War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

A Lebanese official has told Anadolu that the latest round of direct talks with Israel included the initial exchange of prisoner lists, with Beirut pressing for the first release as soon as possible.

An Al-Jazeera correspondent reports that the latest round of negotiations between Lebanon and Israel has ended in Rome, after three days of talks.

It is the seventh round of direct talks following earlier negotiations in Washington.

The Israeli army launched 113 projectiles on southern Lebanon on Wednesday, Al Jazeera reports citing the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil).

The uptick marks the biggest single-day violation of Lebanon’s airspace since June 21 — the days leading up to the June 26 “pilot zone” withdrawal deal between the two sides.

Iran intensified its threats towards its Gulf neighbours last week, conveying messages that it would “black out” the entire region if the United States struck its power plants and rattling off a list of specific targets, two officials tell AFP.

The warning followed threats by US President Donald Trump of a massive attack against Iran, which he later walked back over the weekend citing requests from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar and hope for a breakthrough in talks.

“Iran threatened to black out the Gulf, country by country, if Trump attacked its power plants,” a Gulf official tells AFP, with another regional official confirming the messaging.

Both have spoken on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Five months into the US war with Iran, Americans who expect the Middle East to slide towards chaos outnumber those who see the war bringing more stability by three to one, Al Jazeera reports citing a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

The six-day poll concluded on Monday, as US President Donald Trump again backed away from threatened “massive attacks” on Iran, underscoring uncertainty surrounding a conflict he initially predicted would bring a swift victory.

Fifty per cent of poll respondents believe US military action in Iran will destabilise the Middle East over the next year, about three times the 17pc who said the war will lead to more stability in the region.

Another 16pc say stability will stay about the same, and 17pc say they are unsure or have not answered the question.

Americans are also pessimistic about gasoline prices, which have risen as Iran has choked off traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil supplies. Some 58pc expect gas prices to worsen, while just 15pc expect them to improve.

A maritime defence coalition comprising Gulf countries has appointed its commander, according to the Saudi defence ministry.

“The Ministry of Defence of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announces the appointment of Rear Admiral (Staff) Abdullah bin Salem Al-Shahri as the Coalition Commander,” a statement reads. “This represents a key step in advancing the coalition’s institutional development and enhancing its operational readiness.”

It adds, “This appointment reflects the commitment of the founding states to completing the coalition’s leadership structure, thereby strengthening its readiness to carry out its defensive missions in support of maritime security, protecting freedom of navigation, securing maritime routes and strategic straits, and safeguarding international trade and global supply chains within the coalition’s area of responsibility, in accordance with its charter and the provisions of international law.”

The coalition is set to hold a planners’ meeting from August 12-13 to complete the “remaining institutional requirements”.

Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence has arrested 21 people allegedly linked to the Israeli spy agency Mossad, according to state broadcaster IRIB.

The “mercenaries” gathered intelligence on the Iranian military and sent it to Mossad, the ministry said in a statement.

They were arrested in the southeast Kerman province.

Authorities in Kuwait have ordered the closure of a local Iranian school, a source at the education ministry tells AFP, after the country came under repeated Iranian attack during the Middle East war.

The source did not give a reason for the closure of the country’s only Iranian school, but Kuwait has been one of several Gulf states hosting US forces to be targeted by Iran over the course of the war, most recently when the June ceasefire broke down.

“The Minister of Education issued a decision to revoke the educational license of the private Iranian school and close it down,” said the text of the decision, which was seen by AFP.

New admissions were suspended for the coming academic year, with the ministry urging parents to transfer their children to other schools, the decision read.

The chief commander of the Iranian Air Force, Brigadier General Bahman Behmard, has pledged that the force will remain fully committed to defending the Iranian nation against any aggression by its “sworn enemies”, state-run IRNA reports.

In a message issued to commemorate the anniversaries of the martyrdom of two prominent Air Force figures, Behmard stressed the importance of preserving their memory and continuing their path in safeguarding Iran’s dignity and strength.

“We assure the nation that, in the path of obedience to the leader and defence of the great Iranian nation against the aggression of the sworn enemies of this homeland, we will remain legitimate heirs and self-sacrificing followers,” he said.

The Lebanese Health Ministry reports that eight people were injured in the earlier air raids on Burj Shemali in the south of the country by the Israeli army, according to Al Jazeera.

Four people were previously reported injured.

Iran’s army spokesman, Brigadier General Amir Akraminia, says the army is continuously pursuing the path of increasing operational readiness by modernising damaged systems, introducing new equipment, and relying on domestic capabilities, according to Al Jazeera.

He added that, with the arrival of new equipment to units, the army’s combat equipment and tools are being rearranged to suit daily needs.

Eight major shipping associations have urged the UN to oppose compulsory tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reports.

The groups voiced their opposition in a letter to UN chief Antonio Guterres and the head of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Arsenio Dominguez. The missive was sent on Monday and published on Wednesday by one of the associations — the International Chamber of Shipping.

Compulsory or service charges “represent a significant departure from established international practice”, they wrote, warning they could create a precedent in other waterways. They also called for action over the safety of seafarers.

The other signatories were: Asian Shipowners’ Association, BIMCO (Baltic and International Maritime Council), Cruise Lines International Association, European Shipowners, INTERCARGO (Global Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners), INTERTANKO (International Association of Independent Tanker Owners), and the World Shipping Council.

Oil prices are holding steady amid market caution over whether talks between Iran and Oman will restore flows through the Strait of Hormuz, while reports of attacks on Saudi tankers in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden renew supply tensions, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures have gained 9 cents, or 0.11 per cent, to $79.54 a barrel by 09:28 GMT (2:28pm PKT). US West Texas Intermediate futures added 5 cents, or 0.07pc, to $75.27 a barrel.

“Traders still remember the short-lived Memorandum of Understanding signed in June, so there is understandable anxiety that any new deal could prove equally fragile,” says Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.

Rights groups say that an Israeli attack in south Lebanon that killed reporter Amal Khalil and wounded another journalist on April 22 — after a ceasefire was declared — was an apparent “war crime”, AFP reports.

Khalil, a 42-year-old reporter for Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, and freelance camerawoman Zeinab Faraj had taken refuge in a building in the village of Al-Tiri after an Israeli strike hit a vehicle travelling in front of theirs.

The building was subsequently attacked, and while Faraj was rescued, Lebanese authorities accused the Israeli army of obstructing efforts to save Khalil while she was still alive.

Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Lebanese rights group The Legal Agenda have released the findings of separate investigations into the attack.

HRW said the Israeli strikes “included apparently deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects, which would make them war crimes”. Amnesty decried a “direct attack on civilians which should be investigated as a war crime”.

Both groups said the Israeli army “knew or should have known” that the pair were civilians, noting Israeli drones were present at the attack site.

The US military is urgently seeking a low-cost missile interceptor to counter small drones, setting a target production cost of under $150,000 per unit for mass deployment, Press TV reports.

“The missile production cost should be less than $150K per missile in a quantity buy of at least 5,000 missiles,” a procurement document on the US General Services Administration’s website said, according to RIA Novosti. 

According to the specifications, the new interceptor must be capable of targeting small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) weighing between 20 and 1,300 pounds at a range of up to 15 miles

Iran’s Acting Defence Minister said, “Iran’s domestic technology is superior to any imported system in the region,” Press TV reports.

Speaking on the setbacks in negotiations with Iran, Vance mentioned two factors to Fox News: “Number one, the Iranians are extraordinarily difficult people. Number two, they have a fractured system.”

“There are people within their system that want the war to be over and there are also people in their system that are crazy radicals who want the war to continue,” he said.

“Our job is to navigate through that and get the best outcome for the American people and for the President of the United States as well.”

The US will use military, economic and diplomatic tools to bring the Iran conflict to a resolution, Vice President JD Vance tells Fox News, according to Anadolu.

Vance expressed hope for a settlement of the conflict, but said, “It’s going to be messy and it’s gonna take some time to get there — but we’ll land”. He added that the oil prices will “come down and stay down.”

“Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, and the United States will be in a stronger position,” he said.

“But we’re going to use all the tools that we have — military, economic, diplomatic — to make sure we bring this thing to the right resolution,” Vance said.

Regional and international developments will be among the topics discussed between the top leadership of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia as PM Shehbaz Sharif and CDF Field Marshal Asim Munir will visit the kingdom from Aug 6-8, the Foreign Office says.

“During the visit, the prime minister will meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and discussions will focus on consolidating the Pakistan-Saudi bilateral relationship and exchange views on areas of regional and international developments of mutual interests,” FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said.

Andrabi noted that while the visit was taking place amid heightened tensions in the Gulf, he said that “it will carry immense significance beyond the immediate crisis and short-term considerations”.

Lebanese state media has reported Israeli airstrikes and shelling overnight into the morning, after Israel announced its first military fatalities in more than a month as renewed hostilities flared, AFP reports.

The strikes — which began yesterday afternoon and were accompanied by the first evacuation warning in weeks — came as Israel and Lebanon took part in US-mediated talks in Rome, with Beirut seeking Israel’s phased withdrawal from the south.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported that “the Israeli enemy escalated its attacks” on Tyre district with “a series of airstrikes and artillery shelling” that lasted from last night into the morning.

The agency reported four strikes in the town of Burj al-Shamali, leaving four people wounded.

It also said Israeli aircraft carried out three strikes in and around Mansouri, as “artillery shelling and tank fire” targeted the town simultaneously.

Pakistan hopes an agreement over the Strait of Hormuz will lead to the United States and Iran resuming talks under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, the Foreign Office (FO) says, AFP reports.

“We hope that the agreement on the Strait will pave the way for continuing dialogue, particularly the resumption of technical-level talks between Iran and the United States,” foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi told reporters.

Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, have discussed preparations for upcoming visits to the kingdom by an Iraqi security delegation, Al Jazeera reports.

The talks took place on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting on Jerusalem in the Jordanian capital, Amman, the Iraqi News Agency reported, citing a Foreign Ministry statement.

The two ministers reviewed arrangements for the security delegation’s visit and discussed reciprocal visits at various levels aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation and coordination.

Hussein later posted details of the meeting on X, saying the discussions also covered preparations for Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s planned visit to Saudi Arabia, without specifying a date.

The trip would be al-Zaidi’s first visit to the kingdom since taking office as Iraq’s premier in May.

The meeting came a week after US and Saudi forces carried out deadly strikes on targets linked to Iranian-aligned groups in Iraq.