War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

The Israeli military begins carrying out strikes in Lebanon’s east, expanding the scope of its bombing campaign during a ceasefire that has failed to fully halt hostilities with Hezbollah, according to Reuters.

A spokesperson for the Israeli military says it was beginning to strike Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley as well as areas in southern Lebanon.

Security sources told Reuters strikes had hit near the town of Nabi Chit, near Lebanon’s eastern border with Syria.

Iran’s armed forces would be the authority responsible for the Strait of Hormuz under the country’s proposed law for managing the waterway, a top official said, AFP reports.

Ebrahim Azizi, head of the national security commission in Iran’s parliament, told state television that the armed forces were already in control of the strait and were seeking to prohibit the passage of “hostile vessels”.

Azizi also said the proposed law states that financial gains from the strait should be paid in the local rial currency.

The Israeli military has said it had begun hitting Hezbollah positions in Lebanon’s Bekaa region, amid a ceasefire that began earlier this month, AFP reports.

“The IDF has begun to strike Hezbollah infrastructure sites in the Bekaa valley and in additional areas across southern Lebanon,” it said in a brief statement on social media.

At least seven ships — mainly dry bulk vessels — crossed the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours, in line with muted activity in recent days, shipping data shows, while talks between Iran and the United States have stalled, Reuters reports.

The vessels have included ships leaving from Iraqi ports and one dry bulk vessel from an Iranian port, according to ship tracking data from Kpler and separate satellite analysis from data analytics specialists SynMax.

Shipping traffic passing through the crucial waterway at the entrance to the Gulf during an uneasy ceasefire between Washington and Tehran represents a fraction of the average 140 daily passages before the US-Israel war against Iran began on February 28.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said he does not see what exit strategy the United States has in the Iran war, warning “an entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards”, according to Reuters.

Speaking to students in Marsberg, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Merz has said the Iranians are “obviously negotiating very skillfully” and “clearly stronger than one thought,” and urged that the conflict be ended as quickly as possible due to its direct impact on Germany’s economy.

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has shared an image on X, appearing to show the number of Iranian “volunteers” who have registered to defend their country.

Ghalibaf said he was “proud to be one of these thirty million” volunteers.

“The self-sacrifice of the proud Iranian nation has left the enemies disappointed and bewildered,” he added.

The Farsi text stated that 30,885,140 volunteers have registered so far for the “Sacrificing Life” campaign to “declare the readiness of the Iranian people to play an effective role in confronting the American Zionist enemy”.

US President Donald Trump will hold talks on the Iran war with his top security advisers, US media reported, AFP reports.

Barak Ravid, global affairs correspondent for US media outlet Axios, reported that Trump was expected to hold a meeting with his top national security and foreign policy team to discuss the next steps.

ABC News quoted two unidentified US officials as saying that Trump would meet with his key security advisers on Iran, adding that a new deal proposed by Tehran to resolve the conflict fell short of Washington’s red lines.

At least two people have been killed in southern Lebanon amid Israeli attacks, an Al Jazeera correspondent on the ground reports.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan has spoken on the phone with his Bahraini counterpart, Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani.

“During the call, they discussed the current developments in the region and the continuation of bilateral coordination in this regard,” the Saudi foreign ministry said.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Qatar’s Prime Minister and FM Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani have held a phone call.

“They discussed the latest developments in the region and the two countries’ efforts to promote security and stability,” the Saudi foreign ministry said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said that it was too early to drop sanctions imposed on Iran, Reuters reports.

“We think the dropping of sanctions would be too early,” she said in Berlin at a meeting of the conservative CDU and its CSU Bavarian sister party, adding that the sanctions were in place due to Iran’s alleged suppression of its own people.

“We first have to see a change, a fundamental change in Iran for the dropping of sanctions,” von der Leyen added.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will host representatives from the Bank of England at a meeting of the government’s emergency response committee focused on the impact of the war in Iran, AFP reports.

“Tomorrow I’m chairing a meeting of Cobra on the impact (of the war), bringing in people from the Bank of England, so that you can be sure we will stand by working people in this crisis,” Starmer said in a speech to trade union members.

Iranian state-run Press TV reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to call off this year’s mass Lag O’mer ceremony at Mount Meron in the Upper Galilee region, following a new wave of retaliatory strikes from southern Lebanon.

The decision came after fresh restrictions were implemented in the north of the occupied territories by the so-called Home Front Command.

Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that the decision was made because of concern over a mass casualty event, citing the fragile ceasefire with Lebanon, Meron’s proximity to the border, rocket fire toward the area and the difficulty of evacuating large numbers of participants quickly.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected Lebanon’s planned direct talks with Israel, calling them a “grave sin” that will destabilise Lebanon, reports AFP.

“We categorically reject direct negotiations with Israel, and those in power should know that their actions will not benefit Lebanon or themselves,” Qassem said in a statement, calling on authorities to “back down from their grave sin that is putting Lebanon in a spiral of instability”.

“These direct negotiations and their outcomes are as if they do not exist for us, and they do not concern us in the slightest,” he added, saying “we will continue our defensive resistance for Lebanon and its people”.

“No matter how much the enemy threatens, we will not back down, we will not bow down, and we will not be defeated. “

Global military spending reached nearly $2.9 trillion in 2025, marking an 11th consecutive year of growth, researchers have said according to AFP, as insecurity and rearmament fuelled defence budgets.

The three top spenders — the United States, China and Russia — spent a combined total of $1.48tr, just over half of global expenditure.

Spending rose by 2.9 per cent compared with 2024, despite a reduction by the US, the world’s biggest spender, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Researcher Lorenzo Scarazzato told AFP the decrease from the US was more than offset by increases in Europe and Asia, as the world marked “another year of wars and increased tensions”. Scarazzato said this was also reflected in the global “military burden” — the share of worldwide GDP devoted to military spending — which reached its highest level since 2009.

“Everything points to a world that feels less secure and is spending on its military to compensate for the global landscape,” he said.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan has received a phone call from his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, the Saudi foreign ministry says.

“During the call, they discussed regional developments and efforts to de-escalate and ease tensions in the region,” the statement added.

Iran’s IRGC chapter in Hormozgan Province has claimed the “discovery and neutralisation of more than 15 heavy American missiles” used during the current war, IRNA reports.

It said the munitions were largely advanced US-made types, including GBU and BLU models, whose explosive mechanisms had failed to function properly and were recovered intact by specialised forces.

“Following successful neutralisation, the equipment was transferred to technical and research units for reverse engineering,” the report stated.

The statement added that the discovered hardware included bunker-buster and cruise missiles, as well as advanced enemy drones such as Harop, LUCAS, MQ-9, and Hermes models. Many of these systems were reportedly recovered intact.

At least one person has been killed in an Israeli drone attack in the town of Qalila, southern Lebanon, the NNA news agency reports, according to Al Jazeera.

Iran internet blackout has entered it’s 59th day after passing 1,392 hours, according to NetBlocks.

Global orders to build liquefied natural gas carriers (LNGC) are set to rebound this year after a 2025 slump as growing LNG output and vessel fuel efficiency drive demand, industry executives and analysts say, reports Reuters.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi blamed the United States for the peace talks in Pakistan failing to reach a deal, after arriving in Russia for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, AFP reports.

“The US approaches caused the previous round of negotiations, despite progress, to fail to reach its goals because of the excessive demands,” Araghchi was quoted as saying by Iranian state media.

He also said that “safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz is an important global issue”, as the US and Iran continue their rival blockades in the waterway.