War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for Iranians to “fight the enemy and stand firm against them so that we do not submit to injustice and oppression”, Al Jazeera reports.

“In the same way, we cannot oppress our citizens or commit injustice against them,” the IRNA news service quotes him as saying.

Pezeshkian added Iran has proven it is a “unique model of resistance”.

Four Iranian Revolutionary Guard military advisers were killed in overnight US-Saudi strikes on Iraq, Reuters reports citing Iran’s Hamshahri newspaper.

Iranian authorities have yet to confirm the losses.

Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir has had a meeting with Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, where the pair discussed matters of mutual interest and regional security, according to the military’s media wing.

Inter-Services Public Relations says in a statement that Sheikh Jarrah expressed appreciation for Pakistan’s steadfast support and constructive contribution toward regional peace and stability.

“Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to Kuwait, emphasising that both countries share a common vision for regional peace and prosperity,” the statement reads.

Iraq has vowed to defend its sovereignty and prevent its territory from being used against neighbouring countries following deadly US-Saudi strikes on the country, AFP reports.

The Ministerial Council for National Security says it “decided to adopt a comprehensive security plan to strengthen control across the country, confront any violation of Iraq’s sovereignty, and prevent any source from using Iraqi territory to threaten neighbouring states”.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and his Kuwaiti counterpart, Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, have exchanged views on “recent regional and international developments and reaffirmed their commitment to close coordination and cooperation at multilateral forums, including the United Nations”, according to the Foreign Office.

Iraq’s National Security Council has instructed the foreign ministry to pursue legal action against the United States and Saudi Arabia over joint strikes conducted on Iraqi territory overnight, the prime minister’s office says in a statement.

“The council directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to act in accordance with international law and the United Nations Charter to document the situation and affirm Iraq’s legitimate rights,” the statement, posted on X, reads.

“The meeting affirmed the government’s firm and rejecting stance toward all hostile acts, regardless of the executing party or the justifications relied upon, emphasising that dealing with and confronting such aggressions is an exclusive responsibility of the Iraqi government and the constitutional state institutions, and none other.”

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah has called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as part of his visit to Pakistan, according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

“While exchanging views on the regional situation, the prime minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s full solidarity with the leadership and people of Kuwait and strongly condemned the attacks on Kuwait and other brotherly Gulf countries during the ongoing conflict,” the PMO says in a statement posted on X.

It adds that PM Shehbaz reaffirmed Pakistan was playing the role of an an honest and sincere mediator in the regional peace efforts and has thanked the Kuwaiti leadership for its support.

Harakat al-Nujaba, an armed group within the Popular Mobilisation Forces, has condemned US-Saudi attacks across “safe Iraqi cities”, warning that those killed would be avenged, Al Jazeera reports.

In a statement, it demands the expulsion of US forces from the country, saying their continued presence “has become an imminent threat to the country’s security and stability”.

It also calls for an end to cooperation with Saudi Arabia and for the deployment of advanced air defence systems and threatened retaliatory attacks against US and Saudi interests.

The top US commander in the Middle East has warned troops that cellphone videos shared online can help Iran target American bases, and sources tell Reuters some deployed personnel could soon be ordered to surrender their phones.

Any crackdown on mobile communications would add a new dimension to the conflict for the thousands of US troops in the region, many of whom still rely on phones to periodically message loved ones and assure them they are well.

US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper, in a previously unreported letter, said Iran was benefiting from being able to see the success or failure of its strikes in near real-time by searching news reports or online posts by journalists referencing “reactions, photos, and footage from the cellphones of our troops”.

“The direct, unavoidable cost of this open-source intelligence could be measured in the lives of American service members and civilian residents in targeted Gulf countries,” Cooper wrote in his July 28 letter, a copy of which has been obtained by Reuters.

He calls on troops to “redouble our focus on operational security,” without prescribing specific steps in the memo.

Read more here.

Armed forces from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are taking part in a joint military exercise in Bahrain, Al Jazeera reports citing the country’s military.

Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Dhiab bin Saqr al-Nuaimi says the “Bahrain Shield” exercise running from July 28-30 aims to raise combat readiness, improve operational planning and strengthen coordination among Gulf forces.

He adds that the participation of GCC armed forces “embodies the features of a robust joint Gulf military force capable of confronting various challenges”.

The drills, he notes, are “a solid strategic foundation for military solidarity and a firm pillar for standing united against any treacherous attacks”.

Al-Nuaimi says recent violence in the region has reinforced the need for joint defence.

“The treacherous attacks witnessed in the region dictate that we develop joint military defence cooperation,” he adds.

US President Donald Trump, in an interview with Fox News, says overnight air strikes carried out by US and Saudi forces against Iran-aligned militias in Iraq were conducted in coordination with the Iraqi government, Al Jazeera reports.

He describes the militias as “a cancer on the world” and that his administration is weighing additional actions aimed at these groups.

President Donald Trump has vowed to hit Iran hard after the US military said it had intercepted multiple ballistic missiles launched by Iran towards American forces in the Middle East, Reuters reports citing an interview with Fox News.

The phone interview was not broadcast, but a Fox reporter summarized Trump’s response.

Qatar has strongly condemned attacks that aimed to target oil facilities in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Region with drones launched from Iraqi territory, considering them “a blatant violation of Saudi sovereignty and a threat to its security, stability, and the safety of its lands”, as well as a flagrant breach of international law.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirms the State of Qatar’s full solidarity with the sister Arab Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and its support for all legitimate measures it takes to preserve its sovereignty, security, and the safety of its lands,” the foreign ministry says in a statement posted on X.

A minister in Yemen’s internationally recognised government has accused Houthi rebels of working under Iranian guidance to establish a system to impose fees for ships transiting the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, AFP reports.

Information minister Moammar al-Eryani describes “the move as a dangerous escalation aimed at transforming one of the world’s most strategic maritime corridors into a permanent source of funding for the militia’s military and terrorist activities”.

Eryani says the assessment has been provided by recently obtained “confirmed intelligence” allegedly indicating that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are helping manage the effort.

“The intelligence indicates that IRGC experts and advisers are directly involved in designing the technical and administrative framework of the project,” the minister adds in comments exclusive to AFP.

He notes that this includes “the establishment of a dedicated entity responsible for collecting payments from shipping companies and commercial vessels”.

The Iraqi presidency has condemned US-Saudi strikes that targeted the Popular Mobilization Forces, an armed Iraqi alliance that includes powerful pro-Iran factions, AFP reports.

The presidency, which has not named the United States and Saudi Arabia, says it “denounces the bombing that targeted the Hashed al-Shaabi bases and it considers it an unacceptable attack and a blatant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty, targeting its official institutions”.

It also rejects the use of Iraqi territory to launch attacks on neighbouring countries.

An Iranian military official has denied Tehran’s involvement in projectiles launched from Iraq toward Saudi Arabia, rejecting accusations that Iran was behind recent attacks on the kingdom, according to Anadolu.

Responding to a statement by the Saudi defense minister, the official tells Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB that attributing attacks against US interests in the region to Tehran is “a grave mistake stemming from ignorance of the situation in the region”.

The official also “strongly denied any connection between projectiles fired from other countries toward targets in Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran”.

The Israeli military has accused Hezbollah of a “blatant violation of the ceasefire”, alleging that the group fired a drone at an Israeli vehicle overnight in southern Lebanon, AFP reports.

“Overnight (Wednesday), Hezbollah launched an explosive drone toward an IDF (Israeli military) engineering vehicle in the area of Ali al-Taher Ridge within the Security Zone,” the military claims in a statement, adding that the incident “constitutes a blatant violation of the ceasefire” and that no injuries have been reported among Israeli soldiers.

Oil prices have jumped five per cent, rebounding in volatile trading after fresh strikes in the Middle East reignited fears of crude supply disruptions, AFP reports.

International benchmark Brent North Sea crude has gained 5.3pc to $88.57 a barrel, while the main US oil contract WTI has advanced 5pc to $83.25 a barrel.

Iran’s foreign ministry has condemned US-Saudi strikes in Iraq, saying such attacks are part of US-Israeli attempts to expand the war in the region, AFP reports.

“These attacks … are in line with the aspirations of the United States and the Zionist regime to expand the scope of war and conflict in the West Asian region,” the ministry says in a statement, calling them a “gross violation” of the UN Charter and international law.

Iraq’s former prime minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has condemned the Saudi-US strikes on Hashd al-Shaabi, calling them a “blatant violation of Iraqi sovereignty”, according to Press TV.

He warned that Iraq would “not stay silent” on attacks against its security.

Iranian state television says the United States has struck a city in the country’s northwest on the border with Iraq, according to AFP.

“A few minutes ago, an area in the Piranshahr border area was attacked by American enemy airstrikes,” state television reported, after Fars news agency quoted an official in West Azerbaijan province as saying a missile hit an uninhabited area, leaving no casualties.

Influential Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has called on Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and armed militias on to refrain from attacks involving Iraqi territory, warning against dragging the country into another war, Al Jazeera reports.

In a statement on X, Sadr said Iraq had not been used as a launching pad for attacks on Iran and that the Revolutionary Guards should therefore keep away from Iraqi soil. He added that “rogue militias must not give our brothers in the Gulf states a pretext to target our sacred land”.

He urged all sides not to “be drawn into the schemes of the Zionist-American enemy to incite brothers to fight and kill one another”.

Sadr condemned violations of Iraq’s sovereignty and what he called attempts by militias to “drag Iraq into a pointless war”. He called on the government to establish security and enforce state authority, and cautioned against “dormant terrorist cells” that could exploit sectarianism to destabilise Iraq.

New strikes in the Middle East overnight lifted Brent crude futures by 3.29 per cent to $86.86 a barrel, putting them on track to ‌snap a three-day losing streak, according to Al Jazeera.

Investors ⁠are contending with uncertainty in the Middle East, where diplomatic efforts to end ⁠the US-Israeli war on Iran have proceeded in fits and starts and durable peace remains elusive.

“That sort of rapid flipping and flopping has made the signal and the noise a lot harder to separate,” said Edward Acton, rates strategist at GMO.

“Oil volatility, not just the level, can be inflationary if some prices go up with oil but are reluctant to come back down,” BofA Securities strategists wrote in a note.

An Iraqi government source says the Iraqi prime minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia has been postponed, Al Jazeera reports.

Al-Zaidi was expected to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Thursday for an official visit to sign memoranda of understanding across several sectors, as well as discuss security coordination and regional developments.