War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

The Israeli military has carried out bombings in the city of Khiam in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports.

The strikes, including on residential blocks, came soon after the Israeli military said it was continuing its attacks on southern Lebanon, despite the ceasefire extension.

The Israeli army has reiterated that it continues to occupy swathes of land in southern Lebanon, where it has established a Gaza-like “Yellow Line”, expanding control up to the Litani River, Al Jazeera reports.

“Approaching the area of the Litani River, Wadi Salhania and Saluki is not permitted,” said Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee.

The Trump administration has said it had imposed sanctions on an independent “teapot” refinery in China for buying billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil, as Washington and Tehran head into another round of peace talks over the weekend, Reuters reports.

The Treasury Department targeted Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery, which it said is one of Iran’s largest customers of crude oil and petroleum products.

The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said it also imposed sanctions on about 40 shipping companies and vessels that operate as part of Iran’s shadow fleet.

China has said it opposes “illegal” unilateral sanctions.

Iran’s defence ministry has said the United States was seeking a “face-saving” way to exit the war, as US envoys travelled to Pakistan for peace negotiations.

“Our military power today is a dominant force, and the enemy is looking for a face-saving way to escape the war quagmire it has become trapped in,” media outlet ISNA quoted a ministry spokesperson as saying.

The statement comes as US representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to leave for Islamabad, though Iran has said direct negotiations are not on the cards.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has cautioned that Turkiye would reassess its position on the Strait of Hormuz if any future technical coalition of countries became a party to renewed conflict, Reuters reports.

Fidan also said he believed issues related to Iran’s nuclear programme could be resolved at the next round of talks in Pakistan.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said that Turkiye could consider taking part in demining operations in the Strait of Hormuz following a possible peace agreement between Iran and the United States, Reuters reports.

Fidan, speaking to reporters in London last evening, said a technical team was expected to carry out mine-clearing work in the strait after any agreement, adding that Turkiye viewed such efforts positively in principle as a humanitarian duty.

Fidan said any demining work would be carried out by a technical team from various countries, formed after a possible Iran-US peace agreement.

Turkiye would have “no problem” with participating in mine-clearing operations under those conditions.

The IRGC has announced that its officials have arrested nearly 240 people in operations in two provinces, Kurdistan and Kermanshah, Al Jazeera reports, citing Iran’s Mehr news agency.

In Kurdistan province, the IRGC claimed to have arrested 11 people while also killing one member of a Kurdish armed group.

IRGC forces also seized a cache of arms and ammunition. Nearly 70 others were arrested in separate raids, Mehr reports.

In Kermanshah province, the IRGC arrested 155 people, who, it said, belonged to “counter-revolutionary groups”, including four spies alleged to be associated with Israel’s Mossad.

Iran internet blackout has entered it’s 57th day after passing 1344 hours, according to NetBlocks.

The Israeli army has said that its forces struck three different areas in southern Lebanon, claiming to target Hezbollah rocket launchers in overnight operations, Al Jazeera reports.

The Israeli army claimed it hit the Hezbollah assets in Deir El Zahrani, Reman, and Al-Saamiya in southern Lebanon.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke late last night with Egypt’s FM Badr Abdelatty, the Foreign Office says.

“The two leaders discussed the ongoing diplomatic efforts being facilitated by Pakistan, and underscored the importance of dialogue and diplomacy,” the FO said.

“They emphasised the importance of sustained engagement to advance peace and stability in the region and beyond.”

Iran’s FM Abbas Araghchi has met with CDF and COAS Field Marshal Asim Munir in Islamabad, the Iranian embassy in Islamabad says.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and other top officials also participated in the meeting.

The Iranian delegation includes Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, Ambassador Reza Amiri Moghadam and Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei, the embassy said.

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Iran has said it an individual working for Israeli intelligence for vandalism and violence during nationwide protests this year, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reports.

It said Erfan Kiani, a “hired thug of Mossad”, had engaged in the destruction and arson of public and private property, spreading fear and terror across the central city of Isfahan, and wielding a machete.

He was hanged early in the morning after his sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court and following legal procedures, Tasnim said.

Imam Khomeini International Airport has resumed international flights, PressTv reports.

The first passengers have departed for Medina, Muscat, and Istanbul, with operations expected to accelerate in the coming days.

Germany has said that its navy will deploy a minesweeper ship to the Mediterranean to prepare for a possible deployment in the Strait of Hormuz, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told German newspaper Rheinische Post, according to Al Jazeera.

The minesweeper would be deployed alongside a command and supply ship, the minister said, without specifying when the ships would depart.

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reports that an unexploded GBU “bunker buster” bomb, dropped during US-Israeli attacks and buried 13 metres (42 feet) beneath a residential area in Yazd province, has been successfully neutralised and removed, according to Al Jazeera.

Yazd deputy provincial governor for security told the news outlet that the bomb struck a residential area during the war but failed to detonate and was lodged deep underground.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty discussed ways to advance the diplomatic track between the US and Iran during a phone call with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, according to Al Jazeera.

A statement released on the Egyptian foreign ministry’s official Facebook page noted that both ministers expressed hope for a “second round of negotiations to help reach understandings that support a stable ceasefire, reduce escalation, and create conditions to end the current conflict”.

Abdelatty also underscored the “necessity of maintaining the freedom of international navigation and addressing the security concerns of regional states, particularly the Arabian Gulf countries”.

Companies have paid out up to $4m for last-minute passage of their vessels through the Panama Canal in recent weeks to cope with the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, The Associated Press (AP) news agency reports, citing canal authorities.

International Airlines Group (IAG), parent of British Airways, has warned that airfares are likely to rise as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the Iran conflict pushes up oil prices, reports Al Jazeera.

In a statement, the group said higher jet fuel costs driven by the Middle East situation would require an increase in ticket prices.

The US Navy said one of its guided missile destroyers enforced the US blockade against an Iranian-flagged vessels “attempting to sail to a port in Iran”.

UN chief Antonio Guterres has expressed his condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of an Indonesian Unifil peacekeeper who succumbed to his wounds after an Israeli strike on a Unifil position in southern Lebanon in March.

He also wished a “full and fast recovery” of the other injured.

“Six peacekeepers serving with Unifil have now been killed and several more have been seriously injured following recent incidents amid the hostilities between Hezbollah and the Israel Defence Forces,” Guterres said on X.

“These attacks must stop.”

Companies have paid out up to $4 million for last-minute passage of their vessels through the Panama Canal in recent weeks to cope with the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, The Associated Press (AP) news agency reports according to Al Jazeera, citing canal authorities.

The canal usually charges a flat rate for passage, but companies without a booking can pay extra in an auction to avoid waiting for several days to transit through the waterway.

With the Strait of Hormuz blocked, the AP reports that demand for these auctioned slots has skyrocketed, raising the going price, as commercial vessels increasingly use the Panama Canal.