Page 7 - Latest Updates on West Asia Conflict

British military reports attack on tanker in Strait of Hormuz near Oman

A tanker came under attack travelling through the Strait of Hormuz taking the route closest to Oman, the British military said Friday. The report from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre described the strike as happening early Friday and involving a projectile hitting the vessel. The UKMTO said the ship sustained minor damage to its port side. "All crew are safe and accounted for, no environmental impact has been reported and the vessel is continuing to its next port of call," the UKMTO said. Iran has been attacking tankers travelling on the route near Oman but did not immediately acknowledge any attack.

US airstrikes appear to have damaged tower at Iran's Chabahar port

US airstrikes on Friday appeared to have collapsed a tower at Iran's Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman, a key trade route for Afghanistan. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth shared the image of the surveillance tower appearing to collapse. That image had circulated social media via activists prior to Hegseth sharing it. Chabahar port has been a repeated target of American airstrikes. Iranian state media acknowledged a third round of strikes on the facility without immediately acknowledging the tower's collapse. Iran described the tower as overseeing commercial traffic into the port. However, Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard also operates at ports across the country.

Hormuz open for ships not travelling to or from Iranian ports: White House

The White House said the Strait of Hormuz remains open for commercial vessels not travelling to or from Iranian ports, with the US Navy deployed to secure maritime traffic

US targets bridges in Iran as Tehran fires missiles at Gulf nations

The United States expanded its airstrike campaign against Iran early Friday by increasingly hitting bridges, part of President Donald Trump's threats to start striking infrastructure to pressure Tehran to ease its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz. Iran launched new missile attacks against US-allied nations in the Middle East and warned that its attacks would escalate. In Qatar, authorities warned the public to take shelter as a barrage of Iranian missiles targeted the nation. People heard explosions overhead as air defenses fired to intercept the missiles. Qatar is a key mediator with Pakistan in trying to reach an end to the Iran war. But talks have broken down over Iran's chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz. Iran earlier targeted Bahrain and Kuwait over US airstrikes hitting bridges in the Islamic Republic overnight. The interim ceasefire agreed to last month has collapsed, and the region has endured days of back-and-forth attacks by the US and Iran as they battle for control of t

Iran strikes US military assets in Bahrain with drones amid rising tensions

Iran said it launched Arash drone attacks on US military assets at Bahrain's Sakhir base in response to US strikes on civilian infrastructure, according to state media

Oil prices rise on growing US-Iran hostilities, threat of Red Sea closure

Oil prices edged higher, with Brent crude above $85 a barrel, as escalating US-Iran attacks raised concerns over disruptions to supplies through the Strait of Hormuz

Iran threatens to destroy 'all infra in region' as US strikes intensify

Iran's joint military command stepped up its threats on Thursday as intensifying US airstrikes target the country, saying it would destroy "all the infrastructure in the region". The threat from the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters referenced US President Donald Trump's repeated warning that he could launch attacks against power plants and bridges in Iran. Col Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesperson for the Iranian military's Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, issued the warning. "All the infrastructure in the region will be crushed under the steel blows of the powerful armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran" should Trump's threat be carried out, Zolfaghari said. "Under no circumstances and in no way will we allow America, as a foreign and extra-regional country, to interfere in the Strait of Hormuz," he added. "This is Iran's invincible red line.

Asian shares decline as AI stocks tumble; South Korea's Kospi down 6.6%

Asian shares were mostly lower Thursday and oil prices slipped despite a flurry of strikes between the US and Iran. US futures edged higher. Selling of AI-related shares weighed on benchmarks in South Korea and Japan. An interest rate hike by the Bank of Korea also contributed to a 6.6% tumble for the Kospi, to 6,816.70. It was the first rate hike by the BOK since 2023 and was aimed at helping curb inflationary pressures due to the Iran war. Memory chipmaker SK Hynix dropped 11.2%, while Samsung Electronics fell 8.2%. Taiwan's Taiex lost 0.3% ahead of the release of an earnings report by Taiwan computer chipmaker TSMC, which is often seen as a barometer for the global industry and for the boom in artificial intelligence. US futures edged higher. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 2.9% to 66,767.64. Shares of Japanese memory chipmaker Kioxia plummeted 13.5%. Chipmaking equipment company Tokyo Electron dropped 5.2%, while chip testing equipment maker Advantest gave up 5.6%. SoftBank Group s

More than half of House Democrats vote to cut Israel aid in growing split

More than half the House Democrats have voted to strip USD 3.3 billion in US aid from Israel, the most substantial signal yet that once rock-solid bipartisan support for the country is disintegrating in the aftermath of its war in Gaza that has killed thousands of Palestinians. Wednesday's vote tally, 104-314, was not enough to attach the amendment to a broader national security spending bill, but stands as a stark accounting of the shifting attitudes that are dividing the Democratic Party and the nation over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war strategy, now approaching its third year. The House's Democratic leadership split over the issue in what was largely seen as a test vote ahead of the US midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. More than 100 Democrats voted for the amendment to strip the foreign military aid money, and almost as many voted against. Most Republicans voted to preserve the Israel aid. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who ...

Iran rules out US talks, says focus remains on defence amid conflict

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei says Tehran will not resume negotiations while the US continues military operations and alleged violations of the June 17 memorandum

Oil prices rise for 4th day as US strikes on Iran raise fears of escalation

Brent crude rises to $85.28 a barrel and WTI to $80.02 as renewed US-Iran tensions raise concerns over supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz

Iranian attacks target Bahrain, Kuwait as US launches more strikes on Iran

Iranian attacks targeted Bahrain and Kuwait early Thursday after the US reimposed a naval blockade on Iran and intensified its airstrike campaign in retaliation for Tehran's attacks on ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The American strikes hit an Iranian army barracks, killed at least seven troops and wounded hundreds of people across the country, Iranian officials said. There was no immediate word on damage or casualties from the Iranian strikes. Days of back-and-forth strikes by the US and Iran across the Middle East - and renewed threats to the waterway crucial to global energy supplies - have shredded the interim deal to end the conflict and the region could tip back into all-out war. The US first imposed a blockade in April and lifted it last month after signing the interim deal that paused the fighting and set a 60-day period for negotiations over issues such as Iran's nuclear programme. Those talks have stalled as fighting over the Strait of Hormuz has ...

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US launches fresh strikes on Iran as standoff over Hormuz escalates

The US military said it has launched another round of strikes against Iran "to degrade their ability to attack commercial ships freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz." The strikes, which took place overnight and into early Monday in Iran, came after attacks by the military on Sunday morning in response to an Iranian strike on a container ship in the critical waterway the day before. Iran responded to those strikes by attacking Gulf Arab states in an escalating cycle of violence that left the negotiations between Tehran and Washington to end the war at the edge of collapse. AP's earlier story follows below The United States attacked Iran on Sunday over an Iranian strike on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz that set it ablaze and left a crew member missing. Iran responded with attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Oman - the nation on the other side of the strait that Tehran has pressed to collaborate in managing shipping traffic. The US struck again later in the day

India condemns attack on commercial ship off Oman coast; 1 Indian missing

The Ministry of External Affairs said 10 of the 11 Indian nationals on board the Cyprus-flagged GFS Galaxy had been rescued, while one was missing

Iran refuses talks with US until conditions on Hormuz, oil exports met

The comments came hours after the US demanded that Iran publicly declare all channels of the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping and pledge not to attack civilian vessels transiting the waterway

Pak PM holds talks with Iran, Qatar to revive stalled US-Iran negotiations

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held separate talks with the leaders of Iran and Qatar in an effort to revive the stalled US-Iran negotiations. The talks were held on Friday night as efforts picked up pace to mend the broken peace bridge between the warring sides after the recent escalation and attacks on the rival targets. In his conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Sharif expressed "deep concern over the recent escalation in tensions in the region" and underscored the urgent need to "restore regional peace and stability," according to a statement by the PM Office. He urged parties to "exercise restraint and refrain from any action that could jeopardise the hard-earned peace gains achieved over the past few months". Sharif stressed the importance of upholding the commitments undertaken under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), describing it as an enduring framework for promoting mutual understanding, respect and shared prosperity in the region and ...

US military prepared to 'decimate' Iran if assassination bid is made: Trump

The US president said he has ordered the military to be ready to launch strikes against Iran if Tehran carries out or attempts to assassinate him, saying orders could remain in force for a year