Syria seizes rocket cargo intended for Hezbollah

Syrian authorities thwarted an attempted weapons smuggling on its border with Iraq, reportedly heading to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, State media said on Thursday.

The truck that was seized was carrying advanced weapons and rockets, Syria’s State-run SANA news agency quoted an unnamed Interior Ministry official as saying. A preliminary investigation concluded that its intended destination was Hezbollah in Lebanon, which since early March has been at war with Israel, the official said. The new leadership in Syria, which toppled former President Bashar Assad in 2024, has cracked down on smuggling of weapons and illicit drugs along its borders, especially with Iraq and Lebanon, that for decades have served as strategic routes for supplying Hezbollah and other groups backed by Iran.

US President Donald Trump has insisted Syria take military action against Hezbollah, as Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has been trying to prevent his country from being sucked into a wider regional conflict. Hezbollah did not comment on the allegations. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi earlier this week travelled to Washington to meet with Trump, who has been pushing Baghdad to disarm Tehran-backed militias.

It shot down Iranian missiles, says Jordan

Dubai: Jordan’s military said Thursday it shot down eight missiles launched by Iran targeting the kingdom. The military made the announcement via the kingdom’s state-run Petra news agency. The United States has intensified its strikes targeting Iran, hitting targets further north. American forces also fired into a ship it accused of trying to break its naval blockade on the Islamic Republic. Tehran retaliated early on Thursday with missile and drone fire, also targeting Bahrain and Kuwait before dawn. Days of back-and-forth strikes by the US and Iran across the Middle East, and renewed threats to the Strait of Hormuz, have shredded the interim deal to end the Iran war and the region could tip back into all-out war. Iranian officials say US strikes have already killed more than 35 people and wounded over 300 others.