JERUSALEM -- Israeli opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot said Tuesday night that exit polls showing his bloc ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling coalition reflected a "complete lack of confidence" in Netanyahu's government, vowing to move swiftly to replace it, as the projections pointed to a parliamentary election deadlock.
Exit polls by public broadcaster Kan and commercial TV Channel 13 projected 53 seats for Eisenkot's bloc against 50 for Netanyahu's, while Channel 12 gave Eisenkot's bloc 52 seats and Netanyahu's 50. Neither bloc reached the 61 seats needed for a majority. (Israel-Election-Exit Polls)
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RIYADH/SANAA -- The Saudi-led coalition said Tuesday it had intercepted two ballistic missiles launched by Yemen's Houthi group toward the Saudi capital Riyadh.
Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Maliki said on social media platform X that Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed the two Houthi missiles launched toward Riyadh. (Saudi Arabia-Houthis-Missiles)
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DOHA/TEHRAN -- Qatar said Tuesday that a Qatari delegation's visit to Tehran on Sunday was part of ongoing mediation efforts to ease Iran-U.S. tensions, while calling for a new regional security framework for sovereignty and non-aggression.
Ibrahim bin Sultan Al Hashmi, director of the Media and Communications Department at Qatar's Foreign Ministry, told a weekly press briefing that proposals continued to be exchanged between the United States and Iran through mediators, urging the crisis to be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. (Iran-Qatar-Ties)
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TEHRAN -- Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday called for expanded bilateral cooperation across sectors and continued consultations on regional developments, according to the Iranian president's office.
At a meeting on the sidelines of the eighth Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in Moscow, the two sides reviewed bilateral ties and the progress of joint projects, the Iranian president's office said in a statement. (Iran-Russia-Diplomacy) ■
