War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the United States must recognise that “realities have changed” following the Israeli-US war against Iran, during a meeting with Uzbekistan’s parliamentary speaker, reports Al Jazeera.

He said “conditions have improved compared to the past” and that post-war developments had forced Washington to accept “existing realities”.

“In such an environment, trade relations can be expanded further, and we hope that the groundwork for lifting sanctions will also be prepared,” he added.

Ghalibaf further said that with the joint management of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz by Iran and Oman, and a reduction in “American mischief” in the region, better prospects would emerge for transit cooperation.

Israel has rejected earlier reports by The New York Times and The Washington Post, describing them as “fake news” and saying the claims were “a complete fabrication of reality”, reports Al Jazeera.

Citing anonymous officials, both newspapers reported that US officials believed Israel had planned to assassinate Iranian negotiators earlier this year during talks aimed at ending the hostilities between Washington and Tehran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump spoke and agreed to meet “soon” in the United States, the premier’s office said, reports AFP.

“The Prime Minister said in their conversation that the US is a guarantor of global freedom, and Israel greatly appreciates the close ties between nations,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office said.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump agreed to meet soon in the US,” it added.

Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi said the framework agreement signed with Israel “is not a final agreement, but rather a basis for moving forward to complete negotiations”, reports Al Jazeera.

In a statement after meeting ambassadors of Francophone countries in Lebanon, Raggi said Lebanon “went to the negotiations because it did not have the luxury of options.”

Raggi further said that “confining arms to the hands of the state is not merely an external demand, but an urgent Lebanese need to establish a normal, strong and sovereign state.”

Israeli attacks on Lebanon from March 2 to July 3 have killed 4,301 people, Al Jazeera has reported.

The attacks have left 12,199 people wounded, according to new figures from Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.

A text seen by Reuters of the upcoming summit of Nato leaders says that the allies will declare Iran should never have a nuclear weapon.

The text states, “Allies reiterate that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon and call on Iran to fully respect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz”.

At the summit in Ankara next week, Nato leaders including US President Donald Trump are set to affirm an “ironclad commitment” to collective defence under the alliance’s Article 5 pact.

A CMA CGM container ship struck by a missile in the Strait of Hormuz in early May is so badly damaged that the French shipping group may send it for scrapping, its chief executive says according to Reuters.

The attack on the CMA CGM San Antonio injured several members of the crew, who were evacuated.

“It was so damaged that we’re wondering whether we should send it for scrapping,” CMA CGM’s Chairman and CEO Rodolphe Saade told a business conference in southern France.

After being stranded in the strait for weeks, the San Antonio has been escorted to safety, he added, without giving further details.

The framework deal signed between Israel and Lebanon last month “threatens to betray war crimes victims in Lebanon”, human rights groups say according to Al Jazeera.

“Parts of the text appear to be aimed at preventing victims of serious international crimes from seeking justice before international forums. Others seem to acquiesce to the prolonged and indefinite forced displacement of tens of thousands of residents of vast swathes of southern Lebanon occupied by Israeli forces,” Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

“Time and time again we have seen civilians in Lebanon pay the price for successive cycles of conflict and serious violations and crimes under international law with no accountability,” said Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard.

“Victims of war crimes and other violations deserve justice. Any agreement that fails to centre their rights to justice, accountability, and reparations will falter underneath the very impunity it builds.”

Oil prices were steady and little changed for the week as traders held on to hopes for a successful outcome from attempts to secure peace between the United States and Iran, reports Reuters.

Brent futures were down 8 cents, or 0.11 per cent, at $71.72 a barrel by 0109 GMT. West Texas Intermediate was down 22 cents, or 0.32pc, at $68.47 a barrel.

Over the week, Brent and WTI have lost about 0.3pc.

President Joseph Aoun said that the framework agreement signed between Israel and Lebanon last month “does not legitimise the continued Israeli occupation of Lebanon”, reports Al Jazeera.

Instead, he said it enables the country’s army “to extend its authority over the entire Lebanese territory”.

More than 640,000 displaced people in Lebanon have returned home, AFP reports citing the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), as clashes between Hezbollah and Israel have wound down following a deal to end the Middle East war.

Lebanese authorities say Israeli attacks have killed roughly 4,300 people and displaced over one million, particularly from southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs.

In a report yesterday, the IOM said “646,107 IDPs (internally displaced persons) have begun returning to their communities,” while about 500,000 other people remain displaced, based on data collected in coordination with local authorities since June 22.

CDF Munir has departed for Pakistan following the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, PTV reports.

He was seen off by Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni and senior Iranian officials.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has paid “rich tribute” to the assassinated supreme leader Ali Khamenei and attended his funeral, Prime Minister Office has said in a statement.

Shehbaz has also expressed solidarity with Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, President Dr Masoud Pezeshkian and the people of Iran in their moment of “national grief”.

Following the ceremony, the premier has departed for Istanbul for his Turkiye visit.

Iran has begun talks with Japanese companies under a US sanctions waiver allowing it to resume oil sales, though prospective buyers are seeking a longer waiver and reassurances about ship safety, three Iranian and Western sources have said, Reuters reports.

Three Japanese buyers were looking at possible crude oil purchases from Iran, their first since 2019, said two Iranian sources, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Japanese and Iranian officials were in initial talks about possible oil sales, a Western industry source familiar with the matter said separately.

An official at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), which oversees fuel supply infrastructure, said he was unaware of any such matter.

The Israeli army claims it has attacked Lebanon in yet another violation of the ceasefire agreed with the Lebanese government and the memorandum of understanding between Iran and the US, Al Jazeera reports.

In a statement on X, the military claimed it struck what it called “10 Hezbollah infrastructure sites in southern Lebanon”.

The army also claimed it hit a Hezbollah “cell transporting weapons in a truck near the security zone”.

The attacks came in “response” to alleged ceasefire violations by Hezbollah, it said. This could not be independently verified.

Afghanistan’s foreign minister in the Taliban government has paid his respects at the coffin of Iran’s slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iranian state television shows according to AFP.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has questioned the role of the US Central Command (Centcom) in regional security, arguing that it has actually brought insecurity to the region.

“Our powerful armed forces have proven that outsiders cannot even protect themselves,” he said in a post on X.

“Peace in our region can only be sustained when comprehensive and inclusive, with no outside interference.”

Iran’s acting defence minister has called for the creation of a joint security mechanism among Islamic countries, stating that the presence of extra-regional forces has become a source of instability, during a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart, state-run Press TV has reported.

Brigadier General Majid Ibn Reza and Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler reviewed regional developments, the implementation of the June 27 ceasefire agreement between Iran and the US, and ways to enhance defense and security ties between Tehran and Ankara.

Ibn Reza said Tehran accepted the arrangement to “help restore regional stability” and at the request of friendly and neighboring countries. However, he expressed deep distrust in the US, citing a long record of failing to honor its commitments.

“Given the long history of US breach of promises, we have zero trust in the opposing side,” Ibn Reza said. “The Armed Forces of Iran remain on full alert, and any violation of the agreement will be met with a proportionate response.”

Major-General Amir Hatami, commander-in-chief of Iran’s armed forces, has vowed revenge against the US and Israel for killing former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a February 28 air strike that started the war on Iran, Al Jazeera reports.

Hatami made the remarks on the sidelines of Khamenei’s funeral in Tehran.

“With a firmer resolve we declare to the enemies of the Iranian nation — America and the criminal Zionist regime — that we will avenge the blood of the martyred leader [Khamenei],” said Hatami.