Smoke rises in Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side of the border with Lebanon
The Israel Defence Forces said on Saturday, April 25, that it struck three neighbourhoods in southern Lebanon, claiming to have hit Hezbollah’s rocket launchers in overnight military operations.
The Israeli army said it targeted Hezbollah assets in Al Saamiya, Reman, and Deir El Zahrani in southern Lebanon.
The Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran resumed a number of international flights on Saturday morning, according to Iran’s semiofficial Mehr news agency.
The first few passenger flights from Tehran are headed to Istanbul, Medina in Saudi Arabia, and Muscat.
Mashhad airport, located in the country’s second-largest city in the northeast, reopened earlier in the week.
The German navy is sending a minesweeper, specialised warships designed to remove or detonate naval mines, to the Mediterranean for potential deployment in the Strait of Hormuz, said Defence Minister Boris Pistorius.
German newspaper quoted the minister as saying that the vesself would be sent along with a command and supply ship. However, no clear time of deployment was mentioned.
Pistrorius said that for any vessel to be deployed, preconditions require a sustained ceasefire between the US and Iran, a legal framework under international law, and a mandate from the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament.
Iran hanged a man Saturday over alleged ties to Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency and his participation in anti-government protests in January.
Erfan Kiani was the latest in a series of executions in Iran following the war and nationwide protests.
The Mizan news agency of Iran’s judiciary announced Kiani was convicted of charges including attacks on security forces in the city of Asfahn in January.
The agency claimed he was on a “mission for Mossad” without offering evidence.
Human rights activists long have said Iran convicts people in closed-door trials without allowing defendants to properly defend themselves.
There have recently been multiple executions of alleged spies, as well as protesters and those affiliated with an Iranian exiled opposition group.
Large parts of Pakistan’s capital remain under a tight security lockdown for over a week on Saturday, even as uncertainty persisted over the proposed second round of talks between the US and Iran.
Arterial roads leading into Islamabad are sealed, while the Red Zone, housing key government buildings and diplomatic missions, remains under a strict security cordon.
In the adjacent commercial ‘Blue Area’, markets are deserted, cafes are running short of supplies, and public transport disruptions with no service at bus terminals have left commuters stranded.
For residents, uncertainty has become the hardest part. Islamabad is a city of transients, where many residents work during the week and return to family homes at the weekend.
This is the second lockdown in recent weeks. Islamabad was earlier sealed on April 11 for talks between the US and Iranian delegations that ended without a deal. The city briefly reopened before restrictions were reimposed as Pakistan prepared to host another round of engagements, which has yet to materialise.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived here late Friday for engagements with the Pakistani leadership. He was received by senior officials, including Army chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, foreign minister Ishaq Dar and interior minister Mohsin Naqvi.
However, there is no clarity on whether direct talks between Washington and Tehran will take place during the visit.
A painful fuel crunch and soaring oil and gas prices triggered by the Iran war have nudged the European Union to look hard into funding alternative energy routes in the Middle East to circumvent hot spots like the Strait of Hormuz.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Friday that the EU is ready to work with Persian Gulf countries for new projects conveying energy to global markets that wouldn’t be held hostage to war or geopolitical strife.
“The events of the past month have taught us a hard lesson,” von der Leyen told a news conference at the end of an informal meeting of EU leaders in the capital of Cyprus. “Our security is not just related, it is intrinsically linked. A threat to a merchant vessel in the Strait of Hormuz is a threat to a factory, for example, in Belgium.”
(With inputs from agencies)
This post was last modified on April 25, 2026 1:24 pm