War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

US President Donald Trump has held a call with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu over when and whether to ramp up combat operations against Iran, US media reports, according to AFP.

Axios quoted one US and one Israeli official saying the two leaders yesterday discussed the state of negotiations with Tehran, with Netanyahu pressing the president to launch strikes on Iran immediately after the US midterm elections and Trump eager to let negotiations play out.

The Israeli source described the call as “tough”, while the American source said it was “direct”, according to Axios.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre has reported an incident in the Strait of Hormuz in which a vessel has been struck by an unknown projectile.

In a post on X, UKMTO said that “the master of a merchant vessel has relayed a mayday call from VHF Ch 16” reporting a strike on another vessel.

Houthi media, citing an anonymous military official, has repeated threats against Saudi oil giant Aramco and aviation in the kingdom, AFP reports.

“Aramco facilities are within range of the Yemeni Armed Forces, and investments in them are a venture fraught with losses,” the Houthis’ Saba news agency quoted the military official as saying.

The official also warned international airlines against using Saudi airspace “except for the airspaces of Makkah and Madina”.

Saba earlier said that Saudi Arabia had “targeted the Faculty of Medicine at Hodeidah University with two raids”, and two Hodeidah residents told AFP they heard an explosion in the area.

The coalition, for its part, said it had conducted “a precision operation to neutralise vital resources” used by the Houthis, and published video footage that it said showed attacks on the Hodeideh and Dhamar governorates.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has briefed President Masoud Pezeshkian and the cabinet on the latest developments in Iran’s negotiations with the US through mediators, Al Jazeera reports, according to the president’s Telegram post.

It said Araghchi presented the briefing at the cabinet’s session on Wednesday, updating ministers on “the latest developments and diplomatic processes”.

Two air strikes have targeted the Ras Isa port in Yemen’s Hodeidah governorate, Al Jazeera reports, citing media affiliated with the Houthis.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the attacks.

A brief threat alert has been issued in Saudi Arabia’s Jazan province due to “potential danger”, Al Jazeera reports citing the country’s civil defence.

Several minutes later, it said the danger had passed.

Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency, citing news sources, reports that several explosions have been heard in Kuwait.

“So far, the cause of the explosions is unknown, and no further details have been released,” Fars says.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has strongly condemned an attack on the Qatari LNG carrier Al Mayeda in the Gulf.

In a statement, GCC Secretary-General Jassim Mohammed al-Budaiwi described the attack on the vessel, operated by Qatar’s Gas Transport Company (Nakilat), as a “dangerous escalation”.

He stressed that “maritime security in the Arabian Gulf is a cornerstone of regional stability and the global economy”.

Yemeni government forces say they have shot down two Houthi drones in the Sabr area of Taiz governorate, Al Jazeera reports.

They also said that air defences have intercepted a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis toward the southern region.

Iran continues to hold negotiations with Washington through Qatar and other mediators but remains deeply sceptical of Trump’s intentions, a security source tells Al Jazeera.

“Tehran continues negotiations with the American side through Qatari mediators and others, but it does not have the slightest optimism about Trump’s intentions even for a moment,” the source said.

“We think that there may be different voices in the US, but experience has shown that the US president and his circle are succumbing to the temptations of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and the warmongering extremists who support him,” the source was quoted as saying.

“For this reason we are obliged to maintain our focus on being fully prepared for a decisive and punitive defence against any aggression and crime by the United States and Israel.”

Iran’s ambassador to Germany has criticised Western governments for remaining silent over the US-Israeli military aggression against Iran, saying they are now expressing concern about the economic consequences of the same aggression for their own countries, state-run IRNA reports.

Majid Nili made the remarks in a message published today, in which he took aim at countries that failed to condemn the military attack on Iran but were now worried about its economic repercussions.

“Those who yesterday welcomed the US and Israeli regime’s aggression against Iran through their silence or irresponsible positions are today concerned about the economic consequences of that aggression for their own countries,” Nili said, according to the Persian translation of his message.

Doha has denounced an attack targeting the “Al Mayeda” LNG carrier, owned by Qatar Gas Transport Company Limited (Nakilat), while it was sailing in the Arabian Gulf.

Its foreign ministry said Qatar considers the targeting of the tanker “a dangerous act that threatens the safety of maritime navigation and the security of global energy supplies”.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirms that the State of Qatar reserves its right to take all necessary measures – in accordance with the provisions of international law and the Charter of the United Nations – to protect its property, safeguard its interests, and ensure the safety of its ships and crews,” the statement read.

It noted that the competent authorities have begun “conducting the necessary investigations to ascertain the circumstances of the incident and identify those responsible for it”.

The ministry also warned of the dangers of “these reckless and irresponsible practices, and the serious repercussions that may ensue for the security and stability of the region and the global economy”.

More than 300,000 people have fled their homes in western Yemen because of intensifying fighting in the country, pitting the Houthis against government forces, the UN said, AFP reports.

Almost all were displaced in the last two months, and they “urgently need shelter, food, clean water and health care”, the International Organisation for Migration said in a statement.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran was expecting rationality from the US, Al Jazeera reports.

“We are making our efforts in this direction and hope that there is rationality on the other side to prefer diplomacy to other paths,” Araghchi said.

Araghchi added that orders issued by Iran’s supreme commander-in-chief to senior military officials had clearly demonstrated Tehran’s resolve.

“Our armed forces also have a very clear mission and, drawing on the experiences of the past two wars, are much stronger than before.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says consultations with Qatari mediators over reopening the Strait of Hormuz continue but the United States will need to respond to its offer, Al Jazeera reports citing state media.

“Consultations are ongoing but we have not yet reached a definitive conclusion because this conclusion depends on the answers the other side gives to our questions,” Araghchi said. “There was no plan to negotiate with the American side during this trip.”

He made the comments on the sidelines of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee meeting, according to state-run IRNA news agency.

Araghchi emphasised that Tehran remains firm on its seven previously stated conditions and is awaiting a US response. Iranian authorities have signalled that a deal remains possible, provided their demands are implemented.

State Department official Donald Blome says the United States has extended a hand in negotiations to Iran, but it’s prepared to go the opposite way if the Strait of Hormuz doesn’t return to normal, Al Jazeera reports.

Blome, US assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, spoke at the Manama Dialogue, a security forum held in Bahrain.

“The hand of negotiation has been extended, and those channels have continued to be open and active,” Blome said.

“At the same time, we’ve been also prepared to go in another direction. We just can’t allow Iran to take this region and the global economy hostage.”

A drone belonging to Yemen’s Houthi group struck a family home in the Old Airport neighbourhood in western Taiz city, according to Al Jazeera, reportedly killing a mother and daughter.

Iran has submitted documents and photographic evidence of US and Israeli attacks on the country’s ports, civilian vessels, and maritime infrastructure to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), warning that the damage poses serious risks to maritime safety across the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Sea of Oman, state-run IRNA reports.

The report warns that damage to maritime traffic control systems could increase the risk of vessel collisions and secondary accidents, while the destruction of rescue facilities could undermine emergency response capabilities and endanger the lives of foreign seafarers.

A strike has hit an industrial site in Saudi Arabia’s Dammam, sparking a “major blaze” at the facility, Iran’s state-run IRNA reports.

Iranian negotiators are in Doha for a third consecutive day of talks with Qatari mediators aimed at pushing for a deal to end the war, an official briefed on the talks tells Reuters.

Yamaha has said it won’t participate in next weekend’s Qatar MotoGP, citing “the situation in the Middle East,” AFP reports.

“Yamaha has not identified sufficient grounds to change its existing company-wide travel restrictions,” the Japanese manufacturer said.

The UAE is hoping for a breakthrough in negotiations between Iran and the US while being prepared for the worst, a senior official said, following threats of a resumption of the Middle East war, according to AFP.

“We’re hoping that there is a diplomatic breakthrough,” diplomatic adviser to the Emirati president Anwar Gargash said during a conference in Manama.

“It is not the interest of the region to go through another round… But I think we’re also, as we’ve shown before, braced for the worst.”

Iran has warned that any new war with the US could last longer than the previous conflict and that US President Donald Trump would not be the one to determine its duration, AFP reports.

“A potential future war could last longer than previous conflict, and the American president would not be in a position to dictate the timing or the conditions of its conclusion,” said army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia, according to Iranian state television.

“Epic resilience” by Iran and its army’s “formidable power and iron will” have brought the US and its allies “face-to-face with the hard wall of reality”, says Ali Nikzad, deputy speaker of parliament, according to Al Jazeera.

Iran has designated Britain’s Royal Navy and Royal Air Force as “terrorist organisations” and its foreign intelligence agency MI6 as a “hostile group”, according to state-run news agency IRNA.

“The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced the measures on Sunday, citing Britain’s participation in the US-Israeli war against Iran and its decision to place the IRGC under the country’s State Threats Act 2026,” IRNA reported.