Page 19 - Latest Updates on West Asia Conflict

Iran fires several rounds of missiles at Israel as Trump defends ceasefire

Negotiations between Washington and Tehran are bogged down over the fate of billions of dollars of frozen Iranian assets and a parallel conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon

US intel warns Israel 'spied' on US officials during Iran peace push

The Defence Department has increased the counterintelligence threat assessment to its highest level, and Israel is believed to have eavesdropped on American negotiations with Iran

US likely to use Iranian assets to help Gulf allies recover from war

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also directed a team to assess costs for damage already inflicted on Gulf allies by Iran

US hits Iranian radar sites after drones target shipping near Hormuz

Iran fired ​seven ballistic ​missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain ​hours after Centcom shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones that were launched toward ​the Strait of Hormuz

How oil avoided a $200 surge despite the biggest supply shock ever

Governments around the globe coordinated a historic release of strategic reserves, while Gulf producers rerouted shipments through alternative export routes

Israeli airstrike kills Lebanese soldiers days after ceasefire deal

An Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon Saturday killed several members of the Lebanese military, including a senior officer, the Lebanese army said, days after the two sides reached a new ceasefire deal. The airstrike on the road linking the city of Nabatiyeh with the town of Marjayoun occurred in the morning. The army did not give further details or release the names or ranks of the troops killed. Local TV stations reported that two members of the military were killed in the airstrike, including a brigadier general. The latest declared ceasefire came about through US-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon's government, which accuses Hezbollah of dragging the country into war and had made efforts to disarm it before the latest hostilities. The Lebanese militant group has refused the truce. The war began on March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel, two days after Israel and the US began their attacks on Iran. Israel has since launched a ground invasion of Lebanon

Millions are being pushed into hunger by Iran war, says UN food agency

The UN food agency said millions of people are being pushed into acute hunger by the Iran war, as it warned would happen if the conflict escalated and oil prices remained high. The World Food Program said an analysis in three vulnerable countries found that an additional 2.5 million people in Somalia, 2.3 million in Afghanistan and 1.3 million in Sri Lanka are struggling to meet their basic food needs. In March, WFP predicted that 45 million people could be pushed into food insecurity by the end of June. That would be on top of the 318 million people around the world who are already food insecure. "We remain by that prognosis," WFP's acting Executive Director Carl Skau told UN reporters. "That's mainly because the correlation between the prices of energy and food is so tight in many places, and also that in the poorest countries people are already spending all their money on food, and hence when food prices rise, they eat less." WFP said in its report, circulated late Thursday, tha

US military downs four Iranian drones launched toward Strait of Hormuz

The US military said it shot down four Iranian drones that were launched toward the Strait of Hormuz on Friday and then struck some of the Islamic Republic's coastal surveillance radar sites in response, raising the risk to a shaky ceasefire as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on Iran. "The attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic," US Central Command said on social media. The military is enforcing a blockade on Iranian ports in response to Tehran's chokehold on the crucial corridor for global oil and natural gas shipments, which has sent energy prices spiking and posed political problems for President Donald Trump's Republican Party ahead of the midterm congressional elections. US Central Command said it hit the radar sites, including an island in the strait, "to defend against further attacks." It was the latest in back-and-forth attacks that have strained the tenuous ceasefire in the war and efforts to reach a deal to extend that truce. Earl

US, Iran deadlocked over ceasefire terms as conflict nears 100-day mark

Without a breakthrough, the continuing standoff suggests that Iran believes it can bear the current level of pressure longer while betting that the political pain may get Trump to concede

Brent crude oil to remain range-bound in the $90-$115 range, says analyst

The near-term outlook for Brent crude through Q3 2026 is likely to remain range-bound in the $90-115/bbl band, with risks skewed slightly towards a higher floor price for crude oil

Oman suspends oil loading at Mina al Fahal terminal after drone attack

The explosion occurred between single-buoy mooring (SBM) 1 and 2 berths due to an alleged drone attack

UN nuclear watchdog unable to inspect Iran sites, verify uranium stockpile

The UN nuclear watchdog has been unable to inspect nuclear facilities in Iran affected by the war last June according to a confidential report by the UN nuclear watchdog circulated to member states. The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that it "cannot provide any information on the current size, composition or whereabouts of the stockpile of enriched uranium in Iran or whether Iran has suspended all enrichment-related activities." The IAEA warned that it was "unable to discharge its safeguards responsibilities" that it has under the Safeguards Agreement of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, adding that it is "indispensable and urgent" for Tehran to implement its obligations under that Treaty. The only nuclear facility inspected in Iran by IAEA inspectors since the last report in February has been the Bushehr nuclear power plant, which was visited on June 1-3. The reactor currently running at Bushehr uses uranium from Russia enriched to 4.5 per cent, a low level needed

If Iran kills US troops, it would be a good reason to restart war: Trump

Trump, in a post on Truth Social, said that those who voted against him would rather see the country "fail" than give him another victory

Hezbollah rejects ceasefire accord as strikes kill four in Lebanon

Hezbollah on Thursday rejected the latest ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and the Lebanese government, demanding a complete Israeli withdrawal. The announcement came as Israeli strikes killed at least four people, according to local authorities, and a UN peacekeeper was killed in the crossfire. Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem, in a written statement read on TV, said the agreement's demand that Hezbollah fighters leave southern Lebanon under fire would mean "surrender, defeat and achieving the enemy's goals." "What we are concerned about is an end to the aggression, ceasefire and Israel's withdrawal," he said. "We did not make any commitment to any party to stop resisting as long as there is occupation," he added. The ongoing fighting in Lebanon, where Israeli forces have seized large swaths of the south, threatens efforts to end the Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit point for oil and gas whose closure has jolted the world economy. Iran has demanded tha

Mojtaba Khamenei urges steadfastness, unity to 'neutralise enemy's plot'

During the ceremony at the Imam Khomeini shrine, the message was recited in the presence of officials and participants gathered for the annual event

US says no naval vessel was hit in Sea of Oman, accuses Iran of 'lying'

This high-seas confrontation unfolded just hours after Tehran unleashed a heavy salvo of missiles aimed directly at American military installations situated across Kuwait and Bahrain

Oil price cllimbs 2% as West Asia hostilities flare, Iran-US talks stall

Brent ​futures settled up $1.81, or 1.89 per cent, at $97.81 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude ​climbed $2.26, or 2.41 per cent, to $96.02

Israel, Lebanon renew ceasefire, agree to Hezbollah-free security zones

Israel and Lebanon have agreed to renew their fragile ceasefire and create a number of "pilot" security zones inside Lebanon from which Hezbollah militants would be banned. In a joint statement released after a fourth round of US-mediated talks at the State Department, the two sides said the ceasefire "is contingent on a complete cessation of Hezbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hezbollah operatives" from areas south of the Litani River. It was not immediately clear how the security zones would be established but the agreement calls for the Lebanese army to take full control of those areas. "These steps will enable progress towards a comprehensive peace and security agreement," the statement said. "All countries reaffirmed that the future of the relationship between Israel and Lebanon must be decided by the two sovereign governments. They rejected any attempt, by any state or non-state actor, to hold Lebanon's future hostage." The latter is a reference to Iran, which supports

US House approves resolution to halt military action against Iran

The House approved a war powers resolution that would halt the US military action against Iran, defying President Donald Trump as a handful of Republicans joined with Democrats to end the three-month-long war that has reordered politics at home and abroad. House Speaker Mike Johnson had tried to prevent an outcome that would show the mounting opposition to the war, abruptly shutting down floor action two weeks ago when the war powers resolution was on the verge of approval. But displeasure has only grown as the conflict drags on and as Trump struggles to negotiate a quick resolution. The roll call on Wednesday was 215-208, and cheers erupted in the House chamber. "This reckless and costly war of choice needs to end today," House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said earlier in the week. "All we need are a handful of Republicans to join us and we can end this reckless and costly war of choice -- a war that has cost the American taxpayer over USD 100 billion -- that's ..

Strait of Hormuz to reopen 'immediately' once Iran deal is signed: Trump

US President also indicated his preference to keep the issue of reopening the strait separate from the continuing conflict in Lebanon, which has seen intensive Israeli strikes in the southern parts