War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Hossein Royvaran, a Tehran-based analyst, says it is not yet clear why the tanker off the coast of Oman was targeted, noting that Iran has yet to issue an official statement on the incident.

According to Al Jazeera, he suggested one explanation was that the vessel had strayed into an area where Iranian teams were engaged in mine-clearing operations.

“The area near Oman is likely full of mines,” he said. “There is a possibility that these ships headed in directions where Iranian teams in that area are clearing mines, and the ships’ movement might have threatened those teams,” he said.

Two US officials have blamed Iran for the attack, telling the Axios news outlet that Iran’s military fired at least two missiles at commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to Al Jazeera.

One of the officials said a second vessel was also struck and that both ships sustained significant damage, but there were no reported casualties.

Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr calls Trump’s threat “delusional”, according to Reuters.

“Iranians are unfamiliar with the language of threats. So speak to the Iranian people with respect, otherwise we will respond in another language,” Zolqadr says in comments carried by state media.

An “unknown projectile” has struck and caused a fire on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, AFP reports, citing British maritime security agency UKMTO.

“A tanker has reported being hit by an unknown projectile on the port side causing a fire, whilst travelling southbound,” UKMTO says, adding that there are no reports of casualties or environmental impact.

Israel has targeted the towns of Deir Siryan and Toulene with artillery, while carrying out a bombing operation in Qantara, Al Jazeera reports citing the National News Agency.

The body of Iran’s late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has arrived in the holy city of Qom ahead of a planned procession the following day, AFP reports citing state television.

“The body of the martyred leader has arrived in Qom,” south of the capital Tehran, state television says on social media, alongside footage showing a helicopter carrying Khamenei’s body landing in the city.

Continued Israeli attacks have prevented more than 600,000 people from returning to southern Lebanon, according to Al Jazeera.

Israel is posting videos of its military blowing up neighbourhoods. The soldiers have been doing this for months – wiping villages off the map – actions that rights groups say violate international law, reports Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr.

From Tibnine, Hussein Sabra is able to see his hometown of Hadatha, just a few kilometres away, yet unreachable. From there, he watches and hears the explosions.

“This is hard for anyone to bear … watching your homes … your livelihoods destroyed … all your childhood memories gone,” Sabra tells the Qatar-based broadcaster.

More than 90,000 homes, according to a government survey, have been damaged or destroyed, said Khodr. The reconstruction bill is estimated at more than $1 billion, money people there do not have, she added.

“People are only making minor repairs to make their homes livable, but they are worried the violence will escalate again,” Ahmed Hamza, a Tibnine resident, says.

Those who have returned say they live in fear.

“The children are always scared because of the sound of explosions … the whole house shakes,” saysAbu Hussein, a Tibnine resident.

According to Al Jazeera, Iranian authorities are hoping to avoid a repeat of the chaos that marred the 1989 funeral of Ayatollah Khomeini, which drew an estimated 10 million people.

At that event, crowd surges killed 10 people and injured more than 10,000 others.

Jafar Miadfar, the head of emergency services, tells state news agency IRNA: “To date, no fatalities have been recorded during this ceremony, and more than 34,000 participants have received medical treatment and emergency medical services.”

Speaking to US media, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged “differences of opinion” between Washington and Tel Aviv, but denies a deeper rift, saying, “We see eye-to-eye on just about everything,” Al Jazeera reports.

“My relationship with the president is fine, and we have a way of ironing out our differences as allies who respect each other,” he adds in an interview with Fox News.

As the mourning continues in Iran, the authorities are presenting ceremonies for late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as both a religious farewell and a demonstration of national unity, Al Jazeera reports.

“The US and Israel aimed to divide Iran. They wanted to kill our leaders, ordinary people, and commanders to achieve that. But our leader prevented that division. Iranians are here to appreciate what he has done for Iran,” a man who identified himself as Hamid tells Al Jazeera.

Marzieh, another person attending, said he showed up to honour Khamenei, who ruled Iran for nearly 40 years.

“We came here to tell our martyred leader that his blood is not wasted. We came here to renew our allegiance to him,” he says.

Israeli forces have carried out an air strike on the town of Baraachit in southern Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil district, Al Jazeera reports citing the National News Agency.

The attack comes following a mass funeral for civilians in the same town on Sunday that became the target of Israeli artillery fire. No casualties have been reported in the strike.

Russian state nuclear company Rosatom is planning to ⁠send personnel back to ⁠Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant starting in mid-July, Al Jazeera reports citing the Interfax news agency.

Rosatom is ⁠building two new ⁠units at Bushehr, which sustained multiple attacks by the US and Israel following their February attack on Iran.

Nearly 200 Rosatom employees were evacuated from the plant in April.

US President Donald Trump has once again threatened Iran with military action, but is in favour of making a deal.

“We’re either going to make a deal, or we’re going to finish the job. It won’t be tough to finish the job,” he tells reporters at the Oval Office.

Trump says he would rather make a deal, but warns that the US can “knock out” bridges and energy infrastructure in an hour.

“We can knock out their electricity and power-generating plants … in the small part of an afternoon,” he adds.

US President Donald Trump says Washington has “gotten concessions” from Tehran and reiterates that it will secure Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium.

“We’ve gotten concessions, and they have to hold those concessions, but there will be no nuclear weapon,” he tells reporters in the Oval Office.

“We’re going to be getting the … dust, the enriched material,” Trump adds.

Israeli forces have bombed homes in the town of Qounine, in Lebanon’s southern Bint Jbeil district, Al Jazeera reports citing the official National News Agency.

Its correspondent says the Israeli army has attacked civilian homes in the town, claiming it is an Israeli tactic to stop people from returning.

More than 1.6 million were displaced after Israel began its aerial assault and ground invasion of southern Lebanon on March 2. Hundreds of thousands have attempted to return to the area.

Lebanon’s health ministry says the death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the country has risen to 4,319, with more than 12,203 people wounded, Al Jazeera reports.

The figures, reported by the country’s official National News Agency, cover the period from 2 March to 6 July.

Oil prices have fallen on Monday after Opec+ agreed to further increase its output targets from August, while exports from key producers via the Strait of Hormuz are recovering, potentially adding to global supplies, according to Reuters.

Brent crude futures have plunged 47 cents, or 0.65 per cent, to $71.65 a barrel as of 1227 GMT after settling 0.45pc higher on Friday.

US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $68.19 a barrel, down 50 cents, or 0.73pc.

There was no settlement for WTI on Friday as US markets were closed ahead of the Independence Day holiday on Saturday.

Iran’s former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has attended the funeral procession for late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Al Jazeera reports.

A former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander, the unabashedly conservative Ahmadinejad was extremely loyal to Khamenei.

Indonesia and Singapore say the Strait of Malacca will remain “safe, open and accessible to all” as Iran moves to impose fees on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reports.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto says after talks with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in Jakarta that both countries have an interest in keeping Malacca a free passageway.

“We will continue to coordinate with Malaysia and Thailand,” Prabowo states, adding the strait should remain open.

Wong says Singapore and Indonesia are committed to freedom of navigation under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

No Iranians have died during massive funeral processions for late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the capital, semi-official news agency Fars reports, citing Tehran’s emergency chief.

“So far, 2 cases of acute injuries have been recorded, one of which was related to a patient with a history of underlying heart disease, and the second case was a pregnant mother whose transfer operation is currently being carried out by rescue helicopter,” the report adds.