MEZIESBLOG

Iraqi armed faction Kata’ib Hezbollah has denied saying it had resumed attacks on US forces.

The group’s denial comes hours after another statement was circulated on Telegram channels thought to be affiliated with them.

That statement declared attacks had resumed three months after they were suspended – but the group now says that is “fabricated news”.

Earlier, sources had told the Reuters news agency at least five rockets were launched from the Iraqi town of Zummar towards a US military base in northeastern Syria.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, referred to it as a “failed rocket attack”.

Two security sources and a senior army officer in Iraq said a small truck with a rocket launcher fixed on the back had been parked in Zummar, which is on the border with Syria. 

Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iraq-based militant group, is thought to have ties to Iran.

Nuclear weapons have ‘no place’ in Iran’s doctrine, foreign ministry claims

Iran’s foreign ministry says nuclear weapons have “no place” in the country’s “doctrine”.

A Revolutionary Guards commander had warned Tehran might change its nuclear policy if pressured by Israeli threats, but ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani appeared to row back on the remarks today.

“Iran has repeatedly said its nuclear programme only serves peaceful purposes,” he said.

“Nuclear weapons have no place in our nuclear doctrine.”

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last say on Tehran’s nuclear programme, banned the development of nuclear weapons in a fatwa, or religious decree, in the early 2000s.

More than 34,100 Palestinians killed since 7 October, Gaza health ministry says

At least 34,151 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive on Gaza since 7 October, the enclave’s Hamas-run health ministry claims.

The ministry also reports 77,084 have been wounded.

It also claims 54 people have been killed over the past 24 hours, with hospitals receiving another 104 injured.

The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and fighters in its reports, but says most of those killed are women and children.