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US in new targeted strikes on Iran as Tehran leaders weigh mediator's proposals

U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. military on Friday carried out new limited strikes on Iran, targeting an Iranian air defense system.

Iranian state media reported the sound of two explosions in the Suza area of Qeshm Island, which is in the crucial waterway for oil shipments.

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US offers $20 million reward for info on 'Iran's nuclear program'

Washington is offering a $20 million reward "and possible relocation" for information about Iran's nuclear program, the U.S. military said, as President Donald Trump reiterated Tehran wants to make a deal to end the war.

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Israel opposition touts progress ousting Netanyahu after U-turn on ultra-Orthodox

Israel's opposition said Friday it was making headway in its bid to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as one of its leaders lifted his veto on demands that ultra-Orthodox Jews serve in the military, opening the door to a once improbable alliance with the community.

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Airstrikes on market in southwestern Yemen kill at least 20, Houthis say

Airstrikes hit a market in southwestern Yemen on Friday, killing at least 20 people, according to an official with Iran-backed Houthi rebels. It would be one of the deadliest attacks since fighting resumed between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces.

A Houthi health ministry spokesperson, Anees Alsabahi, told Houthi-run TV Al Masirah that 15 people were also wounded in the airstrikes on the market in al-Waziyah in the province of Taiz. He said that the death toll was expected to rise from the airstrikes, which he blamed on the Saudi-led coalition.

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Israel's govt demolished their homes, Bedouins responded by voting against it

When Adnan Abu Wadi voted in Israel's recent election, he carried with him the fresh memory of his now-demolished home.

Just weeks before the vote, authorities came to this Bedouin community and bulldozed around 80 houses. It was the latest in a string of demolitions targeting villages in the Negev Desert, which Israeli authorities say lack proper permits for building.

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Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted drone in Mecca region

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthis said on Friday it had intercepted and destroyed a drone in the region of Mecca, Islam's holiest city, following repeated attacks by the pro-Iranian group on the kingdom.

"Interception and destruction of a drone in the Mecca region," Turki al-Malki, the coalition's spokesman wrote on social media, without elaborating on the source of the attack.

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Morocco celebrates anniversary of Western Sahara takeover as UN mission ends

Morocco on Friday commemorated the Green March, the 1975 mass mobilization into then-Spanish controlled Western Sahara that helped pave the way for Morocco's takeover of most of the disputed territory. The anniversary comes as the decades-old conflict enters a new diplomatic phase as a U.N. peacekeeping mission there winds down.

In Laayoune, the largest city in the part of Western Sahara controlled by Morocco, signs of the Green March anniversary were visible across public spaces.

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Trump holds phone call with war mediator Qatar Emir

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday called Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to discuss efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war, amid a diplomatic push to avoid a new round of conflict.

The high-profile exchange was the latest in a flurry of diplomatic phone calls that saw Iran's top diplomat speaking to his counterparts in the Gulf, amid fears that Trump could resume strikes despite major losses in midterms elections.

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Iran Guards say two tankers caught fire in Hormuz

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in a statement carried by state media Friday that two oil tankers caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz, a day after Tehran claimed five other tankers had similar fates.

Since the outbreak of the Middle East war on February 28, Tehran has sought to limit traffic through the strategic waterway, which normally carries about one-fifth of global oil consumption.

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Israel's main Arab list says will back Eisenkot to form government

Israel's largest Arab party grouping, the Joint List, said Thursday it would recommend opposition bloc leader Gadi Eisenkot for the formation of a new government after last week's election.

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