US - Iran Marathon Talks Saturday; Impasse; Talks End + CENTCOM Forces Begin Clearing Strait of Hormuz; Two USN Destroyers Pass Through Strait + Report: China Preparing Portable Air Defense Systems for Shipment to Iran

For review:

1. The talks in Islamabad stretched into the early hours of Sunday morning following hours of marathon negotiations, even as Iran warned that Washington was making “excessive demands” over the Strait of Hormuz that could undermine Pakistan’s peacemaking efforts.

2. The US military said on Saturday that it had begun a mine-clearing operation in the Strait of Hormuz, with two US warships passing through the key waterway.

Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of Central Command, said in a statement: “Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the free flow of commerce.”

3. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warns that any attempt by military vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz will be met with “a strong response,” saying only non-military vessels would be allowed to pass under specific regulations, the IRGC declares in a statement carried by Iranian media after the US Central Command announced two US Navy warships transited the strategic waterway to clear mines laid by Tehran.

4. Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is still recovering from severe facial and leg injuries suffered in the airstrike that killed his father at the beginning of the war, three people close to his inner circle told Reuters.

5. Israel and Hezbollah traded fire throughout Saturday, with the Israel Defense Forces striking hundreds of targets in Lebanon and the Iran-backed terror group launching dozens of rockets and drones at northern Israel.

6. The first in-person meeting in the expected negotiations between Israel and Lebanon will take place on Tuesday in Washington, a US official familiar with the details told The Times of Israel on Friday.

7. China is preparing to deliver new air defense systems to Iran within the next few weeks, according to three people familiar with recent intelligence assessments.

8. The Board of Peace does not expect to receive a final approval from Hamas to its disarmament proposal by the Saturday deadline set by the international body overseeing the postwar management of Gaza, three sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.

9. Finland has signed a €547 million ($642 million) contract with South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace to procure 112 additional K9 self-propelled howitzers, accelerating its artillery expansion.

Finnish authorities announced the government-to-government deal on Thursday, expected to bring its total K9 inventory to over 200 systems, making Finland the second-largest European operator behind Poland.