War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has appointed Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, as his political adviser.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has appointed Dr Mohsen Rezaei as his representative in Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

The Yemeni transportation ministry has said in a statement that the Houthis’ attack on Mocha caused severe damage to the port’s infrastructure, Reuters reports.

“This marks yet another assault on a vital civilian facility that serves citizens and contributes to boosting commercial and maritime activity in the Red Sea,” the ministry said.

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik discussed the “close fraternal relationships between the two countries” as well as exchanged views on “a number of issues of mutual interest”, Qatar says.

The Oman sultan undertook a one-day visit to Qatar.

Oman’s foreign ministry said they “discussed the course of bilateral relations and all matters aimed at developing aspects of existing cooperation in various sectors, in service of shared interests and aspirations”.

Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed 4,335 people and wounded 12,277 others since March 2, Al Jazeera quotes Lebanon’s health ministry as saying.

After months of US military strikes on Iran, sanctions and a blockade, President Donald Trump says that his administration is watching economic pressure mount on Iran, according to an interview with Axios.

“We are low-keying it,” Trump was quoted as saying during a brief phone call.

“We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money.”

He stressed that Iran “is in very bad shape” economically and has no money to pay its troops. Trump said the US naval blockade has exacerbated Iran’s economic crisis.

At the same time, Trump said that with oil down to slightly over $75 a barrel, US consumers are feeling less pain from the war.

“It will work out. It always works out. It’s like a chess game,” Trump said of the back-and-forth with Iran.

Deputy PM Ishaq Dar and Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand have discussed the “evolving situation” in the context of the US-Iran war, the Foreign Office says.

They also exchanged views on the regional situation, including the recently signed Makkah Joint Defence Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.

The spokesman for the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission has announced the approval of a strategic action plan to ensure the security and sustainable progress of the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, IRNA reports.

The spokesperson added: “In this meeting, the oral and written views of the relevant agencies and institutions were discussed and reviewed in the presence of representatives at the National Security Commission meeting, and ultimately this plan was approved without any dissenting votes.”

Reuters

Former Iranian chief justice says that Iran will not retreat from the Strait of Hormuz at any cost, Iran’s state-run IRIB news agency reports.

Basij Organisation deputy Qasem Qoraishi has said that footage and other documentation showing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei among the public and out in the streets, as well as in meetings with armed forces commanders, would be released in the future, Reuters reports.

Qoraishi said the footage would “once again bring disgrace upon the enemies and detractors of the Iranian people”.

The comments appeared aimed at countering speculation about Khamenei’s health and lack of public appearances.

Strikes by Houthi rebels have killed at least 11 people, a medical source in the Yemeni port city of Mokha tells AFP, after an earlier drone salvo targeted a Saudi oil refinery on the Red Sea coast.

A medical source in Mokha, held by Yemen’s internationally recognised, Aden-based government, said three civilians and eight military personnel had been killed in the Houthi attacks.

A further 32 individuals were wounded, six of them civilians, the source added, explaining all the civilian casualties had been a result of strikes on Mokha’s port.

Two military sources with the government forces earlier confirmed at least eight troops had been killed in the strikes and more than 40 personnel were injured.

Iranian President Dr Masoud Pezeshkian says that the country’s armed forces, including the Revolutionary Guards, Basij, and police, have done a great job and astonished the America, the Zionist regime, and the world, Iran’s ISNA news agency reports.

Attacks by Houthis in Yemen have killed at least four troops from the government forces and injured 20 more personnel, two military sources told AFP.

The initial toll came from strikes on the Yemeni city of Mokha and surrounding areas, as well as Khokha, south of the port city of Hodeida, the sources said on condition of anonymity, after the Houthis announced they had targeted military forces and equipment on the Red Sea coast.

Iran’s Press TV has reported that at least eight media workers have been killed since the US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has met with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to discuss the country’s “economic and defence strategies”, IRNA reports.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to prevent Iran from having nuclear weapons, a goal he has long alleged Tehran is pursuing, regardless of the course of diplomacy with Washington and Arab states, AFP reports.

“I want to emphasise once again: with an agreement or without an agreement, as long as I am prime minister, Iran will not have nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting.

Houthi rebels say they targeted “Saudi enemy” troops and equipment on Yemen’s Red Sea coast city of Mokha after residents there said they heard blasts, reports AFP.

The group’s military spokesman Yahya Saree said the Houthis had “carried out a large-scale and precise military operation targeting Saudi enemy troop concentrations and weapons depots in the Mokha area,” using “a large number of ballistic missiles and drones”.

Iran and the US are not ​engaged in talks and Tehran ‌will not start them as long as Washington breaches ​an interim deal signed ​in June, Iran’s Foreign Minister ⁠Abbas Araghchi says according to Reuters, adding that messages are ​being exchanged via intermediaries.

Araghchi repeated Iran’s position that an agreement on ​the Strait of ​Hormuz between Tehran and Muscat was ‌in ⁠the “final stages” but would not reopen the strategic waterway.

In comments reported by ​Mehr ​news agency, ⁠he said the agreement would set ​out the new shipping ​lanes ⁠to be used once the US fulfils other ⁠conditions ​and the strait ​is reopened to traffic.

Kuwait’s foreign ministry has lauded a UN Security Council statement condemning Houthi missile attacks against Saudi Arabia since July 13 and attacks on commercial shipping since July 22, Al Jazeera reports.

Kuwait expressed full appreciation for the UNSC’s affirmation of the need to adhere to international law and relevant resolutions, including Resolution 2216, and its rejection of acts threatening regional security and freedom of maritime navigation.

The ministry renewed Kuwait’s solidarity with Saudi Arabia and its support for all measures Riyadh takes to preserve its sovereignty and security. It also reaffirmed Kuwait’s support for Yemen’s legitimate government and for the UN special envoy’s efforts to achieve peace and stability in Yemen.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say they will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the United States accepts all of Tehran’s demands, reports AFP.

“Our current strategy is to maintain this strait until the enemy accepts all our conditions,” said Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi, as quoted by state TV, adding that “the strait is now actually a theatre of war for us and not just a waterway”.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have said they had struck an oil facility on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, reports AFP.

The group’s military spokesman Yahya Saree said the Houthis had “succeeded in targeting the Aramco refinery in Jazan with a drone, and the strike was precise”, adding the attack had been launched in response to Saudi incursions into territory in northwest Yemen.