War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

A senior Iranian parliamentarian says that the United States must “recognise the new Iranian regime in the Strait of Hormuz”, Al Jazeera reports, after the Revolutionary Guards announced strikes on 85 US military facilities in the region.

Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s National Security Committee, made the comment on the social media platform X in response to the Guards’ announcement of what they described as an “initial response” to US aggression, according to state media.

“There is no other way: recognise the new Iranian regime in the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.

Qatari LNG tanker Al Rekayyat is stationary near the Strait of Hormuz and awaiting salvage operations once a fire on board has been extinguished, Reuters reports citing ship tracking data and industry sources.

The tanker, loaded with liquefied natural gas, was hit on its port side overnight yesterday, one source said, while another added that the vessel was at risk of exploding due to a fire in its engine room.

Efforts are continuing to extinguish the fire, an industry source familiar with the matter told Reuters. All the crew have been safely evacuated.

The LNG stored in the tanker’s tanks remains intact and there is no breach of those tanks, the industry source said.

Another industry source assessed that as long as the vessel was not subject to any further attack, it was likely to remain in its current state and not explode.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to Lebanon has discussed bilateral relations and “regional developments” with President Joseph Aoun, the Pakistani embassy says.

Saudi shipping company Bahri says its VLCC Wedyan was involved yesterday in an incident while passing through the Strait of Hormuz, but the vessel remains seaworthy and its cargo is secure, according to Reuters.

Bahri added that all crew members are safe and no injuries have been reported.

The secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jassem Mohamed Albudaiwi, has condemned Iranian attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait, describing them as a flagrant violation of the two countries’ sovereignty and a continuation of Tehran’s efforts to undermine regional peace efforts, according to Al Jazeera.

Albudaiwi said the strikes represented a direct threat to the safety of citizens and residents and a grave breach of international law and the UN Charter, according to a statement from the Riyadh-based bloc.

“The attacks confirm Iran’s continued approach aimed at undermining international and regional efforts to establish security and peace and resolve the crisis,” he said.

International Maritime Organisation Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez has condemned new attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and called for maximum restraint and de-escalation in a statement, according to Reuters.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan says that he admires Donald Trump’s determined stance regarding efforts to achieve lasting peace with Iran, shortly after the US president said he believed the interim ceasefire deal was over, Reuters reports.

Speaking at the opening of the Nato summit in Ankara, Erdogan also thanked fellow allies Spain, Germany, Italy and the US for providing air defence support to Turkiye amid the war in Iran, and urged solidarity among allies against terrorism.

Oman’s foreign ministry has condemned the strikes on Bahrain and Kuwait as well as the targeting of two Saudi and Qatari commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement on X, it affirmed its solidarity with the states “in all that serves to safeguard their security and stability, the safety of their territories, and the protection of their sovereignty and interests”.

“The escalation of military tensions in the region poses a threat to its security, to navigational safety, to the smooth flow of international trade, and to energy supplies,” it said, rejecting actions that would undermine the security of states or expose civilian and commercial ships to danger.

The statement called on all parties to exercise restraint, halt the escalation, prioritise dialogue and diplomatic solutions, and commit to the full implementation of the signed understandings to ensure peace and security.

Gold prices have fallen more than one per cent after US President Donald Trump said the interim peace deal with Iran was “over”, sending oil prices higher and stoking fears of inflation and higher US interest rates.

Spot gold fell 1.02pc to $4,063.67 per ounce by 8:50 GMT (1:50pm PKT), after dropping to its lowest since July 2 earlier in the session. US gold futures for August delivery shed 1.97pc to $4,074.80/oz.

Trump has accused the Iranians of repeatedly misrepresenting what had been agreed in the ceasefire that Washington and Tehran signed on June 17, while speaking to the press ahead of the Nato summit in Ankara.

“Everyone’s agreed, no nuclear weapon. We make a deal. They go outside, joke to the press, they say we never even talked about it. There’s something wrong with them, they’re cuckoo,” the US president said.

World oil prices soar more than five per cent after US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was over, following fresh strikes in the Middle East.

International benchmark Brent North Sea crude jumps 5.3pc to $78.09 a barrel, while the main US contract, West Texas Intermediate, advances 5.4pc to $74.23 a barrel.

US President Donald Trump says that the memorandum of understanding signed with Iran to end the conflict is “over”, adding he doesn’t want to engage with Tehran.

Trump was speaking in Ankara ahead of the Nato summit.

“To me, I think it’s over,” he said after a pause when asked about the ceasefire. “I don’t want to deal with them anymore; they’re scum … they’re led by sick people.”

He added, “I’ll speak to our negotiators, they want to negotiate … but they have to come back to me.”

Trump said, “Frankly, I don’t want to waste my time with them. Now, I’ll let our wonderful negotiators keep talking if they want, but I don’t see it.”

He added, “As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with them. They’re liars.”

“We pay far, far too much, billions and billions of dollars too much,” Trump has said of Nato, calling it “unfair” that the alliance is “not there” for the US despite its protection.

“But I want to say that this is a great leader; they’re lucky they have him,” he added, referring to Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte, whom he was speaking alongside at the Ankara summit.

“It’s their biggest asset.”

Iran’s military has warned that any site enabling the United States to attack the country would be considered a “legitimate target”, after hostilities resumed despite an agreement intended to end the war, AFP reports.

“Any support provided to the aggressive American army to violate the sovereignty and territory of Islamic Iran will be a legitimate target of the armed forces,” the military said in a statement.

Speaking at the Nato summit in Ankara, Trump has again criticised the alliance for not assisting the US’ efforts in Iran.

“When they could have, they weren’t there for us, and we’ve been there for them,” he said, remarking that the US has spent “over a trillion dollars” on protecting these countries from Russia, despite it having “nothing to do with us”.

“They haven’t treated us right, and Mark understands that … and we’re gonna work something out, I think, one way or the other.”

European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said that “exchanges of fire between the United States and Iran had further complicated already fraught efforts to end the war”, adding that Iran’s attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait are “unacceptable”.

In a post on X, she said, “Under the memorandum, Tehran committed to reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Its recent attacks on ships near the Strait violate that commitment and threaten to disrupt the resumption of energy supplies. Freedom of navigation must be unimpeded.”

“Next Monday, EU foreign ministers will meet with their Gulf counterparts to discuss how we can work together to support the implementation of the agreement and preserve freedom of navigation in the Strait as well as the Red Sea,” she added.

China denounced a sharp escalation in hostilies in the Middle East after the United States struck dozens of targets in Iran, with Beijing’s foreign ministry warning both sides against “reigniting” the war in the Middle East, AFP reports.

“Reigniting the war is not in the interests of either side, and military means cannot solve the fundamental problems,” foreign spokesperson Mao Ning told a news conference, when asked about the strikes.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said that airlines should not operate within the airspace of Iran and Iraq, amid ongoing tensions and the potential for further military action, Reuters reports.

The EASA said its bulletin for the airspaces of Iran and Iraq was valid until August 31.

The agency’s previous bulletin, which expires on Wednesday, included Lebanon. It had also asked airlines to exercise caution when operating within the airspace of Bahrain, Kuwait, Israel, Jordan, Qatar, Oman, UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Qatar has condemned strikes carried out by Iran against Kuwait and Bahrain and called for diplomacy, as hostilities resume following attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, AFP reports.

Qatar, a key intermediary in talks between Iran and the United States, has said it “emphasises the need to spare the region the consequences of these unjustified attacks”, in a foreign ministry statement posted on X.

Doha has also emphasised the need to “pursue the path of dialogue and diplomacy, to de-escalate tensions, and to build upon the progress achieved under the memorandum of understanding”.

British travel company Jet2 has said that easing geopolitical tensions have led to strong bookings in recent weeks, with booked-to-date passengers for summer up 7.1pc, Reuters reports.

The global aviation and leisure industry has been contending with higher costs and weak consumer confidence stemming from the Iran war, though peace negotiations to end the war are giving some holidaymakers confidence to go ahead with their travel plans.

Jet2, which sells flights and package holidays, posted profit before taxation of 551 million ($735.81m) for the year ended March 31, down 7pc from 593.2m a year earlier.

A member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy was killed during a confrontation with US drones in the southern port city of Bandar Mahshahr, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reports.

Oil prices have gained more than 3pc after Iran and the US military traded airstrikes and Washington reimposed crude sales sanctions on Tehran, raising fears their fragile truce was unravelling and Middle East supplies could be disrupted again, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures gained $2.40, or 3.2pc, at $76.56 a barrel at 06:45am GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed $2.26, or 3.2pc, to $72.70 a barrel.

“While the revocation doesn’t fundamentally change oil market dynamics, it’s important from a sentiment perspective. It heightens the risk of a breakdown in the temporary deal between the U.S. and Iran,” ING commodity strategists said.

“The current conflagration is a reminder to the market of how fragile passage through the Strait still is,” said Saul Kavonic, head of research at MST Marquee.

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Tehran also highlights the legal obligations of all states, particularly the neighbouring Gulf countries, to “prevent aggressor parties from using their territory and facilities to carry out acts of aggression” against Iran.

The foreign ministry stressed that any “cooperation in the commission of the crime of aggression against Iran constitutes complicity”.

Iran warned that its armed forces, under Article 51 of the UN Charter, would “target the very source and origin of the aggression”.