War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

US forces have begun to evacuate logistics support centres from Harir base in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, Iran’s Fars news agency reports, citing the Iraqi Al-Maalomah news agency.

Sources tell Al-Maalomah that “the technical and engineering teams of the US forces stationed at Harir Air Base near Erbil have begun evacuating logistical support centres, especially the large complex located in the eastern section.

“Evacuating these centres represents the penultimate stage in the withdrawal from this base, which will be free of any US presence by the end of September,” they add.

Iran’s central bank chief Abdolnasser Hemmati has taken a jibe at the US Treasury Department, saying the country’s money is in its hands despite Washington’s efforts, according to the Fars news agency.

“Americans keep announcing, ‘We’ve shut down such-and-such trust or crypto exchange,’ but these claims are just propaganda fodder for the Americans,” he is quoted as saying. “The funds we’ve transferred are in our own hands, and we’re actively using them.”

Iranian military spokesman Amir Akraminia says that despite the wishes of the US, Iran’s new order in the Strait of Hormuz is “irreversible”, Al Jazeera reports.

“The United States has no choice but to accept the existing situation; otherwise, it will incur costs far greater than those it has faced in the past,” Akraminia is quoted as saying by Iran’s IRNA news agency.

The principal deputy director of the US Department of War’s Defence Innovation Unit (DIU) says the military has enough munitions for its campaign against Iran, amid reports of diminishing air defence weapons like interceptors.

“We have sufficient munitions for the task at hand,” Jarred Conley tells Al Jazeera in an exclusive interview. “The department has everything it needs today to execute a war.”

US Vice President JD Vance says Washington is trying to maximise the amount of oil and gas exiting the Strait of Hormuz, so that Americans can enjoy lower fuel prices.

“We’re just trying to make sure we get what we need out of this particular conflict,” Vance tells Fox News, reiterating that the US has destroyed Iran’s military and “asymmetric” capabilities, as well as their nuclear programme.

“Right now, we’re trying to see if they’re willing to make the kind of long-term changes that would be necessary to have a better relationship with the United States. If not, that’s fine too; we’re just going to keep on applying the pressure that we can apply, and getting as much oil and gas out of the Middle East so Americans can enjoy low gas and energy prices,” Vance states.

Speaking to the media, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian also defended the Islamabad MoU signed with the US, saying “you will not find any clause in it that we have surrendered anything there”.

According to remarks carried by IRNA, he said: “Anyone who has read it should compare it with the analyses of foreign news agencies. Are they saying we surrendered? Did we fail? Was this agreement, for example, an irrelevant agreement that was signed? We stand firmly by what we have written and defend it.”

Pezizkian stated that the enemy’s calculations were based on creating internal disintegration and division, adding: “This is not a plan that was designed with us in mind. The reason they are doing these things is that all their calculations were that if they attacked, Iran would be torn to pieces; but this did not happen.”

He considered social cohesion and the presence of the people to be important factors in the failure of these calculations, saying: “This was due to the cohesion that was created.”

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has said his country’s relations with neighbouring countries are improving, while reiterating that the US was “truly unreliable” for Tehran, according to IRNA.

Asked about attacks on Gulf countries, Pezeshkian acknowledged that it was a “complicated” situation but asserted, “We could not allow Iran to be attacked from the territory of a country and not respond.”

He added, “Despite these issues, our relations with regional countries are improving.

“Pakistan is now cooperating with all its might. Afghanistan is also cooperating very well. Turkmenistan is cooperating well; Russia and Iraq also helped us well. In the case of Azerbaijan, despite some political issues, dialogue and interaction have continued,” he was quoted as saying.

On the US, Pezeshkian said, “America is truly unreliable for us, but in any case, if we can move forward a little and solve the problem, we are trying to achieve it.”

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has said right now is the “best time” for a peace agreement with the US as his country is considered “victorious” in the war, given that Washington recognises the rights of Iran and its people, IRNA reports.

He told the media: “If there is sometimes talk of reaching an agreement, I believe that now is the best time for an agreement; because there is cohesion, strength, and unity in the country, and as far as I know, Iran is considered victorious and powerful in this war and this conflict.“

The president continued: “In such circumstances, we can pursue our rights and demands through dialogue. They must accept to recognise our rights and ensure them. Naturally, we also demand nothing but the rights of our country and people.”

He answered a query, saying: “Almost every day we discuss how we should manage this process so that we can get out of the situation of neither war nor peace and be able to reach an understanding within the framework of which our own fundamental beliefs and values ​​are preserved, while at the same time disappointing the enemy from any greed or hope of attacking our country.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has stressed the need to maintain internal cohesion in the current situation, cautioning that the US and Israel may seek to create division within Iran, IRNA reports.

Speaking at a press conference, he said: “The United States, Israel and their analysts themselves know that a country can no longer be forced to surrender and accept demands through war and missiles, but this can be done through disagreement, division and internal conflicts.”

He further said that Tehran’s position toward the US remained unchanged despite recent diplomacy, defending the MoU signed between the two countries and insisting Iran has made no concessions, Anadolu reported.

“The US is colonialist, the US is criminal, and the Islamic Republic remains the Islamic Republic. There is no doubt about that,” he said. Pezeshkian, however, argued that diplomacy had compelled Washington to negotiate with Tehran.

Masrour Barzani, the Prime Minister of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, says they do not want to be a “party to any conflict in the region” and that presently, no party has pressured the Iraqi Kurds to engage in the war, Al Jazeera reports.

Barzani tells Al Jazeera that his people support Baghdad’s restriction of weapons to regular forces only, adding that all his people want is to “protect the Kurdistan region and keep it away from any conflict”.

“The Kurdistan region has been subjected to more than a thousand missile and drone attacks. The attacks on the region came directly from Iran or from within Iraq through some militias,” the prime minister states, adding that the region has no ties with Israel and that foreign policy is the “prerogative of the federal government”.

“There have been no American soldiers at Harir Air Base for 10 years,” he notes.

Oman has denounced continued attacks on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, branding them “a violation of international law and the sovereignty of territorial waters, and represent a threat to the safety of maritime navigation, the security of the region, and its stability”, according to its state news agency.

“The Sultanate of Oman affirms in a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the ongoing negotiations regarding arrangements related to navigation in the Strait of Hormuz are proceeding in a positive and constructive atmosphere, emphasising the importance of avoiding any actions that could affect these negotiations and the progress achieved, which takes into account the interests of all parties,” the Oman News Agency adds.

A ship has been hit by a projectile off Oman in the Strait of Hormuz, causing a fire that was extinguished but with no casualties, AFP reports citing United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO).

“A verified source has reported that a vessel was struck by an unknown projectile, which caused a fire that has been extinguished. There is no reported environmental impact. The vessel and crew are reported as safe,” it says.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said he is “not afraid of fighting or staying” in the country, according to comments carried by the Fars news agency.

“I, for instance, can’t just step back from work, skip meetings, and stop following through. Now, it’s possible that one day they’ll assassinate us; well, let them do it,” he is quoted as saying.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that he will stand by whatever decision is taken by the country’s supreme leadership “until the end”, according to comments carried by Iran’s Fars news agency.

He notes that Iran’s commanders know their own capabilities “better than you and me” about whether or not to continue fighting, adding, “The duty is not to wage war against the government; neither is it with the government in law, nor is it with the government in continuation. The government is the place that must provide the supplies.”

Saudi Arabia has condemned an attack on an Emirati tanker as it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

A statement from the kingdom’s foreign ministry reads, “These rejected attacks are an assault on the security and safety of maritime navigation, and on the security of global energy supplies.”

Israeli troops have infiltrated a Lebanese village placed under the control of Lebanon’s army as part of a June agreement and built an earthen barrier overnight, AFP reports citing Lebanese state media and the local mayor.

“An Israeli occupation army force advanced into the village of Zawtar al-Gharbiya shortly after midnight … and erected a new earthen barrier near the town square,” Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reports on Saturday.

An AFP correspondent has seen the barrier, built at the village’s eastern entrance. Local authorities say it is unclear if any Israeli forces remain in the area.

US Central Command (Centcom) says that as part of the naval blockade of Iran, American forces have redirected 51 commercial vessels, disabled two and boarded two others.

Iraq is in talks with Iran on an arrangement to allow Iraqi oil exports, but the mechanism has not yet been activated, Reuters reports citing the country’s Oil Minister Basim Mohammed.

He has given no details on the proposed route, expected volumes, or a timeline for the arrangement.

Iraq currently produces about 2.7 million barrels per day (bpd) and exports roughly half of that amount, the minister said during a press conference, adding that export capacity this month is capped at 1.5 million to 1.75 million bpd.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterates that an agreement with Oman does not mean the Strait of Hormuz will be opened, echoing earlier comments by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Fars news agency reports.

“Negotiations with Oman regarding passage through the Strait of Hormuz are approaching their final stages, and determining a temporary route based on the map of the armed forces is underway,” he is quoted as saying by Fars.

“Reopening the Strait of Hormuz is contingent on other conditions and compensation for the violation of the agreement by the United States.”

The United Arab Emirates claims Iran targeted a tanker belonging to the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz, AFP reports.

The foreign ministry has condemned “the hostile Iranian attack that targeted a tanker belonging to Adnoc with a missile while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz, without causing casualties” in a statement.

Iran’s IRGC says that reopening the Strait of Hormuz is not related to Iran-Oman negotiations but conditional on the US accepting Iran’s conditions, Reuters reports.

“The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is subject to the specific mechanisms and conditions of the Islamic Republic of Iran and is not related to the negotiations between Iran and Oman,” Iran’s Tasnim news agency cited IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi as saying.

Israeli artillery shelling on the forests and high ground of Ali al-Taher on the outskirts of Nabatieh al Fawqa has continued intermittently from midnight till morning, Al Jazeera reports, citing NNA.

NNA added that the shelling also affected the area between Kfar Reman and the hill of al-Dabsha overlooking Nabatieh.

Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has said the foreign forces must leave the Middle East.

In a series of posts on X — made in Persian, Arabic, English and Turkish — Velayati said, “Recent developments reflect the resilience of the armed forces, the steadfastness of Iranians, and the courage of the Resistance Axis.

“The US and Zionist regime’s defeat reinforced the belief that foreign forces — the main cause of insecurity — must leave the region,” he added.

The official also emphasised that “growing cooperation among regional states can secure its security”.

Iranian Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Abbas Saleh Shariati has described journalism as a noble profession that assumes a deeper cultural and social mission during times of crisis, in a message marking National Reporter’s Day, according to IRNA.

He said Iran had experienced major events and difficult challenges, adding that the country’s media faced the important task of conveying Iran’s perspective to the world amid a war waged by the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic.

According to the minister, Iranian media professionals performed strongly during the difficult period through responsible reporting, timely coverage and careful analysis, helping their accounts of the conflict gain greater attention among audiences and observers.