War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Israel’s military warned residents of more than a dozen villages and towns in southern Lebanon to immediately evacuate and head northwards, saying Hezbollah’s “violation of the ceasefire” was compelling it to act.

“The IDF does not intend to harm you, and out of concern for your safety, you are required to evacuate your homes immediately and move away from the specified area towards the Sidon District,” the military’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X, adding that “anyone present near Hezbollah elements, their facilities, or their combat means is endangering their life.”

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has lauded Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts in the Middle East in a phone call with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Prime Minister’s Office says.

According to PMO, the two leaders “exchanged views on the evolving situation in the Middle East” and PM Shehbaz briefed Luxon on Pakistan’s “ongoing diplomatic outreach”.

Luxon “expressed deep appreciation for Pakistan’s constructive diplomatic initiatives, including its outreach to both Washington and Tehran, and conveyed his best wishes for the success of the mediation efforts,” PMO said.

Both leaders agreed to remain in “close contact,” as per PMO.

Russia’s ambassador to the UN said Iran has every right to limit traffic and control the Strait of Hormuz, while also accusing Western countries of hypocrisy and piracy, Al Jazeera reports.

“There was an attempt to pin full responsibility on Iran as if it was Iran which attacked its neighbours,” Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, said.

“In times of war, a coastal state that is under attack may limit navigation in its territorial waters for the purpose of security.”

Nebenzia went on to compare Western states to pirates, and called out the European countries supporting Ukrainian strikes on Russian trade vessels in the Black Sea.

Iran’s Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam has appreciated Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, as well as the “veteran, competent and career diplomats” of the foreign ministry, for their “tireless endeavours in facilitating, coordinating, and meticulously preparing the arrangements for the delegations and talks”.

“Diplomats are the architects of peace, entrusted with navigating the delicate complexities of international relations through the patient craft of dialogue, empathy, and understanding,” the ambassador said in a post on X.

On Pakistan’s foreign ministry diplomats, he said, “Their dedicated efforts translate political will and principled determination into the practical avenues and arrangements necessary for any diplomatic process to take shape.

“This is diplomacy in its truest sense, not merely words, but the quiet, persistent labour that makes dialogue possible and peace attainable.”

The head of Israel’s Mossad has praised the spy agency’s “groundbreaking” operations in the war against Iran and Hezbollah, claiming it acquired intelligence “from the heart of the enemy’s secrets”, reports AFP.

“In the campaigns against Iran and Hezbollah, we worked shoulder-to-shoulder with the IDF, on both defence and offence,” David Barnea claimed, referring to the Israeli military.

His remarks were delivered during a commendation ceremony at Mossad headquarters on Monday and published on Tuesday.

“We acquired strategic and tactical intelligence from the heart of the enemy’s secrets,” Barnea claimed, adding that Mossad had “proved new, groundbreaking operational capabilities in target countries”.

Iran has said that the United States was no longer able to “dictate” what other countries do, as Washington weighed a new proposal from Tehran on ending the Middle East war, AFP reports.

“The United States is no longer in a position to dictate its policy to independent nations,” defence ministry spokesman Reza Talaei-Nik said, according to state TV, adding Washington would “accept that it must abandon its illegal and irrational demands”.

Iran’s internet blackout has entered it’s 60th day after passing 1,416 hours, according to NetBlocks.

Iran is ready to share its defensive weapons capabilities with “independent countries, especially members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)”, Deputy Defence Minister Reza Talaei-Nik said during a meeting of SCO defence ministers held in the Kyrgyz capital, Reuters reports, citing Iranian state media.

A liquefied natural gas tanker managed by UAE’s ADNOC has crossed the Strait of Hormuz and appears to be near India, ship-tracking data showed. If confirmed, this will be the first loaded LNG tanker to cross the strait since the Iran war started on February 28, Reuters reports.

The 136,357-cubic-meter tanker, which is managed by Adnoc Logistics & Services and was last seen in the Gulf on March 30, has shown up off the west coast of India, suggesting it has crossed the Strait of Hormuz after several weeks without signal, according to data from ICIS LNG Edge, Marine Traffic and LSEG.

The Israeli military has said its forces have destroyed more than 1,000 “infrastructure sites” used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

It also claimed to have confiscated “hundreds of weapons, including: machine guns, Kalashnikov-type weapons, grenades, mines, pistols, anti-tank missiles, ammunition, RPG rockets, and mortar bombs”.

Thailand’s economic growth and tourist arrivals are forecast to drop this year as the Middle East war roils global energy prices, the finance ministry said, AFP reports.

The country’s GDP growth is projected to dip to 1.6 per cent, the ministry said in a statement, down from 2.4pc in 2025.

Growth in the Southeast Asian nation is anaemic, with the tourism sector vital but arrivals yet to return to their pre-Covid highs.

The government said in February that this year’s growth forecast was between 1.5 to 2.5pc.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally turned critic, has taken to social media to condemn the war on Iran and the impact the conflict is having on US farmers, Al Jazeera reports.

She wrote, “One day in the future, parents will tell their children that it was because of Trump’s war on Iran that caused farms to fail bc farmers couldn’t afford fertilizers and the cost of farming was too high.”

She was responding to a survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation that found some 70 per cent of US farmers cannot afford the fertiliser they need and are planning to reduce their crop size to compensate.

The Israeli military said it has launched an interceptor missile towards a “suspicious aerial target” in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports.

In a post on Telegram, the military said the aerial target was identified in the area where soldiers were operating and that it had not crossed into Israeli territory.

It added that the results of the interception were currently under review.

The Israeli military said a drone attack launched by Hezbollah wounded two soldiers in southern Lebanon.

According to the military, one soldier was severely injured while another sustained light injuries.

It added that the wounded were evacuated to a hospital for treatment and their families have been informed.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the war in the Middle East has had a “disproportionate impact” on the Asia-Pacific region, as she vowed to work closely with Japan to “navigate global disruption”, reports AFP.

Wong spoke during a visit to Tokyo, which comes just days before Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is due to travel to Australia and Vietnam.

Takaichi’s trip from May 1-5 is part of efforts to boost economic security and ensure the stable supply of energy as well as critical minerals, top government spokesman Minoru Kihara said.

In Tokyo, Wong met with counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi and hailed their “closely linked” supply chains which have seen Australia receive fuel imports from Japan.

The economic relationship “is increasingly important as we navigate global disruption”, she said.

“I look forward to continuing to coordinate with you our response following the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the disproportionate impact on our region.”

Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil normally flows through the vital waterway and its closure has threatened supplies to Asian nations lacking their own energy resources.

Oil prices rose 1 per cent , extending gains from the previous session, as efforts to end the US-Iran war appear stalled, with the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway still mainly shut, keeping energy supplies from the key Middle East producing region out of the reach of global buyers, reports Reuters.

Brent crude futures for June climbed $1.41, or 1.3pc, to $109.64 a barrel as of 0400 GMT, after gaining 2.8pc in the previous session to its highest close since April 7. The contract is up for a seventh day.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for June rose $1.27, or 1.3pc, to $97.64 a barrel, after gaining 2.1pc in the previous session.

Japan’s central bank hiked its inflation forecasts and halved its growth projections after the Iran war sent oil prices soaring, reports Reuters.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) said it expected inflation this fiscal year to hit 2.8 per cent, up from its previous projection of 1.9 percent, while it also kept its main policy rate at 0.75pc.

“Comparing the projections… with those presented in the previous Outlook Report, the projected year-on-year rate of increase in the CPI (all items less fresh food) for fiscal 2026 is significantly higher, and that for fiscal 2027 is also somewhat higher, reflecting the effects of the rise in crude oil prices,” the BoJ said.

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has said that the Democrats will force a sixth vote in the US Senate on a war powers resolution this week.

“Senate Democrats will force a SIXTH vote on our War Powers Resolution ending Trump’s war of choice in Iran,” Schumer said on X, terming the war “reckless and unpopular”.

Democrats have tried, and failed repeatedly in both the Senate and House of Representatives, to force Trump to stop the war on Iran and to obtain lawmakers’ authorisation before launching ⁠military operations.

US Central Command (Centcom) has said that its guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta stopped the M/T Stream “after it attempted to sail to an Iranian port” on Sunday, Al Jazeera reports.

In a post on social media, alongside a photograph of the two ships, Centcom said the action was part of the “US blockade of Iranian ports”.

Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said he welcomes Russia’s support for diplomacy and praised the strength of ties between the two countries, after meeting with President Vladimir Putin on Monday, saying recent events had demonstrated the depth of their strategic partnership according to a post on social media.

“Recent events have evidenced the depth and strength of our strategic partnership,” he said. “As our relationship continues to grow, we are grateful for solidarity and welcome Russia’s support for diplomacy.”