War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

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.

President Donald Trump is facing a midnight deadline to secure congressional authorisation for the war against Iran, though the looming cutoff is not expected to rein in his military plans, AFP reports.

The 60-day clock, triggered when Trump notified Congress of strikes in early March, requires the administration to begin winding down hostilities unless lawmakers authorise the use of force. With no such approval in place, the deadline sets up a direct constitutional clash between the White House and Congress.

Democrats say the president is already on shaky legal ground — and will be in clear violation once the threshold passes.

“After we cross that 60-day threshold, there can be no more doubts that he’s violating the War Powers Act,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said, urging Republicans to help end the conflict.

The administration disputes that interpretation, arguing the clock was effectively paused by a ceasefire announced last month.

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”.