War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it delivered a “protest note” to Iranian envoy Mohammad Tutunji, after the alleged “infiltration” of a group of armed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members in the Gulf country, Al Jazeera reports.

Kuwait’s deputy foreign affairs minister, Hamad Suleiman al-Mashaan, reiterated the country’s “strong condemnation of this hostile act” and demanded that Iran “immediately and unconditionally cease such actions”, the ministry says in a statement.

Al-Mashaan describes the incident as a “blatant violation of Kuwait’s sovereignty”, as well as a violation of international law and the UN Charter, and stressed that Kuwait has the right to self-defence.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev expressed his “deep appreciation” for Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts to achieve a ceasefire between Iran and the US during a phone call with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) says in a statement.

“This was a clear reflection of the trust and confidence of the international community in Pakistan and its leadership,” the statement reads. “The two leaders agreed to maintain close contact and looked forward to their meeting, in person, later this year.”

The statement adds that the premier conveyed his best wishes to Aliyev for the upcoming World Urban Forum in Baku next week.

“He expressed confidence that the Forum, under Azerbaijan’s stewardship, would serve as a valuable platform for advancing the global urban development agenda,” the PMO says.

Save the Children says four children have been killed or injured every day on average across Lebanon since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect last month, Al Jazeera reports.

A total of 22 children were killed and 89 others wounded since April 17, the group says, citing figures from Lebanon’s Ministry of Health. That brings the total number of children killed in Israeli attacks since early March to nearly 200.

“This so-called ceasefire that still sees more than four children killed or injured every day is not a ceasefire for children,” says Nora Ingdal, Save the Children’s Lebanon director.

“Attacks on civilians have not stopped — it has simply continued under another name. Colleagues have told me the air strikes feel more intense in some areas than they ever did before. Children are not safe until there is a permanent and definitive ceasefire with no violations.”

Two paramedics have been killed and another injured in the southern city of Nabatieh after Israel “directly targeted” the team, Al Jazeera reports, citing Lebanon’s health ministry.

The paramedics were trying to rescue a wounded person who was also killed in the second attack, it says in a statement shared by the state-run National News Agency.

Israel has routinely attacked medical workers and health facilities in its intensified military assault on Lebanon, drawing international condemnation.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has said that European ministers will discuss Lebanon during a meeting in Brussels, highlighting interest among member states in a possible new European mission to support Lebanese armed forces following the planned end of the UN mission later this year, Anadolu reports.

Kallas has also underlined that discussions will include the EU’s Aspides naval operation in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that its operational plan could be adjusted if member states agreed.

“We have it already. We only need to change the operational plan of that mandate,” she says, adding that the structure for the mission is already in place but will require further political agreement and additional contributions from member states to proceed.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan has discussed regional developments and bilateral coordination in a phone call with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi, according to a statement from the Saudi foreign ministry.

A US senator has assailed Washington’s military and diplomatic campaigns in Iran, calling them “incompetent [and] ham-handed”.

“I don’t think we have ever seen a more incompetent, ham-handed military operation, side-by-side with the most incompetent, ham-handed diplomatic effort, in the history of this country,” Senator Chris Murphy tells CNN.

He notes that the best course of action is for US President Donald Trump to end the blockade and declare an end to the war right now.

“This is not a stalemate … Iran is much more powerful today than they were at the beginning of this conflict,” Murphy says, adding that this is notwithstanding damage caused by the US during the war.

“This has been publicly reported: they still have the majority of their missiles, the majority of their drones, they still have a nuclear programme and any time they want, they can reopen military operations in the Strait of Hormuz,” he adds.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will travel to India from May 14 to 15 to attend a meeting of the foreign ministers of BRICS member countries, says the Iranian Embassy in India.  

According to the statement, “Araghchi, the foreign minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, will travel to New Delhi to participate in the meeting of the foreign ministers of BRICS member countries.”

“During this visit, in addition to attending the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, which will be held on Thursday and Friday, 14–15 May, under India’s chairmanship and with a focus on regional stability, multilateral cooperation, and economic resilience, the FM Araghchi will hold discussions and exchange views with Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, minister of external affairs of India, as well as with other ministers and officials participating in the meeting,” it said.

The meeting serves as a prelude to the 18th BRICS Summit, which is scheduled to be held in New Delhi under India’s presidency in September this year, it added.

Lebanon’s civil defence agency says two of its personnel have been killed in an Israeli strike while they were on duty in the country’s south, AFP reports.

The personnel were killed in “an Israeli airstrike that targeted them while they were carrying out a rescue mission” after a previous strike in the city of Nabatieh, a civil defence statement said.

The United States’ war in Iran has cost $29 billion so far, a senior Pentagon official has said, an increase of $4bn from an estimate provided late last month, Reuters reports.

Jules Hurst, who is performing the duties of the comptroller, told lawmakers that the cost included updated repair and replacement of equipment and operational costs.

Amnesty International has called for the investigation of Israeli strikes on civilian high-rise buildings in the Gaza Strip as war crimes.

“Israel’s unlawful and wanton destruction of civilian high-rise buildings continues to have devastating consequences for displaced Palestinian families in the occupied Gaza Strip, where reconstruction remains a distant dream amid ongoing genocide and air strikes,” the group has said in a press release.

Amnesty finds that Israel “severely damaged and destroyed” high-rise buildings in the Strip, which housed thousands of people, including the internally displaced, in bombing raids with little to no advance notice.

“Statements by Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz in the immediate aftermath of some of the incidents of destruction offer further evidence that the buildings were not destroyed for reasons of imperative military necessity but rather to inflict collective punishment,” the group adds.

“Bangladesh condemns in the strongest possible terms the heinous attack by Israeli forces in Southern Lebanon yesterday, which resulted in the tragic killing of two Bangladeshi nationals,” Al Jazeera reports quoting the foreign ministry in Dhaka.

Bangladesh has also reiterated its deep concern over the continuing violence and loss of civilian lives in the region and called for maximum restraint and adherence to international humanitarian law.

The victims have been identified as Shafiqul Islam and Nahidul Islam Nahid, both residents of the southeastern Satkhira district of Bangladesh.

The Bangladeshi embassy in Lebanon is working with the relevant local authorities to complete the necessary formalities for the repatriation of their mortal remains, according to Al Jazeera.

Consumer inflation in the United States hit a three-year high in April, government data shows, with the economic fallout of the Iran war rippling through the world’s largest economy, AFP reports.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose 3.8 per cent year-on-year, up from March’s 3.3pc figure, the US Bureau of Labour Statistics says.

US Central Command (Centcom) says on X that since the enforcement of a naval blockade on Iranian ports, 65 commercial vessels have been redirected and four others disabled.

The United Arab Emirates’ industry minister Dr Sultan Al-Jaber says that because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

“One billion barrels, that is the arithmetic of extortion,” the minister, also the head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, says on X.

“Every day the Strait is held hostage, the costs go up … for families, farms, factories and economies around the world,” he adds, calling for the restoration of freedom of navigation.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth will face a new round of questioning from lawmakers over the US-Israel war on Iran, including by some Republicans who expressed concerns over the length of the conflict and lack of congressional approval, according to Al Jazeera.

Hegseth and General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are expected to outline the proposed defence budget and stress the need for more drones, warships, and interceptor missile systems during back-to-back hearings of the House and Senate subcommittees overseeing defence spending.

The hearings will review the Trump administration’s 2027 military budget proposal, but the discussions are expected to veer into the handling of a war that appears locked in a stalemate, as higher fuel prices pose political problems for Republicans in the midterm congressional elections.

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte says he is “extremely optimistic” about the future of the military alliance, but the situation with Iran is dominating current conversations, Al Jazeera reports.

“When you look at the short term, of course, there are discussions about Iran, and how we make sure that allies in Europe will be able to help with situations in the Strait of Hormuz,” Rutte says during a press conference in Montenegro.

Bahrain has sentenced three people to life on charges of collaborating with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, amid a crackdown on pro-Iran sentiment and networks since the Middle East war, AFP reports.

Over 20 others have been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison by a court in the kingdom, which was hard-hit by Iranian attacks during the war.

A woman “accused of … collaborating with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards terrorist organisation, with the intention of carrying out hostile terrorist acts” has been sentenced to life imprisonment, the public prosecution says in a statement.

Two other people, one of whom fled to Iran, also received life sentences and a 10,000 dinar fine ($26,487) on similar charges, it adds.

In a separate case, “the court sentenced 10 defendants to prison terms of up to 10 years”, with three of them to be deported after serving their sentences. They have been convicted for supporting Iran, filming in prohibited locations and disseminating banned statements.

Hezbollah has claimed an attack on an Israeli Merkava tank near the town of Houla in southern Lebanon’s Nabatieh region, Al Jazeera reports.