War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry has issued a statement condemning an alleged Iranian attack on Bahrain, after Manama said Iranian drones targeted its territory this morning.

“The continuation of these aggressions, amid regional and international efforts aimed at de-escalation and reducing tensions, represents a dangerous undermining of efforts for peace and stability and a threat to the security and stability of the region,” the statement posted on X said.

Kuwait expressed its “full solidarity” with Bahrain and its support for “all measures it takes to protect its sovereignty, security, and the safety of its territories,” it said.

Upcoming elections in Israel will likely decide the legacy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces mounting pressure over his handling of wars in the region and corruption charges, notes Al Jazeera.

“Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, is regarded as the ultimate survivor in Israeli politics. But with the upcoming general election, slated for October, he is now confronted with his biggest challenge yet that could see his nearly four-decade political career come to an acrimonious end,” the piece notes.

“It looks like [Netanyahu] might be in real trouble,” political analyst Nimrod Flaschenberg tells Al Jazeera. “The US agreement with Iran hasn’t been well received, and to the public, it’s really not clear what’s happening in Lebanon.”

Al Jazeera notes that Netanyahu is being “blamed by both doves and hawks in Israel for the military campaign in Lebanon, with right-wingers urging him to continue the war and defeat Hezbollah”.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul says the deal offers hope for resolving a longstanding conflict and improving regional security, Al Jazeera reports.

In a post on X, Wadephul praised the US mediation, but stressed that implementation is now key.

He urged Lebanon to enforce a “state monopoly on the use of force” and asked Israel to receive clear security guarantees, urging parties, including Hezbollah, to “act responsibly to achieve lasting stability and peace”.

Hezbollah did not take part in the negotiations that led up to the deal between Israel and Lebanon, despite its decades-old conflict with Israel.

Mohsen Rezaei, a military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, has warned that the response to any violation of the US-Iran MoU will be “swift and decisive”.

“America, by supporting the actions of its proxy forces in the region, has violated the first article of the memorandum of understanding, and by continuing to create tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, has violated the fifth article,” he wrote on X, according to a translation.

An Israeli drone struck the Nabatiyeh area in southern Lebanon on Saturday, Reuters reports.

The reported strike came a day after Israel and Lebanon signed a US-brokered security arrangement aimed at reducing tensions along their border following months of cross-border hostilities with Hezbollah.

A maritime body overseen by the US Navy has said that a route through the Strait of Hormuz near Oman’s shores is expanding to allow for both inbound and outbound traffic, Associated Press reports.

It described the announcement by the Joint Maritime Information Centre as “another warning to Iran that the US is pushing to reopen the strait”.

Tehran says cargo clearance has resumed after the US carried out attacks on Iran, following a drone attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, according to the IRNA news agency.

An Iranian trade official says containers that could not be processed due to “wartime conditions” are now being cleared from the UAE’s Jebel Ali Port to Iran, adding that trade is expected to return to pre-war levels gradually.

The UAE port of Jebel Ali is a major regional transit hub for Iranian goods. Trade between the UAE and Iran has been affected by regional tensions and Western sanctions regimes imposed on Iran.

Major General Ali Abdollahi, commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, has reaffirmed the Iranian armed forces’ readiness to support efforts aimed at strengthening national security, justice, and the rule of law.

In a message marking Judiciary Week addressed to Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Eje’i, the commander said that the Iranian armed forces stand fully prepared to cooperate in safeguarding the rights of the people, combatting organised threats and corruption, and reinforcing the country’s lasting security and national authority.

He praised the judiciary for its role in upholding justice, protecting citizens’ legal rights, strengthening public trust, and preserving national security.

The commander emphasised that Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters and the armed forces are committed to working closely with other branches of government within their legal responsibilities.

A tanker has reported being struck by an unidentified projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said, according to Reuters.

The vessel sustained damage to its bridge, but all crew were reported safe and no environmental damage had been reported at the time of the report, UKMTO added.

Lebanese MP Gebran Bassil, the leader of the the Free Patriotic Movement, has said the framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon “requires responsible engagement”.

“It is beneficial if we regain all our rights, and dangerous if it is a recipe for strife,” he said on X.

“Everyone must avoid slipping into it, and not reject outright any path that liberates the land, strengthens the state, and establishes peace.”

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun has received a phone call this morning from UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and discussed with him the “general situation in Lebanon and the region in light of recent developments, particularly the framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel under the auspices of the US”.

According to the Lebanese presidency, the UAE ruler affirmed his country’s support for the positions taken by President Aoun and his government.

“He also confirmed his country’s readiness to assist Lebanon in the political, economic, and social spheres, enabling Lebanon to overcome the difficult circumstances it is currently facing,” the Arabic statement said.

President Aoun thanked Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed for his support, appreciating the UAE’s contributions toward Lebanon and its people in all fields, and wished the country continued stability, strength, and progress.

The Gathering of Arab Tribes in Lebanon expressed its “full support for the Lebanese state” following the signing of a framework agreement with Israel, Anadolu reports.

In a statement, the group warned against chaos and division after supporters of Hezbollah protested the signing of the deal.

The protests included road blockages, burning tires, and disturbances in front of the government palace.

The gathering voiced “deep concern and regret“ regarding events in the vicinity of the palace.

Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Adviser to the UAE President, has welcomed the agreement between Lebanon and Israel, saying the pact “represents an important and positive step toward restoring the Lebanese state’s full sovereignty over its territory”.

In a social media post on X, Gargash said that for decades the Lebanese have “suffered consequences of other parties’ conflicts being fought on their land and paid a heavy price”.

“Strengthening the authority and sovereignty of the state remains the only genuine guarantee for Lebanon’s stability and future,” he added.

Bahrain condemned what it said were Iranian drone attacks on its territory, the state news agency reported, saying it reserved the full right to defend its sovereignty and security, AFP reports.

Iran said earlier it had carried out strikes against targets linked to US forces in the region, without identifying the targets or saying where they were located.

Andrea Dessi of the American University of Rome believes the recent escalation shows that the US-Iran MoU is “extremely delicate and has the possibility of collapsing at any moment”, according to Al Jazeera.

“Clearly, it is in the interest of both sides, Iran and the United States, not to let this escalate into a further all-out conflict,” he said.

Dessi believes there is “a new normal of something that we will be seeing repeatedly, especially over the next 30 or 60 days”, while the sides try to negotiate.

“Both sides have a specific interest in demonstrating that their ability to control or command the strait is in their hands,” the analyst was quoted as saying.

“Therefore, this is setting up something of a tension and a potential clash, which could spiral out of control at any moment.”

An explosive drone targeted a camp belonging to an Iranian Kurdish opposition group north of Iraq’s Erbil, security sources told Reuters.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Iran and the US have traded attacks in the Gulf, raising fears that the fragile ceasefire between the two countries is unravelling, Al Jazeera reports.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Saturday they had hit US sites in the Gulf in retaliation for US attacks on Iranian missile, drone and radar facilities – themselves a response to what Washington said was an Iranian drone attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the latest US attacks, against Iranian missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar positions, were a response to “unwarranted aggression against commercial shipping by Iranian forces” that “clearly violated the ceasefire”.

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned the US strikes on several locations along Iran’s southern coastline, accusing Washington of violating the UN Charter and the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on ending the war, AlJazeera reports.

The ministry said the attacks targeted coastal surveillance facilities and reaffirmed Iran’s right to self-defence, stating that its armed forces carried out retaliatory strikes against US-related targets.

Iran also called on the Gulf states to prevent their territory from being used for hostile actions and urged the UN and international bodies to address what it described as breaches of international law.

Iran accused the United States of a “blatant violation” of the peace deal reached between the two sides to end the Middle East war after the latest American strikes on the country, AFP reports.

“These brutal attacks, which targeted Iranian coastal surveillance facilities, are a blatant violation” of the memorandum of understanding to end the war, the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement.

The US military said its forces struck Iranian missile and drone storage sites and coastal radar locations on Friday in response to an Iranian attack on a cargo ship transiting the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Iran said it struck targets linked to US forces in response to US airstrikes on its southern coast, which it said violated the UN Charter and the war-ending memorandum between the two countries, according to a statement by its foreign ministry, AFP reports.

Iran did not identify the targets or say where they were located.

Lebanese Member of Parliament Ashraf Rifi, a former justice minister, has praised the signature of a “framework agreement” with Israel, saying Lebanon was finally “acting like a state,” Al Jazeera reports.

“The notion that a state within a state protects Lebanon has fallen, and with it the illusion that illegal weapons create security or restore rights,” he said – a reference to Hezbollah’s military dominance over the country.

“This is a historic moment for Lebanon,” he continued, according to state-run NNA news agency. “It is no longer acceptable for Lebanese decision-making to remain hostage to the Iranian project, or for Hezbollah to continue its dominance over the state and its institutions.”