War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Israeli artillery shelling on the forests and high ground of Ali al-Taher on the outskirts of Nabatieh al Fawqa has continued intermittently from midnight till morning, Al Jazeera reports, citing NNA.

NNA added that the shelling also affected the area between Kfar Reman and the hill of al-Dabsha overlooking Nabatieh.

Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has said the foreign forces must leave the Middle East.

In a series of posts on X — made in Persian, Arabic, English and Turkish — Velayati said, “Recent developments reflect the resilience of the armed forces, the steadfastness of Iranians, and the courage of the Resistance Axis.

“The US and Zionist regime’s defeat reinforced the belief that foreign forces — the main cause of insecurity — must leave the region,” he added.

The official also emphasised that “growing cooperation among regional states can secure its security”.

Iranian Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Abbas Saleh Shariati has described journalism as a noble profession that assumes a deeper cultural and social mission during times of crisis, in a message marking National Reporter’s Day, according to IRNA.

He said Iran had experienced major events and difficult challenges, adding that the country’s media faced the important task of conveying Iran’s perspective to the world amid a war waged by the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic.

According to the minister, Iranian media professionals performed strongly during the difficult period through responsible reporting, timely coverage and careful analysis, helping their accounts of the conflict gain greater attention among audiences and observers.

The signing of a mutual defence pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan is “one of the more important developments of this war”, a former US ambassador has told CNN, saying it signals a loss of faith in US security guarantees in the region.

Speaking to CNN’s Elex Michaelson, Christopher Hill pointed out that all three signatories are US allies.

“They all believe that the US is just not going to be there for them and it’s time to step up some regional efforts,” said Hill, a former assistant secretary of state and five-time US ambassador, most recently serving as Washington’s envoy to Serbia.

And the pact sheds light on the “degree to which the rest of the world is getting worried about how the US manages its interests and its issues”, he added.

“You do not see any fingerprints from the US on this,” Hill said.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says the death toll from the latest Israeli aggression against the country has risen to 4,335, IRNA reports.

According to a statement by the ministry, carried by Lebanon’s Al Manar news network, at least 4,335 people have been killed since the Israeli aggression began on March 2, 2026.

The statement put the number of injured at 12,273.

Yemen’s army announced that it launched a military operation at Houthi targets and military equipment, Anadolu reports.

Army spokesman Col. Majid al-Nuzaili said in a statement that the operation was carried out in response to Houthi attacks on military camps in the provinces of Marib and Hadhramaut.

Nuzaili said the operation targeting Houthi elements and military equipment was carried out along contact lines on multiple fronts and axes.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has said that foreign media outlets’ acknowledgment of US President Donald Trump’s failure in the war against Iran is the result of the efforts of Iranian revolutionary media outlets to counter the enemy’s disinformation campaign. Press TV reports.

In a statement issued on the occasion of Iran’s National Journalists’ Day, the IRGC praised journalists for their role in informing the public and maintaining hope, awareness and truthfulness during challenging circumstances.

“Today, the region and the world are witnessing one of the most complex and consequential battles in contemporary history,” the statement said, referring to the second and third wars waged by the United States and Israel against Iran.

A group of US Senators have introduced a resolution to put an end to Washington’s war on Tehran, saying American lives have been lost in the military’s campaign, Al Jazeera reports.

“We just introduced a resolution to put a stop to President Trump’s illegal war with Iran,” US Senator John Hickenlooper wrote on X.

Several passenger aircraft have reportedly been unable to land at Jeddah International Airport in Saudi Arabia, with Arab media reporting that the cause of the landing disruption remains unclear, according to Press Tv.

The Israeli army launched an attack using a chemical bomb in Mansouri, southern Lebanon, according to the state-run National News Agency.

HRW says Israel has used white phosphorus in at least 18 villages since October 2023, causing asphyxiation and forcing thousands of residents to flee.

“The Israeli military’s unlawful use of white phosphorus over residential areas is extremely alarming and will have dire consequences for civilians,” said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, in March 2026. “The incendiary effects of white phosphorus can cause death or cruel injuries that result in lifelong suffering”.

The UN Security Council condemns missile attacks launched by Yemen’s Houthi group against Saudi Arabia and commercial vessels, and denounces unauthorised aircraft landings at Yemeni airports, Anadolu reports.

Over the last few weeks, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Dan Caine has privately made clear to other top Trump advisers that the US needs to find an off-ramp from the war with Iran, CNN reports.

According to the publication, the military options on the table to escalate the conflict could backfire and airpower alone is unlikely to achieve US President Donald Trump’s stated objectives, three sources familiar with the matter said.

President Masoud Pezeshkian asserts that Iran will not accept pressure aimed at forcing the country into submission, stressing that the Islamic Republic would continue to defend what it regards as its rights and maintain its military and defensive capabilities, Press TV reports.

“If they seek to force us into submission, we will fight. We will not back down, nor will we bow our heads. When we are capable of securing our rights, why should we travel down a path that is desired by Israel?” the chief executive said in the third and final part of a televised broadcast aired on Friday, marking the second anniversary of his inauguration.

A US official has reported progress between Iran and Oman that could soon reopen the Strait of Hormuz, potentially restoring oil exports that have been disrupted by the five-month-old war with Iran, Reuters reports.

The US official, who declined to be identified, said Washington soon anticipated an agreement between the two countries, which sit on either side of the strait, so that normal oil traffic could resume.

The United Arab Emirates has condemned the attack launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on the Najran region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, according to a statement posted by the foreign ministry on X.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed that these attacks constitute a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — a brotherly nation — and a threat to its security and stability,” the statement reads.

“The Ministry reiterated the UAE’s full solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its support for all measures taken to safeguard its security and stability.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that his country’s armed forces have “shown their readiness, capability, and might in [the] face of the world’s most expensive military” fielded by the US.

“When Muslims stand together, we can face every challenge by malicious outsiders head-on,” he writes on X. “Time to rely only on ourselves and embrace true brotherhood.”

First used in the 1991 Gulf War, the US Patriot air defence system has seen demand spike sharply this year, with supplies of interceptor missiles depleted by Ukraine’s war against the Russian invasion and the widening war in the Middle East.

Patriot, short for Phased Array Tracking Radar for Intercept on Target, is a mobile surface-to-air missile defence system built by US weapons maker Raytheon Technologies that can be used in all kinds of weather and at long range.

A typical battery includes radar and control systems, a power unit, launchers, and support vehicles. The system can intercept aircraft, tactical ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, depending on the interceptor used.

Specific inventory numbers are classified, but CSIS estimates that about 65 per cent of US Patriot interceptors were expended between February and July, with less than 850 left on hand, down from 2,330 before the Iran war began.

Read more here.

The US has imposed new sanctions targeting companies, exchange houses and financial facilitators it claims helped Iran secretly move hundreds of millions of dollars through the international financial system, Anadolu reports.

“Teapot refinery purchases of Iranian oil provide the primary economic lifeline for the Iranian regime, the world’s leading state sponsor of terror,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says in a statement.

In a separate statement, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott says the measures are intended to “cut the financial lifelines that sustain Iran’s ruling elite”.

“Through these networks, Tehran accessed oil revenue and evaded sanctions designed to curb its destabilising activities, laundering funds using front companies,” Pigott alleges.​​​​​​​

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) says three of its vessels have come under attack this week, with 15 having come under attack since the US-Israeli war against Iran broke out, according to Al Jazeera.

The company says in a media release that the attacks killed one crew member and injured 20, and that it is taking “all necessary measures to protect our people, assets and operations”.

“Freedom of navigation and the safe, uninterrupted passage of commercial shipping through international waterways must be respected and protected,” says ADNOC.

Naval forces of Yemen’s internationally recognised government claim they thwarted an attempt to target an oil tanker in the Red Sea with an explosive-laden boat, Al Jazeera reports.

Military-linked media reports that naval patrols spotted the boat — which it linked to the Houthi rebels — in waters near the Mocha power plant and “took the necessary measures”, detonating it before it could reach a target.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi says he discussed the situation in the Middle East during a phone call with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a post on the former’s X account.

Anadolu reports that the belligerents in the Iran War have expanded their targets from conventional military targets to steel mills, petrochemical complexes, transport networks, power plants and digital infrastructure.

For military planners, attacking critical infrastructure can weaken an opponent’s ability to sustain a war. For civilians, it can disrupt electricity, water, transportation, communications and economic activity.

The shift reflects a broader trend in modern warfare, where infrastructure that supports a country’s economy and security is increasingly viewed as strategically important.​​​​​​​

The conflict, which began on February 28, initially focused mainly on military-related targets.

US and Israeli operations focused on nuclear facilities, missile sites, Revolutionary Guard installations, radar systems and command centres, while Iran’s response was towards Israeli military positions and US bases across the region.

By late March, the scope of US-Israeli strikes had expanded to include infrastructure linked to Iran’s industrial and energy sectors, including Mobarakeh Steel Company in Isfahan, Khuzestan Steel Company in Ahvaz and petrochemical facilities in Tabriz, Mahshahr, Bandar Imam, Asaluyeh and Shiraz. Strikes also hit railways, highways and bridges.

Read more here.