According to Iran’s Mehr News Agency, the aircraft was identified as an Orbiter surveillance drone, an Israeli-designed unmanned aerial vehicle used for reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions.
The report said Iranian military personnel, working alongside naval forces, recovered wreckage from the drone after it was brought down in Hormozgan Province, a strategically important region overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most significant maritime energy corridors.

Iranian authorities did not immediately provide details regarding the circumstances of the interception, including the drone’s flight path, mission profile or the method used to bring it down.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli government or the Israel Defense Forces regarding the Iranian claim.

The reported incident occurred against the backdrop of heightened regional diplomacy and growing expectations that Iran and the United States could be nearing a memorandum of understanding aimed at easing tensions after months of confrontation across the Middle East.

Relations between Iran and Israel have remained highly strained amid ongoing regional conflicts, cyber operations, proxy confrontations and competing security interests. Both countries have frequently accused one another of conducting intelligence and military activities beyond their borders.

The Orbiter series of drones, developed by Israeli defense manufacturers, is designed for surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance missions. Such systems are typically employed to gather real-time intelligence while minimizing risk to personnel.

If confirmed, the downing of the drone would represent another episode in the long-running shadow conflict between Iran and Israel, even as diplomatic efforts continue to reshape the broader regional security environment.

In a statement, Hezbollah said its leader, Naim Qassem, received a message from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stressing that Tehran would continue backing what it described as movements seeking “justice and freedom,” with Hezbollah identified as a principal ally.

The group said the communication reflected Iran’s determination to maintain political and strategic support for Hezbollah despite ongoing regional tensions and efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict between Washington and Tehran.

According to Hezbollah, Iran’s most recent proposal, reportedly conveyed through Pakistani mediators, seeks to secure a “permanent and stable” conclusion to the war and specifically calls for Lebanon to be included in any ceasefire framework.

The statement did not provide additional details on the contents of the proposal or indicate whether the United States, Israel, or other parties involved in regional diplomacy had responded to the initiative.
Hezbollah has long been one of Iran’s closest regional allies, receiving political, financial and military support from Tehran.

The group plays a significant role in Lebanon’s political landscape while also maintaining an armed wing that has been involved in conflicts across the region.

The remarks come amid intensified diplomatic efforts aimed at containing wider regional instability and preventing hostilities from expanding across multiple fronts in the Middle East.

According to the official, 21 Australians seven women and 14 children aged between eight and 14 departed Roj Camp on Thursday. They were transferred to Syrian authorities and taken to the capital, Damascus, for arrangements related to their return to Australia.
“There are no more Australians remaining in Roj,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The camp, administered by Kurdish authorities in northeastern Syria, has housed relatives of suspected foreign militants for years following the collapse of the self-declared caliphate established by Daesh.

The latest transfer follows the repatriation earlier this month of 13 Australians, including four women and nine children. Upon arrival in Australia, three of the women were arrested.

Australian authorities charged two women a mother and daughter with slavery-related offenses and crimes against humanity, alleging they kept a female slave after traveling to Syria in 2014 to support Daesh. Both had been detained by Kurdish forces since 2019.

A third woman was charged with entering a restricted area and joining a terrorist organization, while a fourth woman returned without being arrested.

Hundreds of women from Western countries traveled to Syria and Iraq during the rise of Daesh in the early 2010s, often accompanying family members who joined the militant group. Australia subsequently criminalized travel to areas under Daesh control, including parts of Syria.

Canberra has conducted several repatriation operations since 2019, gradually bringing home women and children from camps in northeastern Syria while assessing potential security and legal risks.
Daesh, which once controlled large territories across Syria and Iraq, was territorially defeated in 2019 following a military campaign led by Kurdish-backed forces with support from a US-led coalition.

Syria’s current authorities, who assumed power in 2024, have joined international efforts against Daesh and expanded government control into areas previously administered by Kurdish-led forces. However, Roj camp remains under Kurdish administration.

The departure of the final Australian nationals from Roj closes a chapter in one of Australia’s most complex repatriation efforts arising from the aftermath of the Syrian conflict and the defeat of Daesh.

The strikes came hours after Israel issued evacuation warnings to residents of 10 villages in southern Lebanon, urging them to leave areas near locations identified by the military as Hezbollah infrastructure.
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee said the army was compelled to act against alleged violations of the ceasefire by Hezbollah, adding that civilians were being warned in advance to reduce the risk of casualties.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported Israeli airstrikes on roughly a dozen sites across southern Lebanon, including an attack on an agricultural area that wounded several Syrian workers.
One of the most significant strikes occurred in the southern coastal city of Tyre, where a targeted attack near Hiram Hospital caused extensive damage to the medical facility.

Journalists at the scene reported shattered windows, damaged medical equipment and structural impacts throughout parts of the building.

Hospital chief executive Dr. Salman Aydibi said approximately 40 patients, including seven intensive care patients, were inside the facility when evacuation warnings were issued. Staff moved patients to safer sections of the hospital before the strike occurred.
According to Aydibi, no patients were injured, although around 30 staff members suffered minor injuries.

The hospital remained operational after the attack, though emergency services were briefly suspended while damage assessments were carried out.
The Israeli military said it had struck Hezbollah infrastructure sites in Tyre that were allegedly being used by operatives to plan and execute attacks against Israeli forces. It said precautions included advance warnings, aerial surveillance and the use of precision-guided munitions.

Israeli forces also conducted strikes in eastern Lebanon overnight. The military said it targeted an underground Hezbollah facility used for weapons production.

Separately, Jamaa Islamiya and its armed wing, Al-Fajr Forces, announced that one of their members had been killed in an Israeli strike in eastern Lebanon.

The latest attacks underscore the fragility of the ceasefire that took effect on April 17. While the agreement, backed by Washington, halted large-scale fighting, both Israel and Hezbollah have accused each other of violations, and intermittent military exchanges have continued along the border.

Under the ceasefire framework, Israel maintains the right to take action against what it describes as planned, imminent or ongoing attacks, a provision that remains a source of dispute between the two sides.

Speaking to reporters via Zoom, Sybiha said discussions conducted under the current format were increasingly yielding diminishing returns, with negotiators repeatedly revisiting the same issues without achieving significant breakthroughs.

“My impression is that this format is gradually reaching the point where discussions possible at this level are becoming exhausted,” Sybiha said. “At times, the same issues end up being discussed several times over.”
His remarks underscore mounting concerns in Kyiv over the pace and effectiveness of diplomatic engagement despite months of US-backed efforts to facilitate dialogue between the two sides.

Sybiha said broader European participation could inject fresh momentum into the negotiations and help overcome obstacles that have stalled progress. He described increased European engagement as one of the key avenues for reinvigorating the peace process.

The foreign minister also reiterated Ukraine’s preference for negotiations at the highest political level, saying a direct meeting involving national leaders remains another potential path forward.

Kyiv has repeatedly advocated leader-level talks as a means of breaking deadlocks that have persisted in lower-level discussions.

The comments come as diplomatic efforts to end Europe’s largest conflict in decades continue to face significant challenges, with both sides maintaining divergent positions on core security and territorial issues.

While the United States has played a central role in facilitating contacts between Kyiv and Moscow, Sybiha’s remarks suggest Ukrainian officials increasingly believe a broader diplomatic framework may be required to generate meaningful progress.

The statement, submitted by Indonesia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Umar Hadi, called for strengthened protection measures for peacekeeping forces amid escalating security risks. It also urged an end to violence and a return to negotiations to secure a peaceful resolution in Lebanon.

Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry said the safety of UN personnel was “non-negotiable,” stressing the need for the Security Council to use all available mechanisms to safeguard troops deployed in volatile environments.

The appeal follows a series of explosions in southern Lebanon in late March that killed three Indonesian peacekeepers serving under the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon and wounded several others, including personnel from France, Ghana, Nepal and Poland.

A separate blast inside a UN facility less than a week later injured three more Indonesian soldiers.The incidents prompted Jakarta to demand accountability and enhanced security guarantees for peacekeeping missions.

The Foreign Ministry described the attacks as “unacceptable” and called for an urgent meeting of troop-contributing countries to review safety protocols and operational conditions within UNIFIL.

President Prabowo Subianto condemned the attacks, saying such acts undermine peace efforts and result in the loss of lives of Indonesian personnel deployed abroad.

The UNIFIL mission, established to monitor hostilities and support stability in southern Lebanon, operates in a region that has seen renewed tensions in recent weeks, raising concerns over the safety of international peacekeepers.

The Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) said its analysis of satellite imagery and open-source data showed activity “consistent with military assistance” to the RSF at a base in Asosa, in Ethiopia’s Benishangul-Gumuz region, between late December 2025 and late March 2026.The RSF has been engaged in a conflict with Sudan’s army since April 2023.

Sudan’s military had previously accused Ethiopia of allowing drone attacks to be launched from its territory, an allegation Addis Ababa has denied, along with claims it hosts RSF camps.

According to the HRL report, researchers identified repeated arrivals of commercial car carriers at the Asosa base unloading “technicals,” light pickup trucks commonly used by armed groups.

These vehicles were later observed supplying RSF units operating in Sudan’s Blue Nile state.The report said some vehicles were subsequently fitted with mounts capable of carrying heavy machine guns, while objects consistent with .50-calibre weapons were also detected nearby.

Similar vehicles later appeared in open-source imagery from fighting around Al-Kurmuk, a strategic border town approximately 100 km from Asosa.HRL also documented increased logistical activity at the base, including the arrival of shipping containers, fuel tanks and tents capable of housing up to 150 personnel.

Satellite imagery showed expansion at Asosa airport, including a new hangar, concrete pad and defensive positions. The site had previously been used as a drone base.

The findings come as fighting intensifies in Blue Nile state, where an estimated 28,000 people have been displaced this year, including more than 10,000 from Al-Kurmuk alone.

Control of the region remains divided between Sudan’s army and RSF-aligned forces from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu.

Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 203 people were killed and more than 1,000 wounded in widespread Israeli strikes on Wednesday, marking the deadliest day in over five weeks of renewed fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed group Hezbollah.

Netanyahu said Israel was continuing to strike Hezbollah targets with “force, precision, and determination,” adding that operations would persist until security is restored in northern Israel.

The Israeli military said it was also conducting ground operations in southern Lebanon and had struck crossings used by Hezbollah fighters, along with weapons storage sites and command centers.The escalation comes despite a ceasefire announced earlier this week by U.S. President Donald Trump following heightened tensions with Iran.

Israel and Washington have said the truce does not apply to Lebanon, while other countries have called for its expansion to include the country.Lebanon’s cabinet moved to tighten state control over security, with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam directing authorities to restrict weapons in Beirut to state institutions.

The government had previously banned Hezbollah’s military activities, though the group has continued operations.Iran warned that continued Israeli attacks on Hezbollah would carry “explicit costs and strong responses,” as diplomatic efforts to resolve the broader conflict remained uncertain.

Tehran has said no agreement would be reached while strikes on Lebanon continue.The Israeli military said it had killed a relative of Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem in recent strikes, identifying him as a close aide involved in the group’s operations.

Hezbollah said it had resumed attacks on Israeli positions after initially indicating it would pause operations in line with the ceasefire, firing across the border and targeting Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.

Rescue teams continued searching for survivors under rubble in Beirut and other affected areas after strikes hit densely populated neighborhoods, many without prior warning, according to local accounts.

The conflict has also intensified pressure on global energy markets, with disruptions linked to the broader regional crisis pushing oil prices sharply higher and raising concerns about supply stability.

”Albanese’s comments came after Trump warned that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Tehran failed to meet a U.S. deadline for a deal, language the Australian leader said would cause concern.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to use language such as that from the president of the United States,” Albanese said, while adding that the ceasefire represented a positive step.

“What we have called for is a de-escalation, and that is what has occurred, and that’s a good thing.”Australia has been among countries urging restraint amid escalating tensions that have disrupted global energy markets and heightened economic uncertainty.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong also criticized Trump’s remarks in an interview with national broadcaster ABC, saying threats of widespread destruction were unacceptable.

“I don’t think anyone should be threatening the destruction of a civilization,” Wong said, adding that the ceasefire must hold given its implications for the global economy and energy supplies.

Wong also rejected Israeli assertions that the ceasefire does not extend to Lebanon, where ongoing strikes have caused significant casualties and displacement.

The statements reflect broader international concern over the tone and scope of rhetoric surrounding the conflict, even as diplomatic efforts seek to stabilize the region under the fragile truce.

Speaking in an interview with CNN after the meeting, Rutte said certain NATO members were “tested and failed,” while emphasizing that most European countries fulfilled prior commitments in the crisis.

“Some of them yes, but a large majority of European countries have done what they promised before in a case like this,” Rutte said.

He described his talks with Trump as “frank and open,” noting that the U.S. president had expressed disappointment over the level of involvement from some allies during the conflict.

Rutte said he highlighted to Trump that several European countries had contributed through logistical support and other forms of assistance, even if they were not directly involved in military operations.

The remarks underscore ongoing tensions within NATO over burden-sharing and military commitments, particularly as the Iran conflict has exposed divisions among Western allies.