File photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu taken at a press conference in Jerusalem, March 19, 2026. © Ronen Zvulun, Reuters

Middle East live: Iran war cannot end before uranium is ‘taken out’, Netanyahu says

· France 24

11/05/2026 - 10:46

Israeli soldier killed in fighting near Lebanon border

An Israeli soldiers died in fighting near the border with Lebanon, bringing Israel's losses to 18 personnel since the war with Hezbollah began in early March, said the IDF.

Sergeant Major Alexander Glovanyov, 47, "fell during combat near the Israel-Lebanon border", the military said Monday.

He was killed on Sunday.

Since the war began, one Israeli civilian contractor has also been killed in addition to the 18 soldiers.

11/05/2026 - 10:08

Iran demanded end to war, release of assets in its response to US

⁠Iran's proposal ​to end war with ​the US and reopen the Strait of Hormuz was ​legitimate ‌and generous, Foreign ⁠Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has said, adding that the US ⁠continues to uphold unreasonable and one-sided demands.

"Our demand ​is legitimate: demanding ‌an end to the war, lifting the (US) blockade and ‌piracy, and releasing Iranian assets ​that have been unjustly frozen in banks due to US pressure," ​Baghaei said.

"Safe passage ​through the Strait ​of Hormuz and establishing security in ​the region and Lebanon were other demands of Iran, which are considered a ⁠generous and responsible offer for regional ⁠security," he added.

11/05/2026 - 08:13

11/05/2026 - 08:13

VLCC tanker left Strait of Hormuz on Iran's designated route, Tasnim says

Agios ​Fanourios I, ​a VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) tanker loaded with ​Iraqi ‌crude ⁠and bound ‌for Vietnam, crossed ⁠the Strait of Hormuz through ​Iran's designated ‌route on Sunday, Tehran's semi-official Tasnim ​news agency said on Monday.

11/05/2026 - 08:10

Iran executes man convicted of spying for CIA and Mossad

Iran executed ​a man ​convicted of spying for the US and Israeli ​intelligence ‌services, ⁠the judiciary's Mizan news outlet ‌reported on Monday.

Mizan identified ⁠the man as Erfan Shakourzadeh, ​saying he had worked ‌at a scientific organisation involved in ‌satellite activities and had ​shared classified scientific information with foreign intelligence services.

According to ​the rights group ​Iran Human Rights ​Society, Shakourzadeh, a 29-year-old graduate ​of aerospace engineering, was arrested in 2025 and was forced ⁠into his confession.

11/05/2026 - 07:19

West Bank settler attacks livestreamed: ‘Nobody stops them’

Eid Suleiman Hathaleen, a human rights activist and resident of Umm al-Khair in the occupied West Bank, says recent settler attacks on Palestinian residents are systematic, planned and organised, not random, individual acts. Hathaleen’s cousin, activist Awdah Hathaleen, was killed in a settler attack in July 2025 and is the subject of the documentary “No Other Land”.

In an interview with FRANCE 24, Hathaleen notes that some of the settler attacks have even been livestreamed. The footage shows Israeli police officers and soldiers standing back and doing nothing to stop the violence. “Nobody stops them, there’s no accountability from their government, who is supposed to protect the people living under the occupation under the Geneva Conventions,” he notes.

11/05/2026 - 03:52

Netanyahu says Iranian enriched uranium must be removed before war can end

Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium must be "taken out" before the US-Israeli war against Iran can be considered over, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told an American broadcaster on Sunday.

"It's not over, because there's still nuclear material – enriched uranium – that has to be taken out of Iran. There's still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled," Netanyahu said in an interview that aired Sunday on the CBS News programme "60 Minutes".

"You go in and you take it out," the Israeli leader said when asked how the uranium could be removed.

Netanyahu said US President Donald Trump had a similar position.

"I'm not going to talk about military means, but the president, what President Trump has said to me – 'I want to go in there.'"

11/05/2026 - 03:51

Netanyahu says Israel aims to phase out US military aid within a decade

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hopes to wean Israel off US military support within a decade as his country pushes to strengthen ties with Gulf states, he said in an interview that aired on Sunday.

“I want to draw down to zero the American financial support, the financial component of the military cooperation that we have,” Netanyahu told CBS News’ “60 Minutes” programme. Israel receives about $3.8 billion of US military aid a year, he said. The US has agreed to provide a total of $38 billion in military aid to Israel from 2018 to 2028.

But it is “absolutely” the right time to possibly reset the US-Israeli financial relationship, Netanyahu said.

“I don’t want to wait for the next Congress,” he told CBS. “I want to start now.”

11/05/2026 - 03:51

UK and France to host defence talks on Hormuz shipping mission

The UK and France will on Tuesday host a multinational meeting of defence ministers on military plans to restore trade flows through the Strait of Hormuz, the British government said.

The announcement came hours after Iran warned London and Paris against sending warships to the region.

"The Defence Secretary John Healey will co-chair a meeting of over 40 nations, alongside his French counterpart, Minister Catherine Vautrin, for the multinational mission's first Defence Ministers' meeting," a British defence ministry statement said Sunday.

The virtual meeting follows a two-day gathering in London in April of military planners who thrashed out the practicalities of a multinational mission led by the UK and France to protect navigation in the key waterway following a sustainable ceasefire.

"We are turning diplomatic agreement into practical military plans to restore confidence for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz," Healey said.

11/05/2026 - 03:50

 Welcome to the FRANCE 24 liveblog covering events in the Middle East. Click here to catch up on what happened yesterday.

Yesterday's key developments:

• An Iranian ​proposal sent to the ​United States through mediator Pakistan stresses the ​need for ‌an end ⁠to the war on ‌all fronts and the ⁠lifting of sanctions on Tehran.

• US President Donald Trump rejected Iran's response, deeming it "totally unacceptable".

• Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi was released on bail and transferred to Tehran for urgent medical treatment after supporters warned she was at risk of dying in prison.

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AP and AFP)