War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

UAE presidential advisor Anwar Gargash ⁠has said no unilateral Iranian arrangement can be trusted regarding freedom ⁠of navigation through the Strait ⁠of Hormuz, ⁠following ⁠its “treacherous aggression” against its neighbours, Al Jazeera reports.

“The collective international will and provisions of international law emerge as the primary guarantor of freedom of navigation through this vital passage, serving the stability of the region and the global economy in the post-war phase,” Gargash said on X.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “gamble” in the Middle East has cost the United States $100 billion.

In a post on X, Araghchi said, “The Pentagon is lying.”

He added that the $100bn figure was four times what has been claimed: “Indirect costs for US taxpayers are FAR higher.”

Iran’s Supreme Court Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei says Tehran never stopped negotiating with the US, Al Jazeera reports, citing IRIB.

“We do not welcome war, but we are not afraid of it,” he said.

“If our dignity is threatened, we will fight for our dignity, this is the firm position of our nation.”

He added that while Iran “always welcomed negotiations”, diplomacy is “based on logic and rationality”.

“We certainly do not accept imposition. An enemy that has not achieved any of its goals and objectives through aggression and threats cannot be imposing or demanding at the negotiating table either.”

The chief justice also said Iran would be pursuing legal action against Washington.

“We will pursue and punish war criminals and obtain compensation from them,” he said.

Iran stands for “peace and friendship”, but will respond strongly when faced with aggression, says Deputy Communication for Iran’s President’s Office, Seyyed Mehdi Tabatabaei, Press TV reports.

“Iran stands for peace and friendship in the world, but anyone who speaks to it in the language of force will face a strong response,” the report quoted him as saying.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei has taken to social media to castigate the US for its war of “aggression”, and to challenge Washington’s own narrative that its attacks on Iran were a case of “self-defence,” Al Jazeera reports.

In a post on social media, Baqaei highlights a US State Department document justifying the war, which stated that: “The United States engaged in this conflict at the request of and in the collective self-defence of its Israeli ally, as well as in the exercise of the United States’ own inherent right of self-defence”.

“Self-defence against what?” Baqaei asked.

“Was there any ‘armed attack’ by Iran to justify ‘self-defence’? Definitely not!”

“So this was absolutely NOT ‘self-defence’ — it was an act of AGGRESSION against the nation of Iran.”

France’s top diplomat has said a new US-led coalition to reopen the Strait of Hormuz would complement and not compete with a similar mission spearheaded by France and Britain, AFP reports.

Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, speaking in Abu Dhabi following a regional tour, said he briefed Gulf allies on the UK-France initiative, which was now at an “advanced” stage.

The UK and France have led talks on a separate maritime effort, recently holding a meeting with more than 50 countries.

The US mission is “not of the same nature as the one we established… it comes as a sort of complement”, Barrot said in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, following visits to Saudi Arabia and Oman.

“It is not in competition with the initiative we have launched and on which we are focused,” he added.

Asked whether France would join Washington’s initiative, Barrot said he could not comment at this stage.

The UK-France mission “is now at an advanced stage, the planning has been finalised, and I have come to present the concept of this mission to a number of our closest partners in the region”, he added.

NatWest reported its first quarter profit rose 12p per cent year-on-year, as the British lender grew lending income while taking a modest charge against potential losses from the economic impact of the Iran war, Reuters reports.

The bank said operating profit before tax for January-March came in at 2 billion pounds ($2.72bn), up from 1.8bn pounds in the same period a year ago and just above the average of analysts’ forecasts of 1.9bn pounds.

NatWest also upgraded its income guidance for the year, now saying it expects to be near the top of the 17.2-17.6bn pound range it previously set out.

Air Canada suspended its 2026 forecast, as higher jet fuel prices due to the war in Iran created uncertainty over costs, even as travel demand remained robust, reports Reuters.

The carrier beat first-quarter revenue estimates and reported a smaller-than-expected adjusted loss, helped by resilient demand, particularly from premium customers with the ability to absorb higher fares.

Canada’s largest carrier will also pause share buybacks in the near term and review the decision in the second half of the year.

Fuel, which typically accounts for about a quarter of operating costs, has almost doubled in price since the conflict started in late February, leading carriers to trim capacity, raise fares and charge higher fees for services like checked baggage.
Air Canada is also trimming less profitable routes and reducing the number of flights where demand is weaker.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he remains committed to reclaiming all occupied Lebanese territory, reports Al Jazeera.

In a post on X marking Labour Day, he added that the government would continue efforts to improve living conditions and revive the economy in a way that creates jobs, restores stability and puts the country on a path to genuine recovery.

The US-based news outlet Axios reported that two senior American officials confirmed a high-level military briefing was held on Thursday evening with President Donald Trump, according to Al Jazeera.

During the 45-minute session, US Central Command commander Admiral Brad Cooper and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Dan Caine presented Trump with updated plans for possible renewed action against Iran, the report said.

According to the officials, the strategies centred on potential strikes as the US administration weighs its next steps in the conflict.

Singapore’s prime minister warned Friday that economic growth will slow this year and some countries may slip into recession as the Middle East keeps the Strait of Hormuz closed, reports Reuters.

In a May Day speech, Lawrence Wong said the war was not expected “to be over anytime soon” and supply disruptions may worsen in the months ahead.

“Here in Asia, we are especially affected because of our high dependence on energy and other critical supplies from the Gulf,” Wong said.

“Globally, inflation will rise, spreading from energy to food and then other essentials. Some economies may well slip into recession, and Singapore will feel the impact directly,” he said.

“Our growth this year will slow, and inflation will be higher, and all this will put real pressure on businesses, workers and households.”

He did not give any figures, but the trade ministry in February said it expected the economy to expand 2-4 per cent this year, a bump from its previous forecast of 1-3pc.

US Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said in a CNN interview that briefings and other sources had left him with the impression that an imminent military strike was “very much on the table”, reports Al Jazeera.

He added that the prospect was “deeply disturbing”, warning it could place American troops in harm’s way and result in potentially massive casualties.

Gold was steady in thin trading, but was on course for a weekly decline as higher oil prices fuelled inflation worries and expectations of higher-for-longer interest rates.

Spot gold was steady at $4,620.57 per ounce, as of 0248 GMT, but was on track for a weekly loss of 1.8 per cent, having dropped to a one-month low on Wednesday. US gold futures for June delivery rose 0.1pc to $4,632.70.

“In the Asian session, the market is going to be quite thin because of public holidays, so we’re really in a bit of a crossroads, or at least waiting for the next catalyst to make more of a directional move,” said Kyle Rodda, a senior financial market analyst at Capital.com.

Iran’s embassy in London has issued a statement castigating “the fabricated negative media environment” in the United Kingdom and rejected allegations linking Iran to violent incidents in the UK.

“Such baseless accusations against [the] Islamic Republic of Iran, lack credible evidence and appear to serve narrow political agendas and to mislead public opinion and distract from the real root causes of terrorism and violent extremism,” the embassy stated on X.

It noted that Iran has been a “primary victim of terrorism for decades” amid the killing of large numbers of “innocent civilians, high-ranking officials and scientists”. The embassy added that Tehran “remains at the forefront of the global struggle against terrorism and violent extremism”.

Elijah Magnier, a specialist in Middle East regional dynamics and senior political risk analyst, has spoken to Al Jazeera about Israel’s war on Lebanon, and how Israel is applying the “Rafah doctrine” — named after the destroyed city in southern Gaza — to Lebanon.

“This is what the Israeli Defence Minister Israeli Katz told us, that in Lebanon, they will apply the “Rafah doctrine”, which means flattening everything,” Magnier told Al Jazeera.

“Destroying homes, schools, universities, hospitals. Everything that they can see and leave nothing for the people,” he said.

The focus is to destroy so completely that local Lebanese people no longer “know the previous topography of the land” and “not allow anyone to return”.

The US Congress has approved a short extension to allow US intelligence agencies to collect information from foreign targets without a warrant, after a three-year extension failed to gather enough votes to pass, Al Jazeera reports.

President Donald Trump and intelligence officials have for weeks urged Congress to renew a key provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that allows agencies like the CIA, National Security Agency and FBI to conduct warrantless surveillance.

The temporary patch, which received wide support in the Senate and House, extends the programme through June 12.

Al Jazeera Arabic is reporting that an Israeli air strike on the town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa in southern Lebanon has killed two people.

They report that the strike also wounded 10 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

NBC News reports that Iran is utilising the ceasefire with the US to retrieve weapons previously hidden or buried under the rubble of strikes, according to Al Jazeera.

The government of Iran has intensified efforts to excavate missiles and other munitions that were hidden underground or buried in rubble after US and Israeli air strikes, NBC News said, citing a US official and two other individuals familiar with the matter.

The report states that US officials believe that Iran wants to quickly rebuild its drone and missile capabilities to enable it to launch attacks across the Middle East if President Trump decides to resume military operations, the sources said.

Oil rose on Friday as efforts to resolve the Iran conflict have hit an impasse, with Tehran still blocking the Strait of Hormuz and the US Navy blocking exports of Iranian crude, according to Reuters.

Brent crude futures for July rose $1.19, or 1.08 per cent, to $111.59 a barrel by 1:49 GMT (6:49am PKT), while West Texas Intermediate futures were up 39 cents, or 0.37pc, to $105.46.

Both benchmarks have posted gains across four straight months, with Brent’s June contract, which expired on Thursday, hitting $126.41 a barrel, the highest since March 2022.

The US military’s regional command responsible for the Iran war has said that US Navy ships are restocking with “fuel, food, munitions, and essential supplies”, Al Jazeera reports.

Central Command (Centcom) shared photographs on social media said to show supplies being loaded onto the guided-missile destroyer USS Delbert D Black, which is said to be supporting the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group in the region.

Gold holds steady, but is on course for a weekly decline as higher oil prices fuel inflation worries and cloud the interest rate outlook, according to Reuters.

Spot gold was unchanged at $4,622.41 per ounce, as of 00:46 GMT (5:46am PKT), after rising more than 2 per cent in the previous session. The metal was on track for a weekly loss of 1.8pc. US gold futures for June delivery rose 0.1pc to $4,635.10.

For War Powers Resolution purposes, the United States’ hostilities with Iran that started in February have “terminated”, a senior Trump administration official has said according to Reuters.

“Both parties agreed to a 2-week ceasefire on Tuesday, April 7 that has since been extended,” the official said. “There has been no exchange of fire between US Armed Forces and Iran since Tuesday, April 7.”

US President Donald Trump has continued his attacks on German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, saying he was “doing a terrible job” with his own country and should spend “less time on interfering” with Washington’s effort to tackle “the Iran nuclear threat”, Reuters reports.

Trump has been sparring with Merz over the war in Iran in recent days. On Tuesday, he said Merz didn’t know what he was talking about after the German leader said the Iranians were humiliating the US in talks to end the two-month-old war.

On Wednesday, during an Oval Office event, he said Merz was struggling at home with energy and immigration issues, and had failed to help resolve the Ukraine war.

“He’s doing a terrible job,” he said. “And he’s got a big problem with Ukraine, because they’re in that mess.”

Air defences have been heard in the Iranian capital Tehran after they were activated to counter small aircraft and drones, Iranian media reports according to AFP.

“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 agencies later said reports indicated that the air defence systems were activated “to counter small aircraft and reconnaissance drones”, without providing further details.

“The sound of the air defence stopped after about 20 minutes of activity and countering small aircraft,” they reported.

Tehran is now in a “normal situation”, according to the news agencies.