War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Iran’s state-run Irna reports that an “explosion could be heard on Qeshm Island, coming from the sea” a short while ago.

An Irna correspondent reported that nothing on the island appears to have been hit.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reports that Israeli jets have struck the town of Haddatha in Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil district, according to Al Jazeera.

Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman and US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth have reaffirmed the US-Saudi strategic defence partnership and pledged to work together “to strengthen regional security and stability”, according to the US embassy in Riyadh.

Iran’s oil minister Mohsen Paknejad has resigned, the president’s office says in a statement, as the country faces long queues at petrol stations due to the impact of the Middle East war, AFP reports.

“Following the acceptance of Mohsen Paknejad’s resignation, Hamid Bovard has been appointed as acting Minister of Oil by a decree from the president”, the statement, carried by state broadcaster IRIB, reads.

Bovard is the chief executive of the National Iranian Oil Company.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei warns that any future use of regional countries’ territory to attack Iran will provoke a “different response”, according to Iran’s state-run Press TV.

Speaking at a press conference in Tehran, Baqaei said countries in the region must reconsider their actions, especially those that allowed their facilities to be used by the US and Israel during the war.

“If in the future we witness another aggression by America and the Zionist regime and their soil is used to attack Iran, certainly the response will be different,” he said.

More than 70 people have been killed over the past day by fighting in and around the western Yemeni province of Taiz, sources from both sides tell AFP, following days of clashes between the Houthi group and Yemeni government forces.

Sources from the internationally recognised government report that 34 government troops have been killed — 20 on the edge of Taiz province in neighbouring Lahj — while Houthi military sources claim 39 of their fighters have been killed in fighting across Taiz and in border areas with Lahj.

A committee of the Makkah Defence Pact between Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will hold talks in Riyadh on Monday, with Turkish ministers among those attending, Reuters reports citing the Turkish foreign ministry.

The development comes after the leader of Yemen’s Saudi-backed government announced the beginning of a major military operation against the Houthis earlier today, aimed at seizing the territory under their control.

“The meeting will address recent developments in the region and the stage reached in the Alliance’s institutionalisation efforts,” the Turkish statement says, adding that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defence Minister Yasar Guler and chief of the general staff General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu will attend the meeting of the pact’s strategic political and defence committee, along with officials from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright says President Donald Trump was “well aware” of the fact that energy prices would rise in the short term due to the Iran war.

“He knew it was going to elevate energy prices in the short run, he (Trump) said, ‘I’m going to take a hit there, but I’ve got to do the right thing,’“ Wright says. “He was well aware of the risk to energy flows that were coming out of the Persian Gulf region. He said, ‘The world cannot sustain a nuclear-armed Iran, and I’m not going to do it.’”

US Energy Secretary Christ Wright claims that increasing supplies are exiting the Strait of Hormuz.

“We’ve got increasing supplies coming out of the Strait of Hormuz, and they’ve continued to rise over the last months, over the last recent weeks,“ he tells CBS programme ‘Face the Nation’.

Asked if fuel prices will go down within the next four weeks, Wright replies in the affirmative.

“Diesel prices have been going down, gasoline prices have been going down. I expect that to continue,” he says.

Saudi authorities are earmarking a new instalment of 224 million Saudi riyals ($59.7m) to Yemen’s internationally recognised government, Al Jazeera reports citing the Saudi Press Agency.

“This will stimulate economic and social development towards a more sustainable path, and will positively impact purchasing power, ensure stable incomes for families, and revitalise commercial markets,” it adds, citing a statement.

Iranian airlines have resumed flights to Iraq’s Najaf after the United States granted Baghdad an exemption allowing sanctioned Iranian carriers to operate to the city, an AFP correspondent reports.

Najaf airport official Hussein Muhanna tells AFP that “flights between Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran have resumed via Najaf International Airport.”

The first flight was operated by Caspian Airlines, with AFP’s correspondent at the airport reporting seeing the plane land at 5:15pm local time (7:15pm PKT).

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejects a US claim that Iranian diplomats attending the UN General Assembly were expelled from the US.

“All Iranian diplomats who attended UNGA, except one who departed earlier, left as scheduled,” Araghchi said in a post on X on Sunday.

He added, “Taking pride in fake diplomat ‘expulsion’ is inappropriate for the head of any diplomatic corps. It oozes of desperation and defeat, and is inconsistent with UN host nation obligations.”

The proposal Iran put forward at UN meetings in New York City, which was outlined by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, has received a US response through intermediaries and is under discussion, Al Jazeera reports.

“These views are currently under review in Iran. If the Islamic Republic of Iran’s final response is prepared, the necessary steps will be taken through the appropriate channels,” it quotes Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi as saying.

Yemen’s Houthis said they launched ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi Aramco sites in Riyadh and the Khurais area, claiming the attacks caused major fires, in response to what they said were 50 Saudi-led coalition air and missile strikes in Yemen over the past 12 hours, Reuters reports.

Iran’s top leadership has not discussed the return of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to the country, Al Jazeera reports citing foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei.

The US proposal on ending the war is similar to previous ones, focusing on Iran’s nuclear file, whereas Tehran wants to first address the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, Baqaei said.

The main problem holding up the peace process is the “volatility and fluctuation of the decision-making process” by the US, he said.

“This is reflected in their conflicting statements as well as their fluctuating demands. This is a problem faced not only by Iran but by all the countries dealing with the United States. These countries are openly complaining about the crisis.”

Israeli forces have attacked towns across southern Lebanon with artillery and air strikes, Al Jazeera reports citing Lebanon’s National News Agency.

The town of Mansouri is being hit with intermittent artillery shelling, launched from positions in occupied Lebanese territory south of the city of Tyre.

The agency also reported that Israel carried out a bombing in Barashit in the Bint Jbeil district. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the attacks.

Earlier, Al Jazeera also reported that an Israeli air strike targeted the Wadi al-Hujair area, while another aerial attack hit the outskirts of the town of Kfar Tebnit in the Nabatieh district.

The Saudi-backed head of Yemen’s presidential council, Rashad al-Alimi, has announced the start of military operations to retake the remaining territory held by Houthis and restore state authority across the country, Reuters reports.

Two Israeli soldiers have been “critically injured” in southern Lebanon, according to Iran’s state-run broadcaster IRIB.

The injuries were due to a security incident, IRIB said on X, without providing further details.

According to Iranian state broadcaster Press TV, an adviser to the commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ (IRGC) Aerospace Force says the country’s supply chain for the manufacture of weapons and missiles remains fully intact.

Brigadier General Ali Balali says Iran has no concerns in any sector required for its defence production and that all facilities and components required for missile production are manufactured domestically and also exportable.

The adviser emphasises that Iran has also drawn on its experience to make advances in air defence, drone production and the space sector, but notes that the US has copied Iran’s Shahed-136 drone, demonstrating that Washington “had been unable to develop a similar platform despite its extensive research centres and think tanks”.

“We can continue the fight for as long as necessary,” Balali says.

Yemen’s Houthis have cut a vital supply route linking Taiz with Aden — the interim capital of the internationally recognised government — according to four security sources cited by AFP.

“We were informed that the Houthis had taken control of the al-Safiya area, where they cut the main road and took control of the police station,” a police source in the area told AFP.

Three sources with the Yemeni military confirmed Houthi control over the area and supply route, with the group effectively encircling Taiz city.

An Israeli air strike has targeted the Wadi al-Hujair area in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports. Another aerial attack hit the outskirts of the town of Kfar Tebnit in the Nabatieh district.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

Iran will upgrade the range of its missiles following the war with the US as American forces are now positioned as much as 1,000 km (621 miles) away from the Iranian coast, Reuters reports, citing army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia’s interview with Fars news agency.

“During this war, we concluded that we absolutely must increase the range of our missiles, and we have now moved in that direction,” he said.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Bagher Ghalibaf has said the country is “present on the military battlefield with full force and will surprise the enemy, while also using diplomacy to establish our superiority,” according to Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB.