War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Iranian parliament’s deputy speaker Ali Nikzad has declared that Ukraine’s “reckless” move of allegedly attacking an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea will not be left without a response, IRNA reports.

He emphasised that Iran will consistently uphold its lawful right to safeguard its territorial sovereignty, and that any location from which an attack on Iranian territory originates will be considered a legitimate military target.

Houthi rebels claim they downed a Saudi drone over the northwest of Yemen, a day after the Yemeni group claimed it attacked oil facilities in the Gulf kingdom, reports AFP.

The Houthi’s military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group “successfully shot down a Turkish-made … armed reconnaissance drone belonging to the Saudi enemy while it was conducting hostile operations”.

Lebanon’s army has condemned ongoing Israeli military activities in the country’s south that it says are preventing its full deployment under a framework deal reached with Israel last month, reports AFP.

“Israeli occupation forces continue their attacks and violations of current understandings and of international laws through the systematic destruction and bulldozing of homes, bombardment and sweeps with automatic weapons in several southern areas,” an army statement said, adding that “the continuation of these attacks obstructs the army’s full deployment according to current agreements and prevents the return of residents to their villages and towns”.

Iran has said it has halted retaliatory attacks in the region after the United States stopped its strikes on the country for the past two nights, reports AFP.

“These attacks continued until two nights ago, but over the past two nights the Americans have stopped their attacks,” said army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia. “Since … our strategy has essentially been retaliatory, we have also halted our retaliatory operations. “

Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Akraminia says Tehran “took action to assert its rights” over the Strait of Hormuz after the “US violated its commitments and tried to create a fake and illegal route in the Strait of Hormuz” against the MoU signed in June, Al Jazeera reports.

“In these operations, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s army placed US bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain — which are considered among the most important bases of this country in the region — at the centre of its operations,” he said in remarks quoted by the Tasnim news agency.

Qatar’s transport ministry has announced that maritime navigation activities are now resuming.

“Maritime navigation activities can now resume fully for all types of maritime vessels and ships,” the ministry posted on X.

It once again urged all parties to abide by maritime regulations and instructions to ensure the “highest levels of safety and security for all trips”.

The Abdali border crossing between Kuwait and Iraq has reopened, Iraq’s state news agency has reported according to Al Jazeera.

The main land border between the two countries was temporarily closed after an unspecified drone attack last Thursday. The Kuwaiti army reported “material damages” after the strike.

The Abdali border crossing is located in the northern Al-Jahra province in Kuwait.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has fired warning shots at six ships over the past 24 hours as they tried to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reports.

Iran’s state television reported that the ships were stopped from continuing their journey, as the path they were taking was reportedly “outside the designated route” set by Tehran.

A day earlier, four ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz were also halted by the IRGC for “unauthorised passage”.

The differences over what route ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz can take have been a key point of contention between the US and Iran, leading to the most recent conflict in the region.

Iran’s army has warned that the Middle East war would widen if the United States chooses to press ahead with attacks on the Islamic republic, reports AFP.

“I believe that if the Americans once again fall for the Zionists’ deception, or move in line with them, and insist on continuing the war, particularly through air strikes, geographically this will expand further,” army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia told state television.

He said the war had already expanded to the Bab el-Mandab Strait at the entrance of the Red Sea, referencing the recent military flare-up between Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia.

“The scope of our operations now encompasses the entire region, from US bases in Jordan to the countries along the Persian Gulf,” he said.

Akraminia said the situation in the Middle East for the United States is “difficult and unsettled,” predicting that Washington was now looking “for a new strategy.”

“We are prepared for each of the options and scenarios that appear likely,” he added.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has said that Israel wants to keep the US in the region by “provoking” the US president and providing false information, according to Tasnim news agency.

“If Israel goes back to war against Iran, we will put the regime into a disaster,” a spokesman for the IRGC warned.

Iran says it has made progress in talks with Oman on operational mechanisms to ensure the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, stressing there has been no change in maritime traffic through the strategic waterway.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said several rounds of talks were held in Tehran on Friday and Saturday between Iranian and Omani deputy foreign ministers.

“The two sides exchanged views on common principles and operational mechanisms for the safe passage of ships in the Strait of Hormuz,” Baqaei said, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

He described the talks as “productive,” saying progress had been made during the discussions.

Baqaei said the Omani delegation left Tehran on Saturday evening, and that technical and political consultations between the two countries remain ongoing.

The country’s unaccounted foreign exchange inflows through the hundi and hawala network have declined sharply as the prolonged Gulf war disrupted Dubai’s informal trading business, hurting small exporters and domestic manufacturers.

Sources in the financial sector said that hundreds of flights every year carried people with goods not registered in the official export lists to Dubai. These people are commonly known as “khapiya”. The Gulf war, which lasted about five months, crippled this business and also dealt a blow to the domestic manufacturing sector.

“We have been preparing embroidery products for years, which were exported to the Dubai market. Now the market is closed and no buyers are available across the Gulf sta­tes,” said a manufacturer.

He added that his factory is now producing only for the domestic market, which accounts for just 10 per cent of last year’s production.

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The New York Times and Axios are reporting that the US president has decided to set aside plans to attack Iran, after 13 consecutive days of strikes, according to Al Jazeera.

The Times, citing Trump administration officials, said the president’s decision came amid concern that ratcheting up the war could “dangerously drain the Pentagon’s already diminished stockpile of Patriot antimissile interceptors and other air defense munitions in the Middle East”.

It said the decision followed a meeting between Trump, his top advisers and senior members of his cabinet on Friday.

Axios, citing two anonymous sources with knowledge of the decision, said it was unclear if  Trump’s order to halt the strikes was a one-off or if the lull would continue.

It said Trump’s decision “reflects both his willingness to provide more space for diplomacy and a recognition that — short of a return to major combat operations — the current level of US strikes has reached the limit of its effectiveness”.

It cited the sources as saying that the US military was preparing plans for a possible return to major combat operations.

Mere hours after the US signed a landmark civil nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, American President Donald Trump sprang a surprise: the deal would only go through if the Saudis recognised Israel and signed the so-called Abraham Accords. While Riyadh has remained silent over the demand, media reports indicate that recognition of the Zionist state was not part of the negotiations, and is most likely a Trumpian addition to the deal.

Saudi Arabia must join “the very respected and successful Abraham Accords”, Mr Trump said, championing his pet project dating back to his first term, when the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco officially recognised Israel. To ensure there was no ambiguity about Mr Trump’s announcement, the White House press secretary said “the deal is off” if the Saudis refused to join the Accords.

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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for Israel’s incursions into Syrian territory in the occupied Golan Heights to stop.

“Violations by Israel of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement are unacceptable and must stop,” he wrote on X, referring to the agreement signed between Israel and Syria after the war in 1973.

“Syria’s sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity must be fully respected,” he added.

The State Bank is widely expected to keep its policy interest rate unchanged at its monetary policy meeting on Monday (July 27), as policymakers are unlikely to alter the benchmark rate amid heightened uncertainty following the Gulf war.

Economists, researchers and analysts are still assessing the war’s impact on Pakistan, but there is broad agreement that it pushed global oil prices above $100 per barrel, affecting economies worldwide, including Pakistan.

Analysts closely tracking the economy say it would be difficult to maintain macroeconomic stability with sluggish growth. They believe the State Bank is unlikely to risk undermining that stability by changing the policy rate.

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US Vice President JD Vance and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine both raised concerns about escalating the war on Iran as President Donald Trump weighed the possibility during a White House meeting on Friday, reports CNN, citing sources.

An IRGC spokesman has told Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB that “any country, whether the UK, the Gulf Coast countries, or others” would become a “legitimate target” if they support the US in its attacks on Iran, Al Jazeera reports.

The spokesperson, who wasn’t named, highlighted the role of the UK, saying that American B-1 bombers used British airports to carry out recent attacks.

“If they cooperate [with the US], they will be our definite and legitimate target,” the spokesperson said.

US Centcom says that as the naval blockade on Iranian ports remains in effect, it has redirected 12 commercial vessels trying to run the blockade as of July 25, disabled two that didn’t comply, and boarded two to ensure total compliance.

“Earlier today, US forces completed a verification boarding aboard Comoros-flagged M/T Charminar in the Arabian Sea, and the tanker is now continuing its journey.

“Centcom forces disabled Mozambique-flagged M/T Lavine in the Gulf of Oman, July 24, after the crew attempted to violate the blockade multiple times and ignored repeated warnings. The ship is no longer transiting to Iran,” Centcom said on X.

It added, “American forces remain highly vigilant, focused, lethal, and ready.”

US President Donald Trump has directed the military not to carry out new strikes on Iran, reports American news website Axios, citing sources.

Iranian army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia has claimed on Iranian state television that “almost all” US military infrastructure has been destroyed during recent attacks by the IRGC on Erbil in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, according to the Anadolu news agency.

Speaking to Iranian state television, Akraminia claimed Tehran was now deploying newer attack drones with greater accuracy and were more advanced than the Arash-2.

He added that Iran had inflicted serious damage on US military bases across the region, claiming many of them had lost much of their operational capability.

He said that if the conflict resumed, Iran was prepared to continue military operations “until the Americans realise they cannot impose their will on the Iranian nation through aggression”.

Search and rescue teams have recovered four bodies in the town of Zawtar al-Gharbiya in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports citing the state-run National News Agency.

Civil defence workers say the bodies have been transferred to hospital and that teams are working to strengthen public safety measures for residents returning to the shattered town, after Israeli troops withdrew and the Lebanese army was deployed under a US-brokered agreement.

Iran’s oil minister says the country sold $18 billion worth of oil during the war and “ceasefire” with the United States, Al Jazeera reports.

Mohsen Paknejad says sales generated more than 60 per cent of the oil revenue forecast in Iran’s annual budget.

Lower risks to tanker traffic have helped increase exports and enabled the sale of some of the 100 million barrels of Iran’s stored crude oil and gas condensate.