Morning update

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest developments from across the region: 

• Iran was set to carry out attacks in Ukraine before Kyiv had issued an apology, a top military adviser to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Monday. According to Mohsen Rezaei, Tehran's armed forces had completed preparations for the strikes before the plan was scrapped.

• Top military adviser to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei Mohsen Rezaei warned the US over its ongoing naval blockade against Iranian ports, saying its forces and vessels would face consequences. "If the blockade continues, American vessels and forces will face serious risks and casualties," he said in a post on X. 

• Esmaeil Baghaei, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said on Monday that there are no negotiations ongoing between Tehran and Washington, nor any plans for meetings, as the talks over the management of the Strait of Hormuz remain mediated by Oman.

• US President Donald Trump’s "Board of Peace" said that an essential prerequisite of Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza is Hamas’s "complete" disarmament, after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The latest statement seemingly juxtaposes remarks made by its high representative Nickolay Mladenov last week, where he asserted that "withdrawal must move in lockstep with decommissioning".

• The Arab League secretary general has strongly condemned Israeli attacks on Gaza and accused them of attempting to sabotage the ceasefire agreement in a statement on Monday. Several other countries, including Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, have also slammed the ongoing Israeli assault on the besieged enclave.