War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Egypt has lifted the energy-saving measures it introduced last month to deal with the effects of an energy crisis caused by the war on Iran, saying on Sunday that shops will no longer be required to shut at 11pm local time, reports Reuters.

Egypt “approved suspending the decision requiring shops, malls and restaurants to close at 11pm, with a return to previously applied normal operating hours,” the cabinet said in a statement.

US President Donald Trump has said he is not “overly disappointed” with China’s role in the Iran conflict, reports Anadolu Agency.

“I don’t think much. I think maybe helping, but I don’t think much they could,” Trump told Fox News on China’s involvement with the Iran war. “They could help a lot more. I’m not overly disappointed.”

He drew a parallel to US support for Ukraine, saying he did not consider China “very bad” given that Washington also assists other countries in conflicts.

Trump said he had halted US diplomatic travel for talks, telling Iran it could call or come to Washington instead. “We have all the cards,” he said, adding that the US is not sending representatives on an 18-hour journey to Pakistan when it held the stronger negotiating position.

“They know what has to be in the agreement. Very simple. They cannot have a nuclear weapon, otherwise there’s no reason to meet,” said Trump.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II has said that any potential agreement between the United States and Iran must guarantee the security of Arab countries, Al Jazeera reports.

Abdullah discussed with Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Jarrah Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah “the strong ties between the two countries and ways of expanding cooperation in several fields, and intensifying joint Arab action to sustain de-escalation in the region,” a royal court statement said.

The Jordanian monarch said any agreement to reduce tensions “must guarantee the security of Arab countries”.

“The security of the Gulf is fundamental to the security and stability of the region and the world,” said Abdullah.

Russia’s foreign ministry says that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will travel to Moscow for talks, AFP reports.

“We confirm a visit by Araghchi to Russia with the aim of holding talks,” the ministry told RIA Novosti news agency, without providing more details.

Pakistan has notified six routes for the transportation of goods to Iran against an encashable bank guarantee amid reports that thousands of containers destined for Iran are awaiting clearance at Pakistani ports.

For this to come into force, the Ministry of Commerce has issued a statutory regulatory order, Transit of Goods through Territory of Pakistan Order 2026.

According to the order, the following routes have been designated for the transit of goods:

• Gwadar-Gabd
• Karachi/ Port Qasim-Lyari-Ormara-Pasni-Gabd
• Karachi/ Port Qasim- Khuzdar-Dalbandin-Taftan
• Gawadar-Turbat-Hoshab-Panjgur-Nagg-Besima-Khuzdar-Quetta/ Lakpass-Dalbandin-Nokundi-Taftan
• Gwadar-Liari-Khuzdar-Quetta/ Lakpass-Dalbandin-Nokundi-Taftan
• Karachi/ Port Qasim -Gwadar- Gabd

Read more here.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit to Moscow on Monday, AFP reports, citing Iran’s ISNA news agency.

Tehran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, said that Araghchi will meet Putin and “consult with Russian officials regarding the latest status of the negotiations, ceasefire, and surrounding developments”, and present a report on negotiations to end the war with the United States and Israel.

President Donald Trump has said that Iran can reach out to the United States if it wants to negotiate an end to the war between the two countries, Reuters reports.

“If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us. You know, there is a telephone. We have nice, secure lines,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has met with Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir in Islamabad on his second visit to Pakistan after his visit to Oman, Iran’s IRNA news agency reports.

Iranian Foreign Minister has exchanged views on the “latest regional developments and ongoing diplomatic efforts” in a telephonic conversation with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Iran’s IRNA news agency reports.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has discussed efforts to relaunch negotiations between the US and Iran with his Qatari and Iranian counterparts, Al Jazeera reports, citing the Egyptian foreign ministry statement.

In separate calls with the ministers, Abdelatty affirmed the importance of the diplomatic path to ensure the continuation of the ceasefire in a way that leads to an end to the war, the statement said.

Hezbollah has rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s accusation that it is jeopardising a ceasefire, saying it will keep responding to Israel’s violations and its occupation of south Lebanon, AFP reports.

In a statement, Hezbollah says its attacks on Israeli targets in south Lebanon and northern Israel are “a legitimate response to the enemy’s persistent violations of the ceasefire since the first day of the announcement of the temporary truce”.

“Hezbollah affirms clearly and firmly that the enemy’s continued ceasefire violations… and above all its continued occupation of Lebanese territory and violations of its sovereignty will be met with a response and a resistance that is… ready to defend its land and people,” the statement reads.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has arrived at Nur Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi after completing a day-long visit to Oman, say sources.

He will meet with senior Pakistani officials during his brief stay in Islamabad and will then depart for Moscow, the sources say.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has discussed regional developments and ongoing diplomatic processes in a telephonic conversation with his Saudi counterpart, Iran’s state media IRIB reports.

In a social media post on X, the IRIB said, “Iran’s FM Araghchi and Saudi FM Faisal held a phone call, discussing the latest regional developments and ongoing diplomatic processes.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has landed in Pakistan again after his Oman visit, Reuters reports,* citing the Iranian state media.

Iran’s official IRNA news agency said Araghchi had arrived during the early evening in Pakistan.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump have discussed the urgent need to get shipping moving again in the Strait of Hormuz during a call, Al Jazeera reports, citing a Downing Street spokesperson.

“The leaders discussed the urgent need to get shipping moving again in the Strait of Hormuz, given the severe consequences for the global economy and cost of living for people in the UK and globally,” the spokesperson for Starmer’s office said in a statement.

“The prime minister shared the latest progress on his joint initiative with [French] President Macron to restore freedom of navigation,” the spokesperson added.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has held talks in Oman, during which security in the Strait of Hormuz and broader Gulf waters and diplomatic efforts to end the US-Israeli war on Iran were discussed, reports Reuters, citing an Iranian foreign ministry statement.

In talks in Muscat with Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al Said, Araqchi said the US military presence in the Middle East was fuelling insecurity and division and called for a regional security framework free of outside interference.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has alleged that Hezbollah’s actions in Lebanon are “dismantling” the ceasefire agreed between Israel and Lebanon, AFP reports.

“It must be understood that Hezbollah’s violations are, in practice, dismantling the ceasefire,” Netanyahu said during a weekly cabinet meeting.

The Israeli military has ordered the evacuation of seven villages in southern Lebanon, saying it would respond to what it alleged were Hezbollah’s violations of a ceasefire agreement between the countries, AFP reports.

The statement issued by the military’s Arabic-language spokesman Colonel Avichay Adraee on X named seven villages south of the Litani River.

Iran’s FM Abbas Araghchi would again meet Pakistani officials to convey “Iran’s positions and views on the framework of any understanding to completely end the war”, AFP reports, citing the Iranian news agency ISNA.

The minister had been in Islamabad only the day before, after which he travelled to Oman, while other Iranian envoys had headed back to Tehran “to consult and obtain the necessary instructions on issues related to ending the war”, according to ISNA.

As the Hormuz strait crisis continues, the UN Office for Project Services (Unops) has warned that the disruption of fertiliser supplies threatens a global humanitarian catastrophe, Al Jazeera reports.

Unops executive director Jorge Moreira da Silva warned that continued maritime disruptions could push millions into a cycle of hunger and famine.

He stressed that raw material prices for fertilisers had increased to record levels, which now required urgent diplomatic action to secure supply chains.

Hezbollah has said it launched two attacks on Israeli soldiers stationed in the southern Lebanon town of Taybeh this morning, Times of Israel reports.

Al Jazeera quoted Hezbollah as saying it targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers with a drone and claimed it inflicted casualties.

Acting President Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani has highlighted Pakistan’s “responsible and proactive role” in promoting peace, reconciliation and dialogue at both the regional and international levels, APP reports.

He made the remarks while addressing the Old Ravians Association’s annual dinner held at a hotel.

“The world is changing rapidly and we must adapt ourselves to new global requirements,” Gilani said.

He noted that Pakistan’s mediation efforts for stability in the region, particularly its diplomatic initiatives to reduce tensions and build mutual trust between Iran and the US, were being acknowledged by the international community.