War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

China has voiced strong opposition to US sanctions for three China-based companies that Washington claimed enabled Iran’s military operations, calling the curbs illegal and unilateral, according to Reuters.

“We have always required Chinese enterprises to conduct business in accordance with laws and regulations, and will firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises,” spokesperson Guo Jiakun has told a regular press briefing.

“The pressing priority is to prevent by all means a relapse in fighting, rather than using the war to maliciously associate and smear other countries.”

South Korea’s presidential Blue House condemned in the strongest terms an attack against a cargo ship operated by a Korean shipper this month in the Strait of Hormuz and said it plans to respond once the source of the attack is identified, Reuters reports.

Experts conducted an initial forensic analysis of the damage to the port stern, a Blue House official said. The attack had led to a fire in the vessel’s engine room.

Namu, the vessel operated by the shipper HMM Co. , was not in violation of any rules in effect at the time in the waters off the United Arab Emirates and it was a case of an attack against a commercial vessel that cannot be justified, the official said.

An Israeli air strike on the town of Abba has killed two people and wounded five, National News agency (NNA) reports.

Warplanes renewed their raids on the town of Kfar Remman, also in southern Lebanon, for the second time in less than an hour.

Japan’s Nikkei share average touched a record high earlier in the day before ending lower, as the Middle East crisis outweighed optimism over corporate earnings and technology investment, Reuters reports.

US President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s response to a proposal for peace talks, dimming hopes for an end to the conflict that has driven up global energy costs.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.5 per cent to close at 62,417.88, erasing an earlier gain to 63,385.04 in the session. The broader Topix gauge, which is less exposed to geopolitical factors, climbed 0.3pc to 3,840.93.

Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, has issued a new warning for south Lebanon, telling residents of nine areas to flee ahead of potential Israeli strikes, Al Jazeera reports.

The areas included in the order are Ar-Rihan (Jezzine), Jarjouaa, Kfar Reman, Al-Numairiyah, Arab Salim, Al-Jumayjimah, Machghara, Qlaileh (Western Bekaa) and Harouf.

Heathrow Airport has said its passenger numbers in April fell 5 per cent to 6.7 million as the Iran war disrupted travel plans, Reuters reports.

The Israeli military claim it has intercepted “a suspicious aerial target” in southern Lebanon in an apparent reference to a drone launched by Hezbollah, Al Jazeera reports.

TKMS’s order backlog hit a fresh record, the German warship builder said, as demand for weapons continues to surge across European to cut military dependence on the United States, Reuters reports.

TKMS, which is majority-owned by German engineering conglomerate Thyssenkrupp, has been riding a boom in defence stocks following a stock market listing in October.

Its order backlog rose to 20.6 billion euros ($24.2bn) at the end of March, up from 18.7bn at the end of December, the company said. The submarine and sonar technology divisions helped it to post higher-than-expected first-half sales and profits, it added.

Iran executed a man convicted of spying for the US and Israeli intelligence services, Reuters reports citing Mizan news outlet.

Mizan identified the man as Erfan Shakourzadeh, saying he had worked at a scientific organisation involved in satellite activities and had shared classified scientific information with foreign intelligence services.

According to rights group Iran Human Rights Society, Shakourzadeh, a 29-year-old graduate of aerospace engineering, was arrested in 2025 and was forced into his confession.

Japan’s industry ministry said a tanker carrying Azerbaijani crude oil will arrive in Japan as early as Tuesday in what would be the first receipt of the fuel from Central Asia since the Iran war began in February, Reuters reports.

Three tankers carrying crude exited the Strait of Hormuz with trackers switched off to avoid Iranian attacks, shipping data from Kpler and LSEG showed, Reuters reports.

Two very large crude carriers (VLCC), the Agios Fanourios I and the Kiara M, carrying 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude each, passed through the strait on Sunday, the data showed.

The Agios Fanourios I is heading to Vietnam to discharge its cargo at the Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical facility on May 26, the data showed. The tanker failed to transit the strait in at least two previous attempts since it loaded Basrah Medium crude on April 17.

Israel’s military has announced the death of a soldier who was killed in combat in near the border of Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports.

It said Alexander Glovanyov, 47, was a vehicle driver for the army and was killed on Sunday.

Iran’s IRIB state broadcaster has responded to Trump’s rejection of Tehran’s response to the US proposal to end the war, Al Jazeera reports.

In a statement on its Telegram channel, IRIB said the US plan “meant Iran’s surrender to Trump’s greed”, and Tehran’s reply “emphasises the fundamental rights of the Iranian nation”.

It said the latest Iranian offer also “emphasises the necessity of war reparations by the US and Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz”, as well as the “need to end sanctions and release the country’s seized funds and assets”.

Oil prices have jumped $3 a barrel as the United States and Iran failed to agree to a peace proposal drafted by Washington while the Strait of Hormuz remained largely closed, keeping global energy supplies tight, according to Reuters.

Brent crude futures has climbed $3.18 or 3.14 per cent to $104.47 a barrel.

US West Texas Intermediate was at $98.51 a barrel, up $3.09, or 3.24pc, after settling 0.64pc higher in the previous session.

China’s consumer prices ticked up in April as the cost of crude oil rose globally due to the Iran war, official data showed, AFP reports.

Helped by the surging oil costs, factory gate prices also continued to show signs of recovery, rising for a second straight month after being stuck in negative territory since October 2022.

However, analysts warn deflation is still a threat for the world’s second-largest economy as prices in other sectors continue to fall and overcapacity remains a headache.

China’s consumer price index, a key measure of inflation, last month rose 1.2 per cent year-on-year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

Conflicts in the Middle East are increasing dangers for whales off South Africa by shifting sea traffic into their habitats and heightening the risks of collision, researchers told AFP.

The rerouting of shipping around South Africa and away from the Red Sea and Suez Canal since late 2023 has “substantially increased” the chances of ship strikes, they said in new research.

South Africa’s southwestern coast supports globally significant populations of whales as well as increasingly busy shipping corridors, according to a paper presented to an International Whaling Commission meeting this month.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Netherlands counterpart has held a phone conversation regarding issues related to bilateral relations and the latest ongoing regional and diplomatic developments, Fars reports.

Iranian embassy in India has shared details of the country’s response to the US plan, which “the US president called ‘unacceptable’“.

In a social media post on X, the embassy said the response “emphasises the fundamental rights of the Iranian nation”.

“Iran has rejected the US plan, which would have meant Tehran’s submission to Trump’s excessive demands,” it has said.

The embassy further said: “Iran’s plan stresses the necessity of the US paying war reparations and affirms Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.”

“Iran has underscored the need for an end to sanctions and the release of the country’s seized assets and properties,” it has added.

Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium must be “taken out” before the US-Israeli war against Iran can be considered over, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told an American broadcaster, according to AFP.

“It’s not over, because there’s still nuclear material — enriched uranium — that has to be taken out of Iran. There’s still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled,” Netanyahu said in an interview on the CBS News programme “60 Minutes”.

President Donald Trump has rejected Iran’s response to a US proposal for peace talks, AFP reports.

Iran had responded to Washington’s latest peace proposal earlier in the day, while warning it would not hold back from retaliating against any new US strikes or permit more foreign warships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump himself provided no details on Tehran’s counterproposal, but in a brief post on his Truth Social platform made clear he was rejecting it.

“I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called ‘Representatives.’ I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” Trump said.

The UK and France will host a multinational meeting of defence ministers on military plans to restore trade flows through the Strait of Hormuz, the British government said, AFP reports.

“The Defence Secretary John Healey will co-chair a meeting of over 40 nations, alongside his French counterpart, Minister Catherine Vautrin, for the multinational mission’s first Defence Minister’s meeting,” a defence ministry statement said.

The announcement came hours after Iran warned London and Paris against sending warships to the region.