War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

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.

At least 10 members of an Iraqi former paramilitary alliance were killed in US-Saudi strikes on their bases in the country, two alliance sources told AFP.

The strikes hit positions belonging to the Hashed al-Shaabi, or the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), “across several provinces, with the deadliest attack in Nineveh province, where at least 10 members were killed,” an official said, adding that the toll will likely rise.

The Jordanian Armed Forces says its air defences “dealt with five missiles coming from Iran that targeted the kingdom’s territory,” Al Jazeera reports.

It said the missiles were intercepted and shot down.

Tehran has ruled out Oman’s proposal for regional joint management of the Strait of Hormuz, saying it has no chance of success, a senior Iranian official told Reuters.

The US and Saudi Arabia are trying to pressure Oman to advance their “unrealistic plans” regarding the strategic strait, the official added.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has said she spoke to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi about the “situation in the Gulf, as well as Russia’s war against Ukraine, which Moscow has further intensified in recent days”.

“In the Gulf, the reprieve from fighting can buy mediators time to find a way back to diplomacy and prevent a return to full-scale war,” she said in a post on the social media platform X.

“I made it clear that the aggression against French diplomats in Tehran is unacceptable. All EU member states have condemned these actions,” she added. She added that it was also encouraging that the Ukrainian foreign minister spoke to Araghchi to “reduce tensions”.

“I reiterated my call on Iran to end its military support for Russia. Moscow is inflicting ever higher numbers of civilian casualties in Ukraine, and any supplies it receives are helping it kill more civilians. Ukraine has the right to defend itself,” she said.

Thirty-seven commodity ships passed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Tuesday, the highest number since July 19, preliminary shipping data showed, with only a few transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports.

Of the ships passing through, 20 ships entered the strait while 17 ships exited, according to ship-tracking data from analytics firm Kpler. None were very large crude carriers or liquefied natural gas tankers.