War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

The authority overseeing the Egyptian port of Damietta has said that its operations were ongoing despite a fire breaking out there the day before that authorities blamed on a drone attack, according to AFP.

“The Damietta Port Authority confirms the continued full operational efficiency of the port, with all terminals and berths experiencing regular vessel arrivals and departures, along with ongoing loading, unloading, and cargo handling of all types,” the Damietta Port Authority said in a statement.

Saudi Arabia has strongly condemned “Iran’s continued flagrant aggression” against Jordan after the latter said it intercepted five missiles from Iran.

In a statement, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said it reaffirmed its “solidarity with Jordan and its brotherly people in all measures they take regarding these Iranian attacks, which constitute a violation of international law and the principles of good neighbourliness”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suggested that predicting Iran’s actions regarding global commerce in the Strait of Hormuz was not possible, AlJazeera reports, citing ABC News.

“I thought they could do it, but I thought they’d also have to consider what would be the consequences if they do it, and nobody could predict that with accuracy,” Netanyahu tells the US media in an interview.

“Everybody in the world today understands what a grave danger Iran poses to the peace of the world.”

Netanyahu argued that the waterway will lose its strategic power if energy flows are rerouted.

“I don’t think the straits are going to be that powerful a leverage because people will move the energy pipelines out of the straits to the Red Sea, from there to Israel in the Mediterranean. We can unblock this chokehold, and we will,” he said.

Lebanese Army Commander General Rudolph Haykal has pledged to complete deployment in all areas of southern Lebanon from which Israeli forces withdraw, AlJazeera reports.

According to the report, Haykal made the remarks in an address to soldiers while marking the army’s 81st anniversary.

Haykal honoured the fallen, wounded and retired personnel and praised serving troops for their sacrifices, it said.

“The army remains committed to fulfilling all its missions despite the significant difficulties stemming from limited resources, the magnitude of the tasks, and the delicate circumstances,” the report quoted Haykal as saying.

“The army is also completing its deployment in the south in accordance with existing agreements and in line with national principles and requirements.”

He further said that the army was continuing efforts to ensure the safe return of residents to their villages and towns, and was prepared to deploy in all occupied areas from which Israeli forces withdraw. “However, the occupation persists in its ongoing attacks and violations to obstruct the army’s efforts,” he added.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said that they would punish the “aggressor” today, Iran’s Fars news agency reports, citing the army’s public relations, according to AlJazeera.

The IRGC’s comments come after the US announced that it had launched “powerful” attacks on Iran overnight with explosions heard in Qeshm, Kish, Bandar Abbas, Abadan and Bushehr.

The Egyptian government has said that a fire the day before at the port of Damietta was caused by a drone attack, after authorities reported two gas ships were damaged by the blaze, according to AFP.

The presidency of Egypt’s council of ministers said in a statement that after a preliminary investigation into the incident, “it appears that it resulted from a drone attack, with no party claiming responsibility”. It added that the inquiry was ongoing.

Kuwait’s Ministry of Defence has said that an Iranian strike, targeting a company, killed one employee and caused extensive damage to its building.

In a post on social media platform X, the ministry’s Spokesperson Colonel Saud Abdulaziz Al-Atwan said the building belonging to a Chinese company was located in the north of the country.

He added that the relevant authorities immediately initiated the response measures and began dealing with the situation in coordination with the agencies concerned.

The United Arab Emirates has “strongly condemned” drone attacks launched from Iraqi territory that targeted oil facilities in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

In a statement published today, the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the attacks constituted a “blatant violation” of Saudi sovereignty and a threat to its security and stability, without specifying the timing of the incidents or whether they caused casualties or damage.

Israel’s Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has said Israeli troops will not withdraw from occupied territory in southern Lebanon until the country’s security is assured, Al Jazeera reports.

He made the comments yesterday while visiting occupied territory in southern Lebanon, according to an Israeli military spokeswoman.

“In Lebanon, we have taken control of areas and continue to cleanse them of terrorist infrastructure,” he was quoted as saying. “And if necessary, we will expand the scope of our operations to include additional areas.”

He added: “We will not withdraw from the areas we have taken control of until long-term security is ensured.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on the US and Iran to cease fighting and return to diplomacy, Al Jazeera reports.

“The Secretary-General has been worried for some time that if the parties do not return to negotiations, you could have a widening of the conflict, and that seems to be what has been happening in recent hours,” Deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq told reporters in New York.

“These are not positive developments, and he wants to make sure that the parties can cease fighting and again return to the diplomatic efforts, including the mediation efforts being pressed forward by Pakistan, Qatar and others.”

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that two oil tankers attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz with US support turned back after one of them caught fire, AFP reports.

“Last night, two oil tankers, encouraged by American aircraft, attempted to leave through the unsafe southern route of the Strait of Hormuz,” the Guards said in a statement.

“After a major fire broke out on one of them, both vessels quickly turned back.”

The Jordanian Armed Forces say their air defence systems have intercepted and shot down five missiles launched from Iran targeting the Kingdom’s territory, Al Jazeera reports.

According to an official spokesperson for the Jordanian Armed Forces, military radar detected the incoming missiles before air defence units successfully engaged and downed all five targets.

The Fars news agency reports that three people have been killed in the US attack on the residential building in Qeshm.

Citing the Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Fars said the victims were a couple and their two-year-old child. Two other children, aged seven and nine, who were wounded remain at the hospital.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has said that the US has expended about a third of its Patriot and about half of its THAAD interceptor missiles since the start of its war on Iran.

It said the US had an estimated 2,330 Patriot interceptors prior to the war and now has about 759 to 827.

As for THAAD interceptors, the US had an estimated 452 prior to the war, and now has about 234-278.

CSIS said the numbers are drawn from US Department of Defense 2027 budget materials and public information.

A renewed war “would test diminished interceptor inventories,” it warned, adding that the reduced stoles “may force the United States and its coalition partners to take more risks with interceptions”.

Search and rescue operations continue for people trapped under rubble following a US strike on Qeshm Island, with officials confirming that the two people pulled from the debris and taken to hospital earlier were children, Al Jazeera reports.

The director general of crisis management for the Hormozgan governorate told the IRIB state broadcaster that “efforts are ongoing to rescue three other members of this family”.

The building struck by US forces was reportedly home to a family of five.

The US Central Command (Centcom) has said that its forces “successfully completed a heavy wave of strikes against Iran in response to yesterday’s attempted missile attacks on US forces”.

It said that Centcom assets struck “dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran, including military command centres, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defence sites, and maritime capabilities”.

“The strikes aimed to further diminish threats posed by Iran and its proxies to American forces, commercial shipping, and neighbouring Gulf countries,” it said.

“On July 28, IRGC forces launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on US forces based in the Middle East. All Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted,” it added.

The US military struck locations around Iran’s Qeshm island and Abadan city, Iranian media reported citing regional authorities, as American attacks resumed after a lull, AFP reports.

“At 04:00am (0030 GMT) a point near Qeshm was attacked by the American enemy military,” said Ahmad Nafisi, the deputy governor of the southern Hormozgan province, according to news agency Mehr.

“Points around Abadan city were attacked by missiles by the terrorist enemy of America,” the Fars news agency reported, citing the deputy governor of Khuzestan.

The US Army has awarded Lockheed Martin a contract worth up to $58.6 billion to produce Patriot interceptor missiles, Reuters reports, citing Pentagon, as conflicts in Iran and Ukraine strain US weapons stockpiles.

The US has supplied large quantities of weapons to allies while also using munitions in its own military operations in Iran, raising concerns about inventories of key air defense and precision-guided weapons.

The Lockheed award converts a previous one-year contract worth $4.7bn awarded in April into a seven-year draft agreement, creating a multiyear procurement plan for the interceptors from fiscal 2026 through 2032, the Army said.

Pentagon negotiators are pressing contractors to move much faster, with tentative production agreements struck earlier this year at the center of efforts to increase missile output.

The administration of President Donald Trump has also steadily increased pressure on defence contractors to prioritise production over shareholder payouts. Trump signed an executive order in January to identify contractors deemed to be underperforming on government contracts while continuing to distribute profits to shareholders.

Lockheed Martin says it is investing $8bn to $9bn through 2030 to modernise more than 20 US facilities, including new munitions centress in Alabama and Arkansas.

PAC-3 MSE is a hit-to-kill interceptor used within the Patriot air defence system to counter ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and aircraft.

The United States military launched “powerful” retaliatory strikes on Iran, marking the first attacks on Iranian soil in nearly a week, AFP reports.

“The strikes are a powerful response to yesterday’s attempted Iranian attacks on US forces based in the Middle East,” US Central Command said.

US Central Command (Centcom) says that as part of the naval blockade of Iranian ports, American forces have redirected 20 vessels, disabled two and boarded two.

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has had a phone call with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, during which they reviewed bilateral cooperation and the latest regional developments, Al Jazeera reports.

The pair discussed diplomatic efforts and coordination to de-escalate tensions and enhance regional security and stability, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs says in a statement.

Sheikh Mohammed stresses the need for all parties to commit to “dialogue and diplomacy” and implement what was agreed under the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran — including guaranteeing freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz — to preserve regional security, safeguard gains made and strengthen stability.

He renews Qatar’s “full support” for all efforts to defuse tensions and reach a “comprehensive agreement” for lasting peace in the region.