A US-mediated framework agreement with Lebanon leaves Iran and Hezbollah with no role in the country while allowing Israel to keep a security zone, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz says Israel’s agreement with Lebanon dealt a strategic blow to Iran and troops would remain in a security zone inside southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, the UAE and Jordan condemned Iran's drone attack on Bahrain, expressing solidarity with the kingdom and describing the strike as a violation of its sovereignty.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday US forces conducted additional strikes on multiple targets in Iran following what it described as an Iranian attack on the Panama-flagged tanker M/T Kiku near the Strait of Hormuz.
A tanker was struck by an unidentified projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, damaging its bridge but causing no injuries or pollution, UKMTO said on Saturday.
Iran on Saturday accused the United States of breaching the MoU ending the war, warned neighbouring countries not to allow their territory to be used for attacks against it, and said its strikes on US-linked targets were carried out in self-defence.
The IRGC Navy said it retaliated for a US “violation of commitments” by targeting US military deployment sites in the region, warning that any further aggression would bring a broader response.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said on Sunday that Israel and Lebanon recognized that they were not at war with each other, but with Hezbollah.
“Get rid of the cancer & everyone lives-in PEACE!” he wrote on X.
He also said he had returned to Jerusalem after a week in Washington for a fifth round of Israel-Lebanon peace talks.
Foreign vessels must use routes designated by Iran’s armed forces in the Strait of Hormuz and will not be allowed to use any other path, the head of parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee said on Sunday.
Ebrahim Azizi told Defa Press that the IRGC Navy identifies, guides and monitors vessels once they enter the area.
He said any movement outside routes set by Iran would not be safe or secure, adding that Iran would not permit the use of alternative routes.
Azizi said Iran’s authority over the strategic passage remained in place and “should not return to past conditions.”
He also warned that any breach of US commitments or the ceasefire would face what he called a decisive and regret-inducing response.
“The world must accept the new Iran and the new order the Islamic Republic is pursuing, especially in the Persian Gulf,” Azizi said.
Kuwait’s armed forces detected and intercepted two hostile ballistic missiles inside Kuwaiti airspace early on Sunday, the defense ministry spokesperson said.
Colonel Saud Abdulaziz Al-Atwan said the missiles were dealt with under approved operational procedures.
No material damage or injuries were reported, he said, adding that the armed forces remained on alert.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he met Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein in Baghdad on Sunday.
Araghchi had earlier arrived in the Iraqi capital with an accompanying delegation and visited a memorial for slain commanders Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
Iran’s army was fully prepared to restore the region’s military conditions to the situation before the agreement if the US violated MoU terms, the army spokesman said on Sunday.
Amir Akraminia said Iran had developed more advanced equipment during the 40-day war, including drones used in the final days of the conflict.
He said upgraded missiles were also used by both the army and the Revolutionary Guards during the war.
Akraminia added that Iran had plans both for domestic production and for purchases of advanced equipment from friendly countries, saying the army would soon receive more advanced systems.
Iran’s Mahan and Varesh airlines have formally requested permission to operate flights from Imam Khomeini International Airport to the United Arab Emirates, the airport’s chief executive said on Sunday.
He added that flights to the UAE could likely restart later this week.
The IRGC Navy threatened US bases in the region after American strikes on Sirik, saying Washington’s attacks would not weaken what it described as Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz.
“America’s blind strikes on Sirik will not solve the question of our command over the Strait,” the IRGC Navy command said.
It said Iranian fire against what it called “violators” was meant to remind other vessels of “the clear route” for safe passage.
The IRGC Navy also warned that US bases in the region were “a separate matter,” adding: “They will experience hell in these days.”
Bahrain’s army said it intercepted several Iranian attacks, while the Interior Ministry said a residential building was damaged but no deaths were reported.
The statements came after Bahrain said sirens had sounded and its Foreign Ministry condemned what it called a renewed Iranian attack.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned US airstrikes on several monitoring and surveillance facilities along the country’s southern coast, calling them a renewed violation of an interim agreement meant to end the war.
The ministry said the attacks took place in the early hours of Sunday and violated both the UN Charter and the first clause of the June 18 memorandum aimed at ending the conflict.
“These brutal attacks show that the US does not place the slightest value or credibility on its commitments, and breaking promises is part of its nature,” the ministry said.
Tehran said the strikes targeted facilities used for monitoring and surveillance on Iran’s southern coast.
The Foreign Ministry also called on the UN Security Council and the UN secretary-general to act in defense of international peace and security, while saying Iran reserved its right to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left for Baghdad on Sunday for talks with senior Iraqi officials, with arrangements for funeral ceremonies for slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Iraq’s Shiite holy sites among the issues on the agenda.
Iranian state-linked media said Araghchi would discuss bilateral relations as well as regional and international developments during his official visit.
The report said he would also coordinate with Iraqi authorities over funeral arrangements for Khamenei in the holy shrines, a sign of Tehran’s effort to give the burial ceremonies a regional Shiite dimension beyond Iran’s own cities.
The visit comes as Iran is preparing days of funeral events for Khamenei after his killing during the war, while Tehran also remains locked in disputes with the United States over the ceasefire, the Strait of Hormuz and the future of regional fronts.
Leave a Reply