US Marines due in Middle East on Friday - WSJ

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signaled readiness to move toward a deal in a phone call with US envoy Steve Witkoff, Ynet reported.

Citing people familiar with the conversation, the report said Araghchi told US counterparts that Iran had approval from new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei to “close the issue quickly” provided Tehran’s conditions were met.

It said the call, which also involved the other US envoys Jared Kushner, reflected ongoing contacts despite Iran’s public denial of negotiations after US President Donald Trump said he had had productive talks with Iran.

The report said gaps between the sides remained significant and added that Israel was not part of the talks and learned of them through other sources.

Israel’s military said on Tuesday that it had identified missiles launched from Iran toward Israeli territory and that air defense systems were operating to intercept them.

The military said the Home Front Command had sent precautionary alerts to mobile phones in relevant areas and urged the public to follow instructions.

Amazon said on Tuesday that its Amazon Web Services region in Bahrain had been disrupted by drone activity amid the conflict in the Middle East, Reuters reported.

Amazon said it was helping customers migrate to alternate AWS regions while it worked to recover service, according to the report.

“As this situation evolves and, as we have advised before, we request those with workloads in the affected regions continue to migrate to other locations,” the company said.

Governments across the Persian Gulf are moving closer to supporting the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

The report says countries including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have taken steps that could expand their involvement in the conflict following Iranian attacks on regional energy infrastructure and shipping routes.

Saudi Arabia has allowed US forces to use a key air base that could support operations linked to the war, while the UAE has begun targeting Iranian-linked financial and commercial networks inside the country.

While these measures stop short of direct military participation, they suggest Washington’s regional partners may be gradually positioning themselves for a more active role as the conflict continues.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said he spoke with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi on Monday evening and expressed “deep concern” over the war and its impact on the global economy.

In a post on X, Cho said he urged Iran to de-escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has closed to most maritime traffic during the conflict.

He called on Iran to take “proactive measures to ensure safe navigation” through the waterway.