War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Yemen’s Houthis have advanced to about 60 kilometres away from Aden city, the interim seat of the internationally recognised government, military and government sources have told AFP.

Four military sources within government forces and two government sources told AFP the Houthis seized control of the Al-Maqatirah and Al-Madaribah districts and were advancing towards Aden, adding that they were now positioned at the Al-Kharaz camp in Al-Madaribah, 60km from the city.

Yemen’s Houthis say they have targeted the King Khalid International Airport and a financial centre in the Saudi capital Riyadh with two ballistic missiles, Reuters reports.

There was no immediate Saudi confirmation.

Iraqi President Nizar al-Amidi has described regional stability as a vital priority requiring coordinated efforts and unified stances among the peoples of the region, his office says, according to IRNA.

In a meeting with Iran’s Ambassador to Iraq, Mohammad Kazem Al-e Sadeq, the Iraq president stressed the importance of containing crises and tensions to prevent their escalation and their impact on the security of regional countries.

The presidency’s media office said al-Amidi received the Iranian ambassador on Sunday.

According to the statement, the Iraqi president underscored the importance of strengthening bilateral relations and expanding cooperation to serve mutual interests, as well as maintaining communication on regional developments.

For his part, Iran’s ambassador to Iraq, praising the strong relations uniting the two countries, said Tehran is keen on continuing to strengthen cooperation with Iraq in various fields.

Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki has announced the “interception and destruction of a drone in the Madina area”, AFP reports.

The coalition has repeatedly said drones and missiles have targeted the holy cities of Makkah and Madina — claims the Houthis have sharply denied.

The Jordanian army has said its naval forces arrested an Israeli citizen who trespassed into the kingdom’s territorial waters the day before, AFP reports.

“The Royal Navy Command arrested yesterday an Israeli who had infiltrated Jordanian territorial waters by sea,” an army statement said.

“The naval force observed a person attempting to infiltrate from the Israeli side towards (Jordan’s) territorial waters,” it said.

“Forces were immediately dispatched to the location, where the intruder was apprehended and handed over to the relevant authorities,” it added without providing further detail on the incident or its location, likely to be the Gulf of Aqaba in the kingdom’s south.

The Israeli military meanwhile said it received a report “of an Israeli civilian who crossed by sea from Israeli territory into Jordanian waters”.

“The civilian was detained by Jordanian security forces. Since then, Israeli security authorities have been working through the relevant channels to ensure his safe return,” it added.

Infiltrations are rare between Jordan and Israel, which have been linked by a peace treaty since 1994.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has held talks with Afghanistan’s Finance Minister Mullah Muhammad Nasir Akhund, who is in Tehran to hold talks with Iranian officials, IRNA reports.

Araghchi hosted Akhund at the foreign ministry, with the two officials exchanging views on key bilateral issues between the two neighbouring countries, as well as the current regional and international developments.

Earlier, the visiting Afghan minister met with Iranian Agriculture Minister Gholamreza Nouri Ghezeljeh and discussed bilateral economic relations, including the preparations for the next Afghanistan-Iran Joint Economic Cooperation Commission meeting, IRNA added.

Border trade, customs operations, the acceleration of cross-border movement, increasing trade volume, and the import and export of goods were other topics addressed during Akhund’s meeting with Ghezeljeh.

Houthis have killed eight people in a missile attack near Aden, sources tell AFP, as government forces retreated from fighting near the Red Sea to defend the interim capital.

The Houthi missile attack killed eight and wounded 12 others at a checkpoint in neighbouring Lahj province, according to military and government sources, who requested anonymity.

The military said in a statement it was redeploying troops from the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait area to reinforce forces “where current circumstances require”, with securing Aden and nearby provinces taking priority.

Iran has formally submitted reports to international bodies documenting attacks on its water supply facilities and damage to over 410 points across the country’s drinking water network, the head of the National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company says according to state-run IRNA.

Hashem Amini said the attacks during the 12-day and 40-day wars violated international conventions, humanitarian law and principles of humanity, which prohibit attacks on facilities essential to civilian water supplies.

“Following the damage inflicted on our facilities, we registered, documented and notified all cases to international authorities for follow-up,” Amini told reporters.

Five people were killed and eight others wounded in a missile attack by Yemen’s Houthis near Aden, the government’s interim capital, AFP reports, citing four unnamed sources.

Three military sources and a government source, all requesting anonymity, confirmed the toll in the attack on a checkpoint in Khor Omeira, Lahj province, according to the report.

Yemen’s Houthis have released 600 members of government forces held since hostilities resumed in July, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said, according to AFP.

In Sanaa, the chairman of the commission in charge of prisoner affairs, Abdelkader al-Mourtada, called it “the largest unilateral prisoner release and pardon operation in the history of the conflict”.

“Six hundred people detained in connection with the conflict in Yemen were unilaterally released today by authorities in Sanaa,” said the ICRC statement.

Its teams had spoken to each of the detainees, notably to assess their health, it added, without elaborating.

Two oil tankers have struck naval mines while crossing the blockaded southern route of the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reports, citing Iran’s ISNA news agency.

IRGC said in a statement that two oil tankers travelling in the southern no-go zone of the Strait of Hormuz suffered a massive explosion after hitting sea mines. The tankers were reportedly set ablaze after the blast.

ISNA said one of the vessels was a supertanker carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil, which sank in the southern waters of the Gulf.

IRGC advised fishermen in the area to take safety precautions to avoid collision with the wreckage.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman has rejected Germany’s demand that Iran halt uranium enrichment saying it has a right to do so as a member of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, according to a report by Al Jazeera.

“Iran’s right to enrichment is not something Germany, France or others have granted us,” Esmail Baghaei said.

He also criticised, per the report, the UN nuclear watchdog — the International Atomic Energy Agency — for what he described as “nontechnical speculation” about a possible new uranium enrichment facility in the central Iranian city of Isfahan.

Baghaei said the UN agency lost access to Iran’s nuclear facilities during the war with the US and Israel, but claimed Iran has not suspended its safeguards obligations.

Most Gulf bourses closed lower, with traders weighing the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz alongside Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, Reuters reports.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index dropped 0.7 per cent, with the country’s biggest lender by assets Saudi National Bank losing 2.3pc.

In Qatar, the index retreated 1.8pc, as all its constituents were in negative territory including the Gulf’s biggest lender Qatar National Bank, which was down 2.3pc.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) says it is aware of a report from Indian shipping authorities of an attack on an energy tanker that was travelling eastbound through the Gulf before entering the Strait of Hormuz.

UKMTO said all crew members are “accounted for and safe”, while the extent of the damage and any environmental impact remains unknown. It did not specify the date of the attack.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will travel to Muscat on Tuesday for talks with his Omani counterpart, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported, citing foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baqaei.

The foreign ministry of Saudi Arabia has condemned and denounced “in the strongest terms” the Iranian aerial attacks on Bahrain and affirmed its full solidarity with the kingdom “in all measures it takes to protect its security and stability”.

“The Iranian attacks constitute a violation of international law and the principles of good neighbourliness,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on social media.

It stressed the need for an immediate halt to Iran’s attacks on countries in the region and for “taking serious steps” toward regional security and stability.

Iran’s Ambassador in Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam underscores Iran’s “steadfastness against American bullying and economic terrorism”, saying that if the US implements and accepts Iran’s terms, “we are ready to sit down and negotiate with them”, state-run IRNA reports.

Speaking in an interview with AsiaOne, Moghadam said, “Even though they (the US) imposed two senseless wars on us, we never walked away from the negotiating table. It was the US and Trump who pulled out of the 2015 JCPOA deal.”

He adds that Tehran asks for an end to the war, the release of its blocked funds, and an end to the naval blockade.

Commenting on the Makkah pact, the envoy said, “It has to be clear what the goal behind the agreement is. They’re definitely reviewing it in Iran right now. And if this is meant for security within the region to keep outsiders from meddling in our country — meaning we block Israeli influence, we block American influence — that’s a very good thing.”

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei has said the US made the international community “deeply distrustful” of its diplomatic claims, Press TV reports.

“Washington used diplomatic talks twice in less than nine months to mask its hostile actions,” he said, adding that US officials were neglecting their people while following Israeli policies.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei has warned that countries aiding the US in aggression against Iran have “no legal grounds to demand compensation,” Press TV reports.

“Countries that provided territory and airspace for attacks on Iran must pay compensation,” Baqaei said.

Yemeni forces say they are withdrawing from an area overlooking the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, leaving the Houthis in control, Reuters reports.

The government’s retreat ​from the Bab al-Mandab area hands the Houthis greater leverage over the maritime chokepoint, creating ‌a potent pressure point on global shipping.

The southern Yemeni forces say they are ⁠redeploying toward Aden, where the government is based, as the Houthis — who control much of the north, ​including the capital Sanaa and Yemen’s most populous areas — increase pressure on the southern areas still under government control.

“The Southern ​Armed Forces announce the implementation of a redeployment operation for its forces from Dhubab Airport and the Bab al-Mandab area, west of Taiz Governorate,” the southern forces have said in a statement.

“This step is taken based on the priority of securing the ​capital, Aden, and the neighbouring governorates, as well as strengthening the front lines and addressing existing threats.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has spoken to Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in a telephone conversation about regional issues and peace and stability in the region, Foreign Office (FO) says.

They have “exchanged views on regional and international developments”, discussing the upcoming R4 and R4+E4 meetings in Europe.

“Both ministers underscored the importance of strengthening coordination on regional issues and advancing efforts for peace and stability,” FO says.

“Both ministers agreed to maintain close contact and continue consultations on matters of mutual interest,” it adds.

Bahrain intercepted and destroyed several Iranian aerial attacks, while Tehran said it had struck a US military base in the Gulf kingdom amid uncertainty over a deal to end the US-Israeli war on Iran, Reuters reports.

The first such interceptions by Bahraini air defences since September followed two warnings of potential threats, urging residents to seek shelter.

Iran’s IRGC said it had attacked a US military base in Bahrain in retaliation for “hostile US actions”, Iran’s Fars news agency reported.

The Bahraini military said its air defences had intercepted several Iranian aerial attacks before they reached their targets, accusing Tehran of continuing its “systematic hostile approach” towards the kingdom.

The Revolutionary Guards said they had launched six drones targeting US air defence radar at the Al-Rifaa helicopter base in Bahrain, Iranian state-run Press TV reported. There was no immediate confirmation from US or Bahraini authorities.

Aside from the ongoing conflict with Washington, Tehran’s biggest challenge is the “field of production and the livelihood of the people”, Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf says, Al Jazeera reports.

“Inflation, unemployment and price fluctuations are not issues that can be solved with a speech or a circular,” Ghalibaf says in comments reported by the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

The government has a duty to protect “the people who have resisted one of the greatest wars in history for more than eight months”, he has added.

Iran has dealt with rising inflation and investment losses for years, a situation that has been worsened by major hits to its oil and gas sector during the US-Israel war.

Recent government data show gross domestic product shrank by 10.1 percent year-on-year from March 21 to June 20, the first quarter of the Persian calendar.