War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

News service Lebanon24 reports that Israel has shelled the town of Zoutar al-Sharqiya in southern Lebanon, though no casualties have been reported from today’s attack, according to Al Jazeera.

Saudi Arabia’s Directorate of Civil Defence has lifted a warning issued earlier in the kingdom’s Najran city.

Iraq produces more than 5 million barrels of oil per day (bpd), Oil Minister Basim Mohammed tells state news agency INA, according to Reuters.

Iraq is pushing for a higher OPEC production quota as the economic fallout from the Iran war and new investment by oil majors increase pressure on Baghdad to boost output, potentially putting it at odds with the producer group.

The conflict has hit Iraq particularly hard, forcing major export cuts and depriving the state of oil revenue, which accounted for 88 per cent of government income last year, compared with about 55pc in Saudi Arabia.

Two media outlets affiliated with Yemen’s Houthis claim that the death toll in Saudi strikes on Yemen’s Sanaa province has risen to 22, AFP reports.

“The number of victims of the Saudi enemy warplane massacre in the Al-Shariya area… has risen to 22 citizens, most of them children and women, while the number of wounded has risen to 30,” the Houthis’ Saba news agency reports, with the group’s Al-Masirah TV reporting the same toll.

Iran’s navy has said an oil tanker caught fire after hitting a naval mine in the eastern Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media reports, according to Reuters.

Houthi media claims that Saudi strikes have killed 11 people, including women and children, in Yemen’s Sanaa province, AFP reports.

“Martyrdom of 11 citizens, among them women and children, in Saudi enemy airstrikes” on homes in the Al-Shariyah area of Sanaa province, the Saba news agency says, adding that operations to recover victims from the rubble are ongoing and that “aircraft targeted paramedics with two strikes”.

An IRGC spokesperson has hinted at the possible unveiling of new weapons if hostilities with the United States and Israel resume, saying Tehran has “surprises that will astonish the entire world”.

In an speech shared by Russian broadcaster RT, the spokesperson said a potential third round of fighting could see the weapons deployed on the battlefield.

The spokesperson also claimed that Iran had transformed from an arms importer into an exporter, producing and selling domestically developed missiles, drones and air defence systems to countries around the world.

He further claimed that Iran’s Shahed drones had influenced drone development elsewhere, saying the US and other countries had copied Iranian technology.

The United States has urged its citizens in the Middle East to exercise heightened vigilance amid an increased threat of armed attacks by Houthis and Iranian efforts to target US government officials in the region.

It also warned of possible flight cancellations, airspace closures and travel disruptions, advising Americans to follow country-specific security alerts.

The Israeli army has carried out artillery shelling and a demolition in the village of Bani Haiyyan in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese media, with no casualties reported.

Qatar, the lead mediator in the US-Iran conflict, is seeking to persuade Tehran to allow UN nuclear weapons inspectors to visit Iran’s bombed nuclear sites, including those housing the country’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, The Guardian reports.

Iran would not be required to make any commitment that the stockpile would be removed from the country, with other options on the table, including reducing the uranium content by down-blending it.

Iran’s Armed Forces have control over the Strait of Hormuz, which will remain closed until the United States accepts Tehran’s conditions, Army spokesperson Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia has said.

Speaking Friday evening at a ceremony in Pishva County, Tehran Province, honoring commanders and pilots killed in the June 5, 1963 uprising, he said Iran’s Army, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and Law Enforcement Command were better prepared after direct confrontation with the United States and the Israeli regime.

He said public support had boosted military morale. Before the war, about 130 ships crossed the strait daily, carrying 20 percent of global oil, plus jet fuel and chemical fertilisers.

Egyptian FM Badr Abdelatty says that he has discussed with Saudi FM Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud the need to sustain joint efforts to prevent escalation, restore calm, and pursue the path of negotiations during a phone call, Al Jazeera reports.

Spokesperson for the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi has reacted to remarks by the commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM) about the transformation of multimillion-dollar American MQ drones into kamikaze unmanned aerial vehicles.

In the latest episode of a podcast produced by CENTCOM, Brad Cooper said he would explain how the US military “turned our highly advanced multimillion-dollar MQ-1 and MQ-9 drones into kamikaze drones.”

Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted, destroyed Houthi cruise missile that targeted Riyadh region, Anadolu reports.

Iran’s air defence force has shot down two US MQ-9 drones over Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s state-run Press TV reports.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported earlier that local witnesses said two projectiles hit the Suza area of Qeshm Island.

Qatar’s Prime Minister said the country’s mediation efforts between the US and Iran were continuing to prevent the situation in the region from spiraling out of control, Al Jazeera TV reports.

The US administration remained willing to find a solution even after the midterm elections, signalling that Washington’s interest in reaching an agreement had not changed, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said.

Significant progress had been made and Al-Thani expressed confidence that a settlement could be reached.

Washington is offering a $20 million reward “and possible relocation” for information about Iran’s nuclear program, the US military said, as President Donald Trump reiterated Tehran wants to make a deal to end the war.

A State Department program, Rewards for Justice, “is offering a reward of up to $20 million and possible relocation for information about Iran’s nuclear program, including its facilities, equipment, and associated personnel, such as those in the scientific community,” US Central Command said on X.

In its statement about the reward, the State Department said Iran’s “lack of compliance with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) on safeguards obligations has led to the agency’s loss of ‘continuity of knowledge’ regarding Iran’s production and inventory of key components like centrifuges.

It gave no specific parameters on what information would yield a $20 million reward.

Iran’s military is “stronger” and more motivated than it was when the United States and Israel started the war in February, Iranian state media reported on Saturday, citing an army spokesman.

“Today, the Islamic Republic’s armed forces… having gained experience from direct confrontation with the United States and the Israeli regime, are on higher alert and are stronger than they were at the beginning of the war. They now possess greater motivation, commitment, and self-confidence,” Mohammad Akraminia said, according to the state news agency IRNA.

Qatar has refuted “false and misleading” reports quoting its prime minister and foreign minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, as saying that the US and Iran had failed to reach an agreement.

“His Excellency’s remarks have been deliberately distorted by those who benefit from continued war and instability in our region,” an official statement by Qatar’s media office said.

“Many of these claims are being spread by fake accounts trying to undermine diplomatic efforts and push for further escalation. This is deeply irresponsible.”

The statement noted that the Qatari PM said both sides were continuing to work towards a deal.

“Qatari mediators remain in close coordination with the United States and Iran to support ongoing negotiations.”

The United States has issued new Iran-related sanctions, a notice on the US Treasury Department’s website shows, according to Reuters.

US President Donald Trump told reporters his administration was talking to representatives from Tehran, adding “we are doing very well with Iran”, Reuters reports.

Iran’s ambassador to Germany has criticised European countries’ positions regarding the US and Israel’s aggression against Iran, urging them to take responsibility for their decisions, state-run IRNA reports.

“Europeans apparently have forgotten that by resorting to the snapback mechanism instead of diplomacy, they paved the way for aggression against Iran, the victimisation of innocent people, and the Strait of Hormuz crisis,” Majid Nili said on Friday.

“Israel and, in fact, the entire Middle East, WOULD NOT EXIST TODAY if I did not stop Iran from having a Nuclear Weapon,” US President Donald Trump has claimed on his Truth Social platform.

“Nobody wants to say that, but everybody knows it’s true!”

The Foreign Office has said all 25 crew members on board Al Maida, a Qatari LNG carrier struck last week, remained safe in the incident.

FO Spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan, responding to a query, said Pakistanis were among the crew of the vessel, which was hit while “transiting eastbound through the Persian Gulf in international waters”.

“The incident caused a small fire on board, but all crew members remained unharmed,” he said, adding that the vessel returned to Qatar.

“The concerned Pakistani authorities are coordinating with the relevant parties to establish further details of the incident,” he added, noting that although the incident had caused a small fire on the tanker, no one was harmed.