US-Iran attacks continue for a third night

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Tuesday to strike powerfully against Iran if Tehran carried out a new attack on his country.

“We are prepared for every scenario,” he says at a conference in the Negev city of Dimona, near where Israel has nuclear facilities.

“I have one message for Iran’s leaders: Do not count on there being calm if you attack us,” he continued. “Do not expect a repeat of what happened before, because there will be no repeat. The previous response was powerful enough, but any further attempt to harm us will be met with a different response—far more powerful.”

According to the Israeli media, in March Israel's security cabinet secretly approved Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defence Minister Israel Katz's proposal to authorise 34 new illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The decision was kept secret until today "to avoid embarrassing the Americans", Ynet reported.

The budget to construct these illegal settlements amounts to more than $370 million and was included in a budget proposal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Settlement Affairs and National Missions Minister Orit Strock. 

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued a warning advising aircraft operators not to operate within the airspace of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE, and over the waters of the Gulf of Oman, in light of the deteriorating security situation in the region.

A Norwegian tanker was hit by an explosion caused by an unidentified device off the Omani coast early Tuesday, a crisis response company said.

MTI Network said in a statement that shipping company Stolt Tankers reported that at approximately 00:40 am local time (2000 GMT Monday) "its tanker vessel Stolt Magnesium while on passage in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman suffered from an explosion of an unidentified external device".

The explosion triggered a fire in the ship's engine room, but an MTI Network spokesman added that the crew "fortunately are all safe and accounted for".

US President Donald Trump apparently supported Saudi Arabia’s planned military action against Iran-backed Houthi targets in Sanaa, according to an Axios report.

Axios said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman informed Trump in advance and sought endorsement.

According to the report, the incident began after an aircraft reportedly operated by Iran’s Mahan Air landed in Houthi-controlled Sanaa, carrying a Houthi delegation travelling to Iran for the funeral of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Saudi Arabia opposed the flight over concerns that it could be used to transport weapons, missile components or Iranian military personnel to Yemen. 

When the aircraft later attempted to leave Yemen, Saudi forces struck Sanaa airport. The plane diverted and landed in Al-Hodeidah on Yemen’s Red Sea coast.

For its part, the Saudi-backed Yemeni government said the strike was intended to prevent an Iranian aircraft from using Yemeni territory.

The Houthis soon after responded by launching missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport in the kingdom’s southwest.

A Houthi spokesperson also warned airlines against using Saudi airspace and said that the restriction would remain until the limitations imposed on Sanaa airport were lifted.

Bahraini authorities said on Tuesday three people were sentenced to life in prison for spying for Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the latest in a crackdown on Iran-linked cells.

"Three defendants were charged with colluding with the terrorist Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its operatives to assist in hostile and terrorist acts against the Kingdom of Bahrain and to harm its interests; the court sentenced all of them to life imprisonment," the prosecution said.

Since the US-Israeli war on Iran began, Gulf states, which have borne the brunt of Tehran's attacks, have cracked down on alleged IRGC-linked cells.

Manama has cracked down on those expressing support or sympathy for Tehran. Some have been accused of espionage, and hundreds of mostly Shia Muslims have been arrested, according to Bahraini activists.

Bahrain has denied cracking down on citizens based on their religious identity.

Oil prices surged after fresh US strikes against Iran, fuelling fears over their already fragile truce and the risk of another spike in inflation.

International benchmark Brent North Sea crude rose as much as five per cent to trade around $87 a barrel on Tuesday.

Rising oil prices hit European equities, while Asian stocks mostly climbed after tech firms enjoyed some reprieve from the latest bout of selling.

The latest attacks came after Iranian forces struck a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz early on Sunday, before announcing the closure of the waterway through which about a fifth of global oil passes.

An Israeli strike and gunfire killed at least nine Palestinians, including a 10-year-old boy, and a senior Hamas police officer, in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, health and police officials said.

The deaths add to a toll of more than 1,100 Palestinians killed by Israeli attacks since an alleged October ceasefire.

 

US strikes hit an Iranian border area near Iraq and Kuwait on Tuesday, local authorities said, as fighting between the two foes raged.

The city of Abadan, which hosts the oldest oil refinery in the Middle East, as well as the port city of Mahshahr, were targeted, deputy governor of Khuzestan province Valiollah Hayati said, according to state news agency IRNA.

Four sites in Bushehr, southwestern Iran, and where Iranian nuclear facilities are located, have been hit by US missiles, the official news agency IRNA reported.

This follows earlier reports by Iranian state television that at least five blasts were heard near the southern city of Bandar Abbas.

Iran's foreign ministry on Tuesday condemned Britain's decision to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a security threat, calling the move "unjustified" and "irresponsible".

The ministry said the IRGC was an official part of Iran's armed forces and accused Britain of violating international law by targeting a state institution.

Britain on Monday banned support for the IRGC and a linked group under new powers aimed at preventing foreign states from using proxies for activities such as surveillance and sabotage.

An Israeli strike and gunfire killed at least two Palestinians, including a 10-year-old boy, in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Gazan health officials said. The deaths add to a toll of more than 1,100 Palestinians killed by Israeli attacks since an alleged October ceasefire, according to health officials in the enclave.

Medics said Muataz Abu Shaar, 10, was shot earlier on Tuesday by Israeli gunfire in Rafah, south Gaza. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Nearby in Khan Younis, an Israeli airstrike killed a 36-year-old man and left three people wounded, medics added.

The Iranian Fars Agency reported on Tuesday that three members of the family of an environmental guard were killed by a US attack that targeted an environmental centre and a feed warehouse at dawn today in Hormozgan Province, southern Iran.

The agency stated that the dead were the two sons of the environmental guard and the wife of one of them, as a result of the bombing that targeted the site.

Charging fees for passage through international waters "would be fundamentally wrong", German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd said on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump said he would reinstate a naval blockade on Iran and charge 20% on all cargo shipped through the Strait of Hormuz.

The company told Reuters it could not reliably quantify the financial impact of tensions in the Gulf region on its business.

Lebanon and Israel are holding new negotiations under US auspices in Rome on Tuesday, against the backdrop of renewed violence between Washington and Tehran.

The two countries, officially at war for decades, reached a framework agreement on 26 June, after five rounds of negotiations in Washington.

The Lebanese presidency announced on Monday that its delegation to Rome had been instructed: "to demand the immediate start of Israeli forces' withdrawal from the two pilot zones before any further discussion".

According to a Lebanese diplomatic source familiar with the content of the talks, "the Lebanese army is ready to gradually take control of the localities from which the Israeli army would withdraw".

China called on the United States and Iran on Tuesday to restore safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, as fighting between the two sides reignited over the management of the strategic waterway.
"Restoring normal and safe passage through the strait as soon as possible is a shared aspiration of the international community," said foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian at a news briefing, adding that Beijing would "make unremitting efforts to help de-escalate" the situation.

A tanker has reported being struck by a missile while transiting southeast of Oman’s Limah area, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).

Two members of the Islamic State group were executed after they were convicted of armed rebellion against the Islamic Republic, Iranian state television reported Tuesday.

The report identified the men as Mohieddin Abdollahi and Hossein Palani. It said they belonged to an Islamic State cell that formed after the group’s territorial defeat in Iraq and Syria and had planned attacks inside Iran.

According to the report, Iranian security forces identified the cell’s hideout in the Bamo mountain area near the Iraqi border before it could carry out its plans. Several militants were killed and others arrested during the operation, in which three members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard were also killed. Authorities said they also seized weapons, ammunition and other equipment.

The two men were convicted of armed rebellion against the Islamic Republic and were hanged after the Supreme Court upheld their death sentences.

India summoned Iran's deputy ambassador, Mohammad Javad Hosseini, over the killing of an Indian national in Omani waters, an Indian government official said.

Indian news channel NDTV reported the diplomat was summoned to protest against attacks on oil tankers by Iran. 

An Indian crew member of a tanker was killed when hit by Iranian cruise missiles in Omani waters. Eight other people were wounded, with six of them being Indian nationals.

Iran's parliament has begun work on a bill on the Strait of Hormuz, the head of the security committee said on Tuesday, as fighting flared between Washington and Tehran over the strategic waterway.

"Last night, coinciding with the downing of US drones, the 'Strategic Action for the Security and Sustainable Progress of the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf' bill was formally introduced in Iran's Parliament," Ebrahim Azizi wrote on X.

Iran's oil exports are continuing as usual despite the cancellation last week of a 60-day waiver of US oil sanctions, oil minister Mohsen Paknejad said on his official Telegram account on Tuesday.

Paknejad said the oil ministry had maintained mechanisms for years to neutralise the impact of US sanctions and that Iran's oil exports would face no problems despite the removal of the waivers.

The Shabana family has been completely wiped from Gaza's civil registry, one of thousands of Palestinian families to have suffered the same fate by Israel.

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Iran rescued 23 foreign crew members after a bulk carrier collided with another vessel north of Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Tuesday.

The bulk carrier suffered serious damage to its hull and began taking on water, prompting the captain to order an emergency evacuation, Fars said, adding that all crew members were safely transferred to Qeshm Island.

Air sirens have been heard again in Bahrain, the fourth time this morning, as the Interior Ministry urged citizens to remain calm and head to a nearby safe place.

Iran’s IRGC confirmed it had launched missile and drone attacks on the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.

The United States launched a third night of strikes on Iran as President Donald Trump planned to reimpose a blockade Tuesday on Iranian ports and floated a 20 per cent fee on cargo in the vital Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said a deal with the Islamic Republic was still possible even as attacks were carried out, with Iran striking two ships in the strategic waterway and killing one crew member, according to the United Arab Emirates.

The US military said its five-hour mission hit targets across Iran, including coastal Bushehr and Bandar Abbas, to "degrade Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping".

After the strikes, Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced they had in turn fired missiles and drones on Bahrain and Jordan, targeting a residential building for US forces and other facilities.