United Arab List, an Islamist conservative party, and the Joint List, which combines three major Arab parties, both recommended tasking Eisenkot with forming Israel’s next government.
The ultra-Orthodox party United Torah Judaism refrained from making a recommendation, likely tipping the scales in favour of Eisenkot.
