Tokyo, Aug 23: At least 37 people were injured after a 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, early on Sunday.

The earthquake also caused burst water pipes and disruptions to transportation in some areas, local media reported.

Japan’s Fuji News Network, citing the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, reported that as of 10 a.m. local time, at least 37 people were injured in Tokyo, Ibaraki Prefecture, Kanagawa Prefecture and other areas, reports Xinhua news agency.

The earthquake temporarily disrupted some train services in the Kanto region, although operations are gradually being restored. Multiple water pipes burst in Tokyo and other areas, causing temporary flooding on some roads.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the temblor occurred at around 2 a.m. local time on Sunday at a depth of about 70 km, measuring a lower 5 on Japan’s seismic intensity scale of 7 in parts of Ibaraki, Saitama and Chiba prefectures as well as Tokyo’s Adachi Ward.

A lower 5 quake is defined by the agency as shaking that causes most people to be frightened and to hold on to something stable, while objects may fall from shelves.

The quake was clearly felt in Tokyo, with some people living in the city posting on social media that it was the strongest shaking they had experienced in recent years. The tremor was also felt across a wide swath of the country, including northeastern and central Japan.

The weather agency urged the public to remain alert for an earthquake registering lower 5 over the next week, especially during the next two to three days.

No abnormalities were detected at the Tokai No. 2 nuclear power plant in Ibaraki Prefecture or the disaster-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and the nearby Fukushima Daini plant in northeastern Japan, according to their operators.

Jerusalem, Aug 23: Israel told the United States that Turkey was preparing to deploy a radar system and air-defense assets at a Syrian airbase, Israel’s state-owned Kan TV News reported.

Israeli security officials reportedly told Washington that the alleged Turkish move could “significantly” alter the regional balance of power.

Sources familiar with the discussions told the channel that Israel did not provide a timetable for the possible Turkish deployment. Yet, they identified Abu al-Duhur military airport, which was struck by Israeli air force on Tuesday, in northwest Syria, as a potential site.

The Tuesday strikes further strained relations between Turkey and Israel. US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said Israel did not inform the United States of the attack in advance.

An Israeli official said the strikes were aimed at preventing the arrival of Turkish equipment or troops by air at the airbase, Xinhua news agency reported.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strikes were in response to “clear intelligence” about Turkey’s intentions to act in ways that would “endanger” Israel’s security. He said Syria had received a diplomatic warning before the strike.

Katz had said earlier on Saturday that the army issued a direct warning to senior Syrian officials before the strikes on the Abu al-Duhur air base “in an attempt to prevent the move.”

“Following several discussions that Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] and I held with the IDF and the various security officials, it was agreed that before approval was given, a direct warning would be issued to the Syrian regime at the highest levels first in an attempt to prevent the move, and that is what was done,” Katz said.

“After the request went unanswered, the prime minister and I authorized the IDF to carry out the strike, which commenced successfully,” he added.

Cairo, Aug 23: Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi held a phone call to discuss the latest regional developments and ongoing diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions.

The two ministers discussed efforts to create conditions for a return to diplomacy, including the implementation of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the United States and Iran on June 18, according to a statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Saturday (local time).

Abdelatty stressed the importance of intensifying ongoing diplomatic efforts to ease current escalations and reach peaceful understandings that would help restore security and stability in the region, reports Xinhua news agency.

He also underscored the importance of ensuring the freedom and safety of international navigation and respecting the security and stability of the Gulf states in a way that serves the interests of all peoples in the region.

Araghchi briefed Abdelatty on Iran’s assessment of recent developments, the course of negotiations, and the challenges facing them, according to the statement.

Under the US-Iran MoU, the two sides were scheduled to hold negotiations within a period of 60 days, which ended on Monday, to reach a final agreement. Yet the talks’ fate remains unclear following the renewed escalation over the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States would launch “the most crushing economic operation ever taken” against Iran.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has said that Iran has received “numerous” messages from neighbouring countries about “shaping new security arrangements and economic cooperation” in the region.

In a post on social media platform X on Saturday (local time), Qalibaf said the United States “put the security of every single one of its allies at such risk through bullying and pure disregard for their interests for the sake of Israel.”

“A homegrown, independent (regional) order is what will actually deliver peace and security,” he added.

The United States and Israel launched joint airstrikes on Iran on February 28. Tehran responded by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and US military bases in regional countries, reports Xinhua news agency.

Media reports, citing regional officials, said Gulf Arab countries were frustrated with Washington for initiating the war while failing to shield them.