War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has said in a published written message that a new chapter for the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz has been taking shape since the Iran war with the United States and Israel broke out on February 28, Reuters reports.

Iran’s Supreme Leader said that Tehran would secure the Gulf region and eliminate what he described as “the enemy’s abuses of the waterway”.

The supreme leader added that new management of the Strait of Hormuz would bring calm, progress and economic benefits to all Gulf nations.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has decried what he described as Israel’s continued violations of the ceasefire, calling for international pressure on Israel to stop strikes on civilians and paramedics.

Aoun slammed the “continuing Israeli violations” in south Lebanon, saying they were occurring “despite the ceasefire, as do demolitions of homes and places of worship, while the number of killed and wounded rises day after day”.

“Pressure must be exerted on Israel to ensure it respects international laws and conventions and ceases targeting civilians, paramedics, civil defence, and humanitarian health and relief organisations,” he added in a statement, as the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah nears the two-week mark.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei has categorically dismissed as “unfounded and baseless” the allegations made in a statement issued by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) regarding Tehran’s retaliatory operations amid the US-Israeli war, Press TV reports.

Baqaei said that Iran remained firmly committed to the principle of good neighbourliness and respected the national sovereignty of neighbouring states.

The Iranian diplomat pointed to the “internationally unlawful involvement of certain GCC members in the US-Israeli onslaught against the Islamic Republic,” the report said.

“Despite earlier assurances of commitment to legal and international obligations, and declarations that they wouldn’t allow their territory and facilities to be used in anti-Iran strikes, these governments did not take any measures to stop the process and even actively participated in the anti-Iran aggression,“ said Baqaei.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Vice President of the European Union Kaja Kallas, in a phone call, discussed the regional situation, the Foreign Office (FO) says.

“They discussed the evolving regional situation, including its economic and broader implications,” FO said, adding that Kallas expressed appreciation for Pakistan’s “continued constructive and facilitative role in promoting regional peace and stability”.

“DPM/FM reaffirmed Pakistan’s sustained commitment to promote dialogue and engagement in this regard,” the FO added.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei says the Bahraini government’s move to revoke the citizenship of dozens of nationals on unjustified pretexts is a serious human rights violation, IRNA reports.

The Bahraini government’s action of stripping Bahraini citizens of their nationality under the pretext of sympathising with the Iranian nation and expressing hatred for US and Israeli crimes against Iranians constitutes a gross violation of human rights, he said.

The measure is a sign of the discriminatory approach of the country’s rulers toward their own people, the official noted.

Bahraini officials had earlier announced that the citizenship of dozens of people in the country was revoked due to their support for Iran during the war imposed by the US and Israel.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a call with Foreign Minister Kenya Musalia Mudavadi, called for international action to hold the US accountable for its crimes, IRNA reports.

During the conversation, Araghchi noted that the “international community must take decisive steps to defend the UN Charter and hold the US responsible for its breaches of international law and crimes”.

Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik has held a meeting with the Iranian Envoy to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam, the Petroleum Division says.

The two discussed “bilateral relations and areas of mutual interest”.

Israel claims that its forces have killed five Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon yesterday, Al Jazeera reports.

Israeli attacks since March 2 have killed at least 2,534 people in Lebanon, with 7,863 people wounded.

The world is facing a “major energy and economic challenge” as oil prices have soared in the wake of the war in the Middle East, International Energy Agency (IEA) chief Fatih Birol has said, AFP reports.

“The world is facing the biggest energy crisis in history,” Birol said at a high-level meeting on the energy transition at IEA headquarters in Paris, adding that oil prices were “putting a lot of pressure in many countries”.

The Israeli army claims that Hezbollah has shot down one of its drones over southern Lebanon using a surface-to-air missile, Al Jazeera reports.

Hezbollah has said that the Israeli Hermes 450Z drone was shot down over Nabatiyeh.

Iranian MP Manouchehr Mottaki has said that if Iran had known early on that the US was seeking zero uranium enrichment, it would have shifted strategies, according to Al Jazeera.

“I have no objection to going to the negotiating table, but we should have looked more closely at how to proceed,” Mottaki, who represents Tehran and previously served as foreign minister, told Iran’s ISNA.

After the first round of talks, Mottaki said, “Trump started whispering outside about zero enrichment”, while US Ambassador to Nato Matt Whitaker did not “dare” mention it.

“If we had concluded that their final opinion was non-enrichment, naturally there would have been no point in negotiating with them, because this issue is fundamentally not related to America,” Mottaki added.

Israeli attacks have continued in southern Lebanon, with artillery shelling targeting the towns of Zawtar al-Sharqiya, Yahmar al-Shaqif, and Bayt al-Sayyad, Al Jazeera’s ground correspondent reports.

At the same time, an Israeli drone launched a raid on the town of Srifa. An Israeli airstrike also targeted the town of Toul.

Meanwhile, a drone has damaged an Israeli armoured vehicle and sparked fires in the Shomera area of the Western Galilee.

Iran’s President Pezeshkian has blamed the US and Israel for the ongoing blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, again defending the decision to keep out “hostile countries”, Al Jazeera reports.

In a message commemorating National Persian Gulf Day on state media, Pezeskhian said the waterway was “a symbol of the great Iranian nation’s resistance”.

“The responsibility for any insecurity in this water area lies with the United States and the Zionist regime.”

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday said a US naval blockade of Iranian ports would deepen disruptions in the Gulf and fail to achieve its objectives, reports AFP.

“Any attempt to impose a maritime blockade or restrictions is contrary to international law… and is doomed to fail,” Pezeshkian said in a statement.

He added that such measures would “not only fail to enhance regional security, but are in fact a source of tension and a disruption to lasting stability in the Persian Gulf”.

The United States is pushing for a new international coalition to restart commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz as talks with Tehran stall, AFP reports, citing US news outlets.

The State Department sent an internal cable to US embassies calling on diplomats to convince governments around the world to join the “Maritime Freedom Construct”, a US-led bloc to share information, coordinate diplomatically, and enforce sanctions, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The coalition will see the State Department serving as a “diplomatic operations hub” and the US Central Command providing “real-time maritime domain awareness”, the WSJ reported, citing the cable sent on Tuesday.

“Your participation will strengthen our collective ability to restore freedom of navigation and protect the global economy,” the cable reportedly said.

A senior Trump administration official confirmed to WSJ that the idea was one of the many diplomatic and policy resources at the president’s disposal.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Rizwan Saeed Sheikh has met with the chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, Brian Mast.

“Had a broad-based and productive exchange of perspectives on the evolving regional and global situation,” Sheikh wrote on X, adding that he thanked Mast for acknowledging “Pakistan’s key role in facilitating peace in the Middle East and beyond”.

Sheikh reaffirmed Pakistan’s “steadfast commitment to promoting conflict resolution through dialogue and constructive engagement” and discussed “avenues of augmenting the historically consequential Pak–US partnership and cooperation in the evolving global landscape”.

Israeli airstrikes have hit the towns of Haris, Beit Yahoun and Al Ghandouriya in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera Arabia reports.

A drone has struck near Israel’s Shomera, along the Lebanese border, Al Jazeera reports, citing Israeli Army Radio.

While no casualties were reported, a vehicle at the scene caught fire.

Air France-KLM has reported a smaller first-quarter loss than expected, but downgraded its capacity outlook on the basis of geopolitical uncertainty tied to the US-Israeli war with Iran and rising jet fuel costs, Reuters reports.

European airlines, including easyJet and TUI , have revised their outlooks as their jet fuel hedges shrink over time. They expect to feel the impact of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz more acutely in the coming months.

“While fuel price increases are not yet reflected in the results we present today, they are expected to weigh on the coming quarters,” Air France-KLM Chief Executive Ben Smith said in a statement.

Israeli forces have attacked a water station in the town of Batouliyeh, Al Jazeera reports, citing National News Agency (NNA).

It said the town’s remaining residents relied on that station for pumping water.

Israeli forces also blew up a tourist resort in al-Bayyad, NNA reported.

With Pacific Island nations declaring a regional emergency over severe fuel shortages, Jacynta Fa’amau, a Pacific Campaigner with 350.org, has called on the region to move “beyond fossil fuels and embrace renewable energy”, Al Jazeera reports.

“Fossil fuel companies reap obscene profits even while everyday people in Pacific Island countries, Australia and New Zealand suffer various states of emergency, choked by fossil fuel dependence,” Fa’amau said in a statement, pointing to the compounding pressures of climate change, energy shortages, and a rising cost of living.

The Israeli military has said it launched an interceptor towards a “suspicious aerial target” in the area of southern Lebanon where its troops were operating, Al Jazeera reports.

In a Telegram post, the army said the results of the interception were currently under review and that the target did not cross into Israeli territory.

In a separate update, the army said sirens were sounded in Zar’it, near the Lebanese border.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said Washington has seized “close to half a billion” in Iranian cryptocurrency assets and that its “Operation Economic Fury” has sent the government in Tehran into “crisis”, Al Jazeera reports.

“We were able to grab about 350 million crypto assets, and then on top of another 100 that we had recently gotten, so we’re almost at half a billion there, and we are freezing bank accounts everywhere,” Bessent told Fox News.

He said Trump had ordered the economic pressure campaign in March of last year and told him to “up the pressure again” about three weeks ago.

“We have gone to the buyers of Iranian oil and told them that … we are willing to do secondary sanctions on your industries, on your banks who tolerate Iranian oil in their system,” he said.

Bessent added that the economic campaign and the US naval blockade on Iranian ports will inflict permanent damage on Iran’s economy.

Indian airlines are set to resume operations at Hamad International Airport in Doha as flight activity continues to expand.

Air India, Air India Express and IndiGo will restart services between Doha and various Indian destinations from May 1, 2026.

Brent crude oil soared more than 7 per cent after a report said the US military would brief President Donald Trump on potential military action against Iran as talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz stall, reports Reuters.

The contract rose as much as 7.1pc to $126.41 per barrel in Asian trade, while West Texas Intermediate climbed 3.4pc to $110.31. Both later pared the gains.