War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says 31 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz “with the coordination and security of the IRGC Navy” over the past 24 hours, Al Jazeera reports.

The ships included oil tankers, container ships and other commercial vessels, the IRGC Navy says in a statement shared by Iran’s Tasnim news agency.

US Central Command (Centcom) says in a post on X that 94 commercial vessels have been turned around and four others disabled amid an American naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Lebanon’s health ministry says Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,089 people and wounded at least 9,397 since March 2, when fighting between Tel Aviv and Hezbollah resumed, Al Jazeera reports.

France has dismissed the idea of Nato playing a ⁠role in an international mission ⁠to enable freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reports.

“Our position is clear and constant. It is that the North Atlantic Treaty applies to ⁠the North Atlantic. It ⁠is neither its purpose, nor in reality the appropriate ⁠alliance, for it then ⁠to be focused ⁠on an issue in the Middle East and on ‌Hormuz,” its foreign ministry ‌spokesperson says.

Israeli attacks continue across southern Lebanon, with an air raid hitting the town of Sarafand in the Tyre district, according to Al Jazeera correspondents on the ground.

Israeli artillery has also shelled the towns of Baraashit and Kfar Dounine, while a separate Israeli drone attack has hit the town of Yaroun in southern Lebanon.

Dubai will provide economic incentives worth more than $400 million, authorities say, as businesses struggle to cope with the aftermath of the Middle East war and Iran’s blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, AFP reports.

Authorities approved “a second package of economic incentives valued at AED 1.5 billion ($408m)”, the Dubai government’s media office says in a post on X.

The incentives include exemptions from municipal fees for hotels and restaurants, reduced fines for customs violations and lower fees for civil aviation permits.

“The new package brings the total value of incentives introduced in under two months to AED 2.5bn ($680m),” the office adds.

The United Arab Emirates bore the brunt of Iran’s attacks during the war, as Tehran unleashed drones and missiles across the Gulf in response to US and Israeli strikes.

The start of peak summer fuel demand, combined with the lack of new oil exports from the Middle East and depleting stocks, could push the oil market into the “red zone” in July-August, the head of the International Energy Agency warns without elaborating, according to Reuters.

The world entered the oil supply crisis caused by the Iran war with a surplus of oil, which helped to absorb the shock, but now stocks are eroding, Fatih Birol says in a speech at Chatham House in London.

Iran has defined the area of the Strait of Hormuz that will fall under its framework to manage the Strait of Hormuz.

The defined area spans from “the line connecting Kuh-i-Mubarak in Iran to the south of Fujairah in the UAE at the eastern entrance of the Strait, to the line connecting the tip of Qeshm Island in Iran to Umm Al-Quwain in the UAE at the western entrance”, according to the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA).

“Transit through this area for the purpose of passing through the Hormuz strait requires coordination with, and authorisation from, the Persian Gulf Strait Authority,” it adds in a post on X.

Hezbollah claims it has carried out a series of attacks targeting Israeli forces across southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports.

The group claims it launched a “wide-scale fire raid” overnight on Israeli military positions across southern Lebanon, adding that the attack followed Israeli drone strikes and “heavy missile barrages” on Dibil, Rashaf and areas around Hadatha, which it says killed and wounded civilians.

The group further claims it targeted Israeli soldiers near Deir Siryan with artillery shells and rockets this morning, later targeting Israeli soldiers and vehicles in Qouzah with artillery.

Iranian lawmaker Mahmoud Nabavian has threatened that any aggression by the US or Israel “will be met with a global crisis”.

“By cutting submarine cables, Iran could disrupt global internet, digital economies, and banking for years,” he writes on X. “Iran’s sovereignty is non-negotiable.”

Oil prices have risen over one per cent, after Reuters earlier reported that Iran’s Supreme Leader has issued a directive that the country’s enriched uranium should not be sent abroad.

Brent crude futures have gained $1.39, or 1.3pc, to $106.41 a barrel by 1037 GMT, and US West Texas Intermediate futures has increased $1.56, or 1.6pc, to $99.82. Both were trading lower before the report.

Both benchmarks dropped around 5.6pc on Wednesday to their lowest in more than a week after Trump said talks with Iran were in the final stages.

Full oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz will not return before the first or second quarter of 2027, even if the Middle East conflict ended now, the head of the United Arab Emirates’ state oil firm ADNOC has said, Reuters reports.

“Even if this conflict ends tomorrow, it will take at least four months to get back to 80 per cent of pre-conflict flows, and full flows will not return before the first or even second quarter of 2027,” ADNOC CEO Sultan Al Jaber said during an Atlantic Council event.

Confirming Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to China later this month, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson has also said that Beijing would work with Islamabad to “make positive contributions to the early restoration of peace and stability in the Middle East”, reports AFP.

A top UAE official denounced Iran’s claim of control over Emirati waters in the blockaded Strait of Hormuz as a “pipe dream,” following an announcement by an Iranian body overseeing the strait.

“The regime is trying to establish a new reality born from a clear military defeat, but attempts to control the Strait of Hormuz or infringe on the UAE’s maritime sovereignty are nothing but pipe dreams,” said the United Arab Emirates’ presidential advisor Anwar Gargash in a post on X.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said that the Iran crisis can only be resolved through diplomatic channels that take Iranian interests into account, according to Reuters.

Speaking at a briefing to reporters, Zakharova said that only Iran itself should decide the fate of its uranium reserves.

The UAE has completed nearly 50 per cent of a second pipeline that will bypass the Strait of Hormuz, the head of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) said, as Gulf producers seek alternative export routes amid the prolonged closure of the key waterway, Anodolu reports.

The new pipeline is expected to double ADNOC’s export capacity through Fujairah, a UAE port on the Gulf of Oman located beyond the Strait of Hormuz.

The construction of the project has been accelerated due to the Iran war, with the pipeline expected to become operational in 2027.

20 Iranian sailors onboard a vessel seized by the US have returned to Tehran from Islamabad, Iran’s IRNA outlet is reporting, according to Al Jazeera.

“The release was achieved after intensive consultations between the Iranian Foreign Minister and his Pakistani and Singaporean counterparts,” the report added.

Israel has launched multiple drone attacks on a road connecting the towns of Tora and Jennata in southern Lebanon’s Tyre district, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reports.

The Israeli army also targeted the town of Qabrikha in the Marjayoun district with artillery shelling.

The Chinese foreign ministry has said that Beijing “supports Pakistan in playing a fair and balanced mediating role in promoting peace and ending the war”, reports AFP.

The ministry said this while confirming Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to China from May 23-26, during which leaders from both sides “will have an in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and issues of common concern”.

Iran’s internet blackout has entered its 83rd day after passing 1,968 hours, according to NetBlocks.

Indian shares have advanced supported by a drop in oil prices as investors assessed signs that the US may be nearing a deal with Iran to end the Middle East conflict, while key corporate earnings are also on the radar, Reuters reports.

The benchmark Nifty 50 rose 0.63 per cent to 23,806.6 and the BSE Sensex gained 0.53pc to 75,720.79, as of 9:55am IST.

All 16 major sectors logged gains. The broader small-caps and mid-caps rose 1pc and 0.7pc, respectively. Other Asian markets gained 3pc.

“Markets have gained momentum as investors turn optimistic over a possible resolution of the ongoing Middle East conflict,” said Aakash Shah, technical research analyst at Choice Broking.

Momentum indicators suggest bearish pressure is easing, with healthy buying interest emerging at lower levels, though the broader trend remains cautious due to lingering global uncertainties, Shah said.