War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Israeli army has said that a recent hostile aircraft alert was a “false identification”, Al Jazeera reports.

The brief update by the Israeli military comes after sirens were activated in several areas in southern Israel.

A senior Iranian official has told Reuters that a final draft of the memorandum of understanding with the US covers a range of issues from Tehran’s nuclear work to reopening the Strait of Hormuz and US waivers on oil sanctions, with a final deal to be discussed in the 60 days following agreement by the two sides.

The Iranian official said the draft memorandum included the following:

Strait of Hormuz: Iran will immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz to all commercial vessels, while the US will lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports

Financial: The US will agree not to impose any new sanctions on Iran until a final deal is reached. The US will also waive oil sanctions on Iran for a specified period, allowing Tehran to sell oil and receive revenue.

The US has also agreed to release $25 billion of Iran’s frozen assets, including via direct cash transfers, cooperation among regional countries, and financial credit lines.

Nuclear: Tehran has agreed that it will neither produce nor acquire nuclear weapons. 

Tehran has also agreed to maintain the nuclear status quo until a final deal is reached, including by not enriching uranium and not expanding nuclear facilities. The US has agreed that Tehran will dilute its highly enriched uranium stockpile inside Iran, with a mechanism for doing so to be discussed within 60 days.

The Israeli military says sirens have been activated in several areas of southern Israel, Al Jazeera reports.

The Israeli military has claimed that three drones, suspected to have been launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon, struck northern Israel in separate incidents, causing no casualties, AFP reports.

“Two impacts of suspicious aerial targets in Israeli territory were identified near the Israel-Lebanon border. No injuries were reported,” the military said in an initial statement.

Later, in a separate statement, the military said another “hostile aircraft” infiltrated the northern Israeli territory.

In the wake of the strikes, two far-right Israeli ministers called for retaliatory strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh.

Tehran’s final decision on signing the agreement under discussion with the United States remains “under review”, Iran’s Fars news agency reports, citing an informed source close to Iran’s negotiating team.

Iran has not yet announced its decision on the proposed memorandum of understanding, according to the source, who added that the review of the political, legal, and technical aspects was still underway at the expert and decision-making levels.

“The responsible institutions are carefully evaluating the political, legal and technical aspects of the issue,” the report added.

Alerts have been activated due to the intrusion of hostile aircraft in several areas in the north of the country, Al Jazeera reports according to a brief update by the military.

The details are under review, it added.

Yadollah Javani, the political deputy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), says Iran’s military, its diplomats and public are working “together toward a common goal of protecting the rights and interests of the Iranian people”, Al Jazeera reports.

He said Iran’s armed forces were ready to respond to any threat with “eyes open and hands on the trigger”, according to the IRNA news agency.

A cyberattack has disrupted services at four major Iranian banks, though no customer data was compromised, the country’s banking coordination council said on Sunday, Reuters reports according to state media.

The council said the attack targeted a shared communications infrastructure used by Bank Melli, Bank Tejarat, Bank Saderat and the Export Development Bank of Iran, prompting technical teams to implement protective measures and temporarily affecting some banking services.

It said no unauthorised access to customer information had occurred and no data had been deleted, adding that recovery efforts were underway to restore normal operations.

An Indian national has died from medical complications aboard the vessel MT Celestial while it was docked at Duqm Port in Oman, the Indian embassy in Muscat has said according to Reuters.

“Necessary arrangements are being made for the early repatriation of the mortal remains to India,” the embassy said in a post on social media.

The death comes days after three Indian seafarers were killed in a US strike on a tanker off Oman, triggering criticism from the public and opposition parties.

The Israeli military has issued evacuation warnings for residents of 29 villages in southern Lebanon ahead of planned strikes, despite a ceasefire intended to halt the war with Hezbollah, AFP reports.

The military’s Arabic-language spokesman, Colonel Avichay Adraee, issued two successive warnings — first for 13 villages, then for 16 more, with the second targeting communities north of the Zahrani river.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also spoke with Egypt’s FM Dr Badr Abdelatty last night, according to the Foreign Office.

“The two leaders discussed the latest regional developments, including progress towards an understanding between the United States and Iran.”

Dar and Abdelatty “expressed hope that these positive developments would contribute to lasting peace, security, and stability across the region”.

Both sides agreed to maintain close contact, the FO added.

The far-right Israeli national security minister has reiterated his calls for Israeli attacks on the Lebanese group in a statement on X, according to Al Jazeera.

Ben-Gvir urged the firing of a missile for every drone sent from Lebanon, “fire” for every violation committed by Hezbollah, and that “Hezbollah must tremble” for every UAV it sends into Israel.

He also called for the killing of “a thousand” Hezbollah fighters in exchange for “every hair on the head of” an Israeli soldier.

A Qatari delegation has arrived in Tehran as part of the mediation process to end the months-long war between Iran and the United States, AFP reports, citing Iranian media.

ISNA news agency reported that an adviser to Qatar’s foreign minister had been dispatched to Iran, while another Tasnim said the purpose of the visit was to “go over the latest developments regarding the diplomatic process”.

Al Jazeera reports that an Israeli air strike has hit the town of Faroun in Bint Jbeil district in southern Lebanon.

New forced displacement orders were issued following Israeli bombardment throughout towns and villages in the south.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke last night with Turkiye’s FM Hakan Fidan, the Foreign Office says.

“The two leaders exchanged views on the evolving regional situation and welcomed the encouraging progress towards an understanding between the United States and Iran,” it said.

Dar and Fidan expressed hope that “these positive developments would pave the way for lasting peace and stability in the region”.

Both agreed to remain in close contact on further developments, the FO said.

Sirens sounded in Jordan, state TV reported earlier today, before the Public Security Directorate said a technical malfunction was to blame and a fault in one of the sirens was being repaired, Reuters says.

The directorate said technical teams were able to fix the malfunction immediately.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has hailed the “unity and resilience” of the Iranian people in a message marking the first anniversary of the 12-day war launched by Israel last year, according to Al Jazeera.

In the message, cited by the official IRNA news agency, Pezeshkian described the conflict as a “symbol of national solidarity” and paid tribute to those who died during the conflict.

He said the Israeli government had miscalculated by assuming that attacks on senior military figures and strategic facilities would weaken the Iranian nation and destabilise the country.

He added that the “resistance” shown by the Iranian people, together with the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the readiness of the armed forces, prevented Israel from achieving its goals and ultimately forced it to accept a ceasefire.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has wished a happy 80th birthday to his US counterpart Donald Trump and thanked him for his support for Israel, Al Jazeera reports.

“The people of Israel are grateful for your leadership in confronting Iran’s empire of evil and for your steadfast commitment to the security of Israel,” Herzog told Trump in a post on X.

He said Trump’s “remarkable journey to the White House represents the breadth of the American dream”.

He added: “We will never forget your tireless efforts in securing the release of our beloved hostages. May you lead the Middle East and the world toward peace and security and continue to strengthen the unique US-Israel partnership.”

Israel’s military has said air sirens have sounded in the north of the country following the infiltration of “hostile aircraft”, Al Jazeera reports.

It said that “two impacts of suspicious aerial targets in Israeli territory were identified near the Israel-Lebanon border”.

The military added that no injuries were reported and said the incident was under review.

Dozens of low-fishing boats lay anchored in flat waters off Mozambique’s capital, stranded for days as surging fuel costs kept their owners from heading out to sea, AFP reports.

Since the government hiked prices in early May because of the impact of the Middle East conflict on supply, many fishermen in Maputo’s quiet Pescadores quarter have not had the cash to fuel a fishing trip.

“The impact is dramatic for us,” said Carlos Nguenha, vice president of the local community fisheries council, as wooden boats bobbed idly behind him, some piled with nets.

“These conflicts don’t only impact those countries, they affect the whole world,” Nguenha said. “We appeal to them to sit down and talk so that we can overcome this.”

Nguenha’s council covers 1,800 fishermen and nearly 290 boats on the Costa do Sol just north of the city. Members are young and old and mostly family breadwinners, with no other work, he said.

Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon has expressed “collective hope that peace is imminent with the signing of the Islamabad memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran”.

“Notwithstanding all the challenges that were faced and the setbacks which were suffered, against all the odds, it was the relentless shuttle diplomacy of Pakistan under the stewardship of PM Shehbaz and Field Marshal Asim Munir, so ably supported by FM Ishaq Dar and Mohsin Naqvi, that has played a crucial role,” he said.

Some Republicans have criticised Tehran even as the US-Iran deal seems to inch closer.

Al Jazeera reports that Republican Senator Ron Johnson said in a video published by the Iran International outlet that a nuclear-armed Iran would pose an “existential threat” to the US.

Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska, meanwhile, shared an old video of former US president Jimmy Carter, who spoke about his hope for a lasting relationship with the Iranian government.

He wrote: “The [Iranian] regime absolutely hates us. When it comes to Iran’s regime, hope is not a strategy. They’ll only respond to power and resolve.”