War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

The Iranian intelligence ministry has said two members “affiliated with American and Israeli intelligence agencies” were killed during a confrontation with security forces in the southeast of the country, state broadcaster IRIB has reported according to Al Jazeera.

The ministry also announced the arrest of four other people for attempting to enter the country to carry out plans to destabilise the Sistan and Baluchestan province and damage its infrastructure.

Brigadier General Rasoul Sanaei-Rad has said Iran will act more aggressively in the future, Al Jazeera reports, citing the Fars news agency.

“We stood firm in the recent war and, God willing, we will stand firmer and more aggressively in a possible future war,” said Sanaei-Rad, who serves as political adviser in the office of the supreme leader.

Without openly mentioning the US, the official said Iran’s “enemy” was aiming to create internal divisions through economic pressure, but that its plan did not succeed.

European shares edge higher as falling oil prices shifted investor focus toward weakening demand, while US-Iran peace efforts remain stalled and disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz persists, Reuters reports.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.2 per cent at 660.57 points by 0830 GMT. The benchmark retreated from record highs in the previous session.

Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3pc despite the UK economy unexpectedly expanding in June, offering some reassurance over the domestic growth outlook.

“June might well prove to be the last real sweet spot for the UK economy this year,” says Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.

She has warned that uncertainty around the Iran war, energy prices and potential budget measures could weigh on business confidence in the months ahead.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that the US has “long miscalculated” decisions due to poor intelligence, including in the Iran war.

In a post on X, the foreign minister warned that now the US was making “an ever bigger miscalculation on the Strait of Hormuz”.

“Worse than fake news is fake intelligence. Be careful,” he wrote.

“Allah is great, greater than any power on earth. In Allah we trust.”

Hapag-Lloyd, one of the world’s top container shipping companies, has said that the conflict in the Middle East, with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, cost the group $600 million in the second quarter, weighing on its earnings, Reuters reports.

Net profit came in at $83m, down from $306m a year earlier, as strong exports from Asia and improved demand in the United States only partly offset problems in the Middle East, the Hamburg-based company said.

“The second quarter was better than the first, driven by significantly higher spot rates and robust demand,” CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said.

In its Liner Shipping segment, EBIT fell to $153m from $167m, on additional costs for bunker, insurance, storage, rerouting and inland transportation after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

“In the second half of 2026, we will remain focused on growing both our liner shipping and terminal businesses while maintaining strict cost discipline to further improve our financial performance,” Habben Jansen said.

Hapag-Lloyd said its outlook, which the company raised in July, remains subject to considerable uncertainty due to the highly volatile freight rates.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, who is currently on a visit to Pakistan, has expressed Oslo’s readiness to assist Pakistan’s peace efforts in the US-Iran war.

Addressing a joint press conference with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Eide said that Oslo had experience in peace negotiations and maintained open dialogue with both Tehran and Washington.

“Wherever we can be useful, we will,” he said.

He also highlighted Norway’s experience in international maritime affairs, saying the country was among the world’s major seafaring nations despite its relatively small population.

He said Norway could therefore play a constructive role in discussions concerning international maritime law and developments surrounding the Strait of Hormuz.

Gulf stock markets were subdued in early Thursday trade as investors weighed stalled efforts to end the US-Iran conflict, continued disruptions to shipping through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz and a softening outlook for oil demand, Reuters reports.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index was down 0.1%, with Saudi Arabian Mining Co losing 0.9 per cent. Elsewhere, oil major Saudi Aramco lost 0.2pc.

Brent futures slipped $1.22, or 1.4pc, to $87.82 a barrel by 0750 GMT (12:50pm PKT).

The kingdom’s crude exports from the Red Sea are becoming increasingly difficult to track as tankers disable their transponders to reduce the risk of Houthi attacks, with analysts saying all recent loadings from Yanbu have been carried out “dark.”

Dubai’s main share index eased 0.1pc, hit by a 1.1pc fall in utility firm Dubai Electricity and Water Authority. In Abu Dhabi, the index added 0.2pc. The Qatari index fell 0.4pc, weighed down by a 3.5pc slide in petrochemical maker Industries Qatar.

Norway has commended Pakistan’s “important and constructive role” in mediating between the US and Iran amid the Middle East conflict.

In a statement, the Foreign Office (FO) said that the Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide commended “Pakistan’s important and constructive role during the recent Iran-US conflict, including the leadership and contributions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, DPM Dar and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir”.

Eide, in separate televised remarks, described the ongoing war as “incredibly dangerous” for global peace as well as the world economy, and praised Pakistan for stepping forward.

The Strait of Hormuz is “under Iran’s control and management”, the head of Iran’s Basij paramilitary unit, Hossein Taeb, said, according to Fars news agency.

The remarks came a day after US President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that the US had “total control” of the strategic waterway.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi says the country will not allow its territory or airspace to be used to launch attacks against neighbouring nations, according to Iranian media.

Speaking during a visit to Iraq’s Air Defence Command Operations Centre, he discussed plans to enhance the country’s air defence capacity.

Former Iranian diplomat Abbas Khameyar says the US has failed “the test of economic and military warfare” against Iran, emphasising that Tehran will not submit to American conditions or ambitions.

Khameyar told Al Jazeera that the Strait of Hormuz serves as a “deterrent card that has succeeded in changing the course of aggression and re-imposing the rules of engagement”.

Washington broke its previous commitments, he argued, adding that obligations could only be fulfilled through serious negotiations carried out in good faith.

According to the former diplomat, the US has ultimately “fallen into the trap of the Strait of Hormuz” in the process of the war.

Iran dismisses claims of US officials that blockade of Hormuz has been lifted, noting the waterways remained blocked until Tehran’s conditions are accepted.

“The successive claims and tweets by American officials about lifting the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz do not change reality; the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked and will not be reopened until Iran’s conditions are accepted,” the Persian Gulf Strait Authority said in a post on X.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, has stated that every party that benefits from commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz “carries both a legal and a moral obligation to remediate the environmental harm inflicted upon the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman”.

In a post on X, he said, “In recent days, videos have circulated showing oil pollution along the shores of Qeshm Island. This pollution drifted toward the coast from the Persian Gulf, and preliminary evidence indicates a foreign bulk carrier as the source. Contamination has been documented at three coastal sites and across portions of the sea surface.”

He said this incident was “only one visible example of the extensive pollution— both overt and concealed — that has degraded the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, as well as the region’s marine ecosystem, over recent decades, imposing trillions of dollars in damage on Iran’s coastal areas”.

“Who bears responsibility for compensating these damages? Is it the nations that consume the inexpensive energy exported from our region, the shipping insurers, or the aggressors and their partners who have transformed the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman into a theatre for military operations and the testing of highly destructive weaponry?” he asked.

“As the country with the longest coastline along the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, Iran cannot remain indifferent. Every party that benefits from commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz carries both a legal and a moral obligation to remediate the environmental harm inflicted upon the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman,” he said.

Israeli forces demolish homes and infrastructure around Mansouri in southern Lebanon using explosives, Press Tv reports.

Congressional Democrats have demanded answers about conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, following reports of food shortages, broken plumbing and mental health crises during the aircraft carrier’s record-setting deployment, AFP reports.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Senator Richard Blumenthal called for the Navy to account for conditions aboard the aircraft carrier, which “has been deployed more than 250 days” without coming ashore “in over 200 days, setting a record for consecutive days at sea”.

Blumenthal voiced concern for such extended deployments, noting “widespread reports of shortages of basic supplies, water contamination, plumbing issues, deteriorating mental health, deck safety concerns” and other problems aboard the Lincoln.

The USS Abraham Lincoln departed San Diego, California on November 21, 2025 for duty in the South China Sea and was rerouted to the Middle East before US-Israeli attacks on Iran that began February 28.

In two recent meetings, family members clashed with Navy leadership over the difficult conditions — including food shortages — faced by the 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard the Lincoln and demanded to know when loved ones would return home, MSNOW reported.

Some reported severe mental health issues and attempted suicides on board.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that countries, such as France, should stop lecturing the world about human rights and international law.

In a post on X, he said, “The hypocrisy is blatant and embarrassing. Your backing of Israel’s genocide in Gaza—and aggression against Iran—has destroyed whatever moral high ground you imagined you had.”

A threat that Air Force One could be targeted by a shoulder-fired missile prompted the Secret Service to secretly move President Donald Trump onto a smaller government jet during a trip to Turkiye last month, a person briefed on the matter said, according to Reuters.

The threat emerged on the final day of Trump’s visit to Ankara for the Nato summit amid heightened tensions with Iran, the source said. The Secret Service deemed the threat to be credible and imminent, prompting an extraordinary operation to conceal the US president’s movements.

The source declined to say where the intelligence came from but said officials had little time to prepare and devised the plans at the last minute.

A second source briefed on the matter said there was not a clear plan by those hostile to Trump for executing the threat, but only an intent, which is why the planes were allowed to fly.

Oil prices fell more than $1 as forecasters lowered global oil demand projections for 2026 because of the disruptions from the US-Israeli war on Iran, though the supply constraints from the conflict provided a floor for the market, Reuters reports.

Brent futures dropped $1.29, or 1.5 per cent, at $87.69 a barrel by 0100 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell $1.30, or 1.6pc, to $81.97.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi has pledged that the country will be free of any foreign military presence on its soil and that weapons will be solely under state control by October 1, according to Al Jazeera.

According to a statement by his office, Al-Zaidi “affirmed the commitment to the agreed-upon timelines” — under which the international coalition’s military mission in Iraq and the withdrawal of its forces will be completed by September 30 — during a meeting with US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper.

October 1 will “mark a new day in the history of the Iraqi state”, as Iraq will be “free of any foreign military presence” and responsible for ensuring its own security and stability, the statement adds.

Al-Zaidi adds that the monopoly on force will be held only by state institutions, which will bolster “the state’s authority and sovereignty, and guarantee security and stability”.

Iran’s ISNA news agency reports that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has had a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in the city of Mashhad.

According to the state news outlet, Naqvi travelled to the city to visit the shrine of Munawar Razavi.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei has written a message on X to mark the anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, noting that the countries that brought it into being are violating those laws.

He recounts that the four treaties established the basic rules of war “in order to civilise humanity and humanise war”.

“The architects of these four treaties could scarcely have imagined that, in 2026 — 77 years after the adoption of these instruments — the United States, host nation of the United Nations and a permanent member of the Security Council, would repeatedly threaten to attack the infrastructure, bridges, and power plants of another country, and would in fact commit such crimes,” Baqaei writes.

He adds that Article 1 of the Conventions does not merely obligate signatories to respect the treaties, but to “ensure respect” for them as well.

“Silence in the face of explicit threats against civilian objects is not mere political passivity — it is the erosion of one of the most fundamental civilisational and legal achievements of the post-World War II era,” he writes.

The newly appointed Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, has highlighted the “strategic depth” of relations between Iran and Pakistan, noting that the two countries have developed strong political and defence ties that should be used to expand bilateral cooperation, Iranian state news agency IRNA reports.

Rezaei has made the remarks during a meeting with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in Tehran, where he has emphasised Pakistan’s “special position” in Iran’s foreign policy and that Tehran considers Pakistan’s government, military and people “among the major assets of the Islamic world”, the news agency adds.

He adds that both countries should use their existing ties and “valuable capital” to pursue broader cooperation.

Rezaei also stresses the responsibility of major Muslim countries to “strengthen unity and convergence” across the Ummah.