Iran says messages are still being passed to the US amid war concerns, and other Mideast news

The Associated Press reports that Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said Tehran has not closed the window of diplomacy and messages are being passed to the U.S. via intermediaries.[1] The AP adds that negotiations over the war have appeared to stall for weeks.[1]According to the AP, state media said Baghaei spoke in an interview with a German broadcaster.[2] The AP reports that he said Trump and U.S. officials repeatedly use the phrase "complete surrender," which Baghaei said no Iranian accepts.[2]The AP reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his warning that Iran or its proxies could attack ahead of Tuesday's close elections to disrupt the vote, citing intelligence.[1] In a video statement, Netanyahu told Iran that "You will suffer disproportionate blows far greater than you can imagine,"[1] according to the AP.The AP says that, according to Israel's Channel 12, Netanyahu and his military chief of staff have had a confrontation over a political directive related to Iran shortly before Israel's close election[1]. The AP reports that Netanyahu's chief rival in Tuesday's election, Gadi Eisenkot, said on X he backed the chief of staff, Eyal Zamir.[1]The Times of Israel reports that Netanyahu posted a message warning of a 'tangible existential threat'[3], which the paper says contradicts his claims in past months that Iran's nuclear program had been "devastated."Separately, the AP reports that Saudi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said air defenses intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile and a drone fired toward Riyadh.[2]