War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Foreign Ministers Abbas Araghchi of Iran and Toshimitsu Motegi of Japan have discussed the ongoing efforts to end the US-Israel war on Iran and open the Strait of Hormuz in a telephone conversation, according to Al Jazeera.

Araghchi “explained to his Japanese counterpart the latest situation in the diplomatic process aimed at establishing regional peace and stability”, a statement on his Telegram channel says.

“The parties emphasised the need for continued coordination and joint cooperation to eliminate insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz,” it adds.

Japan relies on the strait for more than 90 per cent of its crude oil imports.

Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani says more than 350 government staff have been killed in US-Israeli attacks since the war began five months ago, Al Jazeera reports.

“While meeting with the families of the martyrs, I must remind you that during these days more than 350 government employees have attained martyrdom while serving,” Mohajerani says in a statement. 

“From the engineer who sacrificed his life on top of BTS towers to maintain people’s communications in Hormozgan, to the wiremen who died to keep the electricity flowing, and the dedicated doctors and nurses.

“Mentioning these loved ones is a tribute to them so they know we consider ourselves indebted to their sacrifice and are grateful for their impeccable efforts,” she adds.

Saudi Aramco has shut down its 400,000-barrel-per-day Jizan oil refinery in Saudi Arabia following an attack by Yemen’s Houthis on Saturday, a note from consultancy firm IIR, seen by Reuters, shows.

The attack damaged the plant’s Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle complex and the tank farm area, the note says, adding that Aramco will tentatively complete repairs and restart the plant by August 15.

Aramco has not immediately replied to a Reuters request for comment.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz says American warplanes used Israeli bases during their attacks on Iran, reiterating that his country was prepared to retaliate if targeted, AFP reports.

“The fact is that, at the moment — and this could change within an hour — the Iranians are firing at everything in the region except one country: the State of Israel,” Katz tells Israel’s right-wing Channel 14.

“They know that American aircraft are taking off from here to carry out strikes,” he adds.

“This does not mean we know what will happen tomorrow; it means we know what our response will be. I announced it, the prime minister announced it, and we made it absolutely clear: if Israel comes under fire, we will strike back with full force,” Katz says.

Explosions have been heard in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre as the Israeli forces carries out detonations and building demolitions in the border towns of Majdal Zoun, Al-Mansouri, and Bint Jbeil, Al Jazeera reports citing the National News Agency.

The Israeli army also carried out a large explosion in the village of Al-Qusayr in Nabatieh, NNA said.

An Israeli drone has struck an apartment in Nabatieh al-Fawqa as forces continue blowing up buildings in border towns, Al Jazeera reports.

A drone has carried out two consecutive strikes in the area, sparking a fire inside the apartment, the state-run National News Agency said.

No casualties have been immediately reported.

Oil prices have extended their declines as the US and Iran have refrained from attacks in their on-again, off-again war, Al Jazeera reports.

Brent crude, the international standard, has fallen 2.2pc to $84.03 a barrel. It was trading around $72 per barrel before the US-Israeli war on Iran began in late February.

The price of the US benchmark, West Texas intermediate crude oil, has fallen 1.7pc to $81.20 a barrel.

Also, the US dollar has risen to 163.82 Japanese yen from 163.75 yen. The euro has fallen to $1.1367 from $1.1369.

The Kremlin has said that a Ukrainian attack on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea should be considered as an assault on Iran itself, adding that the attack shows how important it is to eliminate what it says is the threat from Kyiv, Reuters reports.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned the Ukrainian attack, saying it resulted in an explosion that killed one sailor and injured another. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv had struck vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has accused Ukraine of widening the geographical scope of what he has called its “terrorist attacks”.

Peskov accuses Kyiv of blowing up Germany’s Nord Stream pipelines — something it denies — and of hurting Kazakhstan’s interests by targeting CPC Pipeline Infrastructure.

“This threat must be neutralised and definitively destroyed,” Peskov says.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said Pakistan had played the role of a “sincere and honest facilitator” in the US-Iran dialogue and remained grateful for the trust and confidence reposed in it by both Washington and Tehran.

Speaking to a delegation of US congressmen and businessmen, he said that, with the support of Pakistan’s brotherly countries and international partners, those efforts had culminated in the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in June this year.

Dar added that Pakistan would continue to support dialogue, diplomacy and the peaceful resolution of disputes, as it firmly believed these remained the only sustainable pathways to lasting peace and stability.

Hindustan Unilever signals more selective price hikes to offset persistent commodity inflation, joining other consumer goods peers as the Middle East conflict keeps input costs elevated.

Shares fell as much as around 7pc after the domestic unit of Britain’s Unilever, home to brands including Dove and Surf Excel, said its profit fell 4pc to 26.31 billion Indian rupees in the first quarter that ended June 30.

The US-Israel war on Iran has saddled corporations worldwide with higher energy, freight and commodity costs, squeezing margins and prompting price increases for everything from packaged foods to tyres.

Iranian authorities have clarified that the sounds of explosions in Khuzestan province’s Omidiyeh city resulted from a “controlled operation to destroy unexploded ordnance, and there is no cause for concern among citizens”.

Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemah Mohajerani says Bushehr airport located in the country’s southwest has been rendered inoperable following recent US strikes, AlJazeera reported.

“[It] requires complete reconstruction from the ground up,” Mohajerani tells a news conference.

“We saw the remains of a refurbished aircraft that had been purchased to serve the people, but it was destroyed by a missile that struck it directly, leaving only a small part of its tail intact,” she said.

Mohajerani added the Bushehr Meteorological Centre, “which is completely of a civilian nature, has almost nothing left of it”.

Iran’s government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani says in addition to the destruction of public infrastructure, people’s private property suffered “very extensive” damage in recent US attacks, Al Jazeera reports.

“Fishing boats that were the only source of livelihood and employment for fishermen in the region were severely damaged, in addition to tourism businesses,” she said in a televised news conference.

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) says new company registrations at the Middle Eastern hub rose 30 per cent in the year to the end of June, despite the war between Iran and the US, Reuters reports.

DIFC said in a statement that it had attracted 2,318 new active registered companies over the 12-month period compared to year-ago levels.

That includes 1,506 companies joining in the first half of 2026 alone, a 39pc increase.

Iran lost about 230 million cubic metres of its gas production capacity because of the war with the US and Israel, Al Jazeera reports.

Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani made the remarks in a televised news conference on Tuesday.

Iran in April demanded it receive compensation for the destruction caused by the United States and Israel’s attacks. An early estimate indicated  Iran has suffered about $270bn in direct and indirect damage since the start of the war on February 28.

Mehdi Fazaeli, a member of the supreme leader’s office, says there has been no “sign of a change in the fatwa (edict) prohibiting the production and possession of nuclear weapons”.

A public opinion survey by Ipsos and the Reuters has found that just one in three Americans support the war on Iran, with most respondents saying Trump has failed to explain his goals.

The agency said the figure marked the lowest rating in a Reuters/ Ipsos poll since the early days of the conflict. The survey was conducted on July 24-26.

It said Trump’s approval was at 37 per cent, up three points from last month when his rating tied the lowest of his presidency.

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have met in Amman and discussed “the repercussions of the dangerous escalation the region is witnessing” as well as efforts to restore calm and lasting security”, according to a Jordanian statement.

The two “affirmed the importance of committing to the ceasefire between the United States and Iran, and resuming negotiations to reach a comprehensive solution that addresses all causes of tension and ensures freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz in accordance with international law,” the statement said.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has condemned Monday’s drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, calling them “a dangerous escalation” and “a direct threat to the security and stability of the region,” Al Jazeera reports.

In a statement, GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi also reaffirmed the bloc’s full solidarity with Saudi Arabia and its support for all measures the kingdom takes to protect its security, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs similarly called the attacks “a violation” of Saudi Arabia’s “security and stability, and an escalation that could undermine security and stability in the region”. It reiterated “full solidarity” with Saudi Arabia and support for its response.

Oman has presented a proposal to Iran for a joint regional mechanism to manage the Strait of Hormuz with voluntary fees, a Gulf source told Reuters.

The proposal has the backing of regional countries, the source added.

Iran’s foreign minister discussed issues related to the security of the Strait of Hormuz in separate phone calls with his Saudi and Omani counterparts on Monday evening, according to a statement published on his Telegram channel, according to AFP.

The statement said Abbas Araqchi “discussed the latest bilateral and regional developments, and emphasised the need to strengthen cooperation and advance joint diplomatic efforts to establish stability in the region.”

The call between Araqchi and his Saudi counterpart, Faisal bin Farhan, came after Saudi Arabia said it shot down drones launched at the kingdom by Iran-affiliated groups in Iraq.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reports that the sound of explosions were heard in the southern city of Tyre into the morning due to Israeli “bombing and demolition operations”.

The operations were being carried out the southern Lebanese towns of Majdal Zoun, Mansouri and Bint Jbeil, it reported.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud has received separate phone calls from Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, according to Saudi state media.

“During the two calls, the ministers discussed the latest developments in the region and ways to strengthen and support joint efforts to preserve regional security and stability,” the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

“They also condemned and denounced attacks by Iran and its affiliated terrorist militias in Yemen and Iraq against the Kingdom and other countries in the region.”

Prince Faisal also received a phone call from UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who condemned the Houthis’ attacks against Saudi Arabia, the SPA reported. In his first conversation since becoming the UK’s top diplomat, Miliband also expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia and affirmed the UK’s commitment to advance bilateral ties, it added.