The US and Israel on Feb 28 launched what they described as a “pre-emptive” joint strike against Iranian targets, with Trump announcing start of “major combat operations”
Israel’s military has warned it will carry out attacks in the Lebanese towns of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, Mayfadoun, Qalaouiyah, Burj Qalaouiyah, al-Majadel and Srifa, and threatened their residents to immediately leave, Al Jazeera reports.
In a statement, the army’s spokesman demanded all residents of those villages move into open areas that are at least 1,000 metres away.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has rejected US claims that two merchant vessels recently crossed the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reports.
In a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency, the IRGC states no commercial vessels or tankers have crossed the waterway in the past few hours.
“Claims by US officials are baseless and complete lies,” the statement reads.
Brigadier General Hossein Mohebi, a spokesperson for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has said that the system of managing the Strait of Hormuz is unchanged and that civilian and commercial vessels complying with the IRGC Navy transit protocols and using the designated route will be granted safe passage, state media reports.
The spokesperson, whose comments were carried by Press TV, warns, Any maritime activity that contradicts the IRGC Navy’s declared rules will face serious consequences, and violating vessels will be stopped by force.
“All shipping companies and cargo insurers are urged to follow IRGC advisories and official notices,” he adds.
Seoul says that an “explosion and fire” struck a South Korean ship in the Strait of Hormuz, AFP reports.
The foreign ministry says that around 8:40pm in Seoul (4:40pm PKT), “an explosion and fire occurred on a vessel operated by a South Korean shipping company … anchored in waters near the United Arab Emirates inside the Strait of Hormuz”, adding that there were “no casualties to date”.
Jordan has condemned Iranian drone attacks on an Emirati oil tanker, calling the incident “a blatant violation” of international law and UN Security Council Resolution 2817.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Affairs affirmed in a statement Jordan’s rejection and condemnation of this attack, emphasising Jordan’s absolute solidarity with the sisterly United Arab Emirates, and its full support for all steps it takes to protect its sovereignty, security, and the safety of its citizens,” the foreign ministry says.
Qatar’s foreign ministry “strongly condemns” an Iranian attack on an Emirati oil tanker, deeming it “a flagrant violation of the rules of international law and freedom of maritime navigation”.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs renews the State of Qatar’s categorical rejection of using the Strait of Hormuz as a bargaining chip, and its call to reopen it without conditions, and its affirmation that freedom of navigation in this vital passage is a firmly established principle that admits no compromise, and that the continued closure of the strait exposes the vital interests of the region’s countries to danger,” a statement reads.
Doha has emphasised the need for Iran to stop attacking Gulf nations, while also expressing solidarity with the United Arab Emirates.
The European Commission warns that airlines and member states should prepare for all scenarios as uncertainty persists over how long the jet fuel crisis will last, Anadolu reports.
Speaking at the commission’s daily press briefing in Brussels, spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen says the EU executive is coordinating closely with member states and industry stakeholders amid concerns over jet fuel supplies.
“I don’t think anyone knows how long this situation will last, so the best we can do and the most effective thing that we can do and that we are doing is to prepare for all eventualities,” Itkonen says.
She adds that close coordination and cooperation with EU member states and other stakeholders remained “absolutely crucial,” further stating that it is “the only way” for the bloc to take further action if necessary.
UAE authorities have just sent a second message to mobile phones in Dubai, noting that the situation is now safe and residents may resume normal activities, Al Jazeera reports.
Earlier, authorities sent a mobile phone alert for a potential missile attack, nearly a month into a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East war.
It was the first alert to be sent by the authorities in recent weeks.
South Korea said it is verifying intelligence that a South Korean-flagged vessel was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, Yonhap News reports, according to Reuters.
Jassim Mohammed al-Badawi, secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), has denounced “in the strongest terms” the Iranian attack on an Emirati oil tanker during transit in the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reports.
Two suicide drones hit the vessel as it sailed the seas.
“The continuation of these brutal Iranian attacks by targeting ships passing through the strait is piracy and serious extortion of the security of sea lanes and straits,” al-Badawi is quoted as saying in a statement on the GCC’s website.
“His Excellency expressed the GCC’s full solidarity with the United Arab Emirates and its support in all measures it takes to preserve its sovereignty, security and stability.”
UAE carrier Emirates says it has restored 96 per cent of its global network after widespread disruption and mass cancellations across the Middle East during the US-Israeli war on Iran, CNN reports.
Despite not reaching full normality, the Dubai-based airline says it carried around 4.7 million travellers during the conflict and is now operating across 72 countries.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says that Washington will be watching to see whether China steps up diplomacy with Iran to get Tehran to open up the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports.
Bessent told Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom” he would urge the Chinese to join the US in supporting the opening of the Strait.
The United Arab Emirates has issued a mobile phone alert for a potential missile attack, nearly a month into a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East war, AFP reports.
“Due to the current situation, potential missile threats, immediately seek a safe place in the closest secure building,” the message read.
It was the first alert to be sent by the authorities in recent weeks.
The Iranian military says in a statement that missiles fired at US vessels were “warning shots”, according to the country’s Fars news agency.
According to the statement, US destroyers attempted to approach the Strait of Hormuz in the Sea of Oman by turning off their radar. As soon as they turned their radar back on, they were detected and warned over radio by the Iranian navy to turn away.
“After the American destroyers ignored the warning, the [Iranian] army’s brave servicemen issued another alert, explicitly stating that any attempt to enter the Strait of Hormuz would be considered a violation of the ceasefire and would be met with a response from naval forces,” the statement reads.
“At this stage, and following the disregard by American–Zionist destroyers for the initial warning, the navy fired warning shots using cruise missiles, rockets, and combat drones near the hostile enemy vessels to issue a warning; responsibility and the dangerous consequences of such actions will lie with the hostile adversary,” it adds.
US Central Command (Centcom) says two US-flagged merchant vessels “successfully transited through the Strait of Hormuz and are safely headed on their journey,” as Washington launches its naval mission dubbed Project Freedom, Al Jazeera reports.
In a statement on X, it says US Navy guided-missile destroyers were deployed to guarantee safe passage to American forces who are “actively assisting efforts to restore transit for commercial shipping”.
Fifteen Iranian sailors from the Touska cargo ship, who were evacuated and brought to Pakistan along with the ship, have entered Iranian territory through the Rimdan border terminal, crossing over from Balochistan, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.
According to the Foreign Office, 22 crew members from the seized Iranian vessel were evacuated to Pakistan as a “confidence-building measure” by the US.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul says he “strongly advised” an Iranian colleague that Tehran must be ready to negotiate an end to the war with the United States, Al Jazeera reports.
Wadephul has also said, during a press conference in Athens, that there is no doubt that there will be any shortfall in Nato’s deterrence capability in Europe.
Iranian crew members from a US-seized vessel arrive at Pakistan’s Gabd border before they are handed over to Iranian authorities in Gwadar, Balochistan, on May 4, 2026. — AFP
Iranian crew members from a US-seized vessel speak with security officials (R) at Pakistan’s Gabd border as they are handed over to Iranian authorities in Gwadar, Balochistan, on May 4, 2026.
Two drones hit the MV Barakah off the coast of Oman but no one was injured, UAE state oil giant Adnoc confirms, adding that the ship was not loaded, according to AFP.
Iran executed three men charged over protests this January, authorities have said according to AFP, the latest in a wave of hangings of convicts seen by rights groups as political prisoners against the backdrop of the war.
Mehdi Rassouli, Mohammad Reza Miri and Ebrahim Dolatabadi were executed after being convicted over unrest in the eastern city of Mashhad in January, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency announced.
It was not specified when or where they were executed, but the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said Rassouli, 25, and Miri, 21, were hanged at dawn on Sunday at the Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad.
Oil prices have risen over 3 per cent after Iran claimed it had struck a US warship and forced it to turn back from entering the Strait of Hormuz, though the US denied that any of its ships had been struck, Reuters reports.
Brent crude futures were up $3.64, or 3.4pc, at $111.81 a barrel by 11:24 GMT (4:24pm PKT), having settled down $2.23 on Friday. US West Texas Intermediate was up $3.40, or 3.3pc, at $105.34 a barrel, after a $3.13 loss on Friday.
