War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged the people of to cut down on petrol and diesel consumption amid supply disruptions due to the Middle East war.

India is one of the few countries in the region that has not increased the prices of petrol and diesel for domestic consumers or rationed supplies.

But it has increased prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) — a primary cooking fuel in this country — after disruptions following the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, which led to Iran’s near-total blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

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The US has the site of Iran’s nuclear materials ‘very well surveilled,’ Trump says, threatening to take military action against anyone attempting to access it.

The Israeli military claims its strikes across southern Lebanon throughout the day have targeted more than 20 locations used by Hezbollah, including weapons storage facilities, headquarters and military buildings, Al Jazeera reports.

Israeli strikes have killed at least three people today, two of whom were paramedics.

President Emmanuel Macron says that France has “never envisaged” a naval deployment in the Strait of Hormuz but rather a security mission that would be “coordinated with Iran”.

At a news conference in Nairobi, Macron said he was sticking to his position opposing a blockade from either side, and to “reject any toll” to ensure ships are able to pass through the strategic waterway.

“There was never any question of a deployment but we are ready,” said Macron.

“We have put together an ad hoc mission, co-led with the British, which has brought together 50 countries and international organisations to enable, in a coordinated way with Iran and by deconflicting the situation with all the countries of the region and the United States, the resumption of maritime traffic as soon as conditions allow,” he added.

Macron, in Africa for a summit in Nairobi, said the whole continent was “victim of the blockade” of the strait, through which normally passes most of the oil exported from the Middle East.

Qatar’s prime minister has discussed ending the war on Iran and bringing lasting stability to the Middle East in a meeting with US Vice President JD Vance in Washington, DC, Al Jazeera reports.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and Vance, who arrived earlier in Washington, DC, spoke about the ongoing efforts of Pakistan in mediating peace proposals between the two sides, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

During the meeting, the two talked about “the necessity for all parties to respond to the ongoing mediation efforts in a manner that opens the door to addressing the roots of the crisis through peaceful means and dialogue, leading to the achievement of a comprehensive agreement that realizes lasting peace in the region”.

Russian Foreign ⁠Minister ⁠Sergey Lavrov has told his UAE ⁠counterpart that US-Iran talks ⁠need to be supported to prevent a resumption of hostilities in ‌the Middle East, Al Jazeera reports.

“The Russian side emphasised the need to focus on supporting the ongoing negotiations between ⁠Iran and the ⁠USA,” a foreign ministry’s statement said of Lavrov’s ⁠phone conversation with Foreign Minister ⁠Sheikh Abdullah ⁠bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Russia doesn’t want “to jeopardise the prospects for stabilisation by ‌resuming ‌hostilities”, a statement said.

Pakistan has received Iran’s response to the United States’ proposal on the Iran war and the response has been sent to the US, Reuters reports, citing a Pakistani government official involved in the talks.

The source did not provide further details about the proposal.

The US Central Command has said that under the US naval blockade, US forces have “redirected 61 commercial vessels and disabled four”.

“Over 20 US warships are enforcing the blockade against Iran,” it said.

Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium must be “taken out” before the US-Israeli war against Iran can be considered over, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said in an interview, AFP reports

“It’s not over, because there’s still nuclear material — enriched uranium — that has to be taken out of Iran. There’s still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled,” Netanyahu said in an excerpt of an interview due to air later Sunday on CBS’s “60 Minutes” program.

“You go in and you take it out,” the Israeli leader said when asked how the uranium could be removed.

US President Donald Trump has said in an interview aired today that it would only take two weeks to hit “every single target” in Iran, adding that the Islamic Republic was “militarily defeated,” AFP reports.

In the interview with independent journalist Sharyl Attkisson, which was recorded last week, he also called NATO a “paper tiger” and accused Washington’s allies of failing to assist in the campaign against Tehran.

“They’re militarily defeated. In their own minds, maybe they don’t know that. But I think they do,” Trump said in the interview, before adding: “That doesn’t mean they’re done.”

He suggested the US military could “go in for two more weeks and do every single target. We have certain targets that we wanted, and we’ve done probably 70 per cent of them, but we have other targets that we could conceivably hit.” “But even if we didn’t do that, you know, that would just be final touches,” Trump said.

Iranian authorities are starting the restoration of more than 140 historical monuments that have sustained damage in US-Israeli attacks, Al Jazeera reports, citing ISNA.

Quoting the head of parliament’s tourism committee, Iran’s ISNA news agency said some monuments date back to the Achaemenid era in 550 BC.

Iran’s IRIB news agency is reporting that Iran’s response sent to Pakistan “focuses on ending the war imposed by the US and the Zionist regime on all fronts, especially Lebanon,” Al Jazeera reports.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says that Pakistan has received Iran’s response to the US proposal.

“Our sincere efforts continue, and Field Marshal [Asim Munir] was telling me a while ago that we have received Iran’s response,” he said during his speech at Mark-i-Haq’s first anniversary commemoration ceremony in Islamabad.

Pakistani sources are confirming that they have received the Iranian response to the US proposal, Al Jazeera reports.

In fact, Pakistan has been trying to convince the Iranians to come to a middle ground, it said.

Iran’s state media outlet IRNA says Tehran’s response to the US proposal focused on “ending the war and maritime security” in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reports.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, in a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, has discussed the latest status of ongoing peace negotiations between Iran and the US, Turkish media reports.

A Panama-flagged bulk carrier bound for Brazil has passed through the Strait of Hormuz using a route designated by Iran’s armed forces, Al Jazeera reports, citing Iran’s Tasnim news agency.

Tasnim said that the vessel is identified as the Mdl Toofan, adding that it has departed from Saudi Arabia’s Ras al-Khair port and is headed to Rio Grande.

The report said that the ship had previously attempted to transit the strait on May 4 but was turned back by Iran’s forces. It added that this was the second vessel since Saturday to use the Iran-designated route.

Iran has sent its response to a US proposal to end the war in the region via Pakistan, AFP reports, citing Iranian state media.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran sent today through Pakistani mediators its response to the latest text proposed by the United States to end the war,” the official IRNA news agency said, without offering details.

Iran’s Oil Terminals Company has denied reports of ​an oil leak near Kharg ‌Island, according to state media, after satellite imagery ​this week appeared to show a large slick west of the ⁠country’s main oil export ​hub in the Gulf, Reuters reports.

The company’s ​chief executive has said inspections had found no evidence of leaks from storage ​tanks, pipelines, loading facilities ​or tankers operating near the island. ‌He ⁠added that the Marine Emergency Mutual Aid Centre (MEMAC), a regional marine pollution body, had ​also reported ​no ⁠sign of leakage in the area.

The official said ​Iranian teams had conducted ​additional ⁠field inspections and laboratory testing after the reports emerged ⁠and ​had not identified “even ​the smallest trace” of leakage.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says negotiations do not mean surrender, reiterating Tehran’s position on defending Iranian national interests and the rights of the Iranian people, Al Jazeera reports.

“The goal is to realise the rights of the Iranian people and defend national interests with authority,” Pezeshkian said at a meeting on post-war reconstruction.

Brigadier General Akrami Nia, the spokesman of the Iranian army, says that “Iran will no longer allow passages that are harmful to its interests,” Iran’s Press TV reports.*

Qatar’s prime minister has told Iran’s foreign minister that using the Strait of Hormuz as “a pressure tool” would only deepen the crisis in the Gulf, the Qatari foreign ministry says, Reuters reports.

Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani also told Iran’s Abbas Araqchi in a phone call that all parties in the conflict should respond to mediation efforts to end the war.