War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Trump has “no path to a deal” and is approaching the latest round of strikes with “lunacy”, US Senator Chris Murphy has said, Al Jazeera reports.

“Trump has no way out. Iran is emboldened. Their hardliners have control, and they likely aren’t going to do a meaningful nuclear deal or give up control of the Strait,” Murphy writes on X. “A total disaster.”

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and President Joseph Aoun have discussed the new round of Lebanese-American-Israeli negotiations this week and the demands for the withdrawal of Israeli forces, Al Jazeera reports.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says two American Lucas drones in were intercepted and destroyed in Bandar Abbas and Lar by the IRGC’s Aerospace Force, state news agency IRNA reports.

The United States says consular appointments in the United Arab Emirates will be suspended for three days against the backdrop of escalating military tensions in the Gulf region, AFP reports.

“The US Embassy in Abu Dhabi and US Consulate General in Dubai have cancelled consular appointments from July 13 to 15 due to the regional security situation. If you have an appointment on those dates, Americans should not come to the embassy or consulate, we will contact you to reschedule,” it says in a statement.

Oil prices have shot up around 9 per cent as President Donald Trump announced the reimposition of a US naval blockade on Iranian ports while the two sides traded attacks, AFP reports.

Near 1820 GMT (11:20pm PKT), Brent oil futures jumped 9.1pc to $82.90 a barrel, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate also climbed by 9.1pc, to $77.87 a barrel.

The surge comes as the two countries clash over control of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for petroleum shipments.

US Central Command (Centcom) has said in a statement that the reinstated naval blockade of Iranian ports will follow the pattern as that imposed from April to June this year.

“At the Commander in Chief’s direction, US Central Command forces will resume blockading maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on July 14 at 4 pm ET (1am PKT on July 15),” it writes in a post on X.

Centcom says its forces will enforce the blockade against vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas, adding that the military “continues to support traffic flow through regional waters for all vessels not violating the blockade”.

“The resumption of the US blockade against Iran follows the initial implementation from April 13 to June 18,” Centcom adds.

“Centcom forces redirected more than 140 compliant vessels, disabled nine non-compliant ships, and allowed over 50 commercial vessels supporting humanitarian aid to pass through the blockade during the two-month period.”

All mariners have been advised to monitor Notice to Mariners broadcasts and contact US naval forces while operating in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz.

Additional information will be provided to commercial mariners through a formal notice, according to Centcom.

The US military will begin enforcing a maritime blockade on Iran on Tuesday, the US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Centre (JMIC) says, Reuters reports.

The blockade, covering all of Iran’s ports, oil terminals and coastal areas, will be enforced for all vessel traffic — regardless of flag — from 2000 GMT on July 14 (1am PKT on July 15), the centre says in an advisory.

“Any vessel suspected of entering or departing the blockaded area without authorisation is subject to interception, diversion, and capture. Non-compliant vessels may be legally compelled with force,” the statement adds.

The centre says neutral transit through the Strait of Hormuz heading to or from non-Iranian destinations will not be impeded.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says “Iran has always been the guardian of the Strait [of Hormuz] and will remain so forever,” in response to claims by US President Donald Trump that Washington would take control of the strategic waterway.

“POTUS (President of the United States) is absolutely right. Whoever provides secure and safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz should be compensated for this service,” Araghchi writes on X.

He adds, “20 per cent is of course too much. We will be fair.”

Oil prices have jumped more than 5 per cent after US President Donald Trump said the United States was reinstating a naval blockade on Iran, reigniting concerns over energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures are up $4.06, or 5.34pc, to $80.07 as of 1644 GMT (9:44pm PKT), while US West Texas Intermediate crude is up $3.74, or 5.24pc, to $75.15 a barrel.

An American citizen has been found guilty of violating US sanctions on Iran by a federal jury in Boston, Al Jazeera reports.

Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi was charged with conspiring to unlawfully export electronic components to Iran and was also accused by prosecutors of helping an Iranian business associate get around US export control laws two years ago.

The Massachusetts resident had worked at Analog Devices prior to his arrest in December 2024.

Prosecutors allege the scheme involved the creation of a front company in Switzerland. Sadeghi has been found guilty on three of the five charges.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has raised the alarm over US strikes on Iran as well as Tehran’s attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and its neighbours, AFP reports.

Guterres expresses “deep concern at the serious escalation of renewed military confrontation in the Gulf region, including Iranian attacks on ships on the Strait of Hormuz, attacks by the United States on the Islamic Republic of Iran, and attacks by Iran on targets in neighbouring countries”, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric says.

More details are awaited after US President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that Washington is reinstating a naval blockade on Iran and will be reimbursed 20 per cent on all cargo shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports citing the UN’s shipping agency.

“We are aware of the post and awaiting more details,” a spokesperson with the UN’s International Maritime Organisation says.

“We have always been consistent on our stance on fees. IMO stands firmly against charging fees for passage through straits used for international navigation. There is no legal basis through which to introduce mandatory tolls simply to transit through a strait.”

World oil prices have surged by more than 4 per cent as a fresh flare-up between the United States and Iran rattles investors, AFP reports.

Brent North Sea Crude is up 4.7pc at $79.56 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate is up 4.8pc at $74.80 a barrel, as of 1530 GMT (8:30pm PKT).

Israel’s attacks on Lebanon since March 2 have killed at least 4,324 people and wounded 12,221, Al Jazeera reports citing Lebanon’s health ministry.

Mohammed Mokhber, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, says Tehran will continue to fight for the Strait of Hormuz after the US president pledged to take full control of the crucial trade route, Al Jazeera reports.

“We defend it so that in the future, for the passage of our ships, we are not forced to pay tribute to the enemy,” he writes on X. “Retreating from this vital matter has no place in the mind of any friend of Iran.”

Israeli forces have blown up a number of houses on the outskirts of Baraachit, located in the Bint Jbeil district, Al Jazeera reports citing Lebanon’s National News Agency.

Intermittent Israeli shelling has been reported in multiple towns in Nabatieh governorate, including Nabatieh al-Fawqa, Kfar Tebnit and Kfar Shouba.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reports an Israeli shell landed in Kfar Shouba, a village in Nabatieh governorate in the country’s south, Al Jazeera reports.

Israel has kept up its attacks on Lebanon despite a “ceasefire” and ahead of Lebanon-Israel talks slated for Tuesday in Rome, Italy.

Since launching its invasion on March 2, Israeli forces have killed more than 4,300 people and wounded 12,200 others, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

United States Central Command (Centcom) says it struck a submarine and ship maintenance facility in Iran yesterday with one-way surface drones.

“Three Corsair unmanned surface vessels hit the port at Bandar Abbas Naval Base, marking the first time American forces have employed sea drones in combat operations,” Centcom says in a post on X. “Last night’s strikes degraded Iran’s ability to continue attacking commercial shipping.”

President Donald Trump has announced that the United States will be reinstating its naval blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz.

“The Hormuz Strait is open, and will remain open, with or without Iran,” he writes on Truth Social.

“We are reinstating the Iranian blockade, so named because it is only stopping Iran’s ships or customers from entering or leaving. All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait,” he adds.

Trump further says the US will be known as “the guardian of the Hormuz Strait” and that “as a matter of fairness, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20 per cent on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the world”.

“The process and formation will begin immediately,” he concludes.

Reconstruction is under way on tens of thousands of homes that sustained damage from US-Israeli attacks on Iran’s capital, Al Jazeera reports.

More than 95 per cent of the nearly 50,000 units with minor or moderate damage have received repairs, Tehran’s Disaster Prevention and Management Organisation tells the ISNA news agency.

Progress was also made on the roughly two-thirds of 2,135 units that require demolition, ISNA reports, with about 200 families staying in hotels and another 1,800 having received housing deposits.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has accused the United States of jeopardising global oil and gas supplies by interfering in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, as renewed hostilities flare, AFP reports.

IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi says Washington has “seriously endangered the security of the world’s oil and gas supply and must be held accountable”, adding in a post on X that Tehran “will continue to exercise sovereignty over and management of the Strait of Hormuz”.

Oil prices have surged more than 3 per cent after renewed military strikes between the United States and Iran reignite concerns over energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures are up $2.39, or 3.14pc, to $78.40 at 1321 GMT (6:21pm PKT), while US West Texas Intermediate crude is up $2.17, or 3.04pc, to $73.58 a barrel.

Both contracts rose more than 4pc earlier in the session.