“In every war, destroying a launcher is a very popular claim because it implies that the Israelis have reduced future attacks. This is a domestic and international message that ‘we have achieved the main objectives of the military campaign’. But the standard of evidence is another matter,” says Elijah Magnier, prolific journalist and war reporter covering Middle East conflicts since the 80s.

“What is credible is before and after imagery. So showing an identifiable launcher vehicle, and they have to be authentic, not a decoy. And then geolocated strike footage, with clear launcher signature, and [a] pattern of fire decline consistent with launcher attrition,” Magnier explained.

“The Americans and the Israelis can claim that they've hit a ‘suspected’ launch site and they've used this term a lot, which means there is no proof of a launcher present, or there are strikes on empty pads or decoy equipment,” Magnier emphasized.

"The region will not be a party to conflicts and will remain, as always, a factor of peace," he said.

"We keep it very ambiguous because we don't want to make our enemies, our adversaries, any wiser," he told Newsmax.

"The cost ratio per shot, per interception, is at best 10 to one. But it could be more like 60 or 70 to one in terms of cost, in favor of Iran," the NYT quoted a US drone manufacturer as saying.

🔊 "A short while ago, the Israeli Air Force completed a wave of intelligence-based strikes in Beirut against several command centers belonging to the Hezbollah," the IDF said.

💬 “We will… resolutely fight against separatist forces aimed at Taiwan’s independence and oppose external interference so as to promote peaceful development of cross-strait relations, and advance the cause of national reunification,” Chinese Premier Li Qiang said in a report at the opening of the National People’s Congress.

"The U.S. has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores. Frigate Dena, a guest of India's Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning. Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.

💬 "The [US] tanker was hit this morning in the northern part of the Persian Gulf by the IRGC naval forces and now [the vessel] is on fire," the IRGC stated.

💬 "What is currently unfolding in the Middle East as a result of the aggression of Israel and the United States against Iran <...> [it] is indeed fraught with colossal consequences, negative consequences for the whole world, for global stability and the global economy," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the ambassadors’ round-table.

Anchorage agreements are the starting point for Russia in negotiations with the US on the Ukraine settlement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the ambassadors’ round-table.