War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that gasoline and diesel costs for consumers would fall during the summer following a government deal with oil refineries aimed at taming the impact of the Iran war on fuel prices, Reuters reports.

Greece has recovered from a 2009-2018 debt crisis that forced wage cuts as part of bailout austerity measures, and Mitsotakis’ government has cut taxes and raised salaries since it took power in 2019.

But rising consumer prices exacerbated by the conflict in the Middle East have strained household budgets in Greece, where purchasing power still trails the European average.

Oil prices have eased but remain on track for weekly gains as renewed US-Iran fighting disrupts shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, stoking concerns over supply disruptions, Reuters reports.

Brent futures are down 68 cents, or 0.9 per cent, at $75.62 a barrel, as of Friday afternoon.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped 64 cents, or 0.9pc, to $71.44.

Previously, Brent was set for a gain of about 5pc and WTI was on track for an increase of about 4pc.

“Prices have backed off the midweek highs, but there is still a substantial risk premium as Hormuz transits are back to a near-standstill with no clear signs of when normal reopening might resume,” Vandana Hari at oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights says.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s (IRGC) top commander has pledged vengeance against the US and Israel for the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying it won’t “be erased from the historical memory”, Al Jazeera reports.

Brigadier-General Ahmad Vahidi called for the “full realisation of justice and a fitting response to the criminals, especially the child-killing American army”.

“The criminal leaders of America and all enemies of the Islamic Revolution and the Resistance Front must know that by the cowardly assassination of this divine leader they will never… bring the flag of resistance to the ground,” Vahidi said in a statement carried by Sepah news agency.

“Avenging the martyrs and the punishment of the perpetrators… will remain a definitive, legitimate, and an unforgettable demand.”

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has met army commander Rodolphe Haykal to discuss “the security situation in the country in general and in the south in particular, in light of the ongoing Israeli attacks on a number of southern villages and towns”, his office has said.

They have also addressed preparations to implement the Israel-Lebanon framework deal in “the designated experimental areas, where the Lebanese Army is expected to deploy concurrently with the Israeli withdrawal”, according to the statement posted on X.

The recent escalation of hostilities between the US and Iran could upend the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) forecast of a significant oil market surplus next year, it says, as global supply jumped in June when the Strait of Hormuz reopened but still lagged pre-war levels.

Global oil supply rose by 4.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in June, the agency has said, but remained 9.4 million bpd below pre-war levels.

IEA predicts supply will expand by 7.5 million bpd next year, but this is contingent on improved Hormuz transits.

“An escalation in hostilities on 7-8 July, however, clouds the outlook and could upend the forecast that sees the market flipping to a surplus next year,” IEA has said.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is back to square one in its fight against high inflation in the euro zone after new hostilities between the US and Iran caused energy prices to rise again, ECB policymaker Yannis Stournaras has said, Reuters reports.

The ECB raised rates at its June 10-11 meeting and investors expect it to do so twice more over the next year to contain the fallout from the Iran war on fuel costs.

“Hostilities started again,” Stournaras, the Greek central bank governor, has said at an event in Greece.

“So we’re back to square one and that shows how precarious and volatile is the situation in the Middle East and, as a consequence, it also shows the uncertainty surrounding inflation forecasts and therefore the challenges that policy has to face.”

Three former crew members of a Thai cargo ship struck in the Strait of Hormuz in March have filed a lawsuit against the vessel’s operator over labour rights violations and unfair dismissal, AP reports.

The ship, the Mayuree Naree, was hit by a projectile north of Oman on March 11, killing three people. The remaining 20 crew members were rescued and returned to Thailand about a week later.

Former crew members Panithi Tumkaew, Noppadon Wongsuvan and Surades Manpuen have filed the lawsuit against Precious Shipping Co. as well as two affiliated companies and the ship’s captain.

The lawsuit alleges that the defendants endangered their lives by sailing through the strait despite the security risks, according to their lawyer Kunpat Singhathong.

More liquefied natural gas tankers have resumed transiting the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, according to ship-tracking data, Al Jazeera reports.

Despite renewed fighting between the US and Iran, at least five ballast LNG tankers entered the strait in recent days, according to data from Kpler and LSEG.

The vessels include GasLog Shanghai, controlled by Greek shipping company GasLog, and QatarEnergy-linked carriers Al Samriya, Al Dafna, Al Gattara, and Al Rayyan.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reports an Israeli drone attack hit a pick-up truck on the outskirts of Shukin and Kfar Dajjal in Nabatieh district.

The attack occurred at 6am local time while the vehicle was unloading waste, wounding two people.

The death toll from Israel’s assault on the country has risen to 4,321, with 12,203 injured since March 2.

Atleast 41 to 43 million people participated in the six-day funeral ceremony for Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Al Jazeera reports.

Iran’s Press TV called Khamenei’s funeral “the largest procession the world has ever witnessed”. Ceremonies took place across five cities: Tehran, Qom, Najaf, Karbala, and Mashhad.

The official public funeral proceedings began last Saturday when tens of thousands of Iranians gathered at the Grand Mosalla religious complex in Tehran where Khamenei’s coffin was on display.

The National News Agency reports Israeli forces continue to conduct demolitions in southern Lebanon with extensive blasts inside the town of Khiam.

Multiple consecutive explosions were heard shaking the area throughout the night, according to NNA.

Israel has been accused of carrying out a deliberate policy of destroying homes and infrastructure in the south – much like it did in Gaza – to make it uninhabitable for Lebanese residents.

More liquefied natural gas tankers have resumed transiting the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, ship-tracking data showed, and 22 Japan-linked vessels have left the Gulf since Tuesday, Tokyo said, despite renewed fighting in the Middle East, Reuters reports.

The Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil and LNG shipments, has been closely watched by shipping companies and governments following Iranian attacks this week on commercial vessels and US retaliatory strikes on Iran that have reduced traffic through the waterway.

But at least five ballast LNG tankers have entered the strait in recent days, according to data from Kpler and LSEG.

Democratic Congressman Jimmy Panetta has criticised Donald Trump over the ongoing military conflict with Iran, warning that the administration’s actions demonstrate a failure of both diplomacy and strategic planning.

“Although we can’t rely on what the President says about it, we can rely on the renewed US strikes and Iranian drone attacks to determine the defective status of the inconclusive negotiations and ineffective ceasefire,” he wrote on X.

He added that the current crisis is “the continued effect of entering into war without a clear strategy, congressional approval, or the consensus of the American public”.

As NATO met this week in Ankara, one of the most significant issues before the alliance was freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reports.

But Iran has said the meeting, and its focus on the strait and Iran’s nuclear programme, is politically motivated, Iranian state media IRNA reported.

The Iranian Embassy in Turkiye said the country’s nuclear programme is peaceful, emphasising that Tehran is not looking to develop nuclear weapons. The embassy added that Iran has a responsibility to maintain security in the Strait of Hormuz and that the destabilising actions of other countries are the primary source of insecurity in the region, IRNA reported.

Israel shared intelligence with the United States this week about a new and “specific” plan by Iran to assassinate President Donald Trump, US media reported, according to Reuters.

Washington has monitored “a steady drumbeat” of intelligence about possible plans to assassinate Trump, “but the warning from Israel was new and concerned a specific plot,” CNN reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

The Wall Street Journal, also citing unidentified sources, said the intelligence described a “fresh” plot.

A US official has said that Washington is still committed to finding a resolution with Iran and that technical talks were continuing, Reuters reports.

Assassinated Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei was buried in his home city of Mashhad, state television reported, following a ceremony at which his son and successor was not seen, AFP reports.

The “body of the martyred leader of the Islamic Revolution was buried in the memorial hall of the shrine of Imam Reza,” state broadcaster IRIB reported.

The governor of Iran’s Bushehr province has confirmed that explosions were heard in Bushehr and Choghadak, Al Jazeera reports citing the IRNA news agency.

“Whether the sound heard was from the defence of the armed forces, an enemy projectile hitting the areas, or an enemy drone being targeted is still under investigation, and its definitive cause has not yet been determined,” he tells IRNA.

The United States will oversee the withdrawal of Israeli forces from “pilot zones” in the south, with the first to get underway within days, AFP reports citing Lebanese and US officials.

A US official says that new talks between Israel and Lebanon will go ahead next week, after a diplomatic source earlier told AFP that Lebanon had demanded an Israeli pullout from the zones before taking part.

The official says US Central Command will coordinate on the zones with both countries.

“We will soon begin outreach to international partners to help the Lebanese government effectively restore sovereignty in these zones and across their country more broadly,” the official adds.

Under a framework agreement reached on June 26, Israel will gradually withdraw from areas of southern Lebanon where it has sent troops as part of its military campaign against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shia movement that has long battled Israel. As part of the agreement, the long-disempowered Lebanese military will take full control of two small areas dubbed pilot zones.

Iran has strongly condemned US military attacks on its ports, coastal areas, and maritime infrastructure, describing the attacks as a clear violation of international law and a direct threat to the lives of civilians, sailors, commercial shipping, and the marine environment, state news agency IRNA reports quoting a statement.

At the 137th session of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Council, the Iranian delegation says the United States cannot claim to support maritime security on one hand “while targeting maritime traffic control facilities and maritime transit safety equipment on the other”.

“The Iranian delegation declared that Iran remains fully committed to the safe and orderly conduct of maritime navigation,” IRNA says. “However, it will firmly safeguard its sovereignty, security, sovereign rights, and legitimate interests against any attempts to distort the legal and objective realities of the region.”

Iran adds that the United Arab Emirates has “placed its territory and facilities at the disposal of enemies for hostile military operations against the people, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Iran, as well as the security of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz”, the report adds.

“According to UN Resolution 3314, this constitutes an act of aggression.”

Local residents have reported hearing blasts in the southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas, Al Jazeera reports citing the Mehr News Agency.

Two explosions have been heard in the areas around Bushehr and the nearby city of Choghadak, Al Jazeera reports citing Iran’s Mehr News Agency.

It has not provided further details on the cause or whether there has been any damage or casualties.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency reports that funeral prayers for late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have begun in Mashhad, led by his eldest son.