Israel’s military has launched a fresh wave of “limited and targeted” ground operations against Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon, officials reported Monday.

“This activity is part of broader defensive efforts to establish and strengthen a forward defensive posture, which includes the dismantling of terrorist infrastructure and the elimination of terrorists operating in the area,” the Israel Defense Forces posted on X.

The operations are also designed to create an “additional layer” of security for residents in northern Israel, according to the IDF, which also said it was carrying out airstrikes in a bid to “remove threats” posed by Iran-backed Hezbollah.

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A fuel tank at Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates was struck by an Iranian drone attack on Monday morning, temporarily halting flights as plumes of smoke poured from the site.

Dramatic video shows thick black smoke emanating from an enormous fire following the attack on a fuel tank at the Middle Eastern transit hub.

The airport, which is one of the busiest in the world, was forced to suspend flights briefly.

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The Israeli air force said Monday it had destroyed a plane belonging to Iran’s former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Jewish state claimed the aircraft was used to convey messages and coordinate with the Islamic Republic’s terror proxies.

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Tehran officials said Monday the crucial Strait of Hormuz is only cut off to the US, Israel and their allies.

"From our perspective it is open," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.

"It is only closed to our enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies," he continued.

The comments were made during a press conference.

Meanwhile, President Trump warned NATO faces a “very bad” future if the US allies fail to help reopen the crucial waterway, as oil prices soar during the Iran war.

Trump said in an interview with the Financial Times that European nations and other global powers that rely on Gulf oil should join a US-led effort to secure the strait — where roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply normally flows.

“It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the Strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” Trump told the British outlet, arguing that Europe and China are more heavily dependent on oil from the region than the US.

“If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.”

A fire broke out at the Dubai International Airport Monday morning after a “drone incident affected one of the fuel tanks,” authorities said.  

Flights have been temporarily suspended at the world’s busiest airport “as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of all passengers and employees,” the Dubai Media Office wrote on X.

The blaze was soon under control, and no injuries were reported. 

President Trump on Sunday warned NATO faces a “very bad” future if the US allies fail to help reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz, as oil prices soar during the Iran war.

Trump said in an interview with the Financial Times that European nations and other global powers that rely on Gulf oil should join a US-led effort to secure the waterway — where roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply normally flows.

“It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the Strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” Trump told the British outlet, arguing that Europe and China are more heavily dependent on oil from the region than the US.

“If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.”

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President Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke Sunday night about the US and Israel's war with Iran.

"The leaders discussed the ongoing situation in the Middle East and the importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz to end the disruption to global shipping, which is driving up costs worldwide," Starmer's office said of the 15-minute call.

"The Prime Minister also expressed his condolences for the American service personnel who have lost their lives during the conflict."

Starmer will speak about the conflict and "other bilateral issues" with his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney, his office said.

Iran’s more than 900 pounds of highly enriched uranium is “under rubble” with no current plans to dig it up, Tehran’s top diplomat claimed on Sunday. 

Amid growing threats from the US for Tehran to relinquish its atomic material, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed the uranium was still buried underground after last year’s 12-Day War. 

“Our nuclear facilities were attacked, and everything is under the rubble,” Araghchi said, noting that it would only be retrieved under the supervision of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog group. 

“For the time being, we have no program. We have no plan to recover them from under the rubble,” he told CBS’s “Face the Nation.” 

Israel is expanding the scope of its attacks against Iran’s terror infrastructure, with strikes hitting western and central Iran on Sunday, the IDF said.

The Israeli air force launched a wave of strikes targeting Iran’s “terror regime in the Meidan area in western Iran,” the IDF said on X. 

“As part of this, several central command centers of the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij unit were struck,” the Israeli military said. 

“These command centers served the regime's elements for managing ongoing activities, as well as for planning and advancing terror operations against the State of Israel and other countries in the Middle East,” the IDF added.  

The attacks would carry on until Iran’s command and control centers are systematically impaired, the Israeli military concluded.

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DUBAI — Dozens of people accused of sharing sensitive information with Israel have been arrested in several ​areas of Iran, local media reported on Sunday, as ‌Israeli and U.S. fighter jets continue to strike new targets in the country.

In northwestern Iran, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday that 20 ​people were arrested on accusations by the provincial prosecutor’s ​office of sending location details on Iran’s military and ⁠security assets to Israel.

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The captain of Iran’s women’s soccer team has withdrawn her bid for asylum in Australia, making her the latest member to do so as fears grow that the players are being intimidated by Tehran to return home.

Zahra Ghanbari, 34, is “returning to the embrace of the homeland” after withdrawing her asylum bid Sunday, Iran’s IRNA news agency reported.

Seven members of the national Iranian team who took part in the Women’s Asian Cup made headlines last week when they sought sanctuary in Australia amid backlash over their refusal to sing their national anthem at the tournament.

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WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin made it clear Sunday that he is very much alive.

The Israeli PM seemingly poked fun at online rumors of his demise, posting a video of himself buying a drink at a coffee shop, joking that it was dangerous because of the calorie count.

"They say I'm what?" Netanyahu posted on X, per a translation.

Rumors about Netanyahu being assassinated began circulating online late last week after some netizens thought they spotted him having six fingers during a speech he gave, and surmised it was an artificially generated video of him.

During the video post on Sunday, it was clear that the Israeli prime minister had five fingers on both of his hands. He also made small talk in the coffee shop about the war in Iran.

"We are doing things that I cannot share at this moment, but we are doing things," he said, per a Google translation of his conversation in Hebrew. "We are hitting Iran very hard, even on this day, and in Lebanon, we are continuing."

"Thank you for the coffee. It is excellent. I don't know about the calories. It seems very dangerous to me," he joked.

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