War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar says he discussed the “evolving situation in the Gulf and emphasised the importance of restraint, de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy” with visiting Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani.

“We discussed the need to ensure the safety and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab, given their importance to regional and global food and energy security,” Dar says at a joint press conference with the visiting dignitary.

For his part, Al Zayani has expressed Manama’s appreciation for Islamabad’s “principled positions on the ongoing crisis”, including its support in March for a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Iranian attacks on GCC countries.

The minister also praises Pakistan’s “efforts alongside other partners to facilitate US-Iran dialogue and de-escalation, including by hosting the Islamabad Talks” in April.

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Potential Iranian threats are not limiting American military operations across Europe or Nato territory, Anadolu reports quoting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“No. There is nothing we want or need to do against Iran that we can’t still do,” Rubio says in response to a question as he departs Greece for Portugal on the final stop of his European tour.

Oil prices soared more than five per cent following reports that the United States could launch fresh attacks on Iran before next month’s midterm elections, risking further supply disruptions, AFP reports.

International benchmark Brent North Sea crude rallied to $105.46 per barrel and the main US contract, West Texas Intermediate, was up to $92.82 per barrel.

Iran’s armed forces are stronger and more prepared than ever, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Brigadier General Mohammad Hossein Dadras said, state media reports.

He also highlighted the continued presence and resilience of the Iranian people.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has set the November official selling price of its benchmark Murban crude at $11 a barrel against Dubai quotes, it said, Reuters reports.

Iranian intelligence services are targeting US military bases in Germany, including Ramstein and Spangdahlem, amid concerns over potential covert attacks linked to the Iran conflict, German news outlet WirtschaftsWoche reports.

Iraqi Airways resumed direct flights to Iran on Thursday after a seven-month suspension that began amid the US-Israeli war on Iran in early March, according to the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA).

The national carrier said regular daily flights would operate from Najaf International Airport to Tehran, Mashhad and Isfahan.

The resumption followed efforts by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and Transport Minister Wahab al-Hasani after the necessary regulatory and technical requirements were completed, the airline said.

Syria may deploy troops to help Saudi Arabia fight Yemen’s Houthis, a US official and a Syrian defence official said, as the Iran-aligned group steps up its missile and drone attacks on the kingdom, killing three people at Saudi airports this week, Reuters reports.

The possible entry of Syrian forces into the battle, an overspill of the US-Iran conflict, shows how Yemen’s reignited civil war has added new chaos to a region already aflame, and risks drawing regional states into gruelling mountain fighting.

Saudi Arabia has pushed for support from allied nations, including Turkey and Pakistan, even if only in a logistical or purely defensive capacity, an effort made more urgent by the Houthi strikes on its infrastructure such as this week’s deadly airport attack.

Gulf stock markets fell in early trade as attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz reached their highest levels of the war, cutting traffic through the vital waterway and deepening fears over supply, Reuters reports.

The latest attack came on Wednesday, when a tanker was hit by multiple projectiles 51 nautical miles north of Qatar’s Madinat ash Shamal, causing casualties, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).

The surge in attacks came just as Gulf producers were pushing to export more.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index dropped 0.9 per cent, with the country’s biggest lender by assets, Saudi National Bank, declining 2.6pc.

Shipping traffic quickly took the hit. The number of vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz fell to its lowest in more than two months, shipping data showed.

Diplomats have been instructed to shelter in place in their respective embassies in the Saudi capital, diplomats tell AFP, as residents say international schools are also taking precautions, with at least one facility sending children into a basement for safety.

The measures come after repeated blasts were heard in the city, in one of the loudest disturbances since the beginning of the Middle East war.

Two people working in Riyadh’s business hub — the King Abdullah Financial District — tell AFP that some companies are evacuating staff from the area.

Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi says the actual death toll among US soldiers and the destruction of US military assets is “far higher” than publicly disclosed, adding that “CENTCOM won’t let a sitting Senator inspect bases it claims are fine.“

Several explosions echoed across the Saudi capital Riyadh, AFP journalists heard, during the war between the kingdom and Houthi fighters in Yemen.

The Iran-backed group has claimed repeated attacks targeting Riyadh airport in recent days along with salvos aimed at critical infrastructure and military sites elsewhere in Saudi Arabia.

The first commercial flight operated by a foreign airline to fly into Iran since the outbreak of the Middle East war landed, state media reported, after the United States granted a sanctions waiver for Iraq’s national carrier to fly to the Islamic republic, AFP reports.

State TV broadcast a short video of the Iraqi Airways flight landing in capital Tehran from Iraq’s Najaf, a city holy to Shia Muslims, adding that it was a round-trip service.

“Operated by Iraqi Airways, the flight took off from Najaf Airport and landed successfully at Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran at 6:50 am (0320 GMT),” state TV said.

Crude prices soared more than three per cent after a report said the White House has asked the Pentagon to draw up options to hit sites in Iran ahead of the US midterm elections.

Global benchmark Brent surged 3.6pc to $130.80 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was up 3.4pc at $91.27, fuelling fresh fears about a spike in inflation.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy’s political deputy Ali Mohammadi has said the oil market also understands that US President Donald Trump is “lying” about the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, Press Tv reports.

“If oil and ships are really passing through the Strait of Hormuz, why isn’t the oil market reacting accordingly?” Mohammadi said. “Because the market also understands that you are lying.”

Saudi authorities said three people were killed in attacks on two of the kingdom’s international airports, including in the capital Riyadh, after Yemen’s Houthis claimed to have fired on both transport hubs, AFP reports.

The Iran-backed Houthis have claimed a wave of attacks on Saudi civilian infrastructure in recent weeks, which came as Riyadh-backed forces pressed a counter-offensive against the group’s territorial gains.

Since Yemen’s civil war reignited in July, more than 200,000 people have been displaced within the country, the United Nations said Wednesday.

The Yemeni army said that 1,860 Houthis were “neutralized” in 2,103 targeting operations across multiple fronts as part of Operation “Dawn of Yemen,” Anadolu reports.

Armed forces spokesman Col. Majid al-Nuzaili said the military carried out 2,103 “precision targeting operations” against Houthi positions and movements on various fronts.

He said the operations destroyed hundreds of pieces of military equipment and Houthi positions.

Al-Nuzaili did not specify how many of the 1,860 Houthis were killed or wounded.

President Donald Trump was repeatedly interrupted by protesters at a rally in Texas, with media reporting about a dozen people were escorted from the rally, Reuters reports.

The 80-year-old Republican brushed off the interlopers as “paid protesters,” and the crowd repeatedly broke into chants of “U-S-A!” and booed them.

The cost of living has become a central issue in the run-up to the elections, with fuel prices hitting record highs as Trump’s unpopular war in Iran drags into its eighth month.

Oil prices rose on persistent worries about supply from the key Middle East producing region amid an increase in attacks on shipping in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, while the US cut output as a hurricane menaced offshore production, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures rose $2.28, or 2.28 per cent, to $102.28 a barrel by 0427 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $1.66, or 1.88pc, to $89.94.

Prices settled lower on Wednesday after the International Energy Agency agreed to accelerate the release of oil stocks and to prioritize diesel supplies under a plan launched in March, as governments seek to tackle record fuel prices and supply disruptions caused by the Iran war.

The Houthi militia claimed down a Saudi-operated Akinci drone over Yemen’s Taiz area.

Yemen’s Houthis have said that they struck the Saudi capital’s main international airport with a ballistic missile, in another attack on the kingdom claimed by the group, AFP reports.

The claim came a day after the anti-government fighters said they launched a series of attacks in Saudi Arabia that killed three people, and after the Riyadh-backed Yemeni government announced a major counter-offensive against the Houthis.

“Our armed forces successfully targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with a ballistic missile, which accurately struck its target and disrupted airport operations,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on X.

This marks the third time this week that the group has claimed responsibility for an attack on the airport.

“We reiterate our call and warning – for the last time – to all international airlines against continuing to operate flights through Saudi airspace,” Saree added.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon has said one of its posts was targeted near the border with Israel by small-arms fire, but there were no casualties, AFP reports.

“This morning, several rounds of small arms fire impacted a UNIFIL position near Kfar Shouba along the Blue Line in Sector East,” the UN force said in a statement, referring to the de facto border between Israel and Lebanon.

The blue helmets described the shooting as “unacceptable”.

“Such deliberate attacks gravely endanger the lives of peacekeepers,” it said, adding that it was investigating the incident.

A tanker sailing off the north coast of Qatar reported being struck “by multiple projectiles”, causing an unspecified number of casualties, the UKMTO maritime agency says, Reuters reports.

The incident took place 51 nautical miles (94 kilometres) off the coast of the tiny Gulf state, the British agency said, adding that authorities were investigating. It did not specify the origin of the ship.

The reported attack was around 500 kilometres from the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani says US President Donald Trump’s claims about the resignation of Iran’s oil minister due to pressure from the war are “a futile effort to hide his own failures”, Al Jazeera reports.

She says the oil minister’s resignation is “not a sign of weakness”, but flexibility in a stable political system.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that the country’s officials are serious about using diplomacy to secure national interests and security, noting that Iran is still determined to defend itself, Al Jazeera reports.

In a meeting with Iranian officials, Araghchi says Tehran’s delegation to the UN General Assembly presented the proposed seven-day peace plan to the US to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to a message on his Telegram channel.