War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

The US is preparing to deploy another aircraft carrier, the USS George Washington, to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln already in theatre as part of a prior rotation plan, The Wall Street Journal reports citing officials familiar with the matter.

WSJ notes that the Abraham Lincoln has undergone an extended deployment with few port calls.

According to Al Jazeera, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth claims that the US military can maintain a blockade on Iranian ports for as long as needed.

“Indefinitely, the United States Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we’ll rotate ships in and out, as we have, and we’ll continue to,” Hegseth tells reporters.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed a drone attack on an Aramco refinery in southern Saudi Arabia, AFP reports citing the group’s affiliated news agency Saba.

“A military source confirmed that the Yemeni Armed Forces targeted an Aramco refinery in the Jizan region using two drones, achieving a precise hit by the grace of God,” Saba reports, referring to Houthi forces.

Iran has warned of environmental degradation in the Strait of Hormuz after an oil spill reached Qeshm island, calling for compensation from those responsible, AFP reports.

Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei says the slick has “degraded the waters” of the Gulf and Sea of Oman, claiming “preliminary evidence indicates a foreign bulk carrier as the source”.

Baqaei writes on X that such spills have in “recent decades imposed trillions of dollars in damage on Iran’s coastal areas”, calling for compensation.
“Every party that benefits from commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz carries both a legal and a moral obligation to remediate the environmental harm inflicted,” he adds.

The Iranian military rejects claims by the US that ships are transiting the Strait of Hormuz normally, insisting that no ship can pass through without Tehran’s permission, Al Jazeera reports.

“The Strait of Hormuz, as in the past, remains under the full management and control of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” says Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfghari, according to state media.

“No commercial vessel or oil tanker can or will have safe passage through the Strait without the permission and supervision of Iran’s powerful Armed Forces.”

Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters has dismissed US claims of full control over Hormuz as “baseless lies”, stating that no vessel can transit the waterway without Tehran’s authorisation, according to Anadolu.

A permanent Israeli military presence in southern Lebanon is “inconsistent” with a US-sponsored framework agreement signed in June and undermines long-term peace, Anadolu reports citing a senior US State Department official, who was cited by Israel’s Channel 12.

The unnamed official’s remarks come in response to Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz’s statement that Israel does not intend to withdraw from southern Lebanon.

“The US expects all parties to act in a manner consistent with the framework they agreed to, and Israel has made it clear that it has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon,” the official says.

“A permanent military presence in southern Lebanon is inconsistent with the commitments set forth in the framework, or with the long-term peace and security of both countries.”

The framework agreement clearly establishes a conditions-based pathway under which the Israeli army will gradually redeploy, provided Hezbollah is disarmed and its infrastructure is dismantled in a verifiable manner, the official adds.

Read more here.

A Lebanese official has denied a Reuters report claiming that Beirut had agreed with Israel on a shortlist of countries that could send troops to Lebanon to verify the disarmament of Hezbollah, and said it was following up on the issue with Washington, Reuters reports.

The official stresses there is no such agreement and that Beirut is still in discussions with the United States on the matter.

A June 26 deal, brokered by the US, linked the progressive withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon to the “verified disarmament” of all non-state armed groups by the Lebanese government. Hezbollah, which is not a party to the agreement, has rejected disarming.

Reuters reported last week that Lebanon and Israel had agreed to a shortlist and reported on Wednesday, citing three sources, that the list included Britain, Italy, Switzerland and Indonesia as potential contributors to the verification mechanism.

President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam have held talks on the developments in southern Lebanon, where Israeli attacks continue despite a US-brokered framework agreement between the countries that dictates a ceasefire, Al Jazeera reports.

According to a post on the Lebanese presidency’s X account, Aoun received Salam in a meeting that addressed the Israeli attacks and the destruction of homes and infrastructure in towns and villages in the region.

The two leaders also discussed the agenda of an upcoming cabinet meeting, as well as the talks held with US General Joseph Clearfield, the head of the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon (MCG4L), in Beirut a day earlier.

US Central Command (Centcom) says that as part of the naval blockade of Iranian ports, 59 commercial vessels have been redirected, three have been disabled and two others have been boarded.

The Iranian intelligence ministry has said two members “affiliated with American and Israeli intelligence agencies” were killed during a confrontation with security forces in the southeast of the country, state broadcaster IRIB has reported according to Al Jazeera.

The ministry also announced the arrest of four other people for attempting to enter the country to carry out plans to destabilise the Sistan and Baluchestan province and damage its infrastructure.

Brigadier General Rasoul Sanaei-Rad has said Iran will act more aggressively in the future, Al Jazeera reports, citing the Fars news agency.

“We stood firm in the recent war and, God willing, we will stand firmer and more aggressively in a possible future war,” said Sanaei-Rad, who serves as political adviser in the office of the supreme leader.

Without openly mentioning the US, the official said Iran’s “enemy” was aiming to create internal divisions through economic pressure, but that its plan did not succeed.

European shares edge higher as falling oil prices shifted investor focus toward weakening demand, while US-Iran peace efforts remain stalled and disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz persists, Reuters reports.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.2 per cent at 660.57 points by 0830 GMT. The benchmark retreated from record highs in the previous session.

Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3pc despite the UK economy unexpectedly expanding in June, offering some reassurance over the domestic growth outlook.

“June might well prove to be the last real sweet spot for the UK economy this year,” says Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.

She has warned that uncertainty around the Iran war, energy prices and potential budget measures could weigh on business confidence in the months ahead.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that the US has “long miscalculated” decisions due to poor intelligence, including in the Iran war.

In a post on X, the foreign minister warned that now the US was making “an ever bigger miscalculation on the Strait of Hormuz”.

“Worse than fake news is fake intelligence. Be careful,” he wrote.

“Allah is great, greater than any power on earth. In Allah we trust.”

Hapag-Lloyd, one of the world’s top container shipping companies, has said that the conflict in the Middle East, with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, cost the group $600 million in the second quarter, weighing on its earnings, Reuters reports.

Net profit came in at $83m, down from $306m a year earlier, as strong exports from Asia and improved demand in the United States only partly offset problems in the Middle East, the Hamburg-based company said.

“The second quarter was better than the first, driven by significantly higher spot rates and robust demand,” CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said.

In its Liner Shipping segment, EBIT fell to $153m from $167m, on additional costs for bunker, insurance, storage, rerouting and inland transportation after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

“In the second half of 2026, we will remain focused on growing both our liner shipping and terminal businesses while maintaining strict cost discipline to further improve our financial performance,” Habben Jansen said.

Hapag-Lloyd said its outlook, which the company raised in July, remains subject to considerable uncertainty due to the highly volatile freight rates.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, who is currently on a visit to Pakistan, has expressed Oslo’s readiness to assist Pakistan’s peace efforts in the US-Iran war.

Addressing a joint press conference with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Eide said that Oslo had experience in peace negotiations and maintained open dialogue with both Tehran and Washington.

“Wherever we can be useful, we will,” he said.

He also highlighted Norway’s experience in international maritime affairs, saying the country was among the world’s major seafaring nations despite its relatively small population.

He said Norway could therefore play a constructive role in discussions concerning international maritime law and developments surrounding the Strait of Hormuz.

Gulf stock markets were subdued in early Thursday trade as investors weighed stalled efforts to end the US-Iran conflict, continued disruptions to shipping through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz and a softening outlook for oil demand, Reuters reports.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index was down 0.1%, with Saudi Arabian Mining Co losing 0.9 per cent. Elsewhere, oil major Saudi Aramco lost 0.2pc.

Brent futures slipped $1.22, or 1.4pc, to $87.82 a barrel by 0750 GMT (12:50pm PKT).

The kingdom’s crude exports from the Red Sea are becoming increasingly difficult to track as tankers disable their transponders to reduce the risk of Houthi attacks, with analysts saying all recent loadings from Yanbu have been carried out “dark.”

Dubai’s main share index eased 0.1pc, hit by a 1.1pc fall in utility firm Dubai Electricity and Water Authority. In Abu Dhabi, the index added 0.2pc. The Qatari index fell 0.4pc, weighed down by a 3.5pc slide in petrochemical maker Industries Qatar.

Norway has commended Pakistan’s “important and constructive role” in mediating between the US and Iran amid the Middle East conflict.

In a statement, the Foreign Office (FO) said that the Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide commended “Pakistan’s important and constructive role during the recent Iran-US conflict, including the leadership and contributions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, DPM Dar and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir”.

Eide, in separate televised remarks, described the ongoing war as “incredibly dangerous” for global peace as well as the world economy, and praised Pakistan for stepping forward.

The Strait of Hormuz is “under Iran’s control and management”, the head of Iran’s Basij paramilitary unit, Hossein Taeb, said, according to Fars news agency.

The remarks came a day after US President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that the US had “total control” of the strategic waterway.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi says the country will not allow its territory or airspace to be used to launch attacks against neighbouring nations, according to Iranian media.

Speaking during a visit to Iraq’s Air Defence Command Operations Centre, he discussed plans to enhance the country’s air defence capacity.

Former Iranian diplomat Abbas Khameyar says the US has failed “the test of economic and military warfare” against Iran, emphasising that Tehran will not submit to American conditions or ambitions.

Khameyar told Al Jazeera that the Strait of Hormuz serves as a “deterrent card that has succeeded in changing the course of aggression and re-imposing the rules of engagement”.

Washington broke its previous commitments, he argued, adding that obligations could only be fulfilled through serious negotiations carried out in good faith.

According to the former diplomat, the US has ultimately “fallen into the trap of the Strait of Hormuz” in the process of the war.

Iran dismisses claims of US officials that blockade of Hormuz has been lifted, noting the waterways remained blocked until Tehran’s conditions are accepted.

“The successive claims and tweets by American officials about lifting the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz do not change reality; the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked and will not be reopened until Iran’s conditions are accepted,” the Persian Gulf Strait Authority said in a post on X.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, has stated that every party that benefits from commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz “carries both a legal and a moral obligation to remediate the environmental harm inflicted upon the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman”.

In a post on X, he said, “In recent days, videos have circulated showing oil pollution along the shores of Qeshm Island. This pollution drifted toward the coast from the Persian Gulf, and preliminary evidence indicates a foreign bulk carrier as the source. Contamination has been documented at three coastal sites and across portions of the sea surface.”

He said this incident was “only one visible example of the extensive pollution— both overt and concealed — that has degraded the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, as well as the region’s marine ecosystem, over recent decades, imposing trillions of dollars in damage on Iran’s coastal areas”.

“Who bears responsibility for compensating these damages? Is it the nations that consume the inexpensive energy exported from our region, the shipping insurers, or the aggressors and their partners who have transformed the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman into a theatre for military operations and the testing of highly destructive weaponry?” he asked.

“As the country with the longest coastline along the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, Iran cannot remain indifferent. Every party that benefits from commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz carries both a legal and a moral obligation to remediate the environmental harm inflicted upon the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman,” he said.