War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

President Donald Trump says the United States will probably take over the Strait of Hormuz and should be reimbursed for controlling the vital waterway, Reuters reports.

“We’re going to keep the strait, and we’ll probably run it. We’ll become the guardian of the strait. Maybe we’ll call it the guardian angel of the strait. And we should be reimbursed for that,” he says in a phone interview on Fox News’ ‘Fox & Friends’ programme.

US strikes have killed in southwestern Iran in an oil-producing region near Kuwait and Iraq, AFP reports citing the Fars and Tasnim news agencies.

“At this time, two people have been reported dead and three wounded,” the agencies report, citing a Khuzestan province official, who mentioned strikes in “three different locations” on the outskirts of the city of Abadan.

World oil prices have surged as a fresh flare-up between the United States and Iran rattles investors, AFP reports.

As of 1100 GMT (4pm PKT) Brent North Sea Crude is 3.4 per cent at $78.55 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate is up 3.5pc at $73.92 a barrel.

“While (oil) prices are still not at crisis levels, the creep upwards will ignite fresh inflationary worries and concerns about how far higher interest rates could move,” notes Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club.

“That’s being reflected in the bond markets, with yields on gilts and US Treasuries rising.”

The United Kingdom has proscribed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation, Reuters reports citing Sky News.

According to the British broadcaster, ministers fast-tracked the National Security (State Threats) Bill, promised by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, after a spate of attacks on the Jewish community in the UK.

Under the bill, it is now a punishable offence to “invite support for, or express an opinion or belief that is supportive of, the IRGC; assist the IRGC in carrying out UK-related activities or engage in conduct likely to materially assist it; [or] accept or retain a material benefit provided by or on behalf of the IRGC”.

According to Sky News, the aim is to “disrupt individuals who promote the interests and objectives of designated bodies”.

It adds that breaching the new law could lead to a maximum of 14 years in prison and/or a fine.

Iranian state TV says Iran fired “warning shots” at two ships in Hormuz, AFP reports.

Iranian media previously reported blasts near the Strait of Hormuz.

Bahrain’s military says its air defence systems intercepted Iranian missile and drone attacks and has accused Tehran of systematically targeting civilians and private property, Al Jazeera reports.

All military units have been placed on high alert to protect the kingdom, while the public has been warned not to approach suspicious debris and to report it immediately, a statement said.

The army denounced “several treacherous Iranian aerial attacks this morning” on the Gulf state.

Bahraini forces are at “advanced combat readiness”, it said, praising the “high vigilance demonstrated by its valiant personnel in performing their sacred national duty of defending the homeland”.

Intermittent artillery fire is under way between the towns of Nabatieh al-Fawqa and Kfar Tebnit in the southern Lebanon, according to the National News Agency as reported by Al Jazeera.

The Lebanese Health Ministry says more than 4,300 people have been killed — including hundreds of children — with another 12,200 wounded since Israel launched its invasion of the south on March 2.

Explosions of unknown origin have been heard in southern Iran near the Strait of Hormuz, Mehr news agency reports according to AFP, following an exchange of attacks between Tehran and Washington.

“Media and residents reported having heard on Monday at midday explosions near Bandar Abbas and the island of Qeshm,” Mehr said, adding that the blasts “appear to be coming from the West Coast of Bandar Abbas”.

The United States has struck two water pumping stations in Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan and southern Bushehr provinces, temporarily disrupting water supply to Kharg Island, Iranian officials say, according to Press Tv.

One person was killed and four others injured after a US projectile struck an agricultural water pumping station in Mahshahr, Khuzestan province, according to a provincial official.

Abbas Sadrianfar, managing director of the Khuzestan Water and Electricity Organisation, said the RMD drainage pumping station in Hendijan, located between the cities of Mahshahr and Hendijan, was targeted by “the American-Zionist enemy” in the early hours of Monday.

New blasts have been heard around Iran’s southern Bandar Abbas city and Qeshm Island, Al Jazeera reports.

Beijing says the Strait of Hormuz is a waterway for international navigation and resuming free and safe passage serves the interests of all nations, Al Jazeera reports.

Speaking to reporters in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian has said passage through the strait should be “properly handled”.

Earlier, Iran’s ambassador to Beijing said ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz will be charged new fees but added China and other “friendly” countries will be granted “special considerations”.

Iran said it was continuing talks with mediators from Qatar, Pakistan and Oman in an effort to prevent any further escalation in its war with the United States, AFP reports.

“The role of the mediators is to continue their efforts to prevent an escalation of tensions,” said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.

Supplies of jet fuel in the European Union (EU) remain stable, despite ongoing market volatility linked to the conflict with Iran, the EU’s energy task force says, Reuters reports.

“The Task Force concluded that the supply of jet fuel remains overall stable so far. The supply of jet fuel in the EU has proven to be resilient in the face of geopolitical pressure, with increased EU refinery production and supplies secured from other regions around the world. The situation nonetheless remains volatile,” it has said in a statement.

European Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas says officials will meet Gulf nations to discuss security in the region, Al Jazeera reports.

Noting the Iran-US interim deal is “not really holding”, she says EU foreign ministers will discuss “what kind of messages we can send that the Strait of Hormuz has to be opened, freedom of navigation has to be respected, there cannot be no tolls, no fees for navigation there”.

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson says Iran has carried out its pledges under the memorandum of understanding with the United States, Al Jazeera reports.

“No one can accuse the Islamic Republic of Iran of violating its promises,” says Esmail Baqaei.

“In all cases our obligations and those of the other party are clear, and it can be proven in a documented manner that the other party has violated various parts of this memorandum of understanding under various pretexts.”

Iran has described US Senator Lindsey Graham, known for his hostile stance towards Tehran and his support for the war, as “malicious”, a day after his sudden death at 71.

“Our people will not mourn a man whose philosophy on life was aggression and intimidation,” says foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.

“His entire being was malicious,” he adds, after several state television anchors welcomed Graham’s death in broadcasts aired Sunday.

Baqaei says pursuing justice for the assassination of former supreme leader Ali Khamenei is “a serious principle” for the Iranian government, Al Jazeera reports.

“The government has a clear duty. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is part of this process,” he has said at a news conference in Tehran.

“We will use all legal and international tools and opportunities at the international level to document their [US-Israeli] crimes and to pursue the implementation of justice,” Baqaei has added.

The deputy governor of Isfahan has said that one person has been killed after a US attack on a military base in the city of Nain, Al Jazeera reports.

Seven people have also been injured and are receiving outpatient treatment.

This is the second death reported in Iran today.

Iranian media reported earlier that one person was killed and four others wounded in a US attack on an agricultural water pumping station in Mahshahr.

France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, has told French media there would be “no lifting of sanctions” on Iran as long as it hasn’t “renounced its nuclear programme”, Al Jazeera reports.

Last month, Barrot said Paris wanted to play a role in talks dealing with Iran’s nuclear efforts and would not approve the lifting of UN sanctions unless it’s satisfied by the terms of a final peace agreement in the US-Israeli war on Iran.

France is a veto-wielding member of the United Nations Security Council.

Iran has entered “every negotiation with meticulousness and seriousness, keeping in mind the interests and concerns of the Iranian nation”, says Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei, as reported by Al Jazeera.

“Once an understanding has been reached, it has acted in good faith and seriousness in fulfilling its commitments,” Baqaei has told reporters in Tehran.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has never been the first to violate its commitments.”

Iran will no longer abide by the memorandum of understanding signed with the United States if Washington fails to uphold its commitments to end the war, he has added.

“Each time that the other party has failed to meet its obligations, we did not uphold ours… We will continue to act in this manner,” says Baqaei.

Iran is trying to agree a joint mechanism with Oman for the Strait of Hormuz but US pressure on Oman has hindered efforts, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said, according to Reuters.

Major stock markets in the Gulf have retreated as hostilities escalate across the region and Iran asserts that it has sealed the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices higher and reigniting global inflation fears.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index has eased 0.2 per cent, with oil major Saudi Aramco falling 0.5pc. Meanwhile, Brent crude futures climbed $3.10, or 4.08pc, to $79.11 by 0325 GMT.

Dubai’s main share index declined 1.4pc, dragged by a 2.6pc slide in the top lender, Emirates NBD.DU> and a 1.4pc decrease in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties.

In Abu Dhabi, the index fell 0.5pc, with Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank losing 2.1pc.

Europe has imported jet fuel from the US and Asia, raised its refiners’ output and drawn ​on stocks to keep planes flying – and yet it remains the region most exposed as renewed Middle Eastern tension raises the risk of further ‌supply disruption.

Britain, France and Germany are particularly vulnerable in a continent where decades of refinery closures left it more reliant than most on Middle Eastern shipments via the Strait of Hormuz.

Read more from Reuters here.

The Tasnim news agency reports that the drone was a US-manufactured “Lucas” suicide drone, and it was “accurately hit and shot down”.