US bombs Iran again overnight; Tehran retaliates against US bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Jordan | LIVE

Iran will cease to comply with MoU if US fails to honor its commitments

The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Esmail Baghaei, has stated that Iran will not honor its commitments under the memorandum of understanding concluded with the United States “until the other party honors its own,” reports Reuters.

He also stated that Tehran is seeking to establish a joint mechanism with Oman regarding the management of the Strait of Hormuz, but that pressure exerted by the United States on Muscat “has hampered these efforts."

Barrot and Guterres call on Iran and the United States to exercise restraint and return to the negotiating table

When asked about the recent resurgence of tensions between Iran and the United States, the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, refused to say that war had resumed in the Gulf, whilst calling on the various parties to return to the negotiating table.

“The fact is that an agreement has been reached which provides for very simple measures, namely the cessation of hostilities, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the start of negotiations to strictly regulate Iran’s nuclear program,” he said in an interview on BFM TV/RMC. He once again called on all parties to return “to the negotiating framework set out in this agreement because ... they have no interest in escalation.”

Furthermore, Antonio Guterres, the U.N. Secretary-General, urged Washington and Tehran to exercise “the utmost restraint” and to “resume negotiations as a matter of urgency,” reports AFP.

Heaviest exchange of fire between Iran and US since April 8

The twin wave of air strikes carried out last night by the United States against Iran, followed by several waves of strikes claimed by the Revolutionary Guards against Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain, constituted the most intense exchanges of fire on both sides since the cease-fire of April 8.

Since Iranian fire resumed last Tuesday against ships attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, clashes have reignited with an intensity not seen for weeks, resulting in five exchanges of fire within the space of six days.

The United States accuses Iran in particular of hitting the GFS Galaxy, a Cypriot-flagged container ship, in the strait over the weekend. 23 crew members were rescued and another is missing, the Sultanate of Oman announced on Sunday, adding that the search is continuing.

Iranian diplomats have “strongly condemned” the latest U.S air strikes and criticized Washington for having “undone all the efforts of recent months” aimed at ending the war triggered by the Israeli-U.S. attack on Iran on Feb. 28.

US air strikes on Iran kill at least 1 person and injure 4 others

According to Iranian state media, the latest wave of air strikes carried out by the U.S. military against large areas of western and southern Iran has killed at least one person and injured four in Mahshahr (south-west), according to a local official quoted by the official IRNA news agency.

Late on Sunday, the agency had already reported one death and two injuries on Farur Island in the Persian Gulf.

Two Iranian soldiers were also killed over the weekend in strikes on Bushehr and the port of Jask, both in southern Iran.

According to Iranian news agencies, large areas of southern and western Iran were hit last night, notably the island of Qeshm and Bandar Abbas, near the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the province of Khuzestan, which borders Iraq.

Air-raid sirens sound for the third time in Bahrain; US drone shot down in southern Iran

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry has announced that it has once again activated its air-raid warning systems due to a suspected new intrusion into its airspace, as it had already done overnight following the Iranian attacks on the country.

“Citizens and residents are asked to remain calm, seek shelter in a safe place and follow updates from official channels,” the ministry stated.

Meanwhile, a U.S. suicide drone was “precisely targeted and shot down” over Bandar Abbas, in southern Iran, according to the official Tasnim news agency.

South Lebanon: Israel blows up buildings in districts of Marjayoun and Bint Jbeil

In southern Lebanon, the night was marked by several bombings of buildings carried out by the Israeli army in the districts of Bint Jbeil and Marjayoun. Explosions were heard in the town of Bint Jbeil and in Haddatha, where houses were also set alight. Between Deir Siryan and Qantara, a large-scale explosion took place.

Tensions around the Strait of Hormuz: Oil prices rise

The Islamic Republic’s announcement at the weekend of a further closure of this strategic waterway for global oil trade has sent oil prices soaring once again. The price of a barrel of North Sea Brent crude for September delivery, the international benchmark, jumped by more than 4% to $79.13 shortly after 4:30 GMT (7:30 a.m. in Lebanon).

Tehran attacks Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan in retaliation to US bombings

Iran has claimed attacks on U.S. military sites in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Jordan in retaliation for Washington’s renewed bombardment of its southern coast. The Iranian Tasnim news agency has reported Iran shot down a U.S.-manufactured “Lucas” suicide drone in Bandar Abbas.

The exchange of fire comes a day after the U.S. military said it hit at least 140 targets in Iran overnight Saturday to Sunday, continuing a week-long return to fighting sparked by Iranian strikes on ships bypassing its rules for transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.

A military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, quoted by Iranian state-media yesterday, described the waterway as “more important than dozens of nuclear bombs.” The night before, Iran declared the strait once again shut and has since fired on a Cyprus-flagged ship attempting to cross it as well as on Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain.

“In addition to targeting U.S. military installations and infrastructure in Juffair, Bahrain, where fires are raging, the Revolutionary Guards’ navy targeted and destroyed” radar systems, including a ship-detection radar in Oman, according to a statement published on Sepah News. At least one person has been injured in Kuwait, where “three border posts” and an “offshore drilling platform belonging to the Kuwait Oil Company” were targeted, according to the emirate’s authorities.

Hello and welcome to our live news blog

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East, where the last few days have been marked by a resurgence of tensions between the United States and Iran, which engaged in a fifth round of overnight strikes against each other overnight — the fifth such exchange in the space of a week.

We will also be monitoring the situation in southern Lebanon, where Israel continues to occupy several hundred square kilometers along the border and to carry out air strikes and demolitions.

You can find our live coverage of yesterday’s events here and our Morning Brief here.