War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Israeli airstrikes have hit the towns of Haris, Beit Yahoun and Al Ghandouriya in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera Arabia reports.

A drone has struck near Israel’s Shomera, along the Lebanese border, Al Jazeera reports, citing Israeli Army Radio.

While no casualties were reported, a vehicle at the scene caught fire.

Air France-KLM has reported a smaller first-quarter loss than expected, but downgraded its capacity outlook on the basis of geopolitical uncertainty tied to the US-Israeli war with Iran and rising jet fuel costs, Reuters reports.

European airlines, including easyJet and TUI , have revised their outlooks as their jet fuel hedges shrink over time. They expect to feel the impact of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz more acutely in the coming months.

“While fuel price increases are not yet reflected in the results we present today, they are expected to weigh on the coming quarters,” Air France-KLM Chief Executive Ben Smith said in a statement.

Israeli forces have attacked a water station in the town of Batouliyeh, Al Jazeera reports, citing National News Agency (NNA).

It said the town’s remaining residents relied on that station for pumping water.

Israeli forces also blew up a tourist resort in al-Bayyad, NNA reported.

With Pacific Island nations declaring a regional emergency over severe fuel shortages, Jacynta Fa’amau, a Pacific Campaigner with 350.org, has called on the region to move “beyond fossil fuels and embrace renewable energy”, Al Jazeera reports.

“Fossil fuel companies reap obscene profits even while everyday people in Pacific Island countries, Australia and New Zealand suffer various states of emergency, choked by fossil fuel dependence,” Fa’amau said in a statement, pointing to the compounding pressures of climate change, energy shortages, and a rising cost of living.

The Israeli military has said it launched an interceptor towards a “suspicious aerial target” in the area of southern Lebanon where its troops were operating, Al Jazeera reports.

In a Telegram post, the army said the results of the interception were currently under review and that the target did not cross into Israeli territory.

In a separate update, the army said sirens were sounded in Zar’it, near the Lebanese border.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said Washington has seized “close to half a billion” in Iranian cryptocurrency assets and that its “Operation Economic Fury” has sent the government in Tehran into “crisis”, Al Jazeera reports.

“We were able to grab about 350 million crypto assets, and then on top of another 100 that we had recently gotten, so we’re almost at half a billion there, and we are freezing bank accounts everywhere,” Bessent told Fox News.

He said Trump had ordered the economic pressure campaign in March of last year and told him to “up the pressure again” about three weeks ago.

“We have gone to the buyers of Iranian oil and told them that … we are willing to do secondary sanctions on your industries, on your banks who tolerate Iranian oil in their system,” he said.

Bessent added that the economic campaign and the US naval blockade on Iranian ports will inflict permanent damage on Iran’s economy.

Indian airlines are set to resume operations at Hamad International Airport in Doha as flight activity continues to expand.

Air India, Air India Express and IndiGo will restart services between Doha and various Indian destinations from May 1, 2026.

Brent crude oil soared more than 7 per cent after a report said the US military would brief President Donald Trump on potential military action against Iran as talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz stall, reports Reuters.

The contract rose as much as 7.1pc to $126.41 per barrel in Asian trade, while West Texas Intermediate climbed 3.4pc to $110.31. Both later pared the gains.

Gold prices rebounded from a one-month low hit the day before, though gains were capped as elevated oil prices kept fears alive of inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates, reports Reuters.

Spot gold was up 0.3 per cent at $4,553.69 per ounce, as of 0417 GMT, after falling to its lowest level since March 31 in the previous session. US gold futures for June delivery rose 0.1pc to $4,565.10.

“Gold is representing a value proposition for traders at current levels. So, dip buying is playing a part in gold’s recovery efforts today,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.

President Donald Trump will receive a briefing from the leader of the US Central Command, Brad Cooper, on new plans for potential military action against Iran, reports Reuters citing Axios.

The report cited unidentified sources. The White House and the US Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

CENTCOM has prepared a plan for a “short and powerful” wave of strikes on Iran, likely including infrastructure targets, Axios reported, citing sources.

Another plan expected to be shared with Trump is focused on taking over part of the Strait of Hormuz to reopen it to commercial shipping, the report added, saying such an operation may involve ground forces.

Washington hopes to make Iran more flexible at the negotiating table on nuclear issues, Axios reported.

Another option that might come up in the briefing is a special forces operation to secure Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, Axios said. Trump has cited Iran’s nuclear program as an imminent threat.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine is also expected to attend Thursday’s briefing, Axios reported.

Oil prices held around four-year highs while stocks fell after Donald Trump warned the US blockade of Iranian ports could last months as peace talks remained stalled.

Brent for June delivery, which hit a peak of $122.53 a day earlier, was sitting around $120 in Asian trade, while West Texas Intermediate was around $108.

Analysts said traders were beginning to shift to the view that the crisis will not be as short as initially hoped.

The IRGC has said that Tehran has emerged at the centre of “anti-disruption” efforts instigated by the US, state-run Press TV reports.

“The Trump administration shifted from a strategy of ‘managing global energy’ to one of ‘disruption,’” Press TV quoted the IRGC as saying.

“But after 20 days, the White House is increasingly convinced the project has failed.”

It added that Tehran has emerged as “the centre of an ‘anti-disruption coalition’”.

The announcement by a senior Pentagon official that the war on Iran has cost the US military $25 billion so far has drawn sharp criticism from the Democrats, Al Jazeera reports.

Congressman Mark DeSaulnier argued that the billions spent “could have helped lower healthcare costs for millions of Americans”.

“Instead, we’ve lost 14 American servicemembers, driven gas prices way up, and made Americans less safe,” DeSaulnier said in a post on X.

Ro Khanna, another Democratic congressman, accused the defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, of being ignorant of the war’s true cost to US taxpayers.

“I asked Hegseth how much the Iran war is costing Americans in replacement costs, gas, and food prices? He had no clue of the economic harm,” Khanna wrote on X. “Unbelievable.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called for unrestricted navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, saying there should be no tolls imposed on international shipping, according to Al Jazeera.

“We all want the ceasefire in Iran and Lebanon to hold, with the ultimate goal to re-establish peace and stability through diplomatic means … And this includes restoring full and permanent freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz without tolls,” she told the European Parliament.

“And it is equally clear that any peace agreement will have to address Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programme. But there is also a harsh reality we all need to face. The consequences of this conflict may echo for months or even years to come,” she added.

The former Lebanese president who once signed a short-lived deal with Israel ending decades of a state of war now says the time is right to try again, Al Jazeera reports.

Amin Gemayel spoke with The Associated Press after the first direct talks between Lebanon and Israel since the 1980s, as they explore what could lead to a security agreement.

Gemayel, 84, who rarely speaks to international media, acknowledged much has changed as Lebanese leaders again pursue talks with Israel and as a fragile ceasefire holds.

“During my time, discussing a peace agreement with Israel was an unforgivable, fatal crime,” he said.

Oil prices have extended gains on concerns supply from the key Middle East producing region will remain bottled up for longer as talks to end the US-Israeli war against Iran have deadlocked, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures for June rose $1.91, or 1.62 per cent, to $119.94 a barrel as of 00:57 GMT (5:57am PKT) after gaining 6.1pc in the previous session. The June contract, which has increased for a ninth day, expires on Thursday and the more active July contract was at $111.38, up 94 cents, or 0.85pc, after gaining 5.8pc in the previous session.

US West Texas Intermediate futures for June were up 63 cents, or 0.59pc, at $107.51 a barrel, after climbing 7pc in the previous session, climbing in eight of nine sessions.

The Chinese government has agreed to cooperate with Australian businesses on jet fuel shipments, Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said according to Reuters, suggesting China could loosen curbs on exports imposed amid supply disruption from the Iran war.

Wong is in China as part of a three-nation tour that also includes Japan and South Korea, with Canberra seeking to keep ties with Beijing on a steadier footing while coordinating with regional powers on energy security.

“We believe this is an important step, but it is the first step,” Wong told reporters in Beijing, adding that the aim of her trip was to press for Chinese cooperation “in particular for the provision of liquid fuels”.

US President Donald Trump says that his administration is reviewing the possible reduction of US troops in Germany, adding that a decision will be made shortly, Reuters reports.

“The United States is studying and reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time,” Trump said on Truth Social.

Trump’s statement follows his criticism of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday over the war in Iran, a day after Merz said the Iranians were humiliating the US in talks to end it.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on the occasion of King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s visit to the United States, says a State Department statememt.

“The secretary and foreign secretary discussed the urgent need to restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” it said.