War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

A recent report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) says the United States lost or damaged 42 military aircraft during Operation Epic Fury, the 40-day military campaign against Iran that began on February 28, 2026.

The report, released last week and circulated by several US media outlets on Friday, is believed to be the most detailed public accounting so far of US aircraft losses in the conflict. However, the Pentagon has not yet issued its own comprehensive assessment.

In the report, CRS researchers said they compiled the figures from news reports, official Pentagon statements, and announcements by US Central Command (Centcom).

The report notes that the Department of Defence — now also using the title “Department of War” under an executive order issued in September 2025 — has not publicly provided a full list of losses from the campaign.

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The Israeli military issued a displacement demand for residents of nearly a dozen towns and villages in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports.

The order, which covered 11 locations including Al-Nabatieh al-Tahta, Kafr Tibnit, Zibdine, Arab Salim, Kafr Reman, Habboush, Blat, Deir Qanun al-Nahr, Harouf and Jibshit, instructed residents to evacuate their homes immediately and move to open areas at least 1,000 meters away.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said that Tehran would not compromise on the rights of the Iranian nation, Tasnim reports.

Israel kept up strikes on Lebanon today, hours after overnight raids on the country’s south and east, including one that damaged a hospital, its chief executive tells AFP.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli airstrikes on around a dozen locations in the south, including one targeting an agricultural area, “wounding several Syrian workers”.

The NNA said an overnight strike in the southern city of Tyre that targeted a site near the hospital caused “severe damage” to the facility.

An AFP correspondent saw shattered glass, ceiling panels blown out and damaged medical equipment at the multi-storey Hiram hospital.

Iran’s football federation has denied reports that three national team players have had their US visa applications rejected for the 2026 World Cup, Al Jazeera reports.

The federation said in a statement published by the Tasnim news agency that claims regarding the rejection of visas for defenders Shoja Khalilzadeh and Ehsan Hajsafi, as well as forward Mehdi Taremi, were “false”, adding that the administrative process for obtaining visas had been carried out according to procedure.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met Iran’s Minister of Agriculture Gholamreza Nouri Ghezeljeh, in Tehran, Pakistan TV reports.

“Both sides emphasised the need to accelerate agreements in the agricultural sector and to facilitate the transport of essential commodities,” it added.

They also highlighted shared opportunities in agriculture and livestock trade between the two countries.

The IRGC’s navy has said at least 25 ships have passed through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reports.

“In the past 24 hours, 25 ships, including oil tankers, container ships, and other commercial vessels, passed through the Strait of Hormuz after obtaining permission with the coordination and security of the IRGC Navy,” the IRGC said in a statement.

Iran’s ambassador and permanent representative to the UN office in Geneva, Ali Bahraini, has warned against the humanitarian impact of the “illegal” US naval blockade against the Islamic Republic, stressing that it constitutes “a war crime,” PressTV reports.

He stressed that this “unilateral naval blockade”, which is being imposed within the framework of unilateral coercive measures and as part of an ongoing pressure campaign against Iran, has had widespread humanitarian impact.

CDF Field Marshal Asim Munir has also met with Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in Tehran, Iran’s IRIB reports.

Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir has met with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB reports.

Diplomatic channels have seen intensified activity since last night as Iran’s foreign minister has spoken to various counterparts and other officials to discuss the “regional situation”.

Some of the leaders Iran’s FM Abbas Araghchi has held phone calls with are:

• UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres
• Qatar’s PM and FM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani
• Turkiye’s FM Hakan Fidan
• Oman’s FM Badr Albusaidi
• Iraq’s FM Fuad Hussein
• Japan’s FM Toshimitsu Motegi
• President of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani

A phone call on the US-Iran war was also held between Jordanian FM Ayman Safadi and Qatar’s FM Sheikh Mohammed.

Sumit Ritolia, lead energy analyst at business analytics platform Kpler, tells Al Jazeera that India is looking to buy more oil from the United States amid the Strait of Hormuz crisis.

He said the US “has the capacity to increase oil and gas exports to India, but it’s not enough to replace Middle East supplies”.

Ritolia added that India’s Russian oil exports have also increased in volume.

Qatar’s PM and FM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has held a phone call with Iran’s FM Abbas Araghchi, Qatar’s state media reports.

Qatar News Agency reported that the discussions during the call “focused on ongoing efforts to achieve peace and reinforce regional security and stability”.

Al Thani reaffirmed Qatar’s “unwavering support for efforts aimed at reaching a comprehensive agreement to end the crisis, stressing the need for all parties to engage constructively in order to secure sustainable peace and enduring stability in the region”.

At the same time, the Qatari PM stressed that freedom of navigation remains a fundamental principle that cannot be compromised, warning that any closure of the Strait of Hormuz or attempts to use it as a means of pressure would further deepen the crisis.

Jordanian Deputy PM and FM Ayman Safadi received a phone call last evening from Qatar’s PM and FM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, the Jordanian foreign ministry says.

The two ministers “discussed ways to support cooperation relations between the Kingdom and Qatar, regional situations, and reviewed Pakistan’s mediation efforts” between the US and Iran, the statement said.

Both FMs “affirmed the continuation of coordination of efforts to support targeted mediation aimed at ending the escalation in the region and restoring security and stability”.

They stress the need for united efforts to “succeed in mediation efforts to reach a sustainable solution that addresses all roots of the crisis and prevents the renewal of escalation”.

Iran’s Defence Ministry spokesman Reza Talaei-Nik has said that Washington’s failure to comply with Iran’s “rights” as a country will lead to “more defeats” for US President Donald Trump, Al Jazeera reports.

“The only way out of the third imposed war for the American-Zionist enemy, on both the battlefield and in diplomacy, is to secure the demands of the Iranian people,” Talaei-Nik told the Tasnim news agency.

“While accepting Iran’s proposal, Trump should also be mindful of preventing further losses and costs in the continuation of the war for the American people and the international community,” he added.

A spokesperson for Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation has clarified that flights will proceed according to their schedule, denying reports of a Notam issued, Tasnim reports.

British broadcaster and journalist Piers Morgan has urged US President Donald Trump to refrain from launching “another huge attack” on Iran, in a post on X. Morgan wrote that an attack seems imminent.

“This war’s been damaging enough without yet more mayhem being unleashed.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed disappointment after the 11th Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty ended without consensus, calling it a missed opportunity to make the world safer, Al Jazeera reports.

In a statement delivered by his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, Guterres said he welcomed the engagement of member states but regretted that the conference fell short, “especially at a time of such pressing challenges that threaten international security”.

The Israeli air raid that hit the town of Shahabiya earlier is now confirmed to have killed and wounded a number of people, reports Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA).

A separate attack targeting a house in the town of al-Rafid killed at least one person and injured another, reported the agency.

Iran’s internet blackout has entered its 13th week after passing 2,016 hours, according to NetBlocks.

The first oil tanker managed by Japan to successfully transit the Strait of Hormuz since the blockade is expected to dock in the country shortly, Al Jazeera reports, citing Japan’s NHK broadcaster.

The Panama-flagged Idemitsu Maru is due to arrive at a refining facility in Japan’s Aichi Prefecture on Monday. It is carrying some 2 million barrels of Saudi Arabian crude oil, NHK reported.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the president of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, have held a phone conversation to discuss issues of mutual interest, IRNA reports.

The discussions centred on enhancing bilateral relations between Iran and the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.

Both leaders also exchanged views on broader regional developments, stressing the vital importance of regional countries working together to bolster homegrown security.