War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) has received a report of another incident involving a tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

“The tanker was struck by an unknown uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) and has sustained minor structural damage,” UKMTO says in a statement on X. “No casualties or environmental impact reported, and vessel is continuing to its next port of call.”

The agency adds that it is continuing to investigate and advises vessels to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has condemned continued Israeli attacks on civilians and the killing of four people in the town of Nabatieh on Monday, Al Jazeera reports.

Aoun has posted on his X account after meeting representatives of the Free Patriotic Movement, a Christian group led by former foreign minister Gebran Bassil.

Bassil has conditionally backed Lebanon’s framework agreement with Israel, which has been condemned by Hezbollah for not addressing Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon.

President Aoun says no outside influence will be allowed to determine Lebanese interests and the course of negotiations with Israel.

A tanker was struck by an unidentified projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) says, according to Reuters.

The tanker is believed to have suffered “structural damage”, UKMTO adds, adding that there are no casualties or environmental impact.

US President Donald Trump says that Turkiye has been a “great ally for us” and hails their role in the US-Iran peace process.

“They know Iran very well and they know the problems with Iran,” Trump tells reporters alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “But they have been very instrumental along with a couple of other countries in helping [end the war].

“This is a nation that has been very good … extraordinary in many ways, with respect to our relationship, including trying to end the war with Iran,” Trump says.

He adds that the campaign in Iran is a “denuclearisation effort”.

“I don’t think he wants to see them (Iran) have a nuclear weapon either,” Trump says of Erdogan.

Germany’s foreign minister has urged Lebanese authorities to confront Hezbollah and reassert state control over the country’s south, where the militant group has been engaged in hostilities with Israeli forces, AFP reports.

During a visit to Jerusalem, Johann Wadephul, who backed Israel’s ground invasion of southern Lebanon earlier this year, has also praised the US-brokered agreement between Israel and Lebanon, pledging Germany’s support for what he described as a “historic” initiative.

“What is crucial is that Lebanon now needs determination on its side, to assert itself and ensure that Hezbollah no longer actually exercises control in southern Lebanon,” Wadephul says at a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart.

Lebanon must “in particular ensure that no danger whatsoever to Israel emanates from Lebanese territory,” he adds.

Global natural gas consumption is expected to fall by 20 billion cubic metres this year, ⁠mainly because higher prices are curbing demand from power generators and industry after the US-Israel war on Iran tightened supplies, Al Jazeera reports citing the ⁠International Energy Agency (IEA).

Gas demand in Asia fell about 1 per cent year-on-year ‌in the first half of 2026 as higher prices encouraged fuel switching, particularly to coal in the power sector.

Europe’s benchmark TTF price and Asia’s Platts JKM benchmark have both recorded their highest average second-quarter prices since 2022.

TTF has risen 32pc year-on-year to average nearly $16 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), while ⁠spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices in Asia have increased by 45pc to ⁠an average of $17.50 per mmBtu.

The Iran war has sharply reduced LNG flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a shipping route that in peacetime accounted for about 20pc of ⁠global LNG supplies.

US President Donald Trump has once again taken a swipe at Nato for not assisting Washington during the Iran war.

“I said I don’t need that kind of help. We didn’t need any help at all,” Trump tells reporters during a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.

“In a way, I was testing the people, I was testing to see whether or not they’d be there, because I’ve long said that we help them, but I’m not sure they’d be there for us,” he adds, saying Italy, Germany and France turned Washington down.

A Qatari liquified natural gas (LNG) tanker has been struck in the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports after reviewing a mayday radio call from the vessel.

“Mayday mayday mayday. This is vessel Al Rekayyat, LNG vessel Al Rekayyat. We are being hit by drone on port side, top of engine room,” the Qatari tanker’s captain says in a recorded radio call. “Status: engine room fire and full of smoke. Unable to assess further damage.”

There has been no claim of responsibility.

Read more here.

Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed Al Ansari, says the targeting of Qatari tanker Al Rekayyat near the Strait of Hormuz was an unacceptable attack on the security of international navigation and global energy supplies, Reuters reports.

Describing the incident as a clear violation of international law, he urged Iran to immediately halt actions threatening regional security and maritime navigation, and said Tehran bore full legal responsibility for the attack and any resulting damage or consequences.

Israeli forces have dropped four stun grenades on the town of Haddatha, southern Lebanon, the country’s National News Agency reports according to Al Jazeera.

At the same time, the town of Beit Yahoun was subjected to artillery shelling, which coincided with an enemy bombing in the town of Qounine in the Bint Jbeil district, it added.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has vowed that the perpetrators behind the assassination of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will be punished, stressing that his martyrdom has “strengthened public resolve”, according to state broadcaster Press TV.

“The people, who have served as the driving force and steadfast supporters of their Revolution for the past 47 years, have, over the past four months, chanted ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel’ every night, expressing their hatred and revulsion toward those who martyred our Leader and demanding revenge,” he is quoted as saying.

He further stresses that the “final step of vengeance” will be achieved through the “liberation of Holy al-Quds (Jerusalem)” from Israel.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has confirmed that the next round of talks with Lebanon will take place in Rome, as the two countries work to build on a framework agreement reached last month with US backing, AFP reports.

“Less than two weeks ago, Israel, Lebanon and the United States reached a historic framework agreement. These talks are due to continue next week in Rome, Italy,” Saar said during a joint press conference with his German counterpart Johann Wadephul in Jerusalem, adding that “Israel has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon.”

Israeli forces are conducting patrols in the villages of the western sector of southern Lebanon with armoured vehicles, the country’s National News Agency (NNA) reports.

It added that the patrols were accompanied by heavy gunfire towards the sides of the roads and the woods opposite the roads.

German industrial production ticked up more than expected in May, official data showed, as Europe’s top economy defied the worst following the virtual closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports.

Factory production rose 0.9 per cent on the month, statistics office Destatis said, beating expectations in a FactSet poll of analysts who had expected a rise of 0.3pc.

The automotive industry led the way with production volumes up 3.6pc, Destatis said, while production of industrial machinery also rose 1.3pc.

“Despite the war in the Middle East and soaring energy prices, industrial production is proving resilient,” ING analyst Carsten Brzeski said.

Christian-majority villages along Lebanon’s southern border have rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that they sought to join Israel, Al Jazeera reports.

Mayors, clergy and community leaders from villages across Lebanon’s border region told Anadolu news agency that they remain committed to their Lebanese identity.

“Residents of the border villages remain committed to the Lebanese state and its legitimacy, and have never deviated from this position despite the difficult conditions imposed by Israel’s assault,” the municipalities representing Christian border villages said in a joint statement.

The management at the holy shrine of Hazrat Ali (A.S.) in Najaf says it has finalised preparations for the funeral procession of the martyred Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in coordination with the relevant Iraqi authorities, IRNA reports.

According to the report, a comprehensive operational plan has been put in place to ensure security, logistics, public services, media coverage, and crowd management during the funeral ceremonies.

Haider al-Issawi, a member of the administrative organisation of Hazrat Ali’s (R.A.) shrine, says extensive coordination meetings and field inspections had been conducted to determine procession routes and mobilise the personnel and resources needed to facilitate the event, the report adds.

Iraqi authorities have announced that Khamenei’s body will arrive in Najaf in afternoon, where an official funeral ceremony will be attended by senior Iranian and Iraqi officials, it says.

It further says that the funeral procession is scheduled to begin at 6am local time on Wednesday, with millions of Iraqis expected to take part in the ceremony from Kufa to Najaf.

Later in the day, at 4pm local time, the procession will continue through parts of the holy city of Karbala before reaching the shrines of Imam Husain (RA) and his brother Abolfazl al-Abbas (RA), it adds.

European natural gas prices have risen following reports that an LNG carrier was attacked near the Omani coast while exiting the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reports.

European benchmark natural gas prices increased more than 4.5 per cent, moving to €46 ($52.5) per megawatt-hour as of 7:05 GMT (12:05pm PKT), after recouping losses from the previous session.

Iranian state television, IRIB, reported that the vessel came under attack after allegedly disregarding warnings.

Oil rises as traders’ nervousness about a lack of progress on peace talks between the United States and Iran offset any price impact of a slight recovery in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures gain $1.02, or 1.42 per cent, to $73.01 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude rises 93 cents, or 1.36pc, to $69.48 a barrel as of 0748 GMT.

“The deal is by no means signed yet, so something can still go wrong and any comments from either side could raise concern which is helping to underpin prices and it’s basically removing some of the recent intense focus on an increasingly oversupplied market,” Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen says.

“So if there’s any further escalation, then $75 would be the natural level to look at next ahead of $80,” Hansen adds.

Investors are monitoring talks between the US and Iran and their implications for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, has issued the warning after reports of an attack on a tanker off the coast of Oman, according to AlJazeera.

According to the IRIB state broadcaster, Boroujerdi said that “any action in the Strait of Hormuz without coordination with Iran is doomed to failure”.

He insisted on Iran’s control of the waterway, saying the decision was “made at the highest levels of the system” and influenced by the US-Israel’s latest war against the country.

“The law on the management of the Strait of Hormuz will also be approved by the parliamentarians at the earliest opportunity, and the relevant bodies will be obliged to fully implement its provisions,” Boroujerdi says.

He adds that Iran “pursues any action related to the Strait of Hormuz within the framework of its national interests and security”.

Shell has slightly raised the second-quarter outlook for its integrated gas production in a trading update, but production is expected to be lower than the previous quarter because of the impact of the Middle East conflict on Qatari volumes, according to Reuters.

Trading results at Shell’s chemicals and products unit, which includes the group’s big oil trading desk, are expected to be in line with the previous quarter’s strong performance.

A total of 108 vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz between 3 and 5 July, AlJazeera reports, citing data analyst company, Kpler.

In a post on social media platform X, the data tracking company says that traffic was “slightly weighted east to west and remained spread across predominantly Iranian and Omani routes”.

“While some crossings continued among IMO (International Maritime Organisation) and Dark/Unknown routes. This shows continued operations but fragmented routing patterns and cautious behavior,” it says.

“Sanctioned vessel activity was also present, with 14 crossings recorded. While the Strait remained open, a sizeable Dark/Unknown Route share and end-June IMO-confirmed attacks suggest that security, routing and insurance risks remain elevated,” it adds.