War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

The Trump administration is considering plans to occupy or blockade Iran’s Kharg Island to pressure Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reports, citing four sources with knowledge of the issue.

“He wants Hormuz open. If he has to take Kharg Island to make it happen, that’s going to happen. If he decides to have a coastal invasion, that’s going to happen. But that decision hasn’t been made,” a senior administration official told Axios.

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Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has said he is working to keep his country away from the Middle East war, Al Jazeera reports, citing state media SANA.

In a speech delivered after the Eidul Fitr prayer in the presidential palace in Damascus, Sharaa said: “It is important to remember that Syria has always been an arena of conflict and strife during the past 15 years and before that, but today it is in harmony with all neighbouring countries regionally and internationally.”

“What is happening now is a major and rare event in history that we haven’t witnessed since World War II. We are carefully calculating our steps and working to keep Syria away from any conflict, so that it can maintain its path of development and reconstruction,” the president added.

The owner of an Israeli oil refinery hit by ​an Iranian missile strike has said that essential infrastructure was damaged in the attack, but that most production facilities are operating and the rest ​are being restarted, Reuters reports.

Oil Refineries Ltd said ​in a statement that there had been “localised ⁠hits” at its complex in Haifa, northern ​Israel, striking electrical infrastructure supplying a service facility ​and an open area adjacent to an administrative building.

There were no injuries or casualties, it said in a ​statement to the Tel Aviv stock exchange.

The ​essential infrastructure belongs to a third party, it said, and ‌was ⁠expected to return to operations within a few days.

Oil Refineries Ltd did not identify the third party, specify how many production facilities were ​operating or ​when the ⁠production facilities were expected to return to full operations.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for de-escalation in the Gulf hostilities in a phone conversation with his Malaysian counterpart, Dato Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim.

“While praying for peace and harmony of the Ummah, the two leaders called for de-escalation of the ongoing hostilities in Iran and the Gulf region and agreed to continue to work together for advancing peace efforts in this regard,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement on X.

PM Shehbaz also felicitated the Malaysian premier, government and people on the occasion of Eidul-Fitr, while both leaders expressed satisfaction at the positive momentum in bilateral ties, the statement added.

More than a dozen Israeli drones have been shot down over Iran during the ongoing war, according to Israeli military officials, who claimed that losses were up to 20, reports Al Jazeera.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has described the F-35 US jet being hit as a “moment of collapse of an order”.

In a post on X, Ghalibaf said, “The F-35 was not just a fighter jet but a statue of the US military’s invincibility and arrogance. A theological symbol claimed to be invisible to any eye and superior to any power; but the hand of God is above their hands”.

“This symbol was struck for the first time in the world, yet God cast. And this was the moment of collapse of an order,” he added.

Italy is in talks with several countries, including the United States, Azerbaijan and Algeria, to secure additional gas supplies after deliveries from Qatar have stopped, Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said, according to Reuters.

Pichetto also said Italy agreed with the European Union that the bloc should not return to buying its gas from Russia.

Iran’s supreme leader has issued a message of condolence to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian following the killing of Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib earlier this week in an Israeli strike, Al Jazeera reports, citing Tasnim News Agency.

In a statement carried by the news agency, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei paid tribute to Khatib, describing him as a “hardworking minister of intelligence”.

The leader stressed that officials must step up efforts to fill the gap left by Khatib’s death, calling on the ministry to maintain security against “internal and external enemies”.

Israeli police have claimed to have arrested an army reservist who served on the Iron Dome air defence system on suspicion of passing secrets to Iran, AFP reports.

“Raz Cohen, a 26-year-old resident of Jerusalem who served in the reserves in the Iron Dome system, was recently arrested on suspicion of committing security offenses involving contact with Iranian intelligence,” Israeli police said.

“Over the course of several months, the citizen maintained contact with Iranian intelligence operatives and, under their instructions, was asked to carry out various security missions, including passing on sensitive security information.”

According to Israeli rescue services and authorities, Iranian missile fire toward Israel has killed 15 civilians in the country since the start of the war.

China has called for uninterrupted oil supplies as the Israeli-US war on Iran threatens global energy markets, Al Jazeera reports.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian urged restraint but avoided naming countries. His comments followed signals from Washington that it may ease sanctions on Iranian oil stuck at sea to stabilise prices.

Britain has so far avoided medicine shortages linked to the war in the Middle East, but soaring freight ​costs are squeezing generic drugmakers’ margins and could soon trigger ‌price rises, supply shortages or both, trade group Medicines UK warns, according to Reuters.

Chief Executive Mark Samuels said Britain was “one step away” from medicine shortages if instability persisted, with stockpiles providing ​only a temporary buffer.

Israeli Ambassador to Russia Oded Joseph has been summoned by Russia’s Foreign Ministry in Moscow, “in connection with the Israeli airstrike on RT crew in Lebanon,” RT reports.

Iran’s internet blackout has entered its 21st day after 480 hours, according to NetBlocks.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has told his British counterpart Yvette Cooper in a phone call that any US use of British bases would be seen as “participation in aggression” against the Islamic republic, AFP reports.

It was not clear when the call with Cooper took place.

“These actions will certainly be regarded as participation in aggression and will be recorded in the history of relations between the two countries,” said Araghchi, according to a statement released by the ministry.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that their spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini was assassinated in US-Israeli strikes, AFP reports.

Naini “was martyred in the criminal, cowardly terrorist attack by the American-Zionist side at dawn”, the Guards said in a statement on their Sepah News website.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has strongly condemned the attacks on Azerbaijan and reaffirmed Pakistan’s “unwavering solidarity” with the country in conversation with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.

“We agreed on the urgent need for de-escalation and resolution of tensions through dialogue and diplomacy, while reaffirming our shared commitment to further strengthening Pakistan-Azerbaijan brotherly ties,” the prime minister said in a post on X.

He said the two also exchanged “warm Eid-ul-Fitr greetings and best wishes” for each other’s countries.

The Israeli army claims it struck Syrian infrastructure in military compounds in the south of the country.

In a post on X, the army said the attacks were in response to what it called attacks on Druze civilians by Syrian authorities in the As-Suwayda area.

New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued advice saying that people who travel to or through the Middle East “may not be able to leave if conflict escalates”.

The ministry added that it is “still advising New Zealanders who are in the region to leave now on a commercial flight while these remain available, if they can do so safely.”

Authorities in the Gulf have ordered that Eidul Fitr prayers take place only inside mosques this year, suspending large open-air gatherings as the Israeli-US war on Iran heightens regional tensions, Al Jazeera reports.

Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates told worshippers they should not gather at traditional outdoor prayer grounds, where thousands typically attend Eid prayers marking the end of Ramazan.

Officials said the decision was a precautionary step, as governments across the region reassess public gatherings amid the ongoing conflict and attacks by Iran.

With no quick end in sight for the Middle East conflict and key shipping routes being strangled, the World Food Programme has warned of “record levels of hunger,” CNN reports.

It said an additional 45 million people could fall into acute hunger as the conflict escalates, pushing the global total to 363m people.

“As violence escalates, displacement, rising prices and disrupted food systems are pushing families closer towards hunger in the region and far beyond,” the WFP said on its website.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that the Islamic republic has continued to produce missiles despite the war with Israel and the United States, according to AFP.

“Our missile industry deserves a perfect score… and there is no concern in this regard, because even under wartime conditions we continue missile production,” Guards spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini said, quoted by the Fars news agency.

Israel has struck towns in southern Lebanon, causing multiple injuries, Al Jazeera reports, citing the country’s state media National News Agency (NNA).

“Israeli enemy fighter jets struck at dawn, targeting the towns of Bafliyeh and Hanine in the Tyre and Bint Jbeil districts,” NNA said, adding that Israeli forces had hit five other towns in the south of the country.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Health has said that Israeli attacks have killed 1,001 people in Lebanon since March 2, including 79 women, 118 children and 40 healthcare workers. More than 2,584 people have been wounded.