US strikes Iran after ships attacked in Strait of Hormuz

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The latest US strikes in Iran targeted Iranian air defense systems, coastal surveillance systems, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles and drone launch sites, a US official told Reuters on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Kuwait's Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said on Wednesday that several power transmission lines had gone out of service, causing electricity outages in scattered areas of the country.

It added that emergency teams had begun work under an approved emergency plan to determine the cause and restore power as soon as possible.

Iran's Foreign Ministry has said the US has violated the memorandum of understanding following its decision on Tuesday to reimpose sanctions on Iranian oil.

In a statement, the ministry said the move is a "blatant violation" of article 10 of the agreement.

The US Treasury on Tuesday said it would revoke the sanctions waiver following attacks on several vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

The move is "another sign of the US administration's bad faith, instability, and unreliability," the ministry said.

Iran's deputy foreign minister also said the US had violated articles 1 and 2 of the deal, citing threats against Iran and Israel's continued attacks in Lebanon.

Iranian state media on Tuesday reported a series of explosions heard in the Strait of Hormuz region, moments after US officials announced "powerful" strikes on Iran.

IRIB news reported six explosions were heard on the Iranian island of Qeshm, seven explosions were heard in the city of Sirik and more were heard in the major port city of Bandar Abbas.

The US military has launched a series of strikes against Iran, US Central Command said Tuesday, adding that the strikes were in response to what it said were Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

"US Central Command forces have begun launching a series of powerful strikes against Iran to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping," a US military statement said.

It was unclear what specifically the US targeted but Iranian media said six projectiles hit the area of Taheroui pier in Sirik in southern Iran.

This marks the first known US military strikes against Iran since late last month, when there were several days of strikes and counterstrikes between the two. 

Iran on Tuesday condemned Qatar for accusations that it was behind an attack on one of the Gulf emirate's vessels, after Doha said Tehran had targeted a liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker off the coast of Oman.

"Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Qatar's accusations against Iran over the alleged attack on a vessel linked to the country in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday were questionable and contrary to the principle of good neighbourliness, describing them as unacceptable," state news agency IRNA reported.

Saudi Arabia blamed Iran for an attack Tuesday on one of its tankers as it transited the Strait of Hormuz, after Qatar issued a similar condemnation for another attack it accused Tehran of committing.

The Saudi foreign ministry denounced in a statement "Iran's targeting of the Saudi tanker Wedyan while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the targeting of the Qatari tanker Al-Rekayyat".

The United States is revoking a general license that authorized the sale of Iranian oil, a US official said on Tuesday, warning that Iran's actions in the Strait of Hormuz were "wholly unacceptable" and would be met with consequences after attacks on tankers in the strategic waterway.

Oil prices rose more than 3% following the announcement.

The US official said negotiators continued to work in good faith toward a final agreement with Iran despite the latest escalation.

The US move came after three tankers reported being struck by unknown projectiles in and near the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, the British navy-affiliated agency UKMTO said in a report. There was no immediate comment from Tehran, or any claim of responsibility.

The attacks and the US response threaten to put a fragile diplomatic understanding between Washington and Tehran on shaky ground, raising the risk that further retaliation could derail negotiations over a broader agreement. Another US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said initial indications were that Iran had fired at three commercial vessels.

The potential escalation comes as both sides had been working toward a deal that included limits on Iran's nuclear program and relief from some sanctions, including restrictions on oil exports.

Qatar summoned Iran's deputy ambassador on Tuesday to lodge a complaint after an attack on a Qatari LNG tanker as it was transiting off the coast of Oman, which Doha had earlier blamed on Iran.

The Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement that it handed a diplomatic note to the "deputy ambassador", demanding an explanation for the incident and calling on Iran to "immediately cease any practices undermining regional security and to refrain from endangering the safety of international shipping and global energy supplies".

The coffin of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei arrived in Iraq’s holy city of Najaf on Tuesday, where Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and senior Iraqi officials received it ahead of funeral ceremonies and a mass public procession, Iraqi state TV reported.

The official reception at Najaf International Airport was attended by Iraqi political leaders and Shi’ite religious figures, before the coffin is carried through the city in public mourning events expected to draw large crowds on Wednesday.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also arrived in Najaf to participate in the ceremonies, joining Iraqi political leaders and Shi’ite religious figures.

Lawmakers in Ireland's lower house of parliament have passed a bill banning the trade of goods with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The legislation was passed on Tuesday despite the opposition pushing to widen the ban by including services.

Several amendments, including one to include services, were voted down.

The legislation prohibits the import of goods from "certain Israeli settlements", in line with the July 2024 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice.

At least half of the British public believes Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, according to a new poll released on Tuesday, with majorities also backing tougher sanctions against Israel and distancing Britain from its longstanding ally.

The YouGov survey, commissioned by the Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU), found that 50% of respondents believe Israel's military campaign in Gaza amounts to genocide, compared with 17% who do not.

The poll, conducted between 2 and 3 July among 2,125 adults, also found that 55% believe the UK should not be allied with Israel, while only 15% said it should.

"The main takeaway is simply that increasingly British public opinion and the positions of the British government are polar opposites," Chris Doyle, director of CAABU, told The New Arab.

The US sale of F-35 stealth warplanes to Turkey would "destroy" the balance of power in the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday.

His remarks came after US President Donald Trump said earlier in the day that he was considering such a move despite booting Turkey out of the F-35 program in 2019 over Ankara's purchase of a Russian air defense system.

"It would destroy the power balance in the Middle East, because Turkey, I think, has aggressive aspirations," Netanyahu told CNN in a televised interview, adding: "When you give them that power, you're going to see aggression in its wake."

Turkey has long sought to be readmitted to the F-35 program and for US sanctions that have soured ties and hampered Turkish defense projects to be lifted.

Netanyahu has previously opposed the sale of the warplanes to Turkey, but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is counting on his good relations with Trump to help secure the delivery of five jets, for which payment has already been made.

Turkish authorities detained two journalists ahead of a NATO summit being held in Ankara on Tuesday, their outlets and a rights group said.

Dozens of arrests have been made in recent months of journalists and activists seen as critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is hosting alliance leaders at the two-day summit.

Opposition website Bir Gun said its reporter Kayhan Ayhan, who has been covering the trial of Istanbul's opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, was detained at his home on Monday night for publishing "fake news".

He was released on Tuesday under judicial supervision and barred from leaving the country, the outlet said.

Israeli gunfire has killed at least four Palestinians in several areas of Gaza since this morning, Al Jazeera is reporting, citing medical sources.

At least 15 others were injured, they added.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul reiterated criticism of Israel's rapid settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday.

"Settlement projects threaten to block the path to peace," he said along Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar in Jerusalem.

"We view continued settlement construction with great concern. A de facto annexation of parts of the West Bank is internationally unacceptable and could not be legally recognised by Germany," he said.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced on Tuesday an agreement with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron to install ambassadors, with the French embassy in Damascus closed since 2012 during the country's bloody civil war.

"I am pleased to announce today our agreement to begin the process of exchanging resident ambassadors between Damascus and Paris as soon as possible, signaling the return of diplomatic relations to their normal state," Sharaa said in a joint press conference with Macron in the Syrian capital.

Drone strikes on vehicles in Sudan's North Kordofan state killed 15 civilians, including five women, in two areas controlled by the paramilitary forces, a rights group said on Tuesday.

The Emergency Lawyers, which has documented abuses throughout the three-year conflict between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, said one vehicle was carrying wedding guests while another was transporting water. The group did not specify who was behind the attacks.

France and Britain will outline plans for a multinational maritime mission in the Strait of Hormuz at talks between NATO and Gulf Arab foreign ministers on Tuesday, but diplomats say Iran's rejection of the initiative makes it unlikely to break the deadlock over the vital waterway.

The meeting on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Ankara will bring together ministers from Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates following weeks of tensions in the strategically important waterway despite an interim U.S.-Iran peace deal.

It comes amid rising tensions in the strait following reports of fresh attacks against two tankers.

US President Donald Trump says he will decide on a potential sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, as he begins a meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan at the NATO summit in Ankara.

"It’s a decision we’re going to make," Trump says, adding that the leaders will also discuss trade and the military.

"It’s certainly something we would consider,” he adds of the sale, noting that “we have a better relationship with Turkey, and Turkey has been in many ways much more loyal than other countries."

• Funerary ceremonies for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei are taking place in the holy city of Qom.
   
• Damascus has been rocked by a series of bomb blasts coinciding with the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron.
   
• NATO leaders have begun a two-day summit in Turkey's capital Ankara.
   
• Donald Trump said he is considering selling advanced F-35 fighter jets to Turkey during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
   
• Tensions have risen in the Strait of Hormuz following overnight reports of two tankers coming under attack.
   
• Israel has launched fresh attacks in Gaza and Lebanon, despite alleged "ceasefires".