War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Iran’s Hormozgan Governorate confirms that several enemy projectiles have struck west of Bandar Abbas, state-run IRNA reports.

The governorate announced that a supplementary report on this matter will be provided soon, it added.

Bushehr Governor’s Deputy for Political and Security Affairs says that four points in Iran’s Bushehr city were struck by enemy projectiles this afternoon, according to state-run IRNA news agency.

Iran’s foreign ministry has condemned Britain’s decision to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a security threat, calling the move “unjustified” and “irresponsible”, Reuters reports.

The ministry says the IRGC was an official part of Iran’s armed forces and has accused Britain of violating international law by targeting a state institution.

Britain on Monday banned support for the IRGC and a linked group under new powers aimed at preventing foreign states from using proxies for activities such as surveillance and sabotage.

Iranian state television reported that five explosions were heard around the port city of Bandar Abbas, near the Strait of Hormuz, which has been at the centre of renewed Iran-US fighting, AFP reports.

“A few minutes ago, five explosions were heard west of Bandar Abbas,” the state broadcaster said, without providing further details.

The Strait of Hormuz will never be opened by “war, evil, and American aggression”, the Iranian army’s spokesperson, Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia, was cited as saying by the Tasnim news agency.

The country’s armed forces will not relent over the key waterway, Akraminia added. Respecting the rights of the Iranian people is the only way to open the Strait of Hormuz, he added.

“We are obligated to avenge the blood of the martyrs, especially the martyred leader of the Islamic Revolution,” Akraminia said.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey says that the resumption of hostilities between the United States and Iran in recent days had increased risks to financial stability, Reuters reports.

“It seems to me that the situation remained unstable, and the ceasefire was fragile.

“I think where I am now… instability has come to pass. I don’t certainly feel qualified to judge how long this is going to go on for in terms of this resumption of hostilities and how it’s going to end. But it underlines that this is going to be an unstable process for the foreseeable future,” Bailey has told lawmakers.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has denounced Iranian attacks on two Emirati oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, with Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi calling it “an explicit violation of United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 2817, which stresses the necessity of protecting international navigation and refraining from targeting commercial vessels or endangering maritime lanes,” Al Jazeera reports.

Albudaiwi said the GCC stands firmly with the UAE and supports all measures taken to protect its security, sovereignty and vital interests.

Lebanon and Israel are holding new negotiations under US auspices in Rome on Tuesday, against the backdrop of a regional escalation between Washington and Tehran, AFP reports.

The Lebanese presidency announced on Monday that its delegation to Rome had been instructed “to demand the immediate start of Israeli forces’ withdrawal from the two pilot zones before any further discussion”.

Charging fees for passage through international waters “would be fundamentally wrong”, German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd said on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump said he would reinstate a naval blockade on Iran and charge 20 per cent on all cargo shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports.

According to the Lebanese media El-Nashra, an explosion has occurred in Safita on the southern outskirts of Yahmar al-Shqif town as a result of Israeli attacks, IRNA reports.

Lebanese sources have stated that the Israeli attacks also caused an explosion in Kfar Tebnit, marking the second such blast within less than two hours.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces have detonated several residential homes in Majdel Zoun in the Tyre district and Haddatha in the Bint Jbeil area this morning.

According to Lebanese sources, Bayut al-Siyad has also come under Israeli artillery shelling.

Germany’s economic situation has brightened somewhat halfway through the year after high energy prices caused by the war in the Middle East subsided after a framework agreement between the US and Iran, Reuters cites the economy ministry’s monthly report.

“Nevertheless, uncertainty regarding the further course of the conflict remains high in light of the new airstrikes in Iran,” ministry says.

Train services have resumed along a critical international transit route in Iran days after a US air strike damaged a key railway bridge, Al Jazeera reports.

According to local news outlet SNN, the Aqqala bridge in Golestan province is fully operational again following rapid repair. Iranian officials have frequently described it as the country’s “most important transit corridor”, serving as a central link between Tehran and the northeastern border towards China and Turkmenistan.

The Iranian daily Kayhan reported the route is used for the movement of Russian cargo and the railway line has also seen a significant surge in traffic from Chinese freight operators. It noted Beijing is increasingly relying on this overland route to bypass volatile shipping lanes since the US-Israel war on Iran.

Oil prices have risen to their highest in four weeks, as the US reimposed a naval blockade of Iran and renewed attacks between Washington and Tehran heightened concerns over energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures were up $2.74, or 3.29pc, at $86.04 per barrel at 0751 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.21, or 2.83pc, to $80.35 a barrel.

Brent crude rose to its highest since June 12 and WTI to its highest since June 16. The US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding to end the conflict on June 18.

Kuwait has denounced Iran’s attacks on two Emirati oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, calling them “reprehensible”, according to Al Jazeera.

The country’s foreign ministry described the act, which killed an Indian crew member and injured several others, as a “flagrant violation of international law” and a “direct threat to the security and safety of maritime navigation and global energy supplies”.

It also expressed its solidarity with the UAE and urged an end to fighting in the region.

Major Gulf equity markets open lower after Washington reinstated its naval blockade against Iran, with both nations escalating military strikes around the Strait of Hormuz, intensifying concerns over global energy supply disruptions, Reuters reports.

Dubais main share index ‘has dropped more than 1 per cent, with top lender Emirates NBD gaining 1.2pc.

In Abu Dhabi, the index has eased 0.3pc.

Saudi Arabias benchmark index has lost 0.2pc, hit by a 0.5pc fall in Al Rajhi Bank .

Oil major Saudi Aramco gained 0.8pc as oil prices rose.

China called on the United States and Iran to restore safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, as fighting between the two sides reignited over how the strategic waterway should be managed, AFP reports.

“Restoring normal and safe passage through the strait as soon as possible is a shared aspiration of the international community,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a news briefing, adding that Beijing would “make unremitting efforts to help de-escalate” the situation.

A tanker has been hit by a missile while transiting southeast of Oman’s Limah area, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Monday.

The UKMTO said authorities were investigating the incident.

In the 26 days since the Islamabad MoU was signed, Iran has shipped out more than 80 million barrels of crude oil and refined products, TankerTrackers — a maritime traffic monitor — says.

The shipped oil is worth more than $6 billion currently.

“Now that the US Navy blockade is being reinstated more than a month ahead of schedule, it appears that around 30 million barrels of Iranian crude oil have yet to depart,” TankerTrackers says.

“However, there are also more than 60 million barrels of floating storage capacity available within the blockade perimeter should Iran be forced to scale back its oil production.”

Bahrain’s defence force has thwarted several Iranian attacks, it has said in a statement, Al Jazeera reports

“The General Command of the Bahrain Defence Force announces that Iran continues its systematic aggression through its heinous attacks targeting civilians in the Kingdom of Bahrain,” it says.

“The General Command emphasises that the deliberate use of missiles and drones to target civilians and private property constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.”

It has urged its citizens to continue to exercise caution and to avoid approaching any suspicious objects.

European shares have opened lower as escalating US-Iran tensions spook investors, who scrutinised quarterly earnings from companies such as oil major BP and telecom equipment maker Ericsson to gauge the impact of the conflict on corporate health, Reuters reports.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index has slipped 0.4 per cent to 638.17 points by 0810 GMT, with travel and leisure leading sectoral decliners with a 2pc drop.

Energy price-sensitive airlines Air France and Lufthansa have fallen about 2pc each.

Brent crude prices have shot up 2.6pc to $85 a barrel.

Iran’s oil exports are continuing as usual despite the cancellation last week of a 60-day waiver of U.S. oil sanctions, oil minister Mohsen Paknejad said on his official Telegram account, Reuters reports.

Paknejad said the oil ministry had maintained mechanisms for years to neutralise the impact of US sanctions and that Iran’s oil exports would face no problems despite the removal of the waivers.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has criticised Trump’s statement that the US plans to impose a 20pc tariff on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reports.

“Back in the day, that used to be called piracy,” Lula said in remarks delivered in São Paulo.

“A major country like the United States, which I believe has long fought against piracy, cannot now become a pirate itself,” he said.

Explosions were heard in the Bahraini capital, an AFP journalist said, after sirens sounded for the third time since dawn.

Bahrain’s defence ministry had warned that “sirens have been set off, we urge citizens and residents to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place”. It came hours after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had carried out missile and drone strikes on the Gulf kingdom.

India has summoned Iran’s deputy ambassador over the killing of an Indian seafarer in the Strait of Hormuz, an Indian government official said, according to Reuters.