War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Qatar’s PM and FM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani has held separate phone calls with Turkiye’s FM Hakan Fidan and Egypt’s Badr Abdelatty.

Regional developments were among the matters they discussed, the Qatari foreign ministry said.

The Islamabad Police have said the entry of all types of heavy traffic into Islamabad has been closed from 12am, citing the arrival of a “foreign delegation”.

All entry routes to the Red Zone except Murree Road and Margalla Road will remain completely closed for all types of traffic, it said.

Diversions will be in place for traffic on the Expressway, Murree Road, and Club Road from Koral to Faizabad. Srinagar Highway will remain completely closed from Zero Point to Dhokri Chowk.

The police also shared an alternative traffic plan in case of road closures. Traffic coming and going to Zero Point from Faisal Avenue will be diverted towards 9th Avenue.

Qatar’s PM and FM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani has held a telephone call with Saudi Arabia’s FM Prince Faisal bin Farhan.

During the call, they discussed bilateral cooperation relations and exchanged views on the latest regional developments, particularly diplomatic efforts to enhance security and stability in the region following the Islamabad MoU, Qatar said.

The premier reaffirmed Qatar’s full support for the ongoing negotiations between the US and Iran to “reach sustainable solutions to outstanding issues through dialogue and peaceful means, thereby strengthening regional security, opening new horizons for cooperation, development, and prosperity, and achieving the common interests of the peoples of the region and the world”.

Switzerland has welcomed the “constructive progress achieved through the intensive diplomatic exchanges held at the Bürgenstock between the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar”.

It noted that the establishment of a high-level committee based on the MoU and the agreement on a roadmap towards a final agreement within 60 days are “positive steps that provide a framework for the next phase of the process and enable immediate technical discussions”.

Switzerland affirmed it “remains available, through its good offices, to support dialogue, de-escalation, regional stability and peace”.

US President JD Vance has said that Iranian assets would not be unfrozen “unless we continue to see progress” in the peace talks.

“And that will obviously be a big part of the negotiation in the days to come,” he added while speaking to reporters before departing Switzerland.

At the heart of the deal to end the Middle East war lies a $300 billion fund to rebuild and develop Iran – but so far it is unclear who will foot the bill.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) says Washington “undertakes with regional partners to develop a definitive mutually agreed plan with at least $300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development” of Iran.

“The mechanism for the implementation of this plan will be finalised as part of a final deal within 60 days,” it added.

The text does not say who will contribute to the fund.

Gulf countries, divided over Iran in the aftermath of the war, have not confirmed they would invest in the scheme to rebuild their powerful neighbour.

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Crude prices fell after the US said it is temporarily lifting sanctions on Iran to allow it to export oil and optimism on talks towards a final peace deal, AFP reports.

Internationally, the main focus remained firmly on the Middle East and the prospects for a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to tanker and cargo traffic.

“The latest developments out of the Middle East have turned more constructive,” said Deutsche Bank analyst Jim Reid, adding that a pickup in oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz was “helping to calm markets”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had declared that Israeli forces had been granted “full freedom” to engage any threat encountered in southern Lebanon, reaffirming that troops would remain deployed in the region for as long as deemed necessary, AFP reports.

“My directive, and that of the minister of defence, to the IDF is clear and has not changed: Our fighters in southern Lebanon have full freedom of action to thwart any direct or developing threat to them or to the residents of the north,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

“The IDF has no restrictions on this matter.”

US President Donald Trump has said in a post on Truth Social that Iran will agree to have weapons inspections to ensure “nuclear honesty” long into the future, echoing comments made by Vice President JD Vance, Reuters reports.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that Turkiye welcomes the agreement reached between Iran and the US and is ready to provide any support needed to help the process conclude peacefully, Erdogan’s office says according to Reuters.

In a phone call, Erdogan said it was important to remain vigilant against attempts to sabotage the negotiations and that new steps to strengthen regional peace were both necessary and important, according to a statement from his office.

The ⁠Iran-related global ⁠energy crisis will drive electrification, as ⁠countries look to improve domestic ⁠energy security and protect themselves from fossil fuel price shocks, the ‌chief of the International Energy Agency says according to Al Jazeera.

“Many governments are reviewing their energy strategies, policies, ⁠partnerships and technology ⁠choices, and my expectation is this crisis is ⁠going to give ⁠an additional ⁠boost to electrification,” Fatih Birol said.

Iran’s top negotiator Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are traveling to Oman to discuss the management of the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reports.

The two are set to discuss consolidating Iranian arrangements for managing the strait and enhancing bilateral coordination, Ghalibaf posted on Telegram.

Iran will continue its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in line with existing procedures, foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei tells IRNA according to Al Jazeera.

The interactions with the IAEA will take place in “accordance with the approvals of the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the decisions of the Supreme National Security Council”, IRNA quoted Baghaei as saying.

Top Indian and Iranian security officials met in New Delhi today, the foreign ministry said, as security chiefs gathered for a Brics meeting that also included China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, AFP reports.

India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met Iranian official Ghadir Nezamipour, a senior member of Tehran’s Supreme National Security Council, and discussed the “ongoing situation” in the Middle East, as well as India-Iran ties, the foreign ministry said.

Iran’s embassy in New Delhi said in a post on X that Nezamipour also met Wang, with whom he discussed the “implementation of the peace agreement” and expressed Tehran’s “appreciation for China’s political support”.

India has long maintained cordial ties with Iran but has had to carefully balance its relationship with the United States, especially during the recent weeks of conflict in the Middle East.

Direct damage to buildings in south Lebanon in the latest Israeli attacks on the country since late April is estimated at around $1.38 billion, a UN agency and a Lebanese research centre say, AFP reports.

“In total, 11,095 buildings were completely destroyed, impacting 17,891 housing units, while 2,242 buildings sustained partial damage… and 9,311 buildings incurred minor damage,” the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Lebanon’s government-linked National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS) said.

It cited a “rapid building-level damage assessment” in the country’s south which compared satellite imagery from late April, nearly two months into the latest war, with those from October 2025, meaning it does not cover the latest weeks of the conflict.

“Findings indicate that direct damage to buildings in south Lebanon is estimated at $1.38 billion,” the statement added.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will begin a trip to three Gulf countries tomorrow amid negotiations with Iran to end the war in the Middle East, his spokesperson said, AFP reports.

Visiting the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain, Rubio will discuss “the memorandum of understanding with Iran, efforts to secure full and free safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz, and the importance of peace and stability in the region,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement.

The United States has authorised Iranian oil sales, easing decades-old sanctions as it pushes toward a final peace deal with Tehran in return for commitments on nuclear inspections and free transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

The general license, announced by the Treasury Department, allows the sale of crude oil and petrochemical and petroleum products of Iranian origin through August 21.

The license says Iranian oil can be imported into the US when necessary to complete its sale, delivery or offloading.

“Treasury has issued a temporary 60-day general license authorizing the production, delivery and sale of Iranian oil,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has written on X.

China’s Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong has reaffirmed China’s “steadfast support to Pakistan’s mediation role for durable peace and stability in the region”, in a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.

China commends Pakistan’s “successful contribution to de-escalation”, according to a Foreign Office post on X.

DPM Dar and the Chinese envoy have “stressed the importance of sustained diplomatic engagement and peaceful settlement of all outstanding issues underpinned by dialogue and negotiations,” the post adds.