Rubio warns of 'chaos' from Hormuz tolls as Oman opposes fees

The New Arab's live blog has now ended, and will resume tomorrow at 0900am.

Thank you for following.

An Iran-linked hacker wanted in the US for causing billions of dollars of damage has been arrested in Montenegro, police said on Thursday.

The Montenegro police worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigations to catch 39-year-old A.B., who has Iranian and Turkish nationality, in the coastal town of Kotor.

It said the suspect, identified as only A.B., was wanted for cyber and organised crime, fraud, hacking and identity theft.

"Since 2013 as an associate of a legal entity from Iran, he committed massive hacking attacks on US infrastructure, including 150 universities, causing damage estimated to over $3.4 billion US dollars," police said in a statement.

The stolen data as well as the compromised university profiles were used for the "benefit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other Iranian beneficiaries, including universities based in Iran", the statement added.

The suspect will appear in a court in the capital Podgorica for proceedings linked to his extradition to the United States.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday Canada should reopen its embassies in Iran and Venezuela that his predecessors closed.

Carney argued the lack of a diplomatic presence hampers Ottawa’s ability to help Canadians abroad and respond to humanitarian crises despite deep disagreements with the two governments.

"Engagement is not endorsement," Carney said. "Having an embassy, having consular services in a country, does not mean we endorse the policies of that country."

Carney said not having a diplomatic presence creates challenges, citing Venezuela where Canada could be providing more immediate earthquake assistance..

He stressed a decision has not been made but said it needs to change.

"Moving towards that, in my judgement, a decision to be made, is what we need to do," Carney said of reopening the embassies.

Former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper shut Canada’s embassy in Tehran in 2012, severing diplomatic relations and ordering Iranian diplomats to leave, accusing the Islamic Republic of being the most significant threat to world peace.

Canada suspended operations at its embassy in Venezuela in 2019, saying the regime of then Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro regime would not renew visas for its diplomats.

"There are series of countries with whom we don’t see eye to eye, to put it mildly, where we don’t have representation in the country," Carney said. "And that puts us as a disadvantage, first and foremost, to helping Canadians that are in these countries."

Vessels passing outside routes set by the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, a body set up by Iran to manage the Strait of Hormuz, will not be guaranteed safe passage, the authority said in a post on X on Thursday.

"Consequences arising from passage through unauthorised routes shall be the responsibility of the owner, operator, and vessel commander", the PGSA said.

The PGSA's warning came after British maritime agency UKMTO said that a cargo ship reported a suspected attack near Oman while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, with US officials telling Reuters that Iran had fired on the ship.

Iran has not specifically commented on the incident. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said earlier on Thursday that safe passage through the strait would only be possible through routes designated by Iran, adding that it would take action against vessels that failed to comply. 

The Israeli army said it had killed several suspected Hezbollah operatives on Thursday in two separate incidents around the so-called "security zone" its forces have established in southern Lebanon.

In the first case, the military said soldiers "identified five Hezbollah terrorists who posed a threat to them" in Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, while in the second, they "identified an armed Hezbollah terrorist" around the strategic Ali al-Taher Ridge.

"Following the identifications, the Israeli Air Force and the ground forces fired toward the terrorists and eliminated them to remove the threat," it said.

The United Nations shipping agency on Thursday paused an evacuation effort, which aimed to get hundreds of stranded ships and thousands of seafarers out through the Strait of Hormuz, after a vessel was attacked in the Gulf of Oman.

"I have been informed of an attack today in the Gulf of Oman on a vessel which passed through the Strait of Hormuz. This vessel did not transit under IMO’s evacuation framework," Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General of the UN's International Maritime Organization, said in a statement.

"I have decided to temporarily pause its implementation in order to reconfirm that the necessary safety guarantees continue to be in place for the ships on our evacuation list and all those in the region."

The initiative, which was launched on Tuesday, was a voluntary option for ships and their crew to sail out of the Gulf using two routes: one via Iranian waters, and the other via Omani waters with U.S. oversight, the IMO said this week.

Some 57 ships carrying an estimated 1,100 seafarers had transited the Strait of Hormuz under the evacuation plan from 23 June until the morning of 25 June, initial IMO data showed earlier on Thursday.

The IMO provided no details on the vessel attacked.

The Gulf's top diplomats said on Thursday that dealing with Iran's proxies and missiles was key to lasting peace, and that any trade and investment with Tehran would be reversible and contingent on it respecting its deal with the US.

"The Ministers further emphasized that lasting regional peace and security requires addressing the full spectrum of Iran's threats, including its ballistic missiles, drones, and support of proxies in the region," they said in a joint statement following a meeting co-chaired by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

"Any trade and investment with Iran is conditional and reversible, contingent on Iran's compliance with the MOU and the final agreement, cessation of its destabilizing behavior, and creation of the conditions necessary for economic engagement," they added.

France and Italy want to set up a multinational coalition to succeed the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday.

"We want to launch a coalition for the post-UNIFIL arrangement, obviously in coordination with the European Union and the United Nations, to strengthen Lebanon's sovereignty and that of its armed forces," Macron said after talks with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the town of Antibes on the French Riviera.

The new force would help prevent Lebanon's territory from becoming "a foothold for regional escalation," Macron said.

"Italy and France can absolutely make a difference," the Italian prime minister said.

"From our point of view, it is necessary to ensure an international presence that avoids an extremely dangerous security vacuum."

France is one of the biggest contributors to the UN peacekeeping force.

UNIFIL currently counts some 7,500 peacekeepers from nearly 50 countries. They are deployed in south Lebanon near the Blue Line.

The force has been a buffer between Lebanon and Israel since 1978, although its presence has not prevented repeated outbreaks of conflict.

Last August, the UN Security Council, under US pressure, decided to end the mandate of UNIFIL on December 31, 2026.

UN chief Antonio Guterres has said that peacekeepers will be needed in Lebanon after the mandate of the current mission expires, an option likely to face opposition from the United States

Crude shipments through the Strait of Hormuz rose this week to their highest level since the US-Israeli conflict with Iran began in February after a ceasefire deal reopened the waterway, data showed on Thursday.

Concerns about how long the strait would stay open also boosted trade.

Still, while there was an increase in oil shipments amid strong demand, especially in Asia after months of disruptions, overall sailings are still a fraction of the daily average of 125 ships passing through the strait before the February 28 conflict began.

Four tankers carrying six million barrels of crude oil sailed through the strait on Thursday and an additional four million barrels of Iranian crude onboard two separate tankers also left, according to analysis from Kpler.

On Wednesday, some 10.8 million barrels of oil were shipped out on six tankers, Kpler analysis showed.

"The rebound reflects the adaptability of Mideast Gulf export systems rather than a clean return to pre-conflict trade," Kpler said in a report this week.

Many ships have been switching on their public AIS tracking transponders, but some may have gone undetected due in part to major disruption of AIS signals as well as ships not showing their movements through the strait. That makes it difficult to estimate the complete volume of shipments.

"Traffic levels are still below historical norms, and market participants continue to assess the durability of the current framework," Greece-based Allied Shipbroking said in a report this week.

"The 60-day agreement has reduced immediate risks to navigation, but it has not removed broader geopolitical uncertainties from the region."

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told the Reuters Global Energy Forum in New York on Wednesday that some 20 million barrels of crude oil exited the strait in the last 24 hours, amounting to around a fifth of world consumption, and similar to levels in recent days following an initial US-Iran agreement to end the conflict.

Traffic through Hormuz is rising daily although ships are avoiding the central area of the waterway. Many have opted to hug the Omani side of the strait with fewer opting to use Iranian waters, according to analysis of ship movements.

The so-called Traffic Separation Scheme, ​adopted by the UN's shipping agency in 1968, established routing lanes through Iranian and Omani waters in the strait. This central section is currently not usable due to the risk of mines, shipping and maritime security sources said.

The United States and its Gulf allies on Thursday backed ongoing talks over Lebanon and said those negotiations should not be conditional on the outcomes of other conflicts, adding that all non-state armed groups should be disarmed. 

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that Israel opposed withdrawing from the "security zone" in Lebanon despite pressure to do so, adding that the military would remain in what he called "security zones" in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza for as long as necessary and would not withdraw from them.

Lebanon's gross domestic product is expected to contract in 2026, given the "very challenging" economic, social and humanitarian situation caused by the resumption of the war, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday.

IMF spokeswoman Julie Kozack told a regular news briefing that the global lender was engaged closely with Lebanese authorities to look at economic crisis management measures to mitigate the impact of the war, but gave no details.

The IMF also continued to work with authorities on more comprehensive reforms that could be supported ultimately by an IMF programme, she said. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday that Iran and Oman would hold talks "to define future administration and maritime services in the Strait of Hormuz" following a recent joint statement in Muscat.

In a post on X, Araghchi said he had a productive call with Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi and that the two countries were determined to pursue the discussions with their neighbours.

Oman told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Gulf Arab ministers at a meeting on Thursday that future arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz would not involve transit tolls.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said on Thursday that 4,230 people have been killed by Israeli attacks between 2 March and 25 June.

12,179 people have also been wounded, the statement said.

Israel continues to wage daily attacks on the country, and continues to occupy areas in parts of the country's south. 

Italy's top diplomat, Antonio Tajani, said he spoke with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi on Thursday, in which he denied that Rome had authorised the use of its military bases in the US strikes on the country.

In a post on X, Tajani also stressed the need for the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which would facilitate the passage of all Italian cargo ships that are still blocked.

He added: "The reopening of the Italian embassy in Tehran is a strong signal of dialogue, also in view of the resumption of economic and cultural relations."

Ho parlato con il Ministro degli Esteri iraniano @araghchi. L’Italia non ha mai preso parte ad alcuna iniziativa militare e non ha mai autorizzato l’utilizzo delle basi per azioni di guerra contro l’Iran, nel rispetto più rigoroso dei trattati con gli Stati Uniti. Ho chiesto che… pic.twitter.com/9LC5ad7r9C

— Antonio Tajani (@Antonio_Tajani) June 25, 2026

Israel said Thursday that it would only withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon after Hezbollah was disarmed, as the two countries engaged in US-mediated talks in Washington.

"We will not withdraw our forces from southern Lebanon as long as Hezbollah remains a threat, are not disarmed and are not demilitarised," David Mencer, a government spokesman, said in a briefing to journalists.

Under US pressure, Lebanese officials began direct talks in April with Israel in Washington.

The latest three-day round of talks is due to wrap up on Thursday.

Commenting on the negotiations, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the two neighbours were close to making a "commitment of intent".

Asked about the talks, Mencer said: "We are making extremely clear that our responsibility is to our northern citizens and to the whole of Israel, and we will not allow any terrorist force anywhere near our border -- which means that any redeployment of IDF forces comes after, not before, but after the demilitarisation of southern Lebanon and the disarming of Hezbollah."

"We've already been in this situation in 2024," he added. "Hezbollah were supposed to be disarmed. They weren't."

At least two Palestinian men have been killed by Israeli forces during a military incursion in the West Bank governorates of Jenin and Salfit, Palestinian media reported on Thursday.

The Palestinian Prisoner's Society confirmed the two men as Mohammad Nezem Zayed, 29, and 32-year-old Mustafa Taha Mustafa al-Khatib.

The incidents took place as Israei army forces surrounded a home in the town of Ya'bad, Jenin, where they shot him Zayed.

Khatib was killed during a raid on his home in Salfit, the organisation confirmed.