War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Israel’s Home Front Command is tightening its guidelines, forcing schools to close in areas along the border with Lebanon, according to Al Jazeera.

No educational activities will take place in communities, including Kiryat Shmona, Meron, Bar Yohai, Or HaGanuz, Safsufa, Yesud HaMa’ala, Kisra-Sumei, Beit Jann, and Sde Eliezer, a statement published on Telegram says.

In the Upper Galilee and northern Golan, along with Katzrin and Kidmat Tzvi, educational activities “may be held in a structure or in a location from which a standard protected space can be reached within the required protection time”.

Workplaces can operate in all of those areas, provided an adequate shelter can be reached in time. According to the guidelines, gatherings are restricted to 50 people outdoors and 200 indoors, and beaches are closed.

The guidelines remain in effect until 1800 GMT on Monday.

Hezbollah claims its fighters have carried out a series of attacks against Israeli military positions and infrastructure in northern Israel and southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports.

In separate statements, the group says the operations included the destruction of an Israeli military vehicle near the Lebanese village of Yohmor al-Shaqif, after it was targeted by Ababil attack drones.

A drone attack on the Yaara barracks in northern Israel was also reported, with Hezbollah claiming to use a squadron of drones.

Additionally, a strike on an Israeli army command headquarters in the southern Lebanese village of Naqoura was also claimed with a squadron of drones, along with a missile barrage targeting Israeli military infrastructure in the city of Nahariyya, in northern Israel.

US Central Command (Centcom) says it has disabled another commercial vessel reportedly attempting to run the naval blockade of Iranian ports.

In a post on X, Centcom says US forces observed the Lian Star merchant vessel transiting international waters toward an Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman, and issued more than 20 warnings informing the vessel it was violating the US blockade.

“A US aircraft disabled the vessel by firing a Hellfire missile into the ship’s engine room after Lian Star’s crew failed to comply. The ship is no longer transiting to Iran,” the statement reads. “US forces have disabled five commercial vessels and redirected 116 to fully enforce the blockade as a ceasefire with Iran remains in effect.”

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has stressed that diplomatic efforts need to be intensified to achieve a ceasefire with Israel, Al Jazeera reports.

“What we have witnessed is not just an Israeli expansion and crossing, as Israel does not target specific locations but rather adopts a policy of total destruction,” he says, speaking from the government palace. “What Israel is doing is not only a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty but an act of erasing history.”

Regarding the ongoing truce negotiations, he says the “decision of war and peace remains a national decision”.

He has also addressed the people in the south of the country who have been displaced from their homes because of Israel’s ground invasion. 

“Your pain is the pain of all of Lebanon,” said Salam. “Trust that the Lebanese state will spare no effort to establish a ceasefire, the return of prisoners, and reconstruction.”

Austria’s coalition government says it will further shrink its recently introduced “petrol price brake”, an inflation-fighting measure aimed at cushioning consumers from the rise in oil prices caused by the Iran war, according to Reuters.

The mechanism, which combines trimming retailers’ margins and returning an increased value-added tax take from higher fuel prices to consumers in the form of lower petrol tax, requires the government to set the size of those two elements each month.

Currently, the reduction in margins is set at €2.5 euro cents per litre and the tax reduction at €2 cents per litre. From June 1, the margin cut will be scrapped and the tax reduction trimmed to €1.7 cents per litre, the economy ministry says in a statement.

Lebanon’s health ministry says Israeli attacks on the country have killed at least 3,371 people and wounded 10,129 others since March 2, Al Jazeera reports.

On Friday, at least 14 people were killed in Israeli air raids in southern Lebanon.

Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters has reasserted Tehran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, warning commercial and military vessels to comply with regulations governing passage through the strategic waterway, Al Jazeera reports.

In a statement reported on Iranian media, the command says: “The management of the Strait of Hormuz is exercised with full authority by the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“All ships, commercial vessels, and tankers are only required to travel through the designated routes and obtain permission from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy. Any violation of these regulations will seriously jeopardise the security of their traffic,” it adds.

Iran has also issued a warning to foreign military forces operating in the area, saying any attempt to interfere with maritime management or shipping movements would trigger a response.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has denounced what he calls a “dangerous and unprecedented” Israeli escalation in the south, urging an immediate ceasefire and insisting that a “scorched-earth policy” will not ensure Israel’s security, AFP reports.

In a televised address, Salam has also defended his government’s direct negotiations with Israel, saying that the talks are the “least costly path” for Lebanon.

Qatar has rejected proposals for permanent transit fees in the Strait of Hormuz, warning that such measures would ultimately drive up costs for consumers worldwide, Al Jazeera reports.

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore, Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani says Doha and its Gulf partners oppose any long-term toll system for ships passing through the strategic waterway.

“Qatar and also the partners in the Gulf stated very clearly that charging fees will always impact the consumer, so we are against this,” Sheikh Saoud says. “But for certain times that they say they will use it for mine-clearing or some usage of the fees for a temporary time, this is something that is negotiable.”

The comments come amid discussions between Iran and Oman over a potential framework for regulating traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy and trade routes.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency says an Israeli air strike on the municipality of al-Loubiyah in the Sidon district has killed one person and injured another, according to Al Jazeera.

The Israeli military claims its troops manned a Hezbollah artillery command centre in the Al-Shuwaya area of southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports.

It further claims that it struck the site after Hezbollah fighters were identified in the area.

The Iraqi armed group Kataeb Hezbollah has pledged to keep up its “jihadist action”, as Baghdad faces mounting US pressure to disarm factions in favour of Iran, AFP reports.

Following the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran at the end of February, groups operating under the banner of the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” carried out repeated drone and rocket attacks on US interests in the country. Washington, in turn, bombed facilities and bases belonging to the groups, including Kataeb Hezbollah, killing dozens of their members.

Kataeb Hezbollah security chief Abu Mujahid al-Assaf says in a statement, “Jihadist action is today a collective duty, and we will carry it out on behalf of the brothers who have decided to abandon it.”

An Al Jazeera correspondent on the ground reports the latest launch of rockets from Lebanon into Israeli territory.

The Israeli army has confirmed the activation of air raid sirens in the Western Galilee area.

The municipality of Zifta has urged residents to seek shelter and avoid all movement and gatherings amid what it describes as “repeated threats from the enemy to evacuate our beloved town”, according to Al Jazeera.

In a statement, the municipality calls on “steadfast residents to seek shelter wherever possible,” adding that, for safety reasons, those who cannot do so “are required to remain in your homes”.

“Movement and gatherings throughout the town are strictly prohibited,” it stresses.

The municipality also warns against crowds forming at the scene of any strike, saying that “in the event of any airstrike, gatherings are prohibited for anyone not on official duty or involved in emergency response”.

The Lebanese army says two of its soldiers were “seriously” wounded after an Israeli drone targeted their vehicle in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports.

The attack took place “on the public road in Nabatieh,” it says in a post on X, adding that they were transferred to a hospital for treatment.

Israel has rejected a Lebanese demand for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon during US-mediated talks between the two sides, Anadolu reports citing Israel’s public broadcaster KAN.

The broadcaster, citing Israeli officials, says Lebanon raised the issue during discussions involving military representatives from both countries under US sponsorship. Israel informed mediators that it would not withdraw, according to the report.

KAN adds that the talks also addressed the possibility of reaching a broader ceasefire arrangement that would include discussions on Hezbollah’s weapons.

The broadcaster, citing Lebanese media reports, further reports that Israeli and Lebanese military delegations are not holding direct talks, with all messages relayed through the US mediator.

Lebanon has requested clarifications regarding terms used by Israel to justify its military operations, including “imminent danger” and “response to threats,” according to the reports, which add that Israel is seeking a direct communication mechanism between the Israeli and Lebanese armies, as well as cooperation on the disarmament of Hezbollah.

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Oman’s Maritime Security Centre has issued an advisory urging all vessels to exercise caution while navigating the Strait of Hormuz, after a “floating object suspected to be a sea mine” was detected west of the waterway within Omani territorial waters.

“The Maritime Security Centre urges all sea-goers, fishermen, and vessels to exercise the utmost caution and vigilance while navigating, to steer clear of any suspicious objects, and to report them immediately to the competent authorities,” it says in a post on X.

Hezbollah claims it fired rockets at the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, as exchanges of fire between the two sides have intensified despite Lebanon-Israel negotiations, AFP reports.

In at least two statements, the group says it launched a “rocket barrage” at the town “in defence of Lebanon and its people, and in response to the Israeli enemy’s violation of the ceasefire”.