Donald Trump accused Iran of a “foolish violation” of the ceasefire agreement on Friday, claiming Tehran fired at least four kamikaze drones at ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The US president said in a post on Truth Social that one drone damaged a cargo ship, but the other three were “knocked down”. He did not name the ship, but it came hours after a Taiwanese-operated ship was fired on by Iran.
“Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement,” the president said.
The UN shipping agency temporarily paused its scheme to evacuate hundreds of stranded ships and thousands of seafarers from the Gulf after the Taiwanese ship was damaged in the attack close to the Omani side of the waterway.
Despite talks to resolve the conflict, regional tensions were stoked again as Israel warned that its military is “ready to finish the job” in Iran if attacked again, amid mounting pressure over its clashes with Hezbollah in spite of a ceasefire agreement.
Katz issued the threat after Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani said on Thursday that if Israel did not withdraw voluntarily from south Lebanon, it would eventually be forced to leave in defeat.
Read MoreOil prices retreat back to pre-war levels as vital shipping route reopens
Tucker Carlson delivers final blow to Trump friendship telling him ‘shut up b****’ on a podcast
Soldiers wounded during the Iran war accuse Pentagon of downplaying their injuries
Key Points
- Drone strike hits commercial vessel in Strait of Hormuz
- UN halts escort of ships through Hormuz after vessel comes under attack
- Two killed in Israeli strike on car in southern Lebanon
- Oil price fluctuations since US-Israeli war on Iran began
Recap: Israel says military ‘ready to finish the job’ if Tehran attacks
19:00 , James ReynoldsIsrael has warned that its military is “ready to finish the job” in Iran if attacked again, amid mounting pressure over its clashes with Hezbollah in spite of a ceasefire agreement.
Defence minister Israel Katz wrote on social media on Friday that Tehran would “commit its biggest mistake” if it attacks Israel, following threats from the leader of a branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“Neither Hormuz nor attacks on civilians will help them; nothing will stop us. Our forces are ready to finish the job,” he said.
Katz issued the threat after Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani said on Thursday that if Israel did not withdraw voluntarily from south Lebanon, it would eventually be forced to leave in defeat.
Despite a renewed ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah, Israel has continued operations across the border.
Israeli forces dropped leaflets over a town in southern Lebanon on Friday ordering residents to leave, Lebanese state media reported, in a first such order issued since the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect.
Israel and Lebanon expected to sign an agreement
18:12 , Rebecca WhittakerIsrael and Lebanon are expected to sign a framework agreement in Washington on Friday, senior Israeli officials said.
The Israeli officials did not provide further details.
Why has the plan to evacuate ships through Hormuz been paused?
18:00 , James ReynoldsThe UN’s International Maritime Organisation paused its plans to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday after a vessel reported an attack.
Taiwan's Evergreen Marine said on Friday its ship was hit close to Oman by an "unknown object" while on a route recommended by the British navy agency UKMTO.
Two US officials told Reuters that Iran had fired on the ship, while Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which Tehran established to manage requests for ships to travel through the strait, said vessels outside routes it has set will not be guaranteed safe passage.
The IMO was helping to get hundreds of stranded ships and thousands of seafarers out of the strait where they had been stranded for months since the start of the war on February 28.
It 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," IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement.
The IMO said the ship in the suspected attack was not part of its evacuation initiative, a voluntary option it launched on Tuesday to enable ships and their crew to sail out of the Gulf using two routes — one via Iranian waters and the other via Omani waters, with US oversight.
Iraq seeks quota review as OPEC restores output allocations
17:30 , James ReynoldsIraq's Oil Ministry said on Friday that OPEC has begun gradually restoring Iraq's pre-war production allocations, a move it said would strengthen Iraq's output capacity and support recovery of its oil sector.
In a statement carried by the state news agency, the ministry said Baghdad supported a reassessment of OPEC production quotas to better reflect member states’ conditions, including Iraq’s economic and security circumstances. It added that Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi had not discussed the possibility of Iraq leaving OPEC.
In full: Missile alert goes off in Dubai but is quickly cancelled by authorities
17:00 , James ReynoldsA missile alert sounded across Dubai Friday only to be swiftly cancelled by authorities, indicating the warning was likely issued by mistake.
The text message, issued by the UAE’s Interior Ministry, caused widespread alarm among residents, after Iranian missiles and drones targeted the UAE during the height of the Iran war.
The warning was issued just after 5:15 p.m. local time but authorities told the public shortly afterward to “disregard the previous warning,” while offering no immediate explanation for what triggered the notification.
Missile alert goes off in Dubai before being quickly cancelled
Trump accuses Iran of 'foolish violation' of ceasefire after ships struck by drones in Strait
17:00 , James ReynoldsDonald Trump accused Iran of a “foolish violation” of the ceasefire agreement on Friday, accusing them of firing at least four kamikaze drones at ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
He claimed on Truth Social that one drone damaged a cargo ship, but the other three were “knocked down”.
“Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement,” he said.
EU energy chief warns of worsening jet fuel supply by end of summer
16:35 , James ReynoldsThere will likely be a more serious situation on European jet fuel supplies at the end of summer, EU Commissioner for Energy Dan Jorgensen said on Friday.
"We will, of course, monitor this, and if member states then want to release national reserves ... we will ... help facilitate and coordinate those efforts", Jorgensen said.
Recap: UAE issues message telling residents to disregard missile warning
16:30 , James ReynoldsThe United Arab Emirates on Friday issued a message telling residents to disregard an alert that had appeared a little while earlier suggesting there might be a missile threat.
Authorities subsequently issued another message saying, "Please disregard the previous warning," without providing any further explanation.
It later blamed the incident on a technical malfunction which it said sent incorrect warning messages.
Recap: Israel 'ready to finish the job' if attacked by Iran amid tensions over Lebanon
16:00 , James ReynoldsIsrael’s defence minister has warned Iran that it is “ready to finish the job” if attacked again.
Israel Katz wrote on social media on Friday that Tehran would “commit its biggest mistake” if it reopens hostilities.
“Neither Hormuz nor attacks on civilians will help them; nothing will stop us. Our forces are ready to finish the job.”
Katz issued the threat after Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani said on Thursday that if Israel did not withdraw voluntarily from south Lebanon, it would eventually be forced to leave in defeat.
Despite a renewed ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah, Israel has continued operations across the border.
Israeli forces dropped leaflets over a town in southern Lebanon on Friday ordering residents to leave, Lebanese state media reported, in a first such order issued since the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect.
UAE blames missile alert on 'technical malfunction'
15:31 , James ReynoldsThe UAE says that a technical malfunction in its early warning system has been handled.
Earlier, it issued a message telling residents to disregard an alert suggesting there might be a missile threat.
Iran-US war in numbers: Five charts that lay bare the impact of Trump’s conflict
15:30 , Alex CroftIt is nearly four months since the US and Israel launched war on Iran - a decision which had a dramatic and devastating impact stretching almost every corner of the world.
From skyrocketing oil prices, rising costs of global commodities, and deepening levels of food insecurity and poverty, normal people have been paying the price for a war involving the world’s most advanced military and the two most powerful forces in the Middle East.
But a war that many believed would be short-lived - with Donald Trump repeatedly vowing it would end “soon” with a total victory - dragged on for days, weeks, and then months, inflicting spectacular damage not only on global finances, but on the US military’s reputation as an unassailable force.
The global impact of the Iran war ranges from jet fuel prices, to the price of food, to increases in household bills.
At the centre of the global impact was Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the vital chokepoint through which one fifth of the world’s oil supply flowed during peacetime.
Read our ‘in numbers’ piece on Iran.
UAE issues missile alert, followed immediately by all clear
15:20 , James ReynoldsThe United Arab Emirates issued a statement on Friday telling residents the situation was safe, moments after issuing an alert warning of a possible missile threat.
It was not immediately clear what prompted the initial alert, which was like those issued at the height of the Iran war when Iranian missiles and drones targeted the UAE.
Trump promises farmers they will get to sell crops to ‘lovely country of Iran’ after war
15:00 , James ReynoldsPresident Donald Trump has promised American farmers they will soon be able to sell their crops to the “lovely country of Iran” now that he has signed a memorandum of understanding to end his war.
Speaking in the White House Rose Garden Thursday, the president said: “After years of getting ripped off by other countries on trade, we’ve reduced the agricultural trade deficit, just this year, by 42 percent, opening markets to the American exports, and all over the world, we’re opening up markets for the farmers.
“And we have another one, a new market, coming up. And that’s called the lovely country of Iran. It’s a beautiful place. Would anybody like to go there?
Trump promises farmers they will sell crops to ‘lovely country of Iran’ after war
Tucker Carlson lambasts Trump over Iran threats
14:30 , James ReynoldsTucker Carlson, once a close ally of Donald Trump, brushed off the president’s threats to Iran as meaningless, going as far as to tell him “shut up, b****” during a podcast appearance Wednesday.
While complaining about the president’s decision to go to war with Iran – an issue that led Carlson to drop his support for Trump – the former Fox News host accused him of making empty threats to the adversary in an attempt to feign strength.
“Strong people don't brag about how strong they are. They just punch you in the face and end the conversation,” Carlson said on the “Jack Neel Podcast.”
Tucker Carlson delivers blow to Trump by telling him ‘shut up b****’ on a podcast
Israel 'ready to finish the job' if attacked by Iran amid tensions over Lebanon
14:03 , James ReynoldsIsrael’s defence minister has warned Iran that it is “ready to finish the job” if attacked again.
Israel Katz wrote on social media on Friday that Tehran would “commit its biggest mistake” if it reopens hostilities.
“Neither Hormuz nor attacks on civilians will help them; nothing will stop us. Our forces are ready to finish the job.”
Katz issued the threat after Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani said on Thursday that if Israel did not withdraw voluntarily from south Lebanon, it would eventually be forced to leave in defeat.
Despite a renewed ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah, Israel has continued operations across the border.
Israeli forces dropped leaflets over a town in southern Lebanon on Friday ordering residents to leave, Lebanese state media reported, in a first such order issued since the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect.
Recap: Iran says safe passage through Hormuz cannot be guaranteed without coordination with Tehran
14:00 , James ReynoldsIran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz could not be guaranteed without coordination with Iran, and that failure to coordinate could result in the suspension of any designated route.
The comments posted on social media platform X on Friday came after Oman, in coordination with the International Maritime Organization, designated temporary routes for passage through the strait.
Israel's Katz warns Iran against attacking Israel
13:42 , James ReynoldsIsraeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Friday that any Iranian attack on Israel would be Tehran's "biggest mistake".
Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani said on Thursday that if Israel did not withdraw voluntarily from south Lebanon, it would eventually be forced to leave in defeat.
Israel drops leaflets over south Lebanon town ordering residents to leave
13:34 , James ReynoldsIsraeli forces dropped leaflets over the southern Lebanese town of Mansouri on Friday ordering residents to leave, Lebanese state media reported, the first such order issued since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect.
A senior Lebanese military official said Israel had recently added the town to a zone occupied by Israeli troops inside southern Lebanon.
Lebanese officials say Israeli troops are enforcing the zone's northern boundary by firing at anyone approaching it, including civilians and Lebanese soldiers.
The military official said farmers had continued to enter and leave Mansouri, but had not been living there.
Trump shrugs off Iran school strike as questions over U.S. role remain
13:00 , James ReynoldsPresident Donald Trump said this week that it may never be determined who was responsible for a deadly strike on a girls’ school in Iran that killed scores of children on the first day of the Iran war, as questions continue over whether U.S. forces were involved.
The February 28 strike in Minab, southern Iran, killed more than 175 children and teachers, according to Iranian officials, triggering international outrage and renewed scrutiny of the U.S. military operation.
Trump, speaking to reporters, said the circumstances surrounding the attack may never be fully resolved.
Read the full story:
Trump shrugs off deadly Iran school strike as questions over U.S. role remain
Oil prices come down after spike over renewed action in Hormuz
12:30 , James ReynoldsOil prices have eased again following a recent spike over renewed clashes in the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude fell 1.8 per cent on Friday after rising 4 per cent after the International Maritime Organisation said it was pausing its planned evacuation of ships trapped around the channel.
That decision came after a cargo vessel reported being struck by an ‘unknown projectile’ while trying to transit the strait near the Omani coast.
Recap: UN nuclear watchdog insists the Iran deal grants access to nuclear inspectors
12:00 , James ReynoldsThe IAEA’s top official claimed again on Friday that the interim US-Iran peace accord gives UN nuclear inspectors access to Iran, after the Islamic Republic said it did not.
"There is an agreement and to comply with that agreement, the IAEA will have to have access and inspect," Rafael Grossi told a press conference in Japan on Friday. "We hope to be there soon."
Grossi said that inspectors have already held an initial exchange with Iranian officials to discuss technical issues. The first goal of any visit to Iran would be to check whether IAEA seals on previously inspected material remained intact and whether any material was missing, he said.
The comments come after Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Wednesday there were no plans to grant access to inspectors.
In full: Oil prices fall below pre-Iran war levels as fears grow of oversupply
11:30 , James ReynoldsOil prices have fallen below their levels before the outbreak of the Iran conflict, as traders increasingly bet that a surge in crude supplies could outweigh lingering geopolitical risks in the Middle East.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, dropped as low as $72.24 a barrel on Thursday, slipping beneath the $72.48 closing price recorded on the eve of US and Israeli strikes against Iran in late February.
The decline marks a dramatic reversal from the sharp price spikes seen during the conflict, which raised fears of severe disruption to global energy markets.
Oil prices fall below pre-Iran war levels as fears grow of global crude oversupply
In pictures: Man sifts through rubble of home destroyed in Lebanon conflict
11:00 , James Reynolds
Safe passage through Hormuz cannot be guaranteed without coordination, says Tehran
10:41 , James ReynoldsIran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz could not be guaranteed without coordination with Iran, and that failure to coordinate could result in the suspension of any designated route.
The comments posted on social media platform X on Friday came after Oman, in coordination with the International Maritime Organization, designated temporary routes for passage through the strait.
Oil flows to Europe recovering - but will take time, says EU
10:30 , James ReynoldsThe European Union's oil co-ordination group said on Friday that while flows of oil were slowly recovering following a preliminary pact to try to end the Iran war, it would nevertheless take some time for those supplies to reach Europe.
"The Oil Coordination Group noted reports that trade flows are slowly beginning to recover following the memorandum of understanding signed between the United States and Iran last week. However, the group also noted that it will take time for supplies from the region to reach Europe," it said.
"As regards crude oil, the group noted that the situation is stable for the time being, largely owing to global stock draws in the last months," it added in a statement.
Why has the plan to evacuate ships through Hormuz been paused?
10:00 , James ReynoldsThe UN’s International Maritime Organisation paused its plans to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday after a vessel reported an attack.
Taiwan's Evergreen Marine said on Friday its ship was hit close to Oman by an "unknown object" while on a route recommended by the British navy agency UKMTO.
Two US officials told Reuters that Iran had fired on the ship, while Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which Tehran established to manage requests for ships to travel through the strait, said vessels outside routes it has set will not be guaranteed safe passage.
The IMO was helping to get hundreds of stranded ships and thousands of seafarers out of the strait where they had been stranded for months since the start of the war on February 28.
It 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," IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement.
The IMO said the ship in the suspected attack was not part of its evacuation initiative, a voluntary option it launched on Tuesday to enable ships and their crew to sail out of the Gulf using two routes — one via Iranian waters and the other via Omani waters, with US oversight.
Oil prices come down after spike over renewed action in Hormuz
09:30 , James ReynoldsOil prices have eased again following a recent spike over renewed clashes in the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude fell 1.8 per cent on Friday after rising 4 per cent after the International Maritime Organisation said it was pausing its planned evacuation of ships trapped around the channel.
That decision came after a cargo vessel reported being struck by an ‘unknown projectile’ while trying to transit the strait near the Omani coast.
Iranian airport reopens after four months
09:26 , James ReynoldsIran’s Kish airport has resumed operations following a four-month suspension, NourNews reports, in a sign of renewed optimism around an end to the conflict.
Iran hits back over 'interventionist' US-GCC comments
09:07 , James ReynoldsIran’s foreign ministry says yesterday’s joint statement from the US and the Gulf Cooperation Council contains “interventionist, irresponsible and provocative” positions, warning the US military presence in the region is a source of insecurity and division.
Marco Rubio on Thursday reiterated the US’s commitment to GCC security, and foreign ministers from GCC member states “emphasized that lasting regional peace and security requires addressing the full spectrum of Iran’s threats”.
In comments today, Iran urges the Gulf States to prevent the use of their territory for any future attacks against it.
They also reiterate that Hormuz shipping will be governed with Oman.
Watch: Tucker Carlson brushes off Trump's threats toward Iran: 'Shut up b****'
09:00 , James ReynoldsUN nuclear watchdog insists the Iran deal grants access to nuclear inspectors
08:30 , James ReynoldsThe IAEA’s top official claimed again on Friday that the interim US-Iran peace accord gives UN nuclear inspectors access to Iran, after the Islamic Republic said it did not.
"There is an agreement and to comply with that agreement, the IAEA will have to have access and inspect," Rafael Grossi told a press conference in Japan on Friday. "We hope to be there soon."
Grossi said that inspectors have already held an initial exchange with Iranian officials to discuss technical issues. The first goal of any visit to Iran would be to check whether IAEA seals on previously inspected material remained intact and whether any material was missing, he said.
The comments come after Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Wednesday there were no plans to grant access to inspectors.
Saudi Aramco resumes oil loading today at Ras Tanura after 4-month halt
08:11 , Arpan RaiSaudi Aramco has resumed oil loading today at its Ras Tanura terminal in the Gulf after a near four-month halt, shipping data from LSEG showed, in a sign that Middle Eastern producers are pushing forward with plans to boost exports despite a ship attack in the Strait of Hormuz.
Ras Tanura sits on Saudi Arabia's eastern coast on the Gulf and is west of the Strait of Hormuz. It used to export more than 5 million bpd of crude before the conflict.
The country's largest domestic 550,000 bpd refinery is also located at Ras Tanura, which was shut during the war as a precautionary measure.
Aramco last loaded a cargo from the Ras Tanura port for China on 8 March, LSEG data showed, and had to divert its exports to the Red Sea port of Yanbu after the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz during its war with the US and Israel prevented ships from entering the Gulf.
The war has caused Saudi crude exports to slump to about 4 million bpd in the past three months, the data showed, from more than 7 million bpd in February.
Two Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) controlled by Saudi's shipping arm Bahri were seen loading crude at Ras Tanura, the world's biggest oil port, while another waited nearby, the data showed. Each VLCC is capable of loading 2 million barrels of oil.
South Korea president says three more ships to leave Strait of Hormuz over the weekend
07:58 , Arpan RaiSouth Korean president Lee Jae Myung said on X on Friday that three additional vessels are set to depart the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.
He added that this will leave five South Korean cargo ships trapped in the key waterway since the beginning of the US-Israel war with Iran.
Iranian wanted by US for hacking arrested by FBI and Montenegrin police
07:29 , Arpan RaiMontenegrin police and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested an Iranian national suspected of hacking attacks that damaged US infrastructure to the tune of $3.4bn, Montenegrin police said.
The 39-year-old man, with dual Iranian and Turkish citizenship, is sought by the Southern District Court in New York on charges including conspiracy to commit computer fraud, hacking, and identity theft.
He was arrested in the Adriatic coastal resort of Kotor, Montenegro’s police directorate said on Thursday.
“From 2013 onward,... he carried out massive hacking attacks ... targeting more than 150 universities in the United States, causing damage estimated at over $3.4 billion," it added in a statement.
The case will now go to a High Court judge in Montenegro’s capital of Podgorica for extradition proceedings, the police added.
The acquired data, as well as access to compromised university accounts, were used for the benefit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other Iranian entities, including universities, it said.
Soldiers wounded during the Iran war accuse Pentagon of downplaying their injuries
07:09 , Arpan RaiTwo U.S. soldiers wounded in the war with Iran have accused the Pentagon of downplaying the extent of their injuries, according to a report.
CBS News has conducted interviews with Chief Warrant Officer Rodney Bearman and Sergeant First Class Cory Hicks, both of whom were injured when an Iranian drone hit their base at Port of Shuaiba in Kuwait on March 1.
The attack, which saw six soldiers killed, was part of the retaliatory strikes against U.S. and Israeli allies in the Gulf launched by Tehran in response to the launch of Operation Epic Fury a day earlier.
Bearman, 57, was left with shrapnel wounds and also suffered concussion, hearing and vision loss and damage to his lungs, according to medical records reviewed by the network, but the U.S. Army classified his condition only as “not seriously injured.”
Soldiers wounded during the Iran war accuse Pentagon of downplaying their injuries
US-Iran agreement grants access to Tehran's nuclear sites, IAEA chief says
06:41 , Arpan RaiThe interim US-Iran peace accord gives inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog access to Iran, the agency's chief said this morning, after Tehran indicated that key sites would remain off-limits until a final deal with Washington is reached and sanctions are lifted.
“There is an agreement and to comply with that agreement, the IAEA will have to have access and inspect," International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said at a news conference in Japan.
"We hope to be there soon."
Trump revisits Iran school strike months after attack, says ‘I don’t think it was us’
06:03 , Arpan RaiPresident Donald Trump said Wednesday that it may never be determined who was responsible for a deadly strike on a girls’ school in Iran that killed scores of children on the first day of the Iran war, as questions continue over whether US forces were involved.
The 28 February strike in Minab, southern Iran, killed more than 175 children and teachers, according to Iranian officials, triggering international outrage and renewed scrutiny of the US military operation.
Trump, speaking to reporters, said the circumstances surrounding the attack may never be fully resolved.
“I don’t know that they are ever going to solve that problem,” Trump said, referring to questions over responsibility.
“I don’t know that they are ever going to solve that problem in terms of whose fault was it because there were missiles flying all over the place, and it’s horrible what happened but there were missiles flying all over the place,” he added.
Trump said he had not seen evidence proving the strike was carried out by US forces.
Trump shrugs off deadly Iran school strike as questions over U.S. role remain
Watch: Rubio dismisses UAE fears over Strait of Hormuz toll as ‘semantics’ despite threat to peace talks
05:38 , Arpan RaiIsraeli troops fatally shoot a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank
05:10 , Arpan RaiIsraeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man inside his home in the occupied West Bank, a relative said on Thursday.
The Israeli military confirmed the shooting and said the man had thrown objects at the soldiers.
Mustafa Al-Khatib, 32, was found dead in his bedroom in the West Bank village of Sarta, about 32 kilometres (20 miles) north of Jerusalem.
Soldiers had broken through the front door, according to Al-Khatib's cousin, Amin Al-Khatib.
“I entered the house. They had broken the door,” Amin said. “He was lying in his bedroom. ... We found him on the ground.”
The Israeli military said it was operating in the area when a man started to throw objects at the soldiers. It said troops fired warning shots before aiming at the man.
Video footage from inside the house showed ransacked cupboards and bloodstains on the floor.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah said in a statement that Al-Khatib's death brought the number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank to 72 since the beginning of the year.
Rubio tells Gulf allies Iran deal will ensure their security and promises access to Hormuz
04:59 , Arpan RaiUS Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Gulf allies on Thursday that any deal with Iran would take their interests into account, as he wrapped up a Middle East trip aimed at winning over regional partners with deep reservations about the preliminary accord.
Speaking at a meeting of Gulf Arab foreign ministers in Bahrain, home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, Rubio said Washington was seeking an enduring peace with long-time foe Iran that would not come at the expense of the security of allies in the oil-rich region, many of whom see the deal as too soft after coming under Iranian attack during the conflict.
Iran fought two of the world's most powerful armies, the US and Israel, during the conflict and took effective control of the vital Strait of Hormuz, heavily disrupting oil flows and rattling global energy markets and the wider economy.
He told reporters that Gulf allies shared some very serious concerns and that they wanted to be informed of every step of the peace accord, which includes provisions on Hormuz.
In a joint statement later on Thursday, the US and the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) said a lasting peace would mean addressing Iran's ballistic missiles, drones and support for proxy groups.
They also backed "free, unconditional, and unrestricted navigation" in the Strait of Hormuz without "any tolls, fees, or attempts to assert control."
If Iran threatens or blocks ships in the strait, "then we're going to have a problem," Rubio said, having earlier told ministers that "no country on Earth has the right to charge for the use of international waterways" and that fees for shipping would never be part of any deal.
Trump says US to buy farm goods with unfrozen Iranian assets
04:30 , Arpan RaiDonald Trump said on Thursday the United States would soon buy wheat, soybeans and corn from American farmers using Iranian assets that have been frozen under US sanctions.
“We have a new market coming up, and that's called The Lovely Country of Iran. It's a beautiful place. Would anybody like to go there? They're having a hard time with food and we're going to be taking some of their money and we'll spend it and we're going to be buying wheat, soybeans, and corn, a lot of it, and that process is going to be starting soon. It’s going to be big,” he said.
Eight more South Korean vessels exit Strait of Hormuz, ministry says
04:28 , Arpan RaiEight more South Korean vessels have exited the Strait of Hormuz, South Korea's Oceans Ministry said today.
A total of five South Korean-operated ships remained in the area, with 47 crew members on board as of 9am Seoul time on Friday, the ministry said.
The ministry declined to disclose details on the vessels, citing requests from shippers and crew members.
UN halts escort of ships through Hormuz after vessel comes under attack
03:57 , Arpan RaiThe UN International Maritime Organization paused its operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz yesterday after a vessel reported an attack, reigniting concerns about whether a preliminary deal to end the Iran war would hold.
The IMO 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", secretary general Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement.
It said the ship involved in the suspected attack was not part of its evacuation programme.
The cargo ship said it was hit close to Oman by a projectile, according to British naval agency UKMTO, hours after Tehran warned vessels against taking routes that it had not approved.
Two US officials told Reuters Iran had fired on the ship, while Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which Tehran established to manage requests for ships to travel through the strait, said vessels outside routes it had set would not be guaranteed safe passage.
“Consequences arising from passage through unauthorized routes shall be the responsibility of the owner, operator, and vessel commander," the Iranian authority said.
Drone strike hits commercial vessel in Strait of Hormuz
03:48 , Jasmine FernándezIran’s Revolutionary Guards attacked a Singapore-flagged commercial vessel with a drone on Thursday, damaging the ship's bridge off the coast of Oman, CBS News reported. Though no casualties were reported, the strike directly challenges ongoing international efforts to reopen the critical shipping corridor.
In response, the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization has temporarily paused its evacuation plan for stranded ships to reconfirm safety guarantees. The attack creates a sudden setback just a week after a U.S.-Iran agreement briefly boosted maritime traffic back toward normal levels.
Trump was boasting of his ability to buy ‘good maple trees’ in early days of Iran war, book claims
03:00 , Alex CroftPresident Donald Trump was more enthusiastic about buying “good maple trees” for the White House than discussing his recently-launched war with Iran when visited by two reporters in March, a new book claims.
In the latest advanced extract from Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, the authors recount an hour-long Oval Office meeting with the president in the early weeks of the conflict, a moment in which the Strait of Hormuz was newly-shutttered, driving up global oil prices.
Trump had attacked Haberman on Truth Social three days before the sitdown as a”SLEAZEBAG writer” but the pair found him in a buoyant mood.
Joe Sommerlad writes:
Trump boasted he was ‘good at buying maple trees’ in early days of Iran war: report
Iran and India discuss expanding energy ties
01:29 , Alex CroftIran and India discussed strengthening energy cooperation and trade during a meeting between their oil ministers on the sidelines of a BRICS energy ministers’ gathering in India, the Iranian oil ministry's news outlet Shana reported on Thursday.
Last week, Iran and the US signed an interim deal, after which Washington issued a temporary license for the export of Iranian energy products.
India has historically been an important buyer of Iranian crude, but suspended imports in 2019 following the re-imposition of US sanctions on the export of Iranian oil.
