War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Iranian parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf says Iran has won the war, but it must consolidate and cement this victory, Al Jazeera reports.

The nation must maintain hope for a bright future, he has added.

Ghalibaf has made the remarks at the Iranian Parliament Coordination Council, as reported by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

He has emphasised that Iranian officials must first and foremost expand the executive authority and capacity of the supreme leader, noting that any efforts to build a strong Iran must begin at this point.

The EU’s maritime security operation in the Red Sea, European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) Aspides, has said a merchant vessel safely transited the sea under the protection of an Italian frigate, Al Jazeera reports.

Launched in February 2024, EUNAVFOR Aspides describes itself as an operation “to safeguard freedom of navigation in relation to the Red Sea crisis”.

It aims to “accompany vessels”, “ensure maritime situational awareness” and “protect vessels against multi-domain attacks” in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Gulf, according to the mission.

Kuwait’s army says its air defenses are currently intercepting attacks by Iranian drones amid heightened regional tensions, Anadolu Agency reports.

In a message on the occasion of Army Day, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says the Lebanese army should be the country’s sole military force, Al Jazeera reports.

There should be “no legitimacy for any weapon outside the legitimacy of the state”, he said.

Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said the Yemeni group has forced eight Saudi oil tankers to change course, without providing a timeframe, Al Jazeera reports.

“The armed forces confirm that they are continuing the siege operation against the Saudi enemy and that the hand of the armed forces will reach its ships, God willing, wherever it is able to do so,” he added.

A tanker has been struck by an unknown projectile 11 nautical miles northeast of Limah, Oman, AlJazeera reports, citing the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).

The strike caused damage to the engine room, leaving the vessel not under command.

UKMTO said regional coast guard forces have been informed and authorities are investigating the incident.

No casualties or environmental impact have been reported, while vessels in the area are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity.

US Congressman Thomas Massie, a frequent critic of President Donald Trump’s foreign policy, is urging the administration to withdraw from the war on Iran, warning that delay risks weakening the nation’s political and military leverage, AlJazeera reports.

In a post on social media platform X, he said: “Iran is waiting to see at least three more cards before they fold or deal: US runs out of strategic petroleum reserves? Region runs out of anti-missile defense? Republicans run out of majority?”

“We should leave the table before any of those cards are played,” he added.

The United States and Israel are planning a bombing campaign against energy infrastructure targets in Iran, with strikes possible throughout the weekend, Reuters reports, citing CBS News.

Yemen’s Houthi-run maritime coordination body denied that it planned to impose fees on commercial ships transiting the Bab el-Mandeb strait, saying no such decision had been taken and that passage through the strategic waterway remained free, Reuters reports.

The Houthi-run Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center (HOCC) said its “safe transit service was a voluntary and cost-free service”.

“The HOCC categorically confirms that any individual or entity requesting the payment of money in exchange for transiting the Bab el-Mandeb strait does not represent the Republic of Yemen or HOCC in any capacity whatsoever,” it said in a statement.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has held a phone conversation with Ed Miliband, the British Foreign Secretary, “regarding bilateral issues and the latest regional and international developments”, the Fars news agency reports.

The US military says the Iranian government’s claim that the Strait of Hormuz is closed is “false”, Al Jazeera reports.

“The Strait of Hormuz remains open for commercial vessel transit. Iran does not control it. Thousands of ships have sailed through the international waterway over the past four months,” the US military’s Central Command says in a post on X.

Iraq has ordered that its air defences and intelligence activities be bolstered, a government spokesperson says after US-Saudi strikes on pro-Iran fighters accused of launching attacks in the region, AFP reports.

Spokesman Sabah al-Numan says that Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi “issued strict and immediate orders … to raise alertness and readiness to the maximum across all camps and bases, particularly at the official bases of the armed forces and the Hashed al-Shaabi”.

Rebuilding and modernising air defence capabilities is a “top priority”, Numan states, adding that this includes accelerating plans to equip and arm modern radar, early-detection and air defence systems.

Numan adds that Zaidi’s orders include strengthening intelligence activities “with the emphasis on restricting weapons to the state” and preventing any “individual irresponsible actions”.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says that Israeli army detonations near the Unesco-listed Beaufort castle in southern Lebanon overnight are a “direct threat” to a recent framework deal agreed with Israel, AFP reports.

Aoun says the explosions “are an extremely dangerous escalation”, according to a statement from his office, adding that they “represent a direct threat to the process which was launched as part of the framework agreement”.

He notes that their timing ahead of another round of talks with Israel in Rome next week “sends negative messages”.

US President Donald Trump says that Iran will grow weaker, but notes that the American public needs to prepare for more strikes in the Middle East.

Asked about the status of talks, Trump says, “They always want to talk, but they break their word so often.

“I’m losing faith in them, because they do lie,” he adds. “The five missiles they shot, we knocked them down, but we were in the midst of a negotiation.”

Asked about how many more strikes it will take to completely degrade Iran, Trump responds, “Well, you never know. Most people would have given up by now.”

Asked about a proposal from the military to “go big” when striking Iran within the next fortnight, US President Donald Trump has replied in the affirmative.

“We’re going big, we’ve already gone big,” he tells reporters during a cabinet meeting, reiterating that Tehran’s military and leadership are “gone”.

Asked about the chances of reviving the ceasefire after days of exchanging strikes with Iran, US President Donald Trump replies, “We just want to win.”

Speaking to reporters during a cabinet meeting at Camp David, Trump reiterates that the US is “doing well” with regard to Iran, that their military has been degraded and that Tehran can never possess a nuclear weapon.

“We’ll be hitting them, we’ll be hitting them very hard,” he says in response to a question about what may happen in the next four weeks. “At some point they’re going to say ‘we just can’t take it anymore.’“

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the US is currently searching for Iranian assets around the world on the orders of President Donald Trump.

“That money will go to the Iranian people, Americans who have been harmed by the Iranians — whether it is the USS Cole or the barracks in Lebanon — or it will go back to when the Iranians attacked these ships coming out,” he says during a cabinet meeting.

US President Donald Trump has expressed satisfaction with Washington’s war on Iran, noting that Iran’s military has been largely destroyed, and its manufacturing capacity is “almost gone”.

“We’ve done an amazing job here, we’re in there for five months, and if you look at Vietnam, they were there for 20 years,” he tells a cabinet meeting at Camp David.

“We’re in for five months, and we have obliterated their (Iran) military capacity. Again, they’ve got some left, but soon they won’t have some left,” Trump adds, praising his cabinet.

US President Donald Trump has announced an “unprecedented investment” in his armed forces.

Addressing a televised cabinet meeting from Camp David, Trump, referring to his Secretary of War, says, “We’re also making that investment and looking forward to getting Pete [Hegseth] $1.5 trillion next year.”

He adds that Iran is “doing very poorly” in the Middle East war.

President Donald Trump tells Fox News that the US and Israel’s war on Iran is “going well”, according to Al Jazeera.

Speaking to the US channel’s senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich, Trump says US troops are hitting Iran “hard”.

“It’s going well. All you can do is keep winning, then eventually something will happen,” he adds. “But we’re hitting them hard, knocking them out for a loop, and we just keep winning. Eventually they’ll have no choice but to go home.”

The Israeli military says 14 soldiers of the Givati Brigade’s Tzabar Battalion, who took part in Thursday’s mass desertion at the Sde Teiman army base in southern Israel, have been sentenced to 30 days in military jail, Al Jazeera reports.

It adds that the commander of the Givati Brigade also permanently dismissed those soldiers from combat duty.

Dozens of Israeli soldiers abandoned their weapons and walked out of the military base in a dispute with a senior commander reportedly trying to restore discipline.

Soldiers at the base have long been accused of flagrant violations of laws, including the torture of Palestinian detainees.

Italy’s Defence Minister Guido Crosetto has rejected opposition criticism over the deployment of troops and military assets ⁠to the Gulf ⁠region, saying the mission’s framework had been properly disclosed, Al Jazeera reports.

According to the defence ministry’s website, around 400 Italian air force personnel have ⁠been deployed to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain since March.

Lawmakers from Italy’s centre-left Democratic Party have accused the government of failing to seek parliamentary authorisation for the mission, saying Saudi Arabia was outside the scope of ‌a mandate approved for overseas military assignments.

Kuwaiti forces have destroyed Iranian drones targeting “vital and military facilities”, AFP reports quoting the defence ministry.

“The hostile targets were engaged and destroyed. This resulted in material damage due to falling shrapnel, without any human casualties being recorded,” it says in a statement.