The Times of Israel is liveblogging Tuesday’s events as they happen.
UN Security Council to meet over Iran’s growing stockpile of near-bomb-grade uranium
The United Nations Security Council will meet behind closed doors on Wednesday over Iran’s expansion of its stock of uranium close to weapons grade, diplomats say.
The meeting was requested by six of the council’s 15 members — France, Greece, Panama, South Korea, Britain and the US.
They also want the council to discuss Iran’s obligation to provide the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, with “the information necessary to clarify outstanding issues related to undeclared nuclear material detected at multiple locations in Iran,” diplomats say.
Iran’s mission to the UN in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the planned meeting.
Iran has denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon. However, it is “dramatically” accelerating enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% weapons-grade level, the IAEA has warned.
Syria Kurd forces chief says agreement with Sharaa ‘real opportunity’ to build new Syria
The head of the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) says that an accord reached with the new leaders in Damascus is a “real opportunity to build a new Syria.”
“We are committed to building a better future that guarantees the rights of all Syrians and fulfills their aspirations for peace and dignity,” Mazloum Abdi says in a post on X.
The Syrian presidency announced earlier an agreement with the SDF to integrate the institutions of the autonomous Kurdish administration in the northeast into the national government.
Rubio and Saudi Arabia’s MBS discussed Gaza reconstruction in Riyadh
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed the “reconstruction of Gaza” during their meeting in Riyadh earlier today, the State Department says in its readout.
Rubio thanked the Saudi leader for “hosting Arab countries,” the State Department says in an apparent reference to the summit Riyadh hosted for Arab leaders last month to prepare for another confab held in Cairo last week, where Egypt unveiled its plan for the post-war management of Gaza.
The Trump administration has called the plan a good start, while indicating that it doesn’t sufficiently address Hamas’s role, which Washington wants to be non-existent.
Rubio “reiterated [to MBS] the United States’ firm commitment that any solution to the situation in Gaza must not include any role for Hamas,” the US readout adds.