War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Iran’s foreign minister has warned that any challenge to the country’s control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz would increase tensions despite ongoing peace negotiations to end the Middle East war, AFP reports.

“Any attempt to adopt new or separate arrangements compared to what is underway by the Islamic Republic of Iran will only lead to more complicated situations and delays in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and will increase the tensions, as we witnessed in the past two nights,” Abbas Araghchi said at a news conference on a visit to Baghdad.

Tehran’s top diplomat called on all parties to “adhere to the memorandum of understanding and not to allow this MoU to deviate from its course” after both sides traded attacks in recent days.

The Israeli military has said a soldier was killed today in fighting in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports.

Captain David Hazutt, 21, a platoon commander “fell in combat” in southern Lebanon, the military said.

Hazutt was killed when soldiers encountered a “Hezbollah terrorist after entering a suspicious structure in the area of Deir Seryan in southern Lebanon”, a military official said in a separate statement.

In the incident, an additional Israeli soldier was lightly injured, the official said.

“Following the incident, the soldiers began searching for the terrorist and struck targets in the area,” the official added.

Iran’s foreign minister has called for the establishment of a security framework with Gulf countries, after Iranian strikes against US bases in the Gulf in retaliation for American attacks, AFP reports.

“We should reach a new framework that includes all countries in the region and without the presence or interference of any country from outside the region,” Abbas Araghchi said at a news conference on a visit to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah has warned of “internal conflict” in Lebanon over the country’s agreement with Israel, which the group rejects, predicting that the deal would not be implemented, AFP reports.

Fadlallah spoke a day after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told US President Donald Trump in a phone call that the Lebanese state “will assume its responsibilities” in implementing the framework agreement.

Speaking at a memorial ceremony, Fadlallah said: “The agreement of humiliation and disgrace signed by the authorities will never see the light of day and will not be implemented.”

“Our finger will remain on the trigger, we will continue our path of resistance to achieve our objectives, and we will exercise our legitimate right to defend our people,” he said.

He added that what “the authorities have done amounts to sedition aimed at pushing the country into chaos and shifting the conflict from one with the enemy to an internal conflict”.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says, “These escalatory acts constitute a flagrant violation of state sovereignty and a direct threat to the security and stability of the region,” Al Jazeera reports.

A statement released by his office said Aoun viewed the ongoing attacks within the framework of undermining “all regional and international efforts and initiatives aimed at halting the war and containing the tensions”.

The situation “necessitates urgent action by the sponsors of the US-Iranian memorandum of understanding and the international community”.

The president also affirmed Lebanon’s “full solidarity with Bahrain and Kuwait”.

Iraq’s foreign minister has said in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart that it was important to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and lift the US naval blockade on Iran, Reuters reports.

Iraq does not support expanding the scale of the war on the Gulf states, and does not back attacks on Iran, Fuad Hussein told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is visiting Baghdad.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says all aspects of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with the United States must be honoured, including the clauses on Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports.

“Regrettably, the Zionist entity continues its air strikes on Lebanon,” Araghchi said in Baghdad, adding the MoU was also accepted by Israel.

Washington “should live up to its responsibility and force” Israel to end its attacks on Lebanon to end the war, he said.

Araghchi also called on Washington to push Israel to withdraw from the areas it has been occupying in Lebanon. “This was the first clause of the MoU,” he noted.

Iran’s foreign minister says the Strait of Hormuz remains under total Iranian control during a visit to Iraq, Al Jazeera reports.

“I have briefed my counterpart on the latest outcomes of the war imposed on Iran, and also the developments with respect to the memorandum of understanding signed between Iran and the United States,” said Araghchi.

“The Strait of Hormuz remains under the total oversight and management of Iran through the 30 coming days, and after all obstacles are removed, the total capacity of the waterway will be restored. This is what we are working on,” he added.

“This responsibility rests on the Islamic Republic of Iran. There is no other party or state in this respect. This is totally clear under the memorandum of understanding and any intervention or any unilateral action will result in exacerbating the situation and also delay the reopening of the strait.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is speaking at a news conference with his Iraqi counterpart, Al Jazeera reports.

“The people and government of Iraq have always extended their support during the war. They have always supported the Iranian people who were victims to the Israeli American aggression,” Araghchi told reporters.

“The Iraqi people have always supported their Iranian brothers.”

The Lebanese state news agency has reported a new Israeli attack on southern Lebanon, two days after the countries signed an agreement to pave the way to peace talks, AFP reports.

“An Israeli warplane carried out an airstrike targeting the outskirts of the towns of Deir Seryan and Taybeh in southern Lebanon,” Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, in a phone call, have discussed the evolving regional situation, the Foreign Office (FO) said.

“The two leaders discussed the latest evolving regional situation following the signing of the ‘Islamabad MoU’, FO said.

Dar’s Bahrain counterpart also appreciated Pakistan’s “constructive role” in the Islamabad MoU.

He expressed hope that the agreement would lead to “lasting peace and stability in the region”.

As per FO, Zayani also “indicated that he would visit Pakistan in the near future in order to personally thank prime minister, DPM/FM and CDF for their great efforts to achieve the ceasefire.

“DPM/FM thanked Dr Al Zayani for his kind sentiments and reiterated Pakistan’s resolve to promote dialogue and diplomacy for achieving peace and stability in region and beyond.”

The Israeli military has claimed it killed Hezbollah fighters armed with rocket-propelled grenades and struck a rocket launcher in the Nabatieh area of southern Lebanon, Reuters reports.

The Israeli military claimed it struck the structure from which the militants operated and dismantled a rocket launcher that posed a threat.

Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed its “strongest denunciation of the repeated heinous Iranian aggressions” against the country, saying the attacks were a “flagrant violation of its sovereignty”, Al Jazeera reports.

The ministry also warned that such attacks undermine ongoing regional and global efforts at de-escalation and “represent a direct challenge to the international will supporting this path”.

It also said the state of Kuwait “reserves its full right to take all necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty, preserve its security and stability, and protect its people and the residents on its territory”.

The Israeli military has claimed it killed several “armed terrorists” a day earlier in southern Syria, AFP reports.

“Yesterday (Saturday), IDF soldiers eliminated several armed terrorists in the Security Zone in southern Syria,” it said in a statement.

The Israeli army has occupied what it calls a “security zone” in southern Syria since late 2024 and said it would remain in place there “in order to remove any threat to Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers”.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said earlier this month that it planned to keep its troops in Syria “for an unlimited period”, as well as in Lebanon and Gaza.

Gadi Eisenkot, a former Israeli army chief and leader of the opposition Yashar Party, has criticised Netanyahu’s performance and expressed support for an inquiry into decisions on Gaza and Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports.

“A prime minister who has blindly dragged the country to its lowest point in history, who works day and night to fuel division and incitement, who invests all his energy in encouraging draft dodging, is unworthy of this nation and certainly not fit to preach morals about unity,” Eisenkot wrote in a post on X.

The politician, whose popularity is surging as Israel prepares for elections, said Netanyahu had “continued to lie about Gaza and Lebanon” at his press conference earlier.

“We will establish a government with a Zionist and national majority that will safeguard Israel’s interests. We will reconnect the people of Israel. Because Israel must win,” he wrote.

Bahrain’s foreign ministry has expressed its “strongest condemnation” of Iran’s latest ballistic missile and drone attacks, saying they violate the Gulf nation’s sovereignty, Al Jazeera reports.

In a statement carried by the Bahrain News Agency, the ministry said the strikes also undermine “opportunities for de-escalation and stability in the region”.

It called on the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting to address the situation in hopes of “putting an end to this ongoing aggression and holding its perpetrators accountable”.

The ministry added that Bahrain “affirms its full legitimate right to defend its sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity in accordance with international law, and holds the Iranian regime fully responsible for any escalation resulting from its continued aggression”.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has left for an official visit to the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, Al Jazeera reports.

In a post on Telegram, Araghchi said he would meet with senior Iraqi officials to discuss bilateral relations and regional developments, among other issues.

Iran has said airstrikes targeted several monitoring and surveillance facilities on Iran’s southern coast, calling the attacks a violation of an interim deal meant to end the four-month-old war between the two countries, AFP reports.

“These brutal attacks … show that the U.S. does not place the slightest value and credibility on its commitments, and breaking promises is part of its nature,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Kuwait came under attack from “hostile” missiles and drones, the country’s army said, while air-raid sirens sounded in Bahrain following fresh US strikes against Iran, AFP reports.

“Kuwaiti air defences are currently engaging hostile missile and drone attacks. Everyone is urged to adhere to the safety and security instructions issued by the relevant authorities,” the army wrote on X.

Air raid sirens sounded for a second time in Bahrain on Sunday, the Interior Ministry says, according to AFP.

Iran announced earlier that it had launched strikes against the US Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain and another base in Kuwait, in retaliation for US strikes on its territory.

“The siren has been sounded… Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place,” the Interior Ministry said on X.

The IRGC’s Navy command has issued a statement on the escalation with the US, Al Jazeera reports.

It said the US’s attack on the city of Sirik “does not solve the mystery of our dominance over the strait, but our firing at the violators reminds the rest of the vessels of the clear path of passage”.

“The American bases in the region are a separate matter. They will experience hell in these days,” it added.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, has said that no US casualties, major impacts, or damage to US facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait have been reported as of yet, but the situation is still unfolding, Reuters reports.