War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

The Kremlin has said that a Ukrainian attack on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea should be considered as an assault on Iran itself, adding that the attack shows how important it is to eliminate what it says is the threat from Kyiv, Reuters reports.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned the Ukrainian attack, saying it resulted in an explosion that killed one sailor and injured another. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv had struck vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has accused Ukraine of widening the geographical scope of what he has called its “terrorist attacks”.

Peskov accuses Kyiv of blowing up Germany’s Nord Stream pipelines — something it denies — and of hurting Kazakhstan’s interests by targeting CPC Pipeline Infrastructure.

“This threat must be neutralised and definitively destroyed,” Peskov says.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said Pakistan had played the role of a “sincere and honest facilitator” in the US-Iran dialogue and remained grateful for the trust and confidence reposed in it by both Washington and Tehran.

Speaking to a delegation of US congressmen and businessmen, he said that, with the support of Pakistan’s brotherly countries and international partners, those efforts had culminated in the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in June this year.

Dar added that Pakistan would continue to support dialogue, diplomacy and the peaceful resolution of disputes, as it firmly believed these remained the only sustainable pathways to lasting peace and stability.

Hindustan Unilever signals more selective price hikes to offset persistent commodity inflation, joining other consumer goods peers as the Middle East conflict keeps input costs elevated.

Shares fell as much as around 7pc after the domestic unit of Britain’s Unilever, home to brands including Dove and Surf Excel, said its profit fell 4pc to 26.31 billion Indian rupees in the first quarter that ended June 30.

The US-Israel war on Iran has saddled corporations worldwide with higher energy, freight and commodity costs, squeezing margins and prompting price increases for everything from packaged foods to tyres.

Iranian authorities have clarified that the sounds of explosions in Khuzestan province’s Omidiyeh city resulted from a “controlled operation to destroy unexploded ordnance, and there is no cause for concern among citizens”.

Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemah Mohajerani says Bushehr airport located in the country’s southwest has been rendered inoperable following recent US strikes, AlJazeera reported.

“[It] requires complete reconstruction from the ground up,” Mohajerani tells a news conference.

“We saw the remains of a refurbished aircraft that had been purchased to serve the people, but it was destroyed by a missile that struck it directly, leaving only a small part of its tail intact,” she said.

Mohajerani added the Bushehr Meteorological Centre, “which is completely of a civilian nature, has almost nothing left of it”.

Iran’s government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani says in addition to the destruction of public infrastructure, people’s private property suffered “very extensive” damage in recent US attacks, Al Jazeera reports.

“Fishing boats that were the only source of livelihood and employment for fishermen in the region were severely damaged, in addition to tourism businesses,” she said in a televised news conference.

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) says new company registrations at the Middle Eastern hub rose 30 per cent in the year to the end of June, despite the war between Iran and the US, Reuters reports.

DIFC said in a statement that it had attracted 2,318 new active registered companies over the 12-month period compared to year-ago levels.

That includes 1,506 companies joining in the first half of 2026 alone, a 39pc increase.

Iran lost about 230 million cubic metres of its gas production capacity because of the war with the US and Israel, Al Jazeera reports.

Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani made the remarks in a televised news conference on Tuesday.

Iran in April demanded it receive compensation for the destruction caused by the United States and Israel’s attacks. An early estimate indicated  Iran has suffered about $270bn in direct and indirect damage since the start of the war on February 28.

Mehdi Fazaeli, a member of the supreme leader’s office, says there has been no “sign of a change in the fatwa (edict) prohibiting the production and possession of nuclear weapons”.

A public opinion survey by Ipsos and the Reuters has found that just one in three Americans support the war on Iran, with most respondents saying Trump has failed to explain his goals.

The agency said the figure marked the lowest rating in a Reuters/ Ipsos poll since the early days of the conflict. The survey was conducted on July 24-26.

It said Trump’s approval was at 37 per cent, up three points from last month when his rating tied the lowest of his presidency.

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have met in Amman and discussed “the repercussions of the dangerous escalation the region is witnessing” as well as efforts to restore calm and lasting security”, according to a Jordanian statement.

The two “affirmed the importance of committing to the ceasefire between the United States and Iran, and resuming negotiations to reach a comprehensive solution that addresses all causes of tension and ensures freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz in accordance with international law,” the statement said.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has condemned Monday’s drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, calling them “a dangerous escalation” and “a direct threat to the security and stability of the region,” Al Jazeera reports.

In a statement, GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi also reaffirmed the bloc’s full solidarity with Saudi Arabia and its support for all measures the kingdom takes to protect its security, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs similarly called the attacks “a violation” of Saudi Arabia’s “security and stability, and an escalation that could undermine security and stability in the region”. It reiterated “full solidarity” with Saudi Arabia and support for its response.

Oman has presented a proposal to Iran for a joint regional mechanism to manage the Strait of Hormuz with voluntary fees, a Gulf source told Reuters.

The proposal has the backing of regional countries, the source added.

Iran’s foreign minister discussed issues related to the security of the Strait of Hormuz in separate phone calls with his Saudi and Omani counterparts on Monday evening, according to a statement published on his Telegram channel, according to AFP.

The statement said Abbas Araqchi “discussed the latest bilateral and regional developments, and emphasised the need to strengthen cooperation and advance joint diplomatic efforts to establish stability in the region.”

The call between Araqchi and his Saudi counterpart, Faisal bin Farhan, came after Saudi Arabia said it shot down drones launched at the kingdom by Iran-affiliated groups in Iraq.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reports that the sound of explosions were heard in the southern city of Tyre into the morning due to Israeli “bombing and demolition operations”.

The operations were being carried out the southern Lebanese towns of Majdal Zoun, Mansouri and Bint Jbeil, it reported.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud has received separate phone calls from Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, according to Saudi state media.

“During the two calls, the ministers discussed the latest developments in the region and ways to strengthen and support joint efforts to preserve regional security and stability,” the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

“They also condemned and denounced attacks by Iran and its affiliated terrorist militias in Yemen and Iraq against the Kingdom and other countries in the region.”

Prince Faisal also received a phone call from UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who condemned the Houthis’ attacks against Saudi Arabia, the SPA reported. In his first conversation since becoming the UK’s top diplomat, Miliband also expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia and affirmed the UK’s commitment to advance bilateral ties, it added.

The Jordanian Armed Forces has announced shooting down “a drone that breached Jordanian airspace at dawn today”, Al Jazeera reports.

The aircraft was shot down in the kingdom’s eastern desert, it added.

AT least 624 US military service members have been wounded since President Donald Trump ordered strikes against Iran in February, according to the Pentagon’s most recent update on 25 July, BBC News reports.

Among those wounded, 417 are attributed to Operation Epic Fury, while 207 are attributed to “Overseas Operations”.

The US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire in April and signed a Memorandum of Understanding in June, but attacks by both sides have continued throughout.

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Marine Traffic, a maritime data tracker, says the Strait of Hormuz recorded 29 verified crossings, including 21 vessels exiting and eight entering the waterway between July 24 and 26, AlJazeera reported.

By comparison, it said the Bab al-Mandeb Strait recorded 100 crossings during the same period, with 51 vessels entering the Red Sea and 49 exiting.

Iran has executed two men over charges related to nationwide protests in January, the Judiciary’s Mizan News Agency reports.

Mizan identified the individuals as Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amirhossein Safari Hosseinabadi and said they were charged with taking part in the killing of security force members.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it intercepted a drone near the Jordanian border and was looking into its origin, AFP reports.

“A short while ago, the Israeli Air Force intercepted a UAV in the area of the Jordan border,” the military said.

“The UAV did not cross into Israeli territory. The origin of the launch is under review.”

The US State Department has confirmed that the next round of talks between Israel and Lebanon will be held in Rome on August 4 through 6, as Israel prepares to withdraw from two “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon, AFP reports.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani first announced the next round of US-mediated talks last week, with a State Department official detailing the talks to AFP on the condition of anonymity.

“In Rome, technical groups will focus on advancing the full implementation of the framework agreement,” the official told AFP, adding that the planned discussion “includes expanding the pilot zone process, resolving all outstanding border issues, and working on a comprehensive peace and security agreement.”

“The experience of the initial zones will help us perfect pilot-zone implementation so it can expand in a phased manner,” the US official added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Donald Trump at the White House for the first time since the start of the Iran war, over which they have publicly disagreed, AFP reports.

Relations between Netanyahu and Trump have occasionally appeared strained in recent months, but both have sought to tone things down.

The meeting is expected to be dominated by the war, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, as Washington says it wants to give negotiations a chance.

Israel has not taken part in the latest round of hostilities between the United States and Iran, which flared earlier this month after an April ceasefire collapsed.