War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

A senior Hezbollah official has told AFP that the Iran-backed group has had “no direct contact” with President Donald Trump, despite recent statements from the US leader suggesting otherwise.

Senior Hezbollah official Mahmud Qomati told AFP in written remarks that “there has been no direct contact between President Trump and Hezbollah officials”. He said Trump “perhaps” was referring to the fact that parliament speaker Nabih Berri’s adviser “communicates with the US ambassador and passes on messages”.

Berri, who heads the Shia Amal movement and acts as an intermediary for ally Hezbollah, met US Ambassador Michel Issa again today.

Trump’s suggestion of direct contact with Hezbollah “shows to what extent the US administration is ready to abandon the Lebanese authorities at the least indication of contact with strong and influential parties in Lebanon”, Qomati said.

Iran has announced the end of its military operations against Israel, the unified command of armed forces said, but warned of harsher attacks if Israel continues strikes on Lebanon, Reuters reports.

IRGC’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters announced that the military operations have been suspended following “Iran’s firm retaliation” against Israel.

“Nevertheless, it stresses that any continuation of hostilities and wrongdoing — particularly in southern Lebanon — will be met with far harsher and more devastating actions than those previously taken,” IRNA quoted the IRGC as saying.

India expects prices of both oil and gas to drop in the coming months, with enough stocks available despite the US-Israeli war with Iran that has squeezed energy supplies, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told broadcaster CNN-News18, Reuters reports.

Oil prices cannot remain at their current height for “a very long time” and are expected to fall in the months ahead, Puri said.

The situation, however, may become “worrying” if the Gulf crisis expands to other theatres, he said, adding that New Delhi has oil and gas reserves to last 76-80 days.

Indian state retailers have raised fuel prices four times since mid-May to offset the impact of supply disruptions caused by the war, after holding off earlier amid state elections.

Petrol price is now about 7.8pc higher, while diesel is up 8.6pc.

Germany is not experiencing any shortage of jet fuel or of other fuels as a result of an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, a government spokesperson says, according to Reuters.

US President Donald Trump says that both Israel and Iran are looking to do an “immediate ceasefire”.

In a post on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote, “Final negotiations on ‘Peace’ are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way. The blockade will remain in place, and in full force and effect, until a ‘final deal’ is reached. Things should move quickly”.

Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos says the toll since fighting between Israel and Hezbollah renewed on March 2 includes three police, one member of the general security directorate, and 13 state security members, Al Jazeera reports.

The released death toll comes two days after an Israeli air strike on a vehicle in southern Lebanon killed three members of the Lebanese army, including a brigadier general and a captain. Also killed was a member of the parliament’s security team.

A total of 3,613 Lebanese people have been killed, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Israel has carried out nearly 3,500 air strikes on Lebanon and hundreds of controlled explosions since the US announced a ceasefire for the country on April 16, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has said, Reuters reports.

In comments published by his office on X after a cabinet meeting, Salam said that from April 17 to June 7, Israel had carried out 3,491 air strikes, 407 controlled demolitions and six “razing” operations, or demolitions — which have left some entire villages in the southernmost strip of Lebanon entirely flattened.

Salam said Lebanon was striving to uphold the ceasefire but that the latest escalation between Iran and Israel had caused additional waves of displacement, straining Lebanon’s ability to host fleeing families.

Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos says 29 Lebanese army members killed in Israeli strikes since March. The toll includes three police, one member of the general security directorate, and 13 state security members, according to Al Jazeera.

A total of 3,613 Lebanese people have been killed, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Speaking to reporters, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says the bloc has imposed sanctions on Iranian individuals and entities for threatening the freedom of maritime traffic, Reuters reports.

She did not immediately provide any further details.

US President Donald Trump has called on both Israel and Iran to stop attacking each other.

“Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting’,” he said in a brief post on his Truth Social platform.

Iran fired nearly 30 missiles towards Israel since night, an Israeli military official said, marking the first exchange of fire between the two countries since a truce in April, AFP reports.

“Last night the Iranian regime began firing ballistic missiles towards Israel… they fired close to 30 ballistic missiles towards Israel,” the official told journalists on Monday, adding that Yemen’s Houthi rebels separately fired two missiles at the country.

Flights from Iran’s Shahid Ayatollah Dastgheib Airport in the city of Shiraz have been paused because of the “current circumstances”, Al Jazeera reports, citing Iran’s semi-official news agency Mehr.

The flights will be cancelled until 8pm local time (9:30pm PKT), it said.

A drone of the “US-Zionist enemy” was targeted and destroyed by Iran’s air defence in the skies over Tehran, Al Jazeera reports, citing Mehr news agency.

The sound of explosions was also heard in the city of Isfahan, it said.

The Gulf crisis expanding to other areas could create new problems and be worrying, Indian Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told local broadcaster CNN-News18, adding that New Delhi has total oil and gas reserves to last 76-80 days, Reuters reports.

“It may remain a conflict not confined to that theatre… you know you could have problems elsewhere. Maybe some other theatre starts off. That would be worrying,” Puri said, referring to the crisis in the Gulf.

A huge blast has rocked central Tehran, an AFP journalist reports, followed by repeated explosions believed to be from air defence systems in the capital.

The initial explosion shook the premises of the foreign ministry in central Tehran, where an AFP journalist was attending a weekly press conference.

“It appears that the source of some of the noises is the activation of air defence systems in Tehran,” Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said.

Iran has said that Pakistan’s mediation efforts to end the war with the United States were continuing even after fighting resumed with Israel, AFP reports.

“Diplomatic consultations are naturally continuing in all circumstances,” said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that Iran has retaliated against US-Israeli attack on one of its petrochemical facilities, According to IRNA.

Iranian forces struck similar industrial targets in Haifa with missiles a short time ago.

Iran has said that the resumption of hostilities in the Middle East war will have consequences for ongoing talks with the United States to reach peace in the region.

“It is perfectly natural that the diplomatic process initiated to put an end to this imposed war would be affected,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said at a press conference in Tehran attended by AFP.

Brent crude prices surge more than five per cent after Israel and Iran exchanged strikes, testing a fragile truce and threatening hopes for a deal to end the Middle East crisis, according to AFP.

The contract for August jumps 5.1pc to $97.83 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate climbs 4.8pc to hit $94.85.

The Israeli military has claimed it struck and dismantled Iranian defence systems deployed across several areas in the country, AFP reports.

It said dozens of Air Force fighter jets, guided by Military Intelligence, completed “an extensive strike against strategic defence systems” of Iran a short while ago.

“Recently, defence systems were deployed in numerous areas across Iran as part of the regime’s efforts to restore its detection and defence capabilities, which were degraded during Operation Roaring Lion,” the military said.

“The strike led to the dismantling of these systems,” it insisted, adding that dozens of warplanes participated in the operation.

Esmail Baqaei further stressed that it had “been frequently repeated by us together with the Pakistani mediator that Lebanon is part and parcel of the [ceasefire] agreement”, according to Al Jazeera.

“We cannot allow the Zionist entity or the United States to undermine this part of the part of the deal,” he was quoted as saying.

“These events [of the past day] will definitely intensify suspicions. We were already exchanging messages with the American side in an atmosphere of extreme suspicion,” he noted.

“The US’s contradictions to date – whether intentional or unintentional – have caused enough chaos in the diplomatic process. The incidents that have occurred in the past 24 hours will only fuel this chaotic situation in the diplomatic process,” the foreign ministry spokesperson added.

China says it is “deeply concerned” by fresh attacks between Israel and Iran, expressing hope that a fragile truce in the Middle East war would be respected, AFP reports.

“Resuming hostilities is not in any party’s interest,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news briefing, adding: “It is hoped all relevant parties will fulfil their commitment to a ceasefire.”

Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency is reporting that there were no casualties following two Israeli strikes on the Karun petrochemical plant in Mahshahr, according to Al Jazeera.

It said the extent of the damage is still being assessed.

The Mahshahr Port Governorship has said it will decrease the number of office staff by 30 per cent.

“Employees will be present in all city-level offices at 30 per cent capacity starting today, and citizens should consider this issue in their inquiries,” Mehr news agency reported.

It added that emergency services and electricity, water, and gas relief centres would be exempt from this directive.

Foreign ⁠⁠ministry ⁠⁠spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei has reiterated Iran’s stance that IAEA chief Rafael Grossi continues to disregard the realities of the conflict and holds biased views, harming the UN agency’s legitimacy.

“The director general of the agency is acting with bias. He is acting with deliberate bias against Iran and the Iranian nuclear issue,” Al Jazeera quoted Baqaei as saying.

Iran’s ‌‌foreign ⁠⁠ministry ⁠⁠spokesperson ⁠⁠Esmaeil Baqaei has said ⁠⁠the US holds ‌‌direct responsibility for the ⁠⁠current ceasefire ⁠⁠breaches and that ⁠⁠Israel’s actions ⁠⁠cannot ⁠⁠be ‌‌separated ‌‌from ‌‌US policies, Al Jazeera reports.

“The actions of the Zionist entity within the region cannot be looked at in isolation from the United States,” Baqaei said at a live press conference.

“No one believes that the Zionist regime will take any action without coordination with the United States,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying by IRIB.