War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Crude prices have plunged by about 3 per cent, on course for steep weekly losses, as more oil tankers exit the Strait of Hormuz, easing supply concerns, even though a cargo vessel was hit near Oman on Thursday, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures fell by $2.42, or 3.2pc, to $72.84 a barrel by 1323 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate lost $1.97, or 2.7pc, to $69.95.

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has called for ending the ceasefire in Lebanon after four Israeli troops were wounded in the country’s south, Anadolu reports.

“There are soldiers who have been injured. We can strike and bomb hundreds of targets,” Ben-Gvir says, referring to a Thursday incident in which four Israeli soldiers were wounded in southern Lebanon, according to a report by Yedioth Ahronoth.

During a security cabinet meeting on Thursday, the extremist minister described the incident as “an opportunity for the agreement to collapse.”

Although his position did not appear to gain support during the meeting, other ministers reportedly voiced frustration over operational restrictions imposed on Israeli forces under the ceasefire arrangements in Lebanon.

The Israeli army claims to have killed seven Hezbollah members who allegedly transferred weapons near soldiers in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports.

In a statement on Telegram, the army claims it struck the alleged fighters near the so-called “security zone” in the al-Manzala area that was used as a “combat and observation post”.

The “security zone” is an area of southern Lebanon that Israeli forces are occupying north of the Israeli border.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates’ Foreign Minister, has discussed regional developments in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, according to the official WAM news agency.

“During the call, the overall situation in the region and the latest regional developments were discussed, following the agreement on the memorandum of understanding between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran and its signing by the two countries,” WAM reports.

The UAE’s top diplomat has stressed the importance of full commitment to the terms of the US-Iran agreement during the call, adding it will “ensure an immediate and comprehensive cessation of hostilities in the region, respect for the sovereignty of states and the principles of good neighborliness, strict adherence to international law, and the protection of maritime routes and freedom of international navigation, including ensuring the smooth flow of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, expressing his hope that the ongoing negotiations would lead to positive results that would lead to achieving sustainable security and stability in the region”.

The United Arab Emirates has issued a statement telling residents the situation was safe, moments after issuing an alert warning of a possible missile threat, Reuters reports.

It is not immediately clear what prompted the initial alert, which was like those issued at the height of the Iran war when Iranian missiles and drones targeted the UAE.

Fertiliser shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have begun picking up following an interim deal to end the Iran war, Reuters reports citing data, though analysts say it will take time before they return to pre-conflict levels and provide relief to the market.

Before the US and Israel launched the war on February 28, about a third of globally traded urea the world’s most widely used fertiliser and nearly half of seaborne sulphur, a key input, typically flowed through the strait. The near closure of the critical waterway for most of the conflict, however, sharply reduced those shipments.

Since the deal between Washington and Tehran was announced on June 15, around 640,000 metric tons of sulphur, critical for making fertilisers like diammonium phosphate (DAP), have left the strait for destinations including Indonesia, Morocco, Tanzania and China, according to the latest analysis of flows by price reporting agency Argus. That compares to a total of just 80,000 tons over the course of the three-and-a-half month war.

Some 427,000 tons of urea, meanwhile, have also transited the strait in the wake of the interim deal, versus 275,000 tons during the war, the latest data from consultants CRU shows.

Shipments of other key fertilisers like phosphates and the fertiliser input ammonia have also edged up post-deal.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has rejected a recent joint statement by the United States and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), affirming that IRan’s national security is not up for negotiation.

“There is no doubt that Iran, more than any other party, is concerned with the collective security of the region,” he writes on X.

“If the Gulf Cooperation Council believes that the solution to these concerns is to seek refuge with the greatest violator of regional security, then it defeats its own purpose. It is a bitter irony and a discouraging sign that no lessons have been learned from the painful experiences of recent times.”

Baghaei adds that Iran’s “southern neighbours” should be asked why they themselves “violated the principle of good neighbourliness and the fundamental rules of international law by assisting in the act of aggression against a fellow Muslim neighbour, and why they allowed their territory to be used against Iran or missiles to be launched from it”.

He questions why the GCC is ignoring the purchase and stockpiling of hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of advanced weaponry, repeated acts of aggression by Israel against countries in the region and its nuclear arsenal, which is “entirely outside any form of international oversight”.

“It should be clear to everyone that Iran’s military capabilities are the guarantor of the Iranian nation’s inherent right to legitimate self-defence against aggression and criminal acts, while at the same time serving as a source of peace and stability in the region,” Baghaei writes.

“The country’s national security and dignity are not subject to negotiation or conditionality. Just as the inherent right of legitimate self-defence can never be a subject of negotiations, the means of exercising that right cannot be a matter for compromise with any party,” he adds.

Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom plans to send staff back to Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant in the coming weeks if the situation there remains stable, its Chief Executive Officer Alexei Likhachev says, according to Reuters.

Rosatom, which is building two new units at Bushehr, evacuated hundreds of staff after the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warns that any Iranian attack on Israel will be Tehran’s “biggest mistake”, according to Reuters.

Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani said on Thursday that if Israel did not withdraw voluntarily from south Lebanon, it would eventually be forced to leave in defeat.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says that the agency has already begun technical work with Iranian authorities and hopes to be in Iran “soon,” adding that differing public statements by the US and Iran reflect “political positioning”, Anadolu reports.

“There is a bit of a war of statements here,” Rafael Grossi says, adding that the US-Iran agreement also covers sanctions, territorial integrity, the use of force, economic incentives and freedom of navigation.

Grossi says the IAEA has started technical discussions with Iranian authorities to determine inspection arrangements, including the frequency of inspections, sites to be visited and procedures.

Iran’s official Press TV reports that a communication line has been established to “prevent incidents in [the] Strait of Hormuz that might lead to a military confrontation”.

“The line has been established according to the final statement of the talks in Switzerland, issued by the two mediators,” the broadcaster writes on X. “Iran emphasises that, in accordance with the agreement, any passage through the strait must be conducted via the routes announced by Iran.”

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has warned that passage through the world’s energy chokepoint, the Strait of Hormuz, “is only possible via routes announced by Iran,” Al Jazeera reports citing state broadcaster IRIB.

“The only law that governs this region is still the law of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Revolutionary Guards Navy,” a reporter from the state broadcaster says.

Israeli forces have dropped leaflets over a town in southern Lebanon ordering residents to leave, Lebanese state media reports, in a first such order issued since the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, according to Reuters.

The town lies near the boundary of the area occupied by Israeli troops inside southern Lebanon, as designated by Israel.

At least three foreign oil tankers that attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz “without authorisation” have turned back after a warning from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Al Jazeera reports citing state TV.

Yesterday, a Singapore-flagged vessel came under attack from an unknown projectile, prompting the UN to call off its mission to rescue 11,000 sailors in the Strait of Hormuz.

Tehran has not claimed the attack, but has issued multiple warnings against transiting the waterway without Iran’s authorisation.

Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, says that the stability of Gulf Arab states “is indebted to Iran’s century-long management of the Strait of Hormuz”, adding that “the West has brought nothing to the region but plunder and violence,” according to Al Jazeera.

In a post on X, Velayati writes, “These political minors of the periphery should not be comforted by commissioned statements; know this, your survival feeds off the scraps of this table.

“In the great realignment, peripheral minor players have no seat at the table,” he adds. “They are eliminated, and their strategic survival is at the mercy of Tehran’s tolerance.”

A complete Israeli withdrawal from all Lebanese territory must be included in any “declaration of principles” that could emerge from ongoing negotiations in Washington, a senior Lebanese official says.

Speaking to Anadolu on condition of anonymity, the official says the Lebanese delegation remains committed to securing a full Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon under a defined timetable.

“The insistence on a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory according to a timetable, and Lebanon’s adherence to this position, led to the extension of the negotiations by an additional day,” the source adds.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun has welcomed the Iran-US MoU in a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, IRNA reports.

Cho has emphasised his country’s support for diplomatic efforts aimed at maintaining peace and stability in the region, as well as ensuring safe shipping.

For his part, Araghchi has briefed his South Korean counterpart on the latest developments in the negotiation process, highlighting the progress made in implementing the agreed-upon measures and the consultations that have taken place within this framework.

Japan has announced an emergency grant of $15m to support worsening humanitarian conditions in Iran, Lebanon and the occupied West Bank, its foreign ministry says in a statement, Al Jazeera reports.

The aid will be delivered through international organisations, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and focus on healthcare, food, shelter and water and sanitation services.

An additional $640,000 will be provided through Japan Platform to support NGO-led relief efforts in Lebanon.

In a statement issued, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said the Singapore-flagged container vessel Ever Lovely, which was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, has safely completed its passage through the strategic waterway, Al Jazeera reports.

“The vessel has since completed its transit through the Strait of Hormuz and is proceeding on its voyage,” the authority said, adding that all 21 crew members are safe.

The authority expressed deep concern over the incident “which was unprovoked, unjustifiable, and a breach of international law”.

“All actions affecting international shipping must fully comply with international law, in particular the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and not endanger the safety of seafarers and ships at sea,” the statement concluded.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz could not be guaranteed without coordination with Iran, and that failure to coordinate could result in the suspension of any designated route, Reuters reports.

The comments posted on social media platform X on Friday came after Oman, in coordination with the International Maritime Organisation, designated temporary routes for passage through the strait.

Former Lebanese President Emile Lahoud has praised the Lebanese army commander for what he described as the “honourable stance” of the country’s military delegation, which declined being photographed alongside the Israeli delegation at talks in Washington, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reports.

He also expressed hope that the entire Lebanese delegation would withdraw from the negotiations.

Lahoud argued that Israel is not seeking a truce or peace, but is instead attempting to weaken Lebanon’s resistance through negotiations and create internal divisions, NNA said.

Pope Leo XIV said people should “resolve conflicts as human beings and not as beasts” as he hosted a gathering of cardinals from around the world in the Vatican, AFP reports.

The closed-door assembly — known as a “consistory” —ends on Saturday and is intended to discuss a variety of global challenges facing the Catholic Church.

It started with a mass in St Peter’s Basilica presided by US-born Pope Leo, whose anti-war message has been harshly criticised by US President Donald Trump.

“International tensions and conflicts seriously wound the human family,” the pope said in his homily.

“War is never worthy of humanity, and it is never blessed by God,” he said.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has welcomed a French-Italian initiative to form an international coalition to manage the post-United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) period, calling it a sign of strong international support for Lebanon’s sovereignty and stability, according to a statement from his office, Al Jazeera reports.

The president considered this initiative “a sincere expression of the international commitment to supporting Lebanon’s sovereignty and stability, and a genuine appreciation of the role played by the Lebanese Armed Forces in maintaining security and extending state authority over all its territory, particularly in the southern border regions”, the statement read.