War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun says while negotiation is “safer than war”, it will not “solve the problem in moments, and we have no other option”, Al Jazeera reports.

“Negotiations may be hindered or delayed in reaching the goal we want, but they are progressing,” he adds.

Iran ⁠should ⁠demonstrate “maximum flexibility” to seize the opportunity to ⁠reach an agreement with the US, ⁠Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in a phone call, Al Jazeera reports quoting the Japanese leader.

Speaking to reporters after the call, Takaichi says she also strongly demanded that the ⁠Strait of Hormuz be reopened soon to secure free and safe navigation ⁠for ships from Asia and ⁠all other ⁠nations.

She has not elaborated on Pezeshkian’s response, but notes ‌that the two leaders pledged to maintain closer communication.

US forces intercepted two Iranian ballistic missiles targeting American forces based in Kuwait late on Sunday, the US military says, adding that no American personnel were harmed, Reuters reports.

Oil prices have risen as renewed tensions in the Middle East heighten concerns over potential supply disruptions, Anadolu reports.

International benchmark Brent crude is trading at $93.89 per barrel at 0710 GMT, up around 2.9 per cent from the previous close of $91.12.

Meanwhile, the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate has increased about 3.4pc to $90.19 per barrel, compared with $87.3 in the previous session.

The gains came after the US and Iran exchanged attacks over the weekend, fueling fears that the conflict could spill over into key energy-producing and shipping regions.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy has said that a total of 15 ships, including four oil tankers, have passed the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours, according to Al Jazeera.

In a statement shared by Iran’s Fars news agency, the navy claimed the ships transited after receiving permission and coordinating with it.

The organisation warned that it would view any form of cooperation by vessels with “hostile forces” as an “imminent security threat” to be “dealt with accordingly”.

Israel has issued a forced evacuation order to residents of seven villages in southern Lebanon, including Houmine al-Faouqa, Bnaafoul, Arab Salim, Roumine, Aazze, Arki and Jbaa, Al Jazeera reports.

The army’s Arabic language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, says in a post on X that residents must immediately move at least 1,000 metres away from the affected area because Israel plans to attack.

The European Union has urged Israel to halt its military operation in Lebanon, after Israel seized the strategic Beaufort Castle and said it would resume strikes on southern Beirut, AFP reports.

“We call on Israel to stop its military escalation in Lebanon and to respect Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni says.

Shipping executives meeting in Athens have said that any peace deal worked out between the United States and Iran would need to offer clear rules allowing vessels to resume normal business via the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports.

Shipowners and maritime industry officials met at a Capital Link conference and other events to begin Posidonia, a week-long biennial shipping exhibition.

“Can somebody predict (the end of the conflict)? Unfortunately, no. It has been proven that there is no prediction, and things get messy in terms of conflicts very, very easily, and they get untangled very, very difficult,” Greece’s Shipping Minister Vasilis Kikilias said.

Iran’s FM Abbas Araghchi has termed the Lebanon strikes a violation of the US-Iran ceasefire, warning that the US and Israel were responsible for its “consequences”.

He wrote on X: “For immediate attention: The ceasefire between Iran and the US is unequivocally a ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon.

“Its violation on one front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts.”

Araghchi asserted that the US and Israel “are responsible for the consequences of any violation”.

Saudi Arabia has strongly condemned the “repeated and malicious Iranian attacks against the brotherly State of Kuwait”.

“The Kingdom reiterates its categorical rejection of these assaults, which violate Kuwait’s sovereignty and constitute a clear breach of international law and the Charter of the United Nations,” the foreign ministry said.

It stressed that “such violations undermine international efforts that aim to restore security and stability in the region”.

Saudi Arabia also affirmed its solidarity with Kuwait, its government and people, and renewed “its full support for all measures taken by Kuwait to safeguard its sovereignty, security, and stability, and the well-being of its people”.

Israel’s defence minister says there would be “no calm in Beirut” if Hezbollah attacks continue and vows to establish a military-controlled zone in the area of south Lebanon’s Litani River, AFP reports.

“The Dahiyeh in Beirut is no different from the communities in northern Israel — if there is no calm in the north, there will be no calm in Beirut,” Israel Katz said in a statement released by his office.

“At the same time, the IDF continues to operate with fire and manoeuvre against Hezbollah terrorists and infrastructure in Lebanon… in order to push threats away from IDF forces and from the residents of the State of Israel, and to turn the Litani area into a zone under IDF security control, free of weapons and terrorists,” Katz added.

Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf says that the continued aggression in Lebanon by Israel and the US naval blockade is “clear evidence” that the US is not complying with the ceasefire.

In a post on X, he said, “The naval blockade and escalation of war crimes in Lebanon by the genocidal Zionist regime are clear evidence of US noncompliance with the ceasefire”.

“Every choice has a price, and the bill comes due. It will all fall into place,” he wrote.

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar says Pakistan will continue to work towards finding a “comprehensive and lasting solution” to the US-Iran conflict.

Addressing a joint press conference with the EU’s Kaja Kallas, Dar expressed appreciation for the EU’s “appreciation and support” to Pakistan’s efforts in the US-Iran conflict.

“We are humbled by the recognition of our efforts and will continue to work towards finding a comprehensive and lasting solution to the conflict,” Dar told Kallas.

French President Emmanuel Macron says he spoke to US President Donald Trump last night about the Middle East situation.

“I commended the determined efforts he is leading to quickly reach an agreement between the United States and Iran, which represents a unique opportunity to build a new security framework involving all concerned parties, in order to enable a lasting stabilisation of the region,” Macron wrote on X.

He said France was “ready to fully support these efforts and to take our full part in their implementation”.

Macron added: “This is the purpose of the international mission that we have built with the British and our partners, ready to be deployed as soon as an agreement is concluded in order to contribute to securing maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

“We are also prepared to bring our expertise and capabilities to the broader negotiations that must open, particularly on the nuclear aspect of an agreement.”

He also commended Trump’s “commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon, and emphasised the importance of a robust ceasefire and our collective support for the Lebanese authorities”.

India’s top carmaker Maruti Suzuki said that bookings for its vehicles that run on compressed natural gas have risen about 40 per cent since the country raised fuel prices, Reuters reports.

State-owned fuel retailers in India increased diesel and petrol prices at least four times in May to recoup some losses driven by higher crude costs due to the Iran war.

Addressing a press conference, the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said that she and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar exchanged views on pressing global developments, including those in the Middle East, during their meeting.

“With your support, there is now a tenuous diplomatic opening to extend the ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz,” she said of Pakistan’s mediation efforts.

She added, however, that any temporary understanding between the US and Iran must be followed by deeper talks about Tehran’s nuclear stockpile and other issues. She expressed that the EU was “ready to contribute to a sustainable and peaceful solution”, bringing “economic leverage, hard-won nuclear expertise, longstanding relationships with partners across the Gulf and direct engagement with Iran itself”.

“I see a great role for the EU in helping to make any eventual agreement durable,” she added.

Supertanker Agios Fanourios I, carrying nearly two million barrels of Iraqi crude oil, has arrived at the port of Vietnam’s largest refinery, Vietnam’s state energy firm said, according to Reuters.

The cargo of Basrah Medium, which earlier passed the Strait of Hormuz, is for the operations of Nghi Son Refinery, Petrovietnam said in a statement

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi says Iran and Oman are the only two countries that have a right to “exercise sovereignty” in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Al Jazeera.

In comments carried by Iran’s IRIB broadcaster, Gharibabadi said Iran has implemented a new process for “controlling traffic and navigation” in the waterway but arrangements are coordinated with Oman.

Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry has expressed its “strong condemnation and denunciation of the continued escalation” by Israeli forces in Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports.

The ministry affirmed Kuwait’s “steadfast and supportive stance toward Lebanon’s unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, calling for an immediate halt to this escalation, the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from all Lebanese territories, and full compliance with the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701 and all other relevant international resolutions,” it said in a statement, adding that the international community and the UNSC must “fulfil their responsibilities in stopping these violations”.

The statement comes shortly after Kuwait reported “hostile” missile and drone attacks as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched a retaliatory strike on a base it claimed was used for an attack on its Sirik Island.

The Lebanese group says its fighters targeted infrastructure belonging to the Israeli army in the northern Israeli city of Tiberias this morning, Al Jazeera reports.

In a statement, the group said the missile attack came in defence of Lebanon and in response to Israel’s violation of the ceasefire.

EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas has commended Deputy PM and FM Dar on “facilitating the talks between the US and Iran”.

“It is a conflict that is having an impact on everybody and the world when it comes to the energy prices, prices of fertilisers, and so this is really what we need to see — the ceasefire really holding and the talks continuing,” she said in her remarks before a strategic dialogue with Pakistan.

She added: “We have this contested geopolitical environment, rising tensions everywhere and real risk of escalation and like we were discussing, we also share the priorities when it comes to the rules-based international order that we need to develop further.

“We are working towards global and regional stability, which is in both of our interests. We also promote free and fair trade and investment, and advance sustainable connectivity.”

An Israeli drone strike has directly hit a car on a highway near the Lebanese municipality of Zefta, killing its driver and injuring another person, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA).