War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that the US cannot expect dialogue with Iran while blockading and threatening it, according to Al Jazeera.

“It is unacceptable to block all avenues and issue threats while simultaneously demanding talks,” he said.

“I believe that one should not enter into a pact lightly, but once a pact is made, one must remain committed to it until the end — even if it proves disadvantageous,” Pezeshkian added.

A ship was struck by “an unknown projectile” off the coast of Oman, near the Strait of Hormuz, sparking a fire, a British maritime security agency said, Reuters reports.

The tanker, 11 nautical miles (around 20 kilometres) off the town of Bukha, is “now at anchor”, the UKMTO reported.

“All crew are reported as safe. There is no reported environmental impact at this time,” it said.

The US is pressuring Iraq to close more border crossings to tighten pressure on Tehran after Baghdad closed the Sheeb crossing to all passengers, vehicles and commercial trucks, AFP reported, citing two anonymous sources.

A source at Iraq’s border crossings authority told AFP that the al-Sheeb crossing “has been closed since this morning until an unspecified date”, without specifying the reason.

The Iranian judiciary’s Mizan Online website confirmed the closure, adding that it came “following a decision by the Iraqi prime minister’s office”.

Yemen’s Houthis said they have not launched any drones towards the Saudi holy city of Madina and have not conducted any military operations towards Saudi Arabia either, denying earlier comments from the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, according to Reuters.

The comments by the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree follow the coalition saying that it had intercepted drones over Madina and the Eastern region.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has welcomed “mediation efforts” being made by countries regarding the US-Iran war.

“Obviously, these are countries that we have strong alliances and partnerships with. In the case of Qatar in specific, they’ve been involved on this topic for a very long time,” he said, according to a transcript by the Department of State.

“I understand that Field Marshal Munir was actually in Tehran yesterday,” he further noted.

“But in the end, any decision on what would be acceptable is on – is in the hands of the President of the United States, and I think he’s been abundantly clear at the core of all of this is something very simple to understand, is the United States will not support any deal that creates a pathway for Iran to ever have a nuclear weapon. As long as President Trump is in office, they will never have a nuclear weapon.”

The Houthis said they attacked a Saudi-run military camp near the airport in the Yemeni city of Aden on Wednesday, after a police official and an AFP journalist reported seeing smoke rising in the area.

“Our armed forces were able to target the Saudi enemy’s operations room in the Badr camp in Aden with a ballistic missile,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Washington is engaging with several countries over possible negotiations with Iran, but any agreement must prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, Al Jazeera reports.

Iran has received no response from Saudi Arabia or Yemen’s Houthis to its offer to mediate an end to the fighting, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says.

He also warns that Egypt’s entry into the conflict would “further complicate the situation”, Al Jazeera reports.

Iraq has closed the Sheeb border crossing with Iran to passengers, vehicles and commercial trucks until further notice, two sources at the crossing said, Reuters reports.

Another source said the decision has been taken to reconsider the security arrangements inside the crossing.

Iranian Armed Forces control the battlefield in the Strait of Hormuz, which will continue for as long as the Islamic Republic desires, says Major General Mostafa Izadi, Deputy Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), IRNA reports.

In a gathering of people in the central city of Khomain on Tuesday, Major General Izadi stressed the IRGC Navy and Aerospace Forces’ operational and intelligence superiority over the strategic area.

Noting that the enemies seek to push the people away from the scene, he said the people’s presence and support for the country are key to safeguarding achievements and thwarting the enemies’ plots.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said it had intercepted five drones launched towards the kingdom, including in the Madina region home to one of Islam’s holiest cities.

“Four drones launched toward the Kingdom have been intercepted and destroyed,” coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki posted on X, adding in a second post that the interceptions took place in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern region as well as Madina.

Al-Malki, who did not specify who was behind the launches, later said another drone had been intercepted, also in the Eastern region.

Oil prices gain over $1 on Wednesday as escalating Middle East tensions fuel fears of supply disruptions, while falling US crude and product inventories lend support to the market, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures rose $1.59, or 1.5 per cent, to $110.38 per barrel as of 0350 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $1.36, or 1.4pc, to $99.18 per barrel.

Prices fell in the previous trading session after Iran’s president discussed mediation efforts in a meeting with Pakistan’s army chief in Tehran, though Brent hit a five-month high before easing.

“Oil prices have been having a bit of wild ride in the last couple of sessions,” said Suvro Sarkar, head of energy research at DBS.

The UN warned that the humanitarian situation in Yemen’s Taiz is worsening, as road closures and insecurity block vital supplies from reaching millions, Anadolu reports.

Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a news conference that “road closures and insecurity are preventing vital supplies, including fuel, from entering the city and surrounding areas, leaving millions of people at risk of losing access to essential goods and services.”

Dujarric said the situation in Taiz “is deteriorating,” citing colleagues on the ground.

King Charles III praised Oman’s peacemaking attempts in the Middle East Tuesday as Sultan Haitham bin Tariq began the first state visit by an Omani ruler to the UK in nearly half a century, Reuters reports.

Hailing longstanding diplomatic, military and royal ties at a Windsor Castle banquet, the British monarch paid tribute to Muscat’s “noble efforts” to help reopen the choked Strait of Hormuz.

“I would especially like to recognise, at a time when conflict has returned so painfully to the region, Oman’s enduring commitment as a trusted interlocutor to all parties,” Charles told around 160 guests at the lavish dinner.

“Oman’s role across the Gulf and her ‘constructive neutrality’ – as you put it – matters far beyond Hormuz, and is worthy of our utmost respect,” Britain’s king added in a toast to the Omani sultan.

US President Donald Trump has said that Washington is doing “very well” in Iran and that he needs to “make a final decision of which way do we want to win”.

“Do we want to win the nice way, or the not-nice way?” he tells reporters in the Oval Office at the White House, adding that he has spoken with European leaders and asked whether they will help, but they have declined.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy says a supertanker has caught fire after striking a sea mine south of the Strait of Hormuz while “violating” Iranian regulations, Reuters reports citing Iranian media.

UK police say they have re-arrested two men suspected of spying for Iran, amid an investigation into a security scare at a British airbase used by the United States, AFP reports.

Counter-terrorism police say a 24-year-old British citizen and a 25-year-old dual UK-Iranian national, both from London, were arrested “on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service” over last month’s incident at the Fairford Royal Air Force (RAF) base in southwest England.

“The country to which the investigation relates is Iran,” the police statement says.

Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei has told Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir that Tehran will not allow nuclear material to leave the country, AFP reports according to state TV.

“Not even a tiny bit of enriched nuclear material will leave Iran. Such materials constitute a major asset and national wealth for the Iranian people, intended for use within the country,” said Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, in a meeting with the visiting army chief.

“There will be no negotiations until America takes steps to build trust — a process that must begin with the fulfilment of Iran’s conditions.”

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Bagher Ghalibaf says that Iran has “no new message” for the US, in a meeting with Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.

He adds that the US “cannot gain Iran’s trust except by implementing the seven conditions” put forward by Iran.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has discussed mediation efforts and regional developments during a meeting with Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir in Tehran, Reuters reports citing Iran’s Nour News outlet.

More than 1.6 million children in Yemen’s Taiz governorate risk losing access to water as fighting and fuel shortages threaten critical services, Anadolu reports citing warnings by UN agencies.

Unicef Representative in Yemen Akhil Iyer tells reporters in Geneva that water systems serving an estimated 3 million people, including at least 1.6 million children, are at risk as fighting disrupts critical supply routes.

“Diesel shortages threaten to bring water pumps to a halt, while the cost of trucked water has tripled since this latest escalation,” Iyer says, adding that over 168,000 children have been screened for malnutrition in Taiz this year, with over 52,000 found to be acutely malnourished, nearly one in three screened.

“For children in Taiz, hunger, unsafe water and disease are becoming an increasingly dangerous combination,” he warns.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has warned that if any attacks from Lebanon target northern Israeli communities, Tel Aviv will respond by targeting Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh, Al Jazeera reports.

“This policy establishes deterrence,” Katz says in comments shared by the Israeli military, warning Hezbollah from participating in any future Iranian attack on Israel, as its military would deal the group a “severe blow” if it does.

Katz has also threatened that the Israeli army could capture more territory in southern Lebanon, including in the Litani region, and permanently incorporate it into what he calls Israel’s “security zone”.