War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Azerbaijan has rejected a CNN report claiming that Israel secretly deployed military and intelligence personnel on its territory for operations against Iran, calling the allegations “completely unfounded”, according to Al Jazeera.

The foreign ministry has said in a statement that Azerbaijan has repeatedly denied such claims and that its official position was communicated to CNN in advance of the article’s publication. It has accused the network of relying on anonymous sources and disregarding Baku’s official response, saying this contradicts “the principles of objectivity, impartiality, and professional ethics of journalism”.

“We have never permitted and will never permit such activities,” the statement says, adding that Azerbaijan is committed to promoting peace, stability, and good neighbourly relations in the region.

The ministry has demanded that CNN retract the article.

The CNN report claims that Israel deployed several dozen elite troops and Mossad personnel to locations in southern Azerbaijan near the Iranian border during the war on Iran. The report alleged that the forces conducted intelligence-gathering and drone operations, and that one of the operations launched from Azerbaijani territory was the March 4 killing of a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence commander.

US Central Command (Centcom) has rejected Iranian claims that its forces fired “warning shots” at American warships in the Gulf of Oman, forcing them to retreat.

In a post on X, Centcom writes, “Iranian forces did not attack or fire at US Navy warships. Doing so would be a gross violation of the ceasefire. US forces continue to operate freely in regional waters while fully enforcing the ongoing blockade against Iran.”

Iran has submitted the passports of its national football team members to the US Embassy in the Turkish capital of Ankara as part of the visa process ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Anadolu reports citing Iranian Football Federation President Mehdi Taj.

Speaking to Iran state television, Taj says FIFA requested that the passports be delivered to the embassy.

“Yesterday, FIFA asked us to submit the passports of Iran’s national football team members to the US Embassy in Ankara, and we did so,” Taj says, adding that the federation is awaiting a decision on the visa applications and expects clarity within the next two days.

“We are waiting today and tomorrow to see whether US visas will be issued for the national team members,” he adds, noting that the squad must secure the visas before travelling to the Mexican city of Tijuana.

Despite the uncertainty, Taj expresses confidence that all members of the delegation would receive visas.

“My assessment is that visas will be issued for all members of Iran’s national football team travelling to the United States,” he says.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has urged Iran to stop treating his country, where Israel and Hezbollah are at war, as a “bargaining chip” in its negotiations with Washington on the Middle East conflict, AFP reports.

“If I may address a word to Iran, it is this: have mercy on our south, stop treating it and its people as merely a bargaining chip to improve the terms of your negotiations,” Salam tells a press conference for a UN aid appeal for Lebanon.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has dismissed the idea of his country’s supreme leader meeting Donald Trump, after the US president floated the prospect, AFP reports.

On Wednesday, Trump told The New York Post: “Yeah, I’d like to meet him,” when he was asked about a possible encounter, adding that “we probably will meet at some point, depending on how it all works out”.

Iran’s top diplomat, however, played down the chances in an interview with Lebanese media aired on Thursday night, suggesting it was not realistic.

“I saw a report which apparently said that he (Trump) had stated that he was ready for a meeting or that he wanted to hold a meeting,” Araghchi has told the Al Mayadeen television channel. “I think we should be realistic and think and live in the real world.”

The ambassadors of Iran, China, and Russia to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have had a joint meeting with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi in Geneva to discuss the agenda for the agency’s upcoming Board of Governors meeting, Al Jazeera reports.

The representatives — Iran’s Reza Najafi, China’s Li Song, and Russia’s Mikhail Ulyanov – have reviewed issues expected to be raised at the board session, according to Iran’s state-linked Mehr News Agency.

Iran’s navy says it fired warning missiles and drones at US warships in the Gulf of Oman, accusing the US Navy of harassing maritime traffic and seizing commercial vessels and oil tankers, Reuters reports citing Iranian state media.

The exchange comes amid heightened tensions over maritime security around Iran, as Washington enforces sanctions on Iranian oil shipments and Tehran has repeatedly threatened shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

Egypt has condemned an attack on a United Nations peacekeeping position in southern Lebanon, which killed a Serbian soldier and wounded two others from Spain and El Salvador, as violence along the Israeli-Lebanese border continues, Al Jazeera reports.

The Egyptian foreign ministry says in a statement that it “absolutely rejects” any targeting of Unifil forces and calls for the protection of peacekeepers so they can carry out their mandated duties in support of stability in Lebanon.

Cairo has offered condolences to Serbia and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded.

Japan has passed $19 billion in additional spending, as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government seeks to ease pressure on households struggling with soaring everyday costs driven by the Middle East war, AFP reports.

The 3.1 trillion-yen extra budget cleared the parliament — dominated by Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party — sailing through the upper house by 148 votes to 94.

The budget had been approved by Takaichi’s cabinet on Tuesday. She has said the money will go towards easing petrol, electricity and gas costs.

Takaichi announced the supplementary budget plan last month, saying “the situation in the Middle East remains uncertain”.

It was drafted “to ensure we’re fully prepared financially”, she states.

However, Takaichi also says the government expects to secure a stable supply of oil through to next spring. She added that alternative supplies of naphtha, an oil by-product used in a wide range of industries, from outside the Middle East, have recovered to more than 80 per cent of previous levels.

US forces have conducted an overnight interdiction of the sanctioned stateless vessel M/T Davina in the Indian Ocean, Reuters reports citing US Indo-Pacific Command.

“We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate,” it writes in an X post.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says that Moscow supports ongoing negotiations between Iran and the United States and that any potential agreement must take into account the interests of Iran and its neighbours, Al Jazeera reports.

In an interview with Izvestia, a Russian state-aligned newspaper, Lavrov says Washington recognises the tensions with Iran and is disturbed by the situation, but does not know how to resolve it.

“Of course, they themselves are primarily responsible for this situation,” he adds. “But in any case, we fully support the negotiations taking place in one way or another between officials in Washington and Tehran with Pakistani mediation.”

Lavrov further says Saudi Arabia and Egypt are also trying to contribute to the process.

“It is very important that these dialogues continue,” he adds. “Any agreement reached must take into account the interests of Iran and its neighbouring countries”.

Lebanon’s parliament speaker Nabih Berri says he will agree to the withdrawal of Hezbollah from southern Lebanon if Israeli troops simultaneously leave the territory they currently occupy in the country, Reuters reports.

In written comments distributed by his office, Berri criticises the US-mediated ceasefire framework announced this week as “unfair”, saying it should have included an “unconditional ceasefire by land, sea and air.”

He adds that he “agrees to … Hezbollah’s withdrawal from south of the Litani River, in parallel with the Israeli withdrawal from the areas it occupied.”

Lebanon’s judiciary has charged two anti-Hezbollah activists in absentia with inciting Israeli attacks against the group and sentenced them to 15 years in prison, a judicial official has told AFP.

The official, who requested anonymity, said the two individuals, Ahmed Yassine and Joumana Gebara, both living outside Lebanon, were charged with “collaborating with Israel and inciting it to continue its military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon” by the military tribunal in a trial that began in November 2024.

Yassine, a Paris-based university professor, is accused of “inciting the Israeli army to bomb the historic Baalbek Citadel by disseminating information claiming that the citadel housed Hezbollah weapons depots”.

Yassine also has a YouTube channel where he shares political commentary to more than 140,000 subscribers.

Gebara is accused of “praising Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee and thanking him for the bombings of Lebanon, as well as calling for normalisation with Israel” during the previous Israel-Hezbollah war in 2024, the official said.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that “standing against the world’s greatest power, equipped with nuclear weapons, for 40 days is no joke”, and that “the world has realised the true power of the Iranian nation”, Al Jazeera reports.

Speaking in comments carried by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Araghchi also issued a direct warning to regional states.

“We warned regional states that US bases used for any aggression against Iran are legitimate targets,” he said.

Hezbollah says it has launched three attacks on Israeli military positions in southern Lebanon over a 24-hour period, Al Jazeera reports.

In statements issued via Telegram, the group reported a rocket salvo targeting Israeli soldiers on the outskirts of Wadi al-Hujayr, an area east of the coastal town of Tyre near the Litani River, at 9pm local time (11pm PKT) on Thursday.

It later claimed two separate artillery barrages against gatherings of Israeli vehicles and troops on the outskirts of the town of Haddatha – located northeast of Tyre near the Israeli border, the first at 11:30pm (1:30am PKT) and the second at 12:30am (2:30am PKT) on Friday.

The attacks follow Israeli airstrikes and shelling across southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah is acting against the wishes of the Lebanese government and people under direct Iranian instruction, Lebanese MP Najat Aoun Saliba says, alleging Tehran’s intervention is “a threat to Lebanese sovereignty”, Al Jazeera reports.

“Iran made its opinion about the agreement and the direct negotiations known before Hezbollah even had its say, and that is very dangerous,” Saliba has told Al Jazeera.

“This shows how much Iran is interfering in and effectively imposing decisions on Hezbollah.”

Saliba says the Lebanese government have spoken clearly. “They said, ‘We want Lebanese-led negotiations, we want to choose the least damaging and least costly pathway, and that is why we are pursuing direct negotiations.”

Instead, Hezbollah is acting as Iran’s proxy and transferring the US-Iran war from Iranian territory to Lebanese soil, says Saliba.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that Iran is “committed to fostering sustainable, constructive ties with Saudi Arabia”, IRIB reports.

“Standing against the world’s greatest power, equipped with nuclear weapons, for 40 days is no joke. World has realised the true power of the Iranian nation,” Araghchi was quoted as saying.

An Israeli drone strike killed Muhammad Naeem Daher in southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s National News Agency reports.

The agency said the drone targeted Daher inside his car in his hometown of Kfar Remman, in the Nabatieh district.

The Middle East conflict is pushing millions of people closer to hunger, as rising fuel and transport costs drive up food prices while funding shortfalls force aid agencies to scale back assistance, the UN World Food Programme said, AFP reports.

Joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February triggered a regional conflict stretching across the Gulf and into Lebanon, disrupting key shipping routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, forcing vessels to reroute and sharply constraining global energy flows and supply chains.

Israel has launched another wave of deadly attacks across southern Lebanon, killing several people and hitting residential areas, roads and towns before dawn, Lebanon’s official National News Agency reports according to Al Jazeera.

The agency said Israeli warplanes struck Doueir, destroying a residential building and killing a young man. Another person suffered critical injuries.

In Haboush, two people were killed in separate strikes on the same town. Another Israeli strike on Qalawiya Tower killed one person and wounded another.

Israeli aircraft also bombed Nabatieh al-Fawqa, Zibdine, Shoukin and Jebchit, as artillery fire hit Kfar Tebnit, Kfar Remman and areas around Mayfadoun.

Near Tyre, Israeli warplanes struck close to Jabal Amel Hospital, targeting the Bank Audi area. In Khiam, Israeli forces carried out a heavy machine-gun sweep and a major demolition operation in Bab al-Thaniya.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Imran Riza, the UN Resident Coordinator in Lebanon, discuss the ongoing preparations to launch a new emergency appeal to assist the country in addressing the humanitarian consequences of the war.

In a post on social media platform X, the Lebanese presidency said, “The appeal aims to secure urgent assistance for displaced persons and those affected by the conflict.”

Israel’s military has also warned residents of south Lebanon’s Sarafand, a town on the coastal road between Tyre and Sidon, to immediately evacuate ahead of expected attacks against Hezbollah, AFP reports.

“In light of the terrorist Hezbollah’s violation of the ceasefire agreement and its targeting of Israel’s home front, the Israel Defence Forces are compelled to act against it forcefully, especially in your areas,” the military’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X, listing six towns and villages including Sarafand and Saksakiyeh, which is also on the coastal road.

He added: “Out of concern for your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move north of the Zahrani River,” which runs some 40 kilometres north of the border.