War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Footage shows a huge plume of smoke rising above al-Mansouri in Lebanon’s Tyre region, where Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto reports there have been recent Israeli air attacks.

Hitto says the smoke cloud is close to areas in which there has also been “intense fighting” between Israeli troops and Hezbollah forces.

“The fighting is ongoing. The strikes continue,” said Hitto from Tyre.

UAE has said its air defence systems are “actively engaging with missiles and UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) threats”.

“Sounds heard across the country are the result of ongoing engaging operations of missiles and UAV’s,” the defence ministry added.

United States Central Command (Centcom) says the naval blockade of Iranian ports has redirected 51 vessels, ordering them to turn around or return to port.

Lebanon’s health ministry says at least 2,702 people have been killed by Israeli attacks across Lebanon since fighting resumed on March 2, Al Jazeera reports.

The ministry adds that 8,311 people have also been wounded.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pitched a drone deal to Bahrain during a visit to the country, advertising Ukraine’s battle-tested security expertise, Reuters reports.

Zelensky said he had discussed with King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa Iran’s strikes against Bahrain and the Strait of Hormuz.

“Our country is facing similar terrorist strikes almost every day, and our people have relevant experience in full-scale defence,” Zelensky said on X.

“Ukraine is ready to share this security expertise with Bahrain and help strengthen the protection of life,” he said. The two countries have agreed to work out the details of a potential deal, the Ukrainian leader added.

Since the US-Israeli war on Iran erupted on February 28, Ukraine has been offering its drones and know-how to several Middle Eastern countries suffering from Iran’s Shahed drone attacks.

Global oil prices have slipped a day after the United States launched an operation aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, although exchanges of fire between the US and Iran limited the decline, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures eased $2.99, or 2.6 per cent, to $111.45 a barrel at 13:22 GMT (6:22pm PKT) after settling up 5.8pc on Monday. US West Texas Intermediate crude fell $3.70, or 3.5pc, to $102.72, after gaining 4.4pc in the previous session.

US forces are ready to resume major combat operations against Iran if they are ordered to do so, AFP reports citing the top US military officer.

US Central Command “and the rest of the joint force remain ready to resume major combat operations against Iran if ordered to do so. No adversary should mistake our current restraint with a lack of resolve,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Dan Caine tells reporters.

The US Embassy in Iraq is warning its citizens not to take flights to the country after it recently opened its airspace, following closures during the US-Israel war on Iran, Al Jazeera reports.

“Individuals considering air travel within Iraq should be aware of the ongoing potential risks posed by missiles, drones, and rocket-propelled grenades in Iraqi airspace,” the embassy says in a statement on social media.

“Iraq’s Iran-aligned terrorist militias continue to plan additional attacks against American citizens and US-associated targets throughout Iraq.”

US citizens have been advised: “Do not travel to Iraq for any reason. Depart now if you are there.”

Asked if the US could get roped back into the Middle East war by Israel, War Secretary Pete Hegseth has strongly denied the possibility.

“President [Donald] Trump has led at every step of this based on his view of American interests and ‘America First’, and we’re grateful that the Israelis have been very capable partners at various steps of this,” he says in response to a question.

“They may have some objectives at times that are slightly different than ours, but there’s only one hand on the wheel ultimately directing this … and it’s President Trump,” Hegseth adds.

Asked if South Korea would join Project Freedom, US War Secretary Pete Hegseth replies, “We hope so”.

“We hope South Korea would step up, just like we hope Japan … Australia … Europe steps up, but we’re not waiting for them to do so; we’re looking to set the conditions to hand to them,” he tells reporters.

He adds that US Central Command is in contact with a South Korean vessel, which caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz yesterday.

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine says a decision to restart the Iran war is ultimately a political decision.

The threshold of restarting is a political decision above my pay grade,” the chairman tells reporters. “What I’ll say is it’s below harassing fire right now; it feels like Iran is grasping at straws to try to do something across the southern flank.”

Fielding questions from reporters at the Pentagon, US War Secretary Pete Hegseth says Washington is “overtly and quietly” communicating with Iran to allow this operation to take place.

“There are some actions that the IRGC takes sometimes that are outside the bounds of what maybe Iranian negotiators would like; that’s their job to rein that in, and ultimately create a condition for a deal,” he says.

US War Secretary Pete Hegseth emphasises that Washington’s strategy “remains laser-focused”.

“We’re not allowing ourselves to get distracted, this is a separate and distinct effort, temporary in nature that we intend to hand over to the world,” he tells reporters at the Pentagon.

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine has told reporters that Iran attacked Oman once and the United Arab Emirates three times, including at the Fujairah oil terminal, over the past 24 hours.

“In addition to shipping, Iran has continued to deliberately attack its neighbours,” Gen Caine says.

General Dan Caine, the chairman of the US’ Joint Chiefs of Staff, has outlined the goals of Project Freedom, as well as provided updates on the new operation.

“On Sunday, at the direction of the president, Centcom initiated Project Freedom, with the objective of facilitating the safe passage of international commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” he tells reporters at the Pentagon.

Gen Caine adds that over the past several weeks, Iran has “repeatedly threatened and attacked” commercial vessels in the Strait to “cut off commercial traffic and damage the global economy”.

Highlighting the US presence in those waters on a map, he points out the sites of kinetic attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman.

“Since the ceasefire was announced, Iran has fired at commercial vessels nine times and seized two container ships, and they have attacked US forces more than 10 times, all below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this time,” Gen Caine says.

US War Secretary Pete Hegseth, addressing reporters at the Pentagon, says that the Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway and not under the control of any one country.

“These international waters belong to all nations, not to Iran to tax and toll, or control,” he says.

US War Secretary Pete Hegseth has said that Washington’s naval blockade remains in force and that six Iranian vessels that tried to run it were turned around.

However, Hegseth warns that if Iran’s forces attack commercial vessels or US forces, they will “face overwhelming and devastating American firepower”.

US War Secretary Pete Hegseth, addressing a press briefing at the Pentagon, says that Washington is promising security for commercial vessels with a “red, white and blue dome” over the Strait of Hormuz, as part of the recently launched Project Freedom.

“Two US commercial ships, along with American destroyers, have already transited the Strait, showing the lane is clear,” Hegseth adds, noting that Iran is “embarrassed”.

He adds that hundreds of ships from across the world are lining up to transit the Strait of Hormuz, with US Central Command in contact with vessels and shipping companies.

“As a direct gift from the United States to the world, we have established a powerful red, white and blue dome over the Strait,” Hegseth says, noting that US destroyers are on station providing overwatch for commercial shipping, in conjunction with combat and surveillance aircraft.

US War Secretary Pete Hegseth, flanked by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine, has outlined the objectives of the recently launched Project Freedom.

“To be clear, this operation is separate and distinct from Operation Epic Fury. Project Freedom is defensive in nature, focused in scope and temporary in duration, with one mission: protecting innocent commercial shipping from Iranian aggression,” Hegseth says.

The secretary adds that American forces will not need to enter Iranian waters or airspace.

“We’re not looking for a fight, but Iran also cannot be allowed to block innocent countries and their goods from an international waterway,” he says.

French President Emmanuel Macron will speak with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, later today, as he pushes for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, AFP reports.

“I will be speaking with the Iranian president shortly,” Macron tells reporters at a press conference in Yerevan, adding that France has long advocated for “the restoration of freedom of navigation” in the vital waterway.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has called on Gulf states to stop trying to borrow security from extra-regional powers, warning that the US military presence in the Middle East “serves only as a source of instability and endangers the very countries hosting those bases”.

Baghaei, in an interview on Press TV’s ‘Unscripted’ programme, reaffirms Tehran’s longstanding position that genuine and lasting security in the region can “only be secured through indigenous cooperation among the regional states themselves, without any outside interference”.

“The US military presence in the region is a liability and brings nothing but insecurity,” the spokesman stated, pointing out how Washington’s military bases have repeatedly exposed host nations to unnecessary risks rather than providing real protection.

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According to Al Jazeera, there have been reports of two Israeli military raids in Tebnine, southern Lebanon.

Israeli forces remain stationed in the south despite an October ceasefire between the two countries, which called for a full withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which runs between Iran and Oman, has caused a spike in worldwide fuel prices and rattled the global economy, Al Jazeera reports.

The US-led Joint Maritime Information Centre is advising stranded ships to cross the Hormuz Strait in Oman’s waters, saying it has set up an “enhanced security area”.

However, the semi-official Fars news agency reports that two commercial vessels attempting to traverse the sea route are now stuck.

“The waters near the coast of Oman are rocky, and the vessels are unable to leave or return from this part,” Fars quoted an unnamed “informed source” as saying.

“The southern coast of the Strait of Hormuz — near the two islands of Musandam and al-Khail — does not have the geographical ability to become a maritime corridor, and the passage of vessels through the rocky and shallow southern areas is very risky,” Fars reports.

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares Bueno says Spain will not participate in military action against Iran, Fars news agency reports.