War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

The United Arab Emirates has condemned in the strongest terms renewed attacks by Iran targeting Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan with missiles and drones.

In a statement, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirms that these hostile attacks “constitute a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the brotherly nations and a threat to their security and stability”.

“The ministry reiterated the UAE’s full solidarity with the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and its support for all measures aimed at safeguarding their security and stability,” the statement adds.

US Central Command (Centcom) has denied claims by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that two oil tankers exploded after hitting mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

“Like most IRGC claims, this is false,” Centcom says in a post on X.

Qatar has condemned in the strongest terms renewed attacks launched by Iran on the territories of Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait, calling them a “flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the targeted states and the integrity of their territories, and a blatant breach of international law, the United Nations Charter, and the principles of good neighbourliness”.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirms that targeting power stations and water desalination plants in the State of Kuwait crosses all red lines, and constitutes a brazen violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2817, and what it contains in terms of emphasis on respecting the sovereignty of these states and the integrity of their territories, and rejecting the targeting of civilians and vital facilities,” Qatar’s foreign ministry says in a statement.

The ministry adds that the continuation of these attacks represents a dangerous escalation which complicates efforts to contain regional tensions and undermine political and diplomatic endeavours aiming to ensure regional security and stability.

“The ministry stresses the necessity of an immediate and complete cessation of all military actions and attacks that threaten the security and stability of the region, refraining from everything that would expand the scope of escalation, and a serious return to the path of dialogue and negotiations, and commitment to the understandings achieved through diplomatic efforts,” the statement concludes.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu belongs “in the Hague” and is “a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court”.

Netanyahu is expected to visit New York City for the UN General Assembly in September.

The mayor tells a US media outlet that he is unclear on whether he has the legal authority to order the New York Police Department, which he oversees, to arrest a foreign leader like Netanyahu. He says he is in “an active conversation” with the city’s Law Department over the matter.

The head of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, has issued a statement condemning Iran’s “treacherous” attacks on Gulf states in the strongest terms and labelling them “war crimes”.

“Iran’s actions constitute a highly dangerous escalation, a grave violation of international law and the United Nations (UN) Charter, as well as war crimes requiring international accountability and prosecution, given the deliberate targeting of infrastructure and civilian facilities in flagrant violation of all international norms and conventions, and a persistent determination to destabilise regional security and stability,” the statement reads. 

Passenger trains have resumed service from southern Iran’s Bandar Abbas railway station, two days after the US military had hit and damaged railway lines, Al Jazeera reports citing the country’s IRIB news agency.

Hormozgan’s chief of communications and information technology says the US’s overnight attacks disrupted telecommunications in Bandar Abbas and Hajiabad, in the northern part of the province, Al Jazeera reports.

After the US attacks, 116 telecommunication towers were taken out of service, and fixed-line, mobile, and internet services are currently experiencing disruptions in some areas of the northern province, reports Iran’s Tasnim news agency.

Valiollah Hayati, the deputy governor of Khuzestan for security affairs, says the US has attacked at least 95 locations in the province in southwestern Iran in the last 10 days, Al Jazeera reports.

The US hit 12 counties of Khuzestan province “which demonstrates the boundless criminality of the enemy”, Hayati told Iran’s Tasnim news agency.

At least eight civilians were reported to be killed.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi has said Tehran has “suspended” its commitments under the Islamabad MoU signed with the US after Washington “violated” the agreement, Fars news agency reports.

“We have suspended our commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum,” Fars quoted Gharibabadi as saying.

He said the US had “violated and suspended all its commitments under the framework” of the MoU.

“We have also suspended our commitments; we are not implementing them and are focused on defending the country,” the minister added.

Bahrain’s interior ministry says sirens have sounded within the kingdom, urging citizens to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place.

Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam has called on the international community to condemn renewed US aggression against his country, stating that Washington interpreted the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tehran “contrary to its terms”.

“After several months of mediation by Pakistan, an MoU of 14 points were reached and decided for the talks to be continued in six months,” he writes on X. “However, the US interpreted MoU contrary to its terms and gained control over parts of [the] Strait [of] Hormuz to obtain what it couldn’t in the battlefield.”

Moghadam says Iran will not accept “this arbitrary interpretation which blatantly violated the MoU”, slamming renewed US military action as “contrary to the terms of [the] MoU and international principles”.

“The international community is expected to strongly condemn this aggressive and reckless act,” he concludes.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has underscored the need for de-escalation in the Middle East and the importance of upholding the commitments in the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding in a phone call with Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the Foreign Office (FO) says.

In a post on X, it says that the pair discussed the latest developments in the region, with Jarrah expressing Kuwait’s serious concerns about continued attacks on its territory, hopeful that “restraint would be exercised by all sides and that the Islamabad MoU would be fully implemented”.

“Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah also appreciated Pakistan’s constructive and mediatory role in promoting dialogue and regional stability,” the FO adds.

“The Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister underscored the urgent need for de-escalation, stressed the importance of respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states, and emphasised that maintaining regional peace and security must remain the foremost priority.”

According to the post, Dar also underlined the importance of upholding ceasefire commitments under the MoU and avoiding any action that could further escalate tensions.

A Lebanese soldier has been killed, while an officer and another soldier have been wounded after a suspicious object exploded in an army vehicle in the southern Lebanese town of Mansouri, Reuters reports citing the Lebanese army.

The army says it is continuing to investigate the incident and has not provided further details.

Iran’s Head of Public Relations and Information for the health ministry has announced that since July 6, US attacks on the country have killed at least 50 people and injured more than 500 others, Al Jazeera reports.

In a post on X, Hossein Kermanpour says among those killed were five women, two children and teenagers under 18, adding that 32 women were injured, as well as 18 children and teenagers.

“So far, 28 surgeries have been performed, 460 people have been discharged, and 37 people remain hospitalised,” Kermanpour states.

Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reports that emergency water supply operations are under way in 20 villages affected by an overnight attack on a water desalination facility in Jask.

“Drinking water is expected to be fully restored within one week,” the report adds.

Kuwait accused Iran of targeting civilian sites and vital infrastructure in the country, after reporting attacks on an oil facility and a power and water plant, according to AFP.

“The repeated targeting of these vital facilities reveals a systematic hostile approach targeting civilian sites and vital infrastructure that endangers the lives and safety of civilians,” the foreign ministry said.

The US embassy in Beirut has asked all Americans not to travel to Lebanon and to reconsider travel to or through the Middle East, according to Al Jazeera.

“Due to high tensions in the Middle East, the security environment remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation,” the embassy said in a statement.

The US embassy in Jerusalem also released a similar statement, saying Americans “should not travel to Gaza, Northern Israel, and the Egyptian border except for the Taba crossing”.

Jordan says it has intercepted and shot down four drones in its airspace over the past 24 hours, state media reports, citing a military source.

The source in the Jordanian Armed Forces said no casualties or material damage were reported.

They affirmed the readiness of the armed forces to confront any threat that may target the security of the Kingdom and the safety of its citizens, whether it be drones or missiles, and to take the necessary operational measures to intercept and thwart it.

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation says “one of the vital sites in the oil sector was subjected to repeated brutal Iranian attacks, resulting in a number of injuries and significant material losses,” according to Al Jazeera.

“The injured were provided with medical assistance and the site was evacuated, while the response to the attack is being handled in coordination with the relevant state authorities,” the statement noted, according to the country’s Kuna news agency.

Kuwait’s Fire Force has said that a number of its firefighters and a worker were injured while responding to the fire at two places following the Iranian attacks this morning, Al Jazeera reports.

“The first incident resulted, during the firefighting operation, in a number of injuries among the firefighters and one of the workers, where the site was evacuated and they were transported to provide them with the necessary medical assistance,” it said in a statement.

We reported earlier that Kuwait has announced that two of its power and water desalination plants have been hit in Iranian attacks.

The Israeli army has carried out a drone attack on Nabatieh al-Fawqa, a hilltop village in southern Lebanon, the National News Agency reports.

Recent US attacks on Hormozgan province in southern Iran have killed “about seven to eight people”, all of whom were civilians, Ahmad Moradi, a representative for the province, told Iran’s Tasnim news agency.

The report added that the attacks took place in the past two nights, with one US attack targeting one of the bridges in the province, which hit two family cars, killing six people.

The Tappeh Allah Akbar neighbourhood in Bandar Abbas was also targeted, killing a woman and leaving a one-year-old with an amputation. A driver who was supplying fuel to stations was killed in a fire.