War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

US Central Command (Centcom) says that since the naval blockade of Iranian ports was reinstated, American forces have redirected two commercial vessels.

The United Arab Emirates has condemned in the strongest terms the renewed hostile attacks by Iran targeting Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan with missiles and drones.

In a statement posted on X, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirms that these hostile attacks “constitute a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the brotherly nations and a threat to their security and stability”.

“The ministry reiterated the UAE’s full solidarity with the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and its support for all measures aimed at safeguarding their security and stability,” the statement reads.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has landed in the Qatari capital, Doha, to express condolences after the passing of the former emir Sheikh Hamad bin ⁠⁠Khalifa Al Thani, Al Jazeera reports citing Araghchi’s official Telegram page and Iran’s state media.

Tehran’s top diplomat is also expected to meet Qatari officials during the visit.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has travelled to Doha to attend the funeral of the late Qatari emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, days after Iran attacked Qatar, Reuters reports citing Iran’s ISNA news agency.

Iran has attacked what it says are US targets in Qatar — a mediator between Washington and Tehran in the Iran war - most recently on Sunday.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Sunday it was targeting Qatar’s Al Udeid Airbase, the biggest US base in the Middle East, with ballistic missiles.

The Strait of Hormuz is impassable for commercial shipping, Al Jazeera reports citing Iran’s state media.

At least two vessels were stopped with “warning shots” from the IRGC over the past 24 hours, a Tasnim News Agency correspondent reports from the strait.

United States Central Command (Centcom) says it launched a fresh wave of strikes on Iran’s Greater Tunb Island at 7:30am Eastern time (4:30pm PKT).

“Centcom launched precision munitions against coastal defence systems and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Greater Tunb Island during the 90-minute wave,” the military says on X. “The strikes further degraded Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.”

GCC Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi has condemned Iranian attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, including strikes on infrastructure and facilities that injured Kuwaiti military personnel, Al Jazeera reports.

“The treacherous Iranian attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan reveal Iran’s determination to drag the region into further chaos and instability, and its targeting of infrastructure is a dangerous escalation that the international community cannot remain silent about,” Albudaiwi says in a statement.

The secretary-general describes the attacks as an unprecedented escalation threatening regional security and accuses Iran of disregarding international norms.

Albudaiwi urges the international community to take practical deterrent measures, halt further attacks and hold those responsible accountable. He affirms the GCC’s solidarity with Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan and its support for measures taken to defend their security, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The number of vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz has slightly increased, “with 21 monitored transits recorded, dominated by commercial traffic carrying crude, LPG, methanol and iron ore”, Al Jazeera reports citing shipping data monitor Kpler.

“However, the security outlook deteriorated further as three additional attacks off Oman were verified, bringing the reported toll to 56 confirmed incidents and 17 seafarer fatalities,” it says on X.

“The absence of Omani route transits highlights a growing loss of confidence in that corridor, while shipping continues to favour Iranian-approved routing,” the company adds.

The strait “remains passable, but the operating environment is becoming increasingly complex and unstable”.

US Central Command (Centcom) says its forces started launching “a wave of strikes against Iran” at 6am ET.

“The strikes are designed to further degrade military capabilities Iranian forces have used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” Centcom says in a post on X.

Oil gains have extended by around one per cent as President Donald Trump reimposes a naval blockade on all Iranian ports and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threaten to close “all other export corridors that benefit the US and its allies”, Reuters reports.

Brent futures has gained 69 cents, or 0.8pc, to $85.42 a barrel at 0950 GMT. West Texas Intermediate futures rises 73 cents, or 0.9pc, to $80.07 a barrel.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has threatened to cut off all energy exports from the Middle East over the reimposition by the US of naval blockade on its ports, Al Jazeera reports.

“The export of oil and gas from the region will be either for everyone or for no one,” it has said in a statement.

A drone has crashed in an open area of the container yard at the Grand Faw Port on Iraq’s Gulf coast, Al Jazeera reports citing a statement by the port authority.

It is unclear who launched the drone.

“The company confirms that the incident did not result in any human or material damage as the drone crashed in an open area far from workers, equipment and facilities, and the incident did not affect the workflow or operational processes within the port, which continue as normal,” the authority said.

Iraqi authorities have begun an investigation into the incident.

The Gulf monarchies of Kuwait and Bahrain confirmed they had intercepted fresh aerial salvos from Iran as Tehran and Washington exchanged fire over control of the vital Strait of Hormuz, AFP reports.

Kuwait’s military said it was intercepting attack drones, and blamed “nefarious Iranian aggression”, with Bahrain’s army later saying it “succeeded in intercepting and destroying a number of the treacherous Iranian aerial attacks”.

China’s fuel oil demand is set for a long road to recovery after imports touched a record monthly low as refiners cut output and opted for cheaper crude in the wake of the US-Iran war, industry sources said, Reuters reports.

The lackluster appetite at one of Asia’s top importers of high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) is expected to cap prices, even though the market strengthened this week after Washington and Tehran stepped up attacks in the Middle East, disrupting Gulf supplies shipped through the Strait of Hormuz.

Japanese oil refiners will diversify supply sources while exploring ways to support Middle Eastern producers, including pipeline expansion projects that bypass the Strait of Hormuz, the head of an industry group has said, Reuters reports.

Middle Eastern producers, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, have asked the Japanese government to participate in or support plans to expand oil pipelines to bypass the strait, Shunichi Kito, president of Petroleum Association of Japan, says, adding that US crude is one diversification option.

But given the current configuration of Japanese refineries, which are better suited to Middle Eastern grades, it is difficult to handle large volumes of US crude at present, Kito says.

Drawing lessons from the Iran crisis, the oil industry will seek to strengthen supply chains by deepening ties with oil-producing countries, securing tanker capacity and improving refinery flexibility, Kito has said.

Bahrain’s military said it had intercepted aerial attacks from Iran after warning sirens sounded in the early hours in the tiny Gulf nation, AFP reports.

“The General Command of the Bahrain Defence Force announces that Iran continues its systematic hostile approach through its criminal attacks that target civilians,” it said in a statement adding the military “succeeded in intercepting and destroying a number of the treacherous Iranian aerial attacks this morning”.

A military court has sentenced a soldier to five years in prison for spying on behalf of Iran during the June 2025 war, according to a statement by the Israeli army, Al Jazeera reports.

The conviction for carrying out espionage tasks on behalf of Iran came following a joint investigation by the military police, the Israeli police, and the Shin Bet intelligence agency, the army update said.

An unidentified drone crashed inside the Grand Faw Port project in Iraq’s southern Basra province, Al Jazeera reports.

The Israeli military said it had sentenced an active-duty soldier to five years in prison for sending videos of missile interceptions to an Iranian agent, AFP reports.

The soldier sent two such videos during the 12-day war with Iran in June last year and “received payment for them,” the military said. It added that he had also shared several videos filmed in civilian locations with the Iranian agent.

The Iranian army says it will respond to the attack on Bambour Garrison in Iranshahr, calling it “cowardly aggression,” Al Jazeera reports.

“A decisive response will be given to this crime at the appropriate time,” a statement cited by the Tasnim news agency said.

Thirteen US missiles struck facilities at a barracks in Bampour killing seven personnel from the 388th Brigade and injuring several others, it said. The army said “passive defence measures” limited casualties.

Fresh US strikes hit Iran’s southern port city of Bushehr, home to the country’s only civilian nuclear plant, state news agency IRNA reported, according to AFP.

“The American enemy attacked three locations in Bushehr today,” the city governor, Mohammad Mozafari told IRNA, the day after another attack as Washington and Tehran stepped up their military confrontation