War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

European top diplomats are set to press US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to steer clear of any new escalation with Iran, at talks of the G7 group in Paris.

The meeting of ministers from the leading industrialised nations of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States will provide Europe and its allies with a chance to air preoccupations with their US counterpart.

Europeans are eager to see a resolution and shipping traffic return to normal in the Strait of Hormuz energy transit hub.

“We certainly cannot afford any military escalation at this point,” says German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, adding the G7 talks would “focus on identifying ways to ensure it is indeed avoided”.

Turkey does not want to see a new wave of attacks against Iran, President Tayyip Erdogan says, adding that he conveyed his concerns to US President Donald Trump in a recent phone call, Reuters reports.

“We emphasise at every opportunity that it is possible to resolve these issues through dialogue and diplomacy.

“Unfortunately, we see a negative shift once again. We are doing our utmost to prevent this,” Erdogan told reporters on a return flight from Azerbaijan, according to a transcript shared by his office on Monday.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei says Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days remains the most logical plan for restoring security to the strategic waterway and the Persian Gulf region, IRNA reports.

“Iran’s proposal remains the most rational option on the table. By ‘most rational,’ we mean a proposal that can pave the way for restoring security in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, while also laying the groundwork for a process to move forward,” Baqaei has said at his weekly press conference in Tehran.

“The Americans must make a genuine decision, if they have properly understood the message of their own people,” he added, referring to last week’s midterm elections, in which President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans lost control of Congress to the Democrats, with the war on Iran playing a key role in shaping voters’ choices.

Baqaei also said that Iran’s proposal demonstrated its goodwill, dismissing US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s claims that Tehran’s demands were irrational.

Senior Emirati official Anwar Gargash has warned that the region could face a prolonged period of uncertainty, saying a comprehensive political settlement between the United States and Iran to end the more than eight-month war appears to be difficult, reports Reuters.

“We should … prepare for a long period of uncertainty in which neither a decisive resolution nor stable regional order can be taken for granted ,” Gargash said in an address to a geopolitical conference in Abu Dhabi.

He added the consequences of the US war on Iran “may persist for a long time”, requiring the UAE to invest in its “defensive capabilities, the maintenance of credible deterrence, and stronger international security partners”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said the US president “clearly recognises that the vast majority of Americans are disgusted with Israel.”

“Americans are evidently sick and tired of Israel bamboozling US administrations into forever wars,” Araghchi said on X. “They had enough. So has our region.”

The United Arab Emirates has strongly condemned Houthis’ attempt to target several areas in Saudi Arabia, a statement by the UAE’s foreign ministry says.

US President Donald Trump has cast doubt on renewed fighting with Iran, telling CNN it was “highly unlikely,” ahead of a meeting with mediator Qatar’s prime minister, AFP reports.

The president told CNN in an interview that renewed fighting was “highly unlikely,” but warned that his decision “depends on whether or not they sign a very strong agreement.”

“I would if necessary, but we hit them really hard. I hit them so hard. You don’t know how hard I hit them,” he said.

Saudi authorities, earlier in the day, sent a text message to residents of the capital Riyadh briefly warning of an aerial threat, before lifting the alert minutes later.

“Warning. The area is under a hostile aerial threat. Please remain calm, stay indoors or in a safe place away from windows and doors, and follow the instructions of Civil Defense,” the message said.

US President Donald Trump has said he is not “looking to” escalate the war with Iran. “I don’t think there’s any reason to.”

Oil prices were steadyy after US President Donald Trump downplayed the likelihood of new strikes on Iran, though attacks on ships near the Strait of Hormuz kept supply concerns in focus.

Brent inched up 3 cents to $98.35 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate rose 0.5 per cent to $91.30 a barrel.

Brent fell 16pc last week, the steepest weekly drop since the start of the COVID pandemic.

“Despite the recent optimism surrounding a potential diplomatic breakthrough, the underlying geopolitical risks remain elevated, and the possibility of renewed military escalation cannot be ruled out,” said Sugandha Sachdeva, founder of SS WealthStreet, a New Delhi-based research firm.

“The market appears to be pricing in a relatively optimistic scenario of de-escalation, even though a comprehensive agreement between Washington and Tehran has yet to materialise,” she said.

US President Donald Trump will meet with Qatar’s prime minister at the White House on Monday, according to the White House schedule, as the conflict with Iran drags on and diplomatic efforts to end it face significant obstacles.

Trump is due to meet with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, who also serves as Qatar’s foreign minister, in a closed-door meeting, reports Reuters.

US Vice President JD Vance is also scheduled to meet with the Qatari leader, according to a US official quoted by Reuters.

The US Treasury has asked Iraq to close all but two border crossings with Iran as part of Washington’s policy of increasing economic pressure on Tehran, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein says in an interview with Al Jazeera.

One of the exceptions is in the Kurdistan region.

“There are many official and unofficial border crossings with Iran, and closing all of them would be difficult and would affect our economy. The Americans are still demanding the closure of the crossings, and we are currently in discussions with them,” Hussein said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that mediators striving for a peace deal between the US and Iran had not travelled at all since the “shock” of the US midterm elections, AFP reports.

“We now have to see how long it will take for them to digest these results, in order to determine how we are going to move forward,” the top Iranian diplomat told state TV following the elections in which Trump’s party suffered heavy losses.

“For the past few days, there has been no more travel (by mediators), and the reason for this is the shock that the election results in the United States have caused to everyone,” Araghchi said.

He said it would “take some time before the atmosphere is favourable for the resumption of mediator travel” and called for patience.

US President Donald Trump says he is highly unlikely to order fresh attacks on Iran as long as talks to end the conflict progress, CNN reports according to Reuters.

“It depends on whether or not they sign a very strong agreement,” CNN cited Trump as saying in a phone interview. “The answer is, highly unlikely it’s going to be necessary.”

CNN did not specify exactly what it had asked Trump, who also said the US had identified potential infrastructure targets. These included 38 bridges “that we can knock down in literally one hour”, he said.

Iran’s Deputy Parliament Speaker Ali Nikzad says the Iranian Armed Forces are “fully prepared to confront any enemy threats or hostile acts, with new and more advanced weapons”, state media reports.

In an interview with IRNA, Nikzad emphasised the combat readiness of the armed forces and said they are ready to defend Iran and maintain a powerful presence in the field.

“American voters have made their choice. Time for the White House to make its own,” says Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in a post on X.

Reiterating Tehran’s offer to the US to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days if it agrees to its terms, Araghchi said: “Our 2-day proposal stands: meet the requirements, including end to war on all fronts, and you will see results.

“Or choose war, and see our alert and battle-hardened Warriors rain down hell.”

An oil tanker has caught fire after striking a naval mine east of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s navy says citing Iranian media, according to Reuters.

Reuters was unable to immediately confirm the report.

Saudi-led coalition forces have said they destroyed two ballistic missile launchpads in Saada in northwest Yemen, Al Jazeera reports.

The Houthis used the launchpads to launch attacks on Riyadh earlier today, said a spokesman.

Iran’s foreign ministry has condemned airstrikes targeting “civilian infrastructure and non-military areas” in Yemen and called for talks between Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

In a statement released on X, Tehran called for “an immediate halt to military attacks, a complete end to the blockade, and respect for the Yemeni people’s right to self-determination”.

It particularly noted the recent deadly strikes on a public market in Taiz and on the village of Al-Shariyah in the Bani Hushaysh district, east of Sanaa Governorate, terming them “war crimes”.

“The conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen must be brought to an end as soon as possible through dialogue between the parties, based on a mutually agreed-upon roadmap,” the statement said.

Both the Houthis and Yemen’s internationally recognised government, supported by a Saudi-led coalition, blamed each other for the attack, according to Al Jazeera.

Qatar has condemned “in the strongest terms” the continued Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia in a statement posted by the foreign ministry to social media, including the targeting of Riyadh with two ballistic missiles.

It described the assaults as “shameful, aggressive behaviour, an unacceptable disregard for civilian lives, a flagrant violation of Saudi sovereignty, and a clear breach of the rules of international law”.

Renewing Qatar’s solidarity with Saudi Arabia, the ministry stressed the state’s “categorical rejection of attacks targeting civilians and civilian objects” and urgently called for a halt to the “irresponsible” actions.

Iran’s Prosecutor General Mohammad Movahedi-Azad says civic participation has dealt a severe blow to the “US-Israeli agenda of creating insecurity and chaos” in the country, state-run IRNA reports.

Addressing an event in Tehran, he announced the creation of a secure, anonymous reporting system for the public to report on “the activities of US and Israeli agents in Iran”.

Through this system, over 20,000 reports on individuals linked to “Zionist and American espionage and terror networks” were received, he said according to IRNA.

Doha has denounced strikes by the Houthis targeting several regions in Saudi Arabia, including an attack on Riyadh, Al Jazeera reports.

The missile and drone strikes “constitute reprehensible aggression, an unacceptable disregard for civilian lives, a flagrant violation of Saudi sovereignty and a clear breach of the rules of international law”, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It called for an “immediate halt” to Houthi attacks on civilian infrastructure and citizens.

Yemen’s Houthis have claimed responsibility for an attack on the financial district of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, that eyewitnesses said caused damage to a skyscraper belonging to oil giant Aramco, AFP reports.

“The Yemeni Armed Forces, with the help of Allah Almighty, carried out four qualitative military operations, using a number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones,” the group said in an English-language statement, listing targets including the financial centre, Riyadh airport, Aramco oil storage tanks and the eastern Saudi city of Abqaiq.

Most Gulf stock markets ended lower as investors awaited indications on whether US President Donald Trump will order fresh attacks on Iran, Reuters reports.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index dropped 0.8 per cent, weighed down by a 1.5pc fall for Al Rajhi Bank and a 1.3pc decline for Saudi National Bank , the country’s biggest lender by assets.

The kingdom’s Energy Ministry says debris from a foiled attack today hit an administrative office of Saudi Aramco in Riyadh, causing damage but no casualties.

Saudi Aramco shares were down 0.3pc.

Qatar’s index pared early losses to finish 0.5pc down.