War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Armed forces from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are taking part in a joint military exercise in Bahrain, Al Jazeera reports citing the country’s military.

Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Dhiab bin Saqr al-Nuaimi says the “Bahrain Shield” exercise running from July 28-30 aims to raise combat readiness, improve operational planning and strengthen coordination among Gulf forces.

He adds that the participation of GCC armed forces “embodies the features of a robust joint Gulf military force capable of confronting various challenges”.

The drills, he notes, are “a solid strategic foundation for military solidarity and a firm pillar for standing united against any treacherous attacks”.

Al-Nuaimi says recent violence in the region has reinforced the need for joint defence.

“The treacherous attacks witnessed in the region dictate that we develop joint military defence cooperation,” he adds.

US President Donald Trump, in an interview with Fox News, says overnight air strikes carried out by US and Saudi forces against Iran-aligned militias in Iraq were conducted in coordination with the Iraqi government, Al Jazeera reports.

He describes the militias as “a cancer on the world” and that his administration is weighing additional actions aimed at these groups.

President Donald Trump has vowed to hit Iran hard after the US military said it had intercepted multiple ballistic missiles launched by Iran towards American forces in the Middle East, Reuters reports citing an interview with Fox News.

The phone interview was not broadcast, but a Fox reporter summarized Trump’s response.

Qatar has strongly condemned attacks that aimed to target oil facilities in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Region with drones launched from Iraqi territory, considering them “a blatant violation of Saudi sovereignty and a threat to its security, stability, and the safety of its lands”, as well as a flagrant breach of international law.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirms the State of Qatar’s full solidarity with the sister Arab Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and its support for all legitimate measures it takes to preserve its sovereignty, security, and the safety of its lands,” the foreign ministry says in a statement posted on X.

A minister in Yemen’s internationally recognised government has accused Houthi rebels of working under Iranian guidance to establish a system to impose fees for ships transiting the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, AFP reports.

Information minister Moammar al-Eryani describes “the move as a dangerous escalation aimed at transforming one of the world’s most strategic maritime corridors into a permanent source of funding for the militia’s military and terrorist activities”.

Eryani says the assessment has been provided by recently obtained “confirmed intelligence” allegedly indicating that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are helping manage the effort.

“The intelligence indicates that IRGC experts and advisers are directly involved in designing the technical and administrative framework of the project,” the minister adds in comments exclusive to AFP.

He notes that this includes “the establishment of a dedicated entity responsible for collecting payments from shipping companies and commercial vessels”.

The Iraqi presidency has condemned US-Saudi strikes that targeted the Popular Mobilization Forces, an armed Iraqi alliance that includes powerful pro-Iran factions, AFP reports.

The presidency, which has not named the United States and Saudi Arabia, says it “denounces the bombing that targeted the Hashed al-Shaabi bases and it considers it an unacceptable attack and a blatant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty, targeting its official institutions”.

It also rejects the use of Iraqi territory to launch attacks on neighbouring countries.

An Iranian military official has denied Tehran’s involvement in projectiles launched from Iraq toward Saudi Arabia, rejecting accusations that Iran was behind recent attacks on the kingdom, according to Anadolu.

Responding to a statement by the Saudi defense minister, the official tells Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB that attributing attacks against US interests in the region to Tehran is “a grave mistake stemming from ignorance of the situation in the region”.

The official also “strongly denied any connection between projectiles fired from other countries toward targets in Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran”.

The Israeli military has accused Hezbollah of a “blatant violation of the ceasefire”, alleging that the group fired a drone at an Israeli vehicle overnight in southern Lebanon, AFP reports.

“Overnight (Wednesday), Hezbollah launched an explosive drone toward an IDF (Israeli military) engineering vehicle in the area of Ali al-Taher Ridge within the Security Zone,” the military claims in a statement, adding that the incident “constitutes a blatant violation of the ceasefire” and that no injuries have been reported among Israeli soldiers.

Oil prices have jumped five per cent, rebounding in volatile trading after fresh strikes in the Middle East reignited fears of crude supply disruptions, AFP reports.

International benchmark Brent North Sea crude has gained 5.3pc to $88.57 a barrel, while the main US oil contract WTI has advanced 5pc to $83.25 a barrel.

Iran’s foreign ministry has condemned US-Saudi strikes in Iraq, saying such attacks are part of US-Israeli attempts to expand the war in the region, AFP reports.

“These attacks … are in line with the aspirations of the United States and the Zionist regime to expand the scope of war and conflict in the West Asian region,” the ministry says in a statement, calling them a “gross violation” of the UN Charter and international law.

Iraq’s former prime minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has condemned the Saudi-US strikes on Hashd al-Shaabi, calling them a “blatant violation of Iraqi sovereignty”, according to Press TV.

He warned that Iraq would “not stay silent” on attacks against its security.

Iranian state television says the United States has struck a city in the country’s northwest on the border with Iraq, according to AFP.

“A few minutes ago, an area in the Piranshahr border area was attacked by American enemy airstrikes,” state television reported, after Fars news agency quoted an official in West Azerbaijan province as saying a missile hit an uninhabited area, leaving no casualties.

Influential Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has called on Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and armed militias on to refrain from attacks involving Iraqi territory, warning against dragging the country into another war, Al Jazeera reports.

In a statement on X, Sadr said Iraq had not been used as a launching pad for attacks on Iran and that the Revolutionary Guards should therefore keep away from Iraqi soil. He added that “rogue militias must not give our brothers in the Gulf states a pretext to target our sacred land”.

He urged all sides not to “be drawn into the schemes of the Zionist-American enemy to incite brothers to fight and kill one another”.

Sadr condemned violations of Iraq’s sovereignty and what he called attempts by militias to “drag Iraq into a pointless war”. He called on the government to establish security and enforce state authority, and cautioned against “dormant terrorist cells” that could exploit sectarianism to destabilise Iraq.

New strikes in the Middle East overnight lifted Brent crude futures by 3.29 per cent to $86.86 a barrel, putting them on track to ‌snap a three-day losing streak, according to Al Jazeera.

Investors ⁠are contending with uncertainty in the Middle East, where diplomatic efforts to end ⁠the US-Israeli war on Iran have proceeded in fits and starts and durable peace remains elusive.

“That sort of rapid flipping and flopping has made the signal and the noise a lot harder to separate,” said Edward Acton, rates strategist at GMO.

“Oil volatility, not just the level, can be inflationary if some prices go up with oil but are reluctant to come back down,” BofA Securities strategists wrote in a note.

An Iraqi government source says the Iraqi prime minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia has been postponed, Al Jazeera reports.

Al-Zaidi was expected to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Thursday for an official visit to sign memoranda of understanding across several sectors, as well as discuss security coordination and regional developments.

Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the strikes on oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia as “a dangerous escalation that threatens regional security and stability,” Al Jazeera reports.

It said the attacks by Iran-aligned armed groups undermine “efforts aimed at reducing escalation in the region”.

Bahrain reaffirmed its “full solidarity” with Saudi Arabia and backed any measures it takes to protect its sovereignty, security and stability.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) secretary-general has denounced the “continued terrorist attacks” on Saudi Arabia by militias in Iraq, Al Jazeera reports.

In a statement, Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi said the violence represents a “dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of the kingdom’s sovereignty, and [is] a direct threat to its security and stability and to regional security and peace”.

GCC countries stand alongside Saudi Arabia and fully support the decisions it takes to protect its “security, sovereignty and territorial integrity”, he added.

The Ali Taher heights on the outskirts of Upper Nabatieh has been attacked by Israeli artillery since 9:15am local time, Al Jazeera reports, citing Lebanon’s National News Agency.

Meanwhile, Israeli military vehicles advanced to the outskirts of the town of Aita al-Jabal, then later withdrew towards Hadatha in Bint Jbeil district in southern Lebanon, it said.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has said it fired several ballistic missiles at US military installations in Jordan, reports Reuters.

Earlier, Jordan’s military said its air defences intercepted and shot down five Iranian missiles targeting the kingdom.

Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah has discussed regional developments with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, in a phone call, according to AlJazeera.

The two leaders also talked about “diplomatic efforts aimed at enhancing security and stability in the region and ensuring the safety and freedom of maritime navigation”, Kuwait News Agency reports.

Iraqi Popular Mobilisation Forces says at least 20 of its members were killed and 32 wounded in US-Saudi strikes targeting several of its bases across Iraq, Reuters reports.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi has called an emergency meeting of the Ministerial Council for National Security, following security developments and air strikes that hit the country at dawn, according to Al Jazeera.

Israeli forces have detonated and demolished the remains of homes in southern Lebanon’s Tyre sector at dawn, specifically targeting the town of al-Mansouri in the al-Mashaa area, Al Jazeera reports, citing the National News Agency.

Israeli drones were also reported flying over local villages and surrounding areas later in the morning, it added.

Iran is set to take delivery of an initial shipment of up to 400 Chinese shoulder-fired air defence systems in the coming weeks, according to Reuters.

The acquisition, estimated between $60m and $70m, represented one of Tehran’s most significant efforts to bolster its short-range air defence capabilities following the launch of the US and Israel’s war on the country, which has revealed vulnerabilities in its ability to shield critical infrastructure and military bases.

Reuters said the contract entailed the purchase of 300 to 400 man-portable air defence systems (MANPADS), specifically involving Chinese QW-12 and FN-16 missiles.