War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Dubai has warned of “necessary measures” against any media publishing false news, after Reuters reported sounds of explosions in the city centre of the UAE’s financial hub, Al Jazeera reports.

In a statement published on X, Dubai Media Office warns that “action will be taken against media outlets that publish false news or unverified information about Dubai, in accordance with local and federal laws and regulations”.

Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has criticised the US and Israel for voting against key UN anti-terrorism resolutions, including a resolution from earlier this month on global counterterrorism, Al Jazeera reports.

“Aren’t they revealing?” Baghaei says in a post on X.

US arms deliveries to Estonia which were temporarily suspended due to the Iran war are now expected to arrive in the Baltic country in the coming months, Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur tells public broadcaster ERR, Reuters reports.

Estonia’s President Alar Karis said in late April that his country had been informed of delays related to HIMARS rocket systems.

“At the moment, logistical details are being agreed upon when it will be possible to send the plane to pick it up,” Pevkur tells ERR.

But while most of the agreed arms supplies are now expected to take place, US-made ATACMS missiles are still pending as these are closely related to US operations in Iran, Pevkur says.

Iran’s IRIB state broadcaster reports that three explosions have been heard west of Bandar Abbas, accordign to Anadolu.

United States Central Command (Centcom) has confirmed that it launched strikes against Iran at 2pm Eastern Time (11pm PKT) to “further degrade Iranian military capabilities”.

Asked about contradictory statements on negotiating with Iran by US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt says they are “on the exact same page”.

“I can tell you that the president and the vice president are on the exact same page about where we are right now in this conflict,” she tells reporters.

Leavitt adds that US military action was effective because it has left Iran’s leadership divided and unable to communicate with each other.

Qatar has “categorically rejected” Israeli media reports that the country agreed to participate in military action against Iran, Al Jazeera reports.

“The State of Qatar will not allow such misleading allegations to undermine its active diplomatic efforts to bring the conflict to an end,” a statement issued by Qatar’s International Media Office reads.

Asked if negotiations with Iran would be worthwhile at this point, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt noted that Tehran’s economy and military have suffered “devastating blows”, but that the president is open to diplomacy.

“The president is always open and willing to diplomacy,” she tells reporters. “After Operation Epic Fury … we did move forward into a diplomatic phase, if you will, but unfortunately, Iran has violated that.”

She adds that US President Donald Trump has proven that Washington can strike Iran at any time and that it is unable to defend itself.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt has said that the US launched strikes on Iran after the latter violated the memorandum of understanding by firing on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, though she notes that Tehran is still talking to Washington.

“I’ve spoken with the president about this … Iran very much continues to talk to the United States of America and express that they want to make a deal with us because they are suffering devastating blows on behalf of our United States military,” she says in response to a question.

“The reason for the recent strikes over the course of the last several days is because Iran violated the memorandum of understanding that we struck with them,” she adds. “Specifically … they were not to fire on commercial vessels moving through the Strait of Hormuz, and unfortunately, they have made the tragic decisions for them to do that.

Leavitt says, “President Trump is not going to sit by and allow these active acts of terrorism to take place in the strait without ensuring Iran pays consequences for that.”

Asked why US President Donald Trump is refusing to accept responsibility for the Minab school strike, which left 168 people dead at the start of the Iran war, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says the matter remains under investigation.

“All I can speak to is what the president has said, as I speak on his behalf. The investigation continues and we would defer you to the Department of War for further questions,” she replies.

Pressed on why Trump continues to deny that the US was responsible, Leavitt reiterates that the matter is under investigation.

“I think the president feels that way because he knows that our military always acts in good faith and never targets civilians and children, unlike the other side in this conflict, Iran, which is well-known for killing women and children and innocent people in their country for a long time,” she adds.

Israeli forces have “carried out a large explosion operation” near the town of Zawtar al-Gharbiyyeh in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports citing Lebanon’s NNA.

The Bahrain coastguard has imposed new restrictions on vessel traffic within the country’s territorial waters, Al Jazeera reports citing an official announcement.

The directive prohibits the movement of all vessels starting at 6:30pm (8:30pm PKT) and ending at 4am (6am PKT).

Iran’s top negotiator, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, says the country has “no choice but to rely on our own strength and become stronger”, adding that the US “seeks to hit Iran and advance its interests whenever it can”, Al Jazeera reports.

“This is not limited to war, negotiations, or just this current US president,” he says in a statement issued on social media. “So our view of war or negotiations must be based on national interests and security, realistic and long-term; therefore, we have no choice but to rely on our own strength and become stronger.”

According to Reuters, witnesses say they have heard explosions in downtown Dubai.

US missiles have hit locations near Iran’s port city of Bandar Abbas, al Jazeera reports citing the country’s Fars news agency.

“According to the Hormozgan Governorate, in the new US attacks on the province, no injuries or damage to residential and commercial infrastructure have been reported,” Fars reports, adding that the attack took place between 6:20pm and 6:40pm local time (7:50pm and 8:10pm PKT).

The media relations office of Hezbollah in Lebanon has strongly denied reports on the seizure of weapons by Syrian forces on the Syria-Iraq border, in an official statement carried by Iran’s Tasnim news agency, according to Al Jazeera.

Hezbollah calls the accusations “fabricated and baseless narratives aimed at tarnishing the image of the resistance movement”. The statement says the reports serve US and Israeli objectives in the region.

UAE-based Dana Gas, the operator of northern Iraq’s Khor Mor gas field, has shut down its main production facilities due to credible security threats and escalating regional tensions, Al Jazeera reports citing a company spokesman.

The suspension has reduced power generation capacity in the Iraqi Kurdistan region by 2,500 megawatts, according to the electricity ministry. The Khor Mor field, with its large gas reserves, is the main producer of the region’s electricity.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused the United States of committing war crimes, saying strikes on “vital infrastructure” and threats to attack bridges and power plants show “the criminal intent of the US ruling body to commit heinous crimes”, Al Jazeera reports.

In a statement on Telegram, Araghchi says the US attacks are “undoubtedly a flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter and the fundamental principles of international law”.

He adds that such acts amount to “serious international crimes” under the fundamental principles of international criminal law, including the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, further stating that “all governments are obligated to prosecute and punish those who commit such crimes”.

Araghchi also accuses American officials of “absurd rhetoric and diabolical threats,” saying the hostility is aimed at the Iranian people “for insisting on their independence, legitimate rights, and human dignity”.

He warns that those responsible “cannot evade legal responsibility … by claiming to be acting on the orders of their superiors”.

US projectiles have struck an area near Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, Anadolu reports citing Iran’s Mehr news agency.

Yemen’s Houthi rebel leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi says that all Saudi oil and other vital facilities will be targets for the group’s missiles and drones if Riyadh involves itself in what he described as “comprehensive aggression” against Yemen and moves toward escalation, Reuters reports.

The US House of Representatives has defeated an amendment to cut off aid to Israel, despite nearly half of Democrats supporting it, reflecting a growing rupture between US progressives and Israel, Reuters reports.

The House has voted 314 to 104 to defeat the measure, offered as an amendment to a State Department spending bill by Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky.

However, 103 Democrats and one Republican have backed it, a sharp departure from years in which bills supporting Israel passed almost unanimously.

Syria claims it has foiled an attempt to smuggle weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon by seizing a shipment that included missiles at its border with Iraq, AFP reports.

“Specialised units thwarted an attempt to bring in a shipment of sophisticated weapons and missiles through the Syrian-Iraqi border,” a source from the interior ministry is quoted as saying by Syria’s official SANA news agency.

“Initial investigations established that the shipment was intended to transit through Syria for the benefit of the terrorist militia Hezbollah,” the source adds.