Successive Israeli strikes overnight target the strategic Ali Taher hills and surrounding areas | LIVE

IRGC says it will use more destructive weapons in any future war

Iran is continuing to produce weapons and would deploy more destructive ones if another conflict breaks out, IRGC spokesperson Sardar Mohebbi said, according to Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.

“The destructive power of the warheads used in IRGC missiles far exceeds those used in previous wars, and if a war breaks out, our weapons will be completely different from the past in all aspects,” Mohebbi said.

He added that the developments include next-generation warheads with greater precision and longer missile ranges.

Iran’s Araghchi calls Trump’s economic sanctions a continuation of 'failed policies'

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s economic pressure campaign against Tehran, calling it a continuation of “failed policies.”

“The so-called ‘Economic D-Day’ is a diversion from America’s own crisis: unprecedented debt and surging interest costs,” Araghchi said on X. He warned that doubling down on what he described as failed policies would only bring “further defeat” and fuel hostility among Iranians.

Syria’s FM says Israel had 'no legitimate justification' for Abu al-Duhur strike

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani accused Israel on Wednesday evening of having “no legitimate justification” for striking the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Syria, near the Turkish border.

He said Turkish military officers had visited the base as part of training and broader military cooperation, while denying any plans for a Turkish military buildup in Syria.

Al-Shaibani also stressed that the facility was largely empty and not yet operational, as it was being rehabilitated for use by the Syrian Air Force.

Former US ambassador Edward Gabriel: Trump ready for talks with Hezbollah, but group is not 'serious enough'

U.S. President Donald Trump “is ready to talk to Hezbollah if this could help end the conflict [with Israel in Lebanon] and achieve peace,” former U.S. ambassador Edward Gabriel, president of the American Task Force on Lebanon (ATFL), said Wednesday evening.

Speaking to local broadcaster Al Jadeed, Gabriel said he had discussed the issue with U.S. officials at the embassy in Beirut, who confirmed that Trump is seriously considering direct talks with Hezbollah. He added, however, that the United States currently believes Hezbollah is not “serious enough” about entering such negotiations.

Successive raids target Ali Taher and surrounding areas; demolitions and artillery fire hit several areas in south Lebanon

The Israeli military carried out a powerful blast in fields in Mansouri, Sour, at around 9:30 a.m., according to our correspondent. The blast was preceded by artillery fire around the village.

Israeli artillery also shelled the outskirts of Shebaa in Hasbaya and Houla in Marjayoun. At around 7 a.m., a massive explosion shook Haddatha in Bint Jbeil, where several houses were reportedly demolished.

The night was also tense in south Lebanon. Around 3 a.m., Israeli artillery struck Wadi Slouki near Toulin in Marjayoun.

Around 2 a.m., powerful explosions were heard across the Nabatieh district and as far as the Zahrani area near Sidon. They were caused by successive Israeli raids around the strategic Ali al-Taher ridge, accompanied by artillery fire targeting the area, the nearby Dabsheh ridge and Dohat Kfar Roummane. Dozens of heavy shells hit the area.

Witnesses cited by our correspondent reported strong and unpleasant odors around the strikes but could not identify their source.

Shortly before midnight, further Israeli explosions shook Khiam in Marjayoun.

After 10 p.m., Israeli artillery targeted Braasheet in Bint Jbeil. Israeli vehicles were also seen moving from Haddatha toward Aita al-Jabal, accompanied by artillery fire across the area. Another operation using medium machine guns targeted Srebbine in Bint Jbeil.

Katz: Erdogan is 'dragging Turkey into dangerous adventures in Syria'

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was “dragging Turkey into dangerous adventures in Syria” and that Israel would “not allow any entity to threaten its security,” in a post on X cited by Reuters.

Netanyahu says Israel sent Turkey a “clear message” in Syria

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel had made it “clear” to Turkey that it must not establish a military base in Syria, implicitly acknowledging a strike on a military airfield in the neighboring country the previous day.

Meanwhile, Israeli military chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir visited troops occupying part of southern Syria, saying the army would not allow any “hostile force to establish itself” along the Syrian border.

“We will not tolerate an advancing Turkish military entrenchment to the south, because it threatens us,” Netanyahu said in an interview broadcast on army radio.

He said Israel had first sent a “general” message opposing a Turkish military presence at an airfield near Aleppo, close to the Turkish border. “Apparently, they did not hear it, so we made sure they understood it more clearly,” he said, a day after Israel bombed the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province.

Turkey, which has had deeply strained relations with Israel since the Gaza war, rejected the allegations and denied any plans to deploy troops to Syria.