War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Reuters has reported citing Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news ​agency that the air defences were engaging small drones and surveillance UAVs over parts of Tehran.

The agency also said air defence sounds continuing to be heard in western, central and southeastern areas of the city.

The US embassy in Beirut has said that Lebanon is at a crossroads and urged a meeting between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reports AFP.

“Lebanon stands at a crossroads. Its people have a historic opportunity to reclaim their country and shape their future as a truly sovereign, independent nation,” the embassy said on X, adding that “the time for hesitation is over.”

A direct meeting between Aoun and Netanyahu, “facilitated by President Trump, would give Lebanon the chance to secure concrete guarantees on full sovereignty, territorial integrity, secure borders, humanitarian and reconstruction support, and the complete restoration of Lebanese state authority over every inch of its territory, guaranteed by the United States,” the statement added.

Air defences have been heard in Tehran but the cause remains unknown, reports AFP, citing the Iranian media.

“The sound of air defence activation has been heard in some parts of Tehran. It is not yet clear whether this sound is related to a defence test or to counter possible ‘reconnaissance drones’ in the sky over Tehran,” the Tasnim and Fars news agencies reported.

The $25 billion estimate that a top Pentagon official gave to lawmakers for the total cost to date of the US war on Iran is a lowball figure that does not include the cost of repairing extensive damage suffered by American bases in the region, three people familiar with the matter tell CNN.

One of the sources says the real cost estimate is closer to $40-50bn when accounting for the costs of rebuilding US military installations and replacing destroyed assets.

When asked by the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier today, Pentagon Chief Financial Officer Jay Hurst said the war’s cost to date is “the hardest thing to estimate right now”.

“We don’t know what our future posture is going to be, or the future construction of those bases,” he added.

US President Donald Trump has called The New York Times “seditious” over its coverage of the war on Iran, claiming, “If you read The New York Times, you think they’re (Iran) winning the war.”

The United Arab Emirates has banned travel to Iran, Lebanon and Iraq, with Emirati nationals urged to leave those countries, a notice from the foreign ministry says.

The ministry cites “the current developments in the region”.

US President Donald Trump says that he is trying to save Iran, reiterating claims of the Iranian government killing 42,000 protesters and their economy being a “disaster”.

“I’m trying to save the country in a way; nobody’s seen anything like it,” he tells reporters. “They killed 42,000 innocent … people for protesting.

“It’s a rough group, but we have decimated them,” Trump says.

US President Donald Trump has again criticised German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the latter’s comments on Washington’s conduct of the Iran war.

“He criticised me for doing the whole thing with Iran, but I said, ‘Would you like to have a nuclear weapon in the hands of Iran?’ He said, ‘No I don’t.’ I said, ‘I guess I’m right,’“ Trump says, outlining a discussion with Merz.

“The bottom line is that … you cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” he adds. “It should’ve been done a long time ago, but if you agree that they can’t have a nuclear weapon, then what I did has been executed perfectly,” he adds.

US President Donald Trump says gas prices will “drop like a rock” as soon as the Iran war ends, Reuters reports.

“The [price of] gasoline and the oil will go down rapidly once the war’s over,” he tells reporters.

US President Donald Trump says Iran is “dying to make a deal”, reiterating that Tehran cannot possess a nuclear weapon.

“Their navy’s gone, their air force is gone … their drone factories are 82 per cent down, their missile factories are almost 90pc down,” Trump tells reporters in the Oval Office. “They want to make a deal.”

US Senator Tim Kaine says he has “serious constitutional concerns” that the White House may exceed the 60-day limit for military action in Iran without Congressional approval, Al Jazeera reports.

Speaking at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has been pressed on whether the Trump administration intends to seek authorisation.

Under the War Powers Act of 1973, a US president can wage war without Congress for only 60 days — a deadline the Iran conflict is set to hit tomorrow. Hegseth, however, said the fact that the US has reached a ceasefire with Iran gives the administration more time.

“We are in a ceasefire right now, which [in] our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a ceasefire,” he tells the Senate committee.

Kaine has responded, “I do not believe the statute would support that.”

The US says that the 44th commercial vessel attempting to enter or exit Iranian ports had been redirected under its blockade, Anadolu reports.

“As of today, 44 commercial vessels have been directed to turn around or return to port,” Centcom says on X.

The Pentagon’s spending on its war with Iran could cover the UN’s entire 2026 aid appeal and bring lifesaving support to more than 87 million people, its aid chief tells AFP.

The US Department of War says it has spent $25 billion so far on the conflict in the Middle East, while the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has sought $23bn for this year’s aid appeal.

“I know what we could do with 25bn,” OCHA head Tom Fletcher tells AFP. “We have a direct comparison of what we can do with that money.”

The OCHA appeal target is “less than one per cent of what the world is spending on guns and arms and defence in the coming year,” he adds.

Fletcher says the war, and the resulting closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has doubled fuel prices and driven up food costs by 20pc.

“That makes our job much harder. But it also pushes more people into hunger and starvation,” he says.

Israeli warplanes have carried out air strikes on the town of Qlawiyah in Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil district, Al Jazeera reports citing Lebanon’s official National News Agency.

A convoy of vehicles was also hit in the town, killing one person, the report adds.

The latest casualties bring the total number of those killed by Israeli attacks in Lebanon today to at least 28, according to NNA reports.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has announced that Iran will participate in this year’s World Cup, Al Jazeera reports.

The head of the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, in an address to FIFA’s Congress in Vancouver, says, “Let me start by the outset, confirming straightaway that of course Iran will be participating at the FIFA World Cup 2026.

“And of course, Iran will play the United States of America,” he adds.

Trump administration officials are in active conversations with members of Congress about congressional authorisation for the Iran war ahead of tomorrow’s deadline, US broadcaster CBS reports citing a White House official. 

Under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, the president has 48 hours to notify Congress after entering the US into new hostilities, then a 60-day clock begins. At the end of that 60-day period, the president must terminate the use of force without explicit congressional approval. The deadline is tomorrow (Friday). 

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly says, “President Trump has been transparent with the Hill since before Operation Epic Fury began, and administration officials provided over 30 bipartisan briefings for members of Congress to keep them apprised of military updates.”

“The President’s preference is always diplomacy, and Iran wants to make a deal,” she adds.

Maritime shipping tracker MarineTraffic says that a “continued directional imbalance” was observed in the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours, with all 12 verified crossings travelling west to east and “no eastbound return traffic” recorded.

Citing data from Kpler, MarineTraffic adds, “Transit volumes rose slightly from the previous day, suggesting stable but gradually strengthening activity, though still below peaks earlier in the month.”

An Israeli air strike on Jebchit in Lebanon’s Nabatieh district has killed four people and wounded nine others, Al Jazeera reports citing Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA).

In a statement, the Ministry of Public Health says, “The Israeli enemy raid on the town of Jebchit in the Nabatieh district resulted in 4 martyrs, including two children and a woman, and 9 wounded, including 3 children and 4 women.”

The latest casualties bring the total number of those killed by Israeli attacks in Lebanon today to at least 27, according to NNA reports.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has assailed a naval blockade of his country’s ports by the United States, stating, “Continuation of this oppressive approach is intolerable.”

In a post on X, Pezeshkian says the world has witnessed Iran’s “tolerance and conciliation”.

“What is being done under the guise of a naval blockade is an extension of military operations against a nation paying the price for its resistance and independence,” he adds.

Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) is reporting yet another Israeli attack in southern Lebanon, this one in the town of Zebdin, Al Jazeera reports.

The drone attack has killed six people near the town’s cemetery, according to the agency.

Elsewhere, an Israeli raid has injured two people in the town of Dibbine, NNA says.

The latest casualties bring the total number of those killed by Israeli attacks in Lebanon today to at least 23, according to NNA’s reports.