The U.S. military said it completed a sixth consecutive night of strikes on Iran late on Thursday, targeting logistics infrastructure and maritime capabilities. Iran responded by launching strikes at U.S. bases in neighbouring countries.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said Friday that it intercepted four ships attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz with what it described as the support of the U.S. military.
It said in a statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim News Agency that the vessels were stopped during a combined missile and drone operation in the strategic waterway.
The statement did not identify the ships, their ownership or destination, and provided no details on the circumstances of the incident.
The IRGC Navy warned the owners of the vessels not to rely on "baseless support" of the U.S. military and urged them to heed its warnings. It also cautioned leaders of some countries in the southern Persian Gulf against being misled by US support.
Bahrain's Interior Ministry says sirens have sounded across the country, urging residents to remain alert. No further details have been provided on the cause of the alert.
The Saudi civil defense issued early on Saturday two early warnings for Al-Kharj city and Yanbu to be alert to "potential danger," but it later said the danger has passed in both areas, without providing details on the danger that triggered the warnings.
Iranian media, citing a local official, report that three people were killed and eight others were wounded in what authorities described as "enemy" attacks in the southern province of Hormozgan.
The reported casualties come as strikes continue across southern Iran.
Two oil tankers exploded and caught fire after passing through a mined route south of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's state TV reported early on Saturday, citing a statement from Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency says five explosions were heard in the central city of Yazd.
Separately, Mehr reported that several areas of the southwestern city of Ahvaz were struck by U.S. missiles, with no immediate information on casualties or damage.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say ballistic missiles and drones destroyed what they described as Bahrain’s “main artificial intelligence centre”.
The IRGC also claimed it targeted a depot housing US unmanned aerial vehicles in Bahrain, according to state news agency IRNA.
Iranian state TV says the sound of three explosions has been heard in the southern Iranian city of Sirik.
There has been no immediate information on the cause of the blasts or any reported casualties.
The U.S. Central Command on Friday said the U.S. military conducted a new round of strikes on Iran.
Drone and rocket strikes have targeted camps of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in Iraq's Kurdistan Region, with the Komala party accusing Iran of carrying out the attack.
Earlier, the U.S.-led coalition said it intercepted eight explosive drones over Erbil, while Kurdish authorities reported no casualties or damage from those interceptions.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday vowed that his country would defend “every inch” of its territory after three villagers were killed while crossing the Bandar Khamir bridge in southern Iran.
“Three villagers were martyred while crossing the Bandar Khamir bridge,” Araghchi said on X.
“They were absolutely innocent, and we will never allow their blood to be in vain,” he added.
Iranian media reported earlier that at least eight people were killed and several others injured in strikes on Bandar Abbas, Bandar Khamir, Qeshm Island, Sirik and Iranshahr.
An adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader, Mohsen Rezaei, said Tehran could move from a defensive posture to an offensive war if U.S. attacks continue.
Speaking to Iranian state TV, Rezaei said that if U.S. strikes persist for several more days, Iran will enter a phase of "full-scale offensive operations."
Iran's Tasnim news agency, citing an informed source, reported that a Thai-flagged vessel was targeted in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday.
The vessel allegedly ignored warnings and attempted to transit the waterway without permission from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy.
According to the source, the IRGC Navy confronted the vessel before targeting it. Thai or U.S. authorities have not immediately commented.
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) said the Nordic Zenith tanker was attacked near its Black Sea export terminal, preventing the vessel from loading oil as scheduled.
According to CPC, the tanker suffered a fire following the attack and was deemed unfit for loading operations.
The consortium said it evacuated 13 crew members after the vessel sent an SOS signal. Another nine people remained on board voluntarily, according to CPC's press service.
No further details on the cause of the attack were immediately provided.
Pakistan and Kuwait are negotiating a broader defence agreement that could be linked to energy cooperation and investment, according to sources familiar with the discussions.
The talks are still at an early stage, but Kuwait is reportedly seeking deeper military cooperation, including support similar to Pakistan's existing defence arrangement with Saudi Arabia.
Sources said Pakistan is considering potential benefits such as energy security, cooperation and investment, including proposals related to fuel storage and supply.
The discussions come amid heightened regional tensions involving the U.S. and Iran and could raise questions about Pakistan's role in Gulf security and future mediation efforts. Officials familiar with the talks said Islamabad is not currently considering the deployment of combat troops to Kuwait.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Israel of seeking to draw the United States into an “unwinnable war of choice”, citing a media report on alleged Israeli influence operations targeting supporters of President Donald Trump.
He also claimed Israel was using U.S. taxpayer money to silence its critics, adding that it would “all soon unravel”.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted the U.S. Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, according to Iran's state news agency IRNA.
A vessel transiting the Gulf of Aden was boarded by unauthorised personnel about 65 nautical miles south of Yemen's Al Mukalla port, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said.
An Iranian strike damaged one of Kuwait's power generation and water desalination plants, triggering a fire and disrupting multiple electricity generation units, authorities said.
British police have charged a 39-year-old man with assisting Iran's intelligence service under national security laws, as authorities step up efforts to counter alleged Tehran-backed activity in the UK.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they targeted U.S. fighter jets stationed in Jordan, according to Iranian state media.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that its navy targeted radar sites in Oman, including a U.S. air-control radar, according to the ISNA news agency.
Citing an IRGC statement, the news agency reported that a naval control radar on the Salameh Rocks and a U.S. air-control radar in Oman's Ghanem region were targeted at dawn.
The IRGC claimed both radar systems were destroyed.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen to its lowest daily level since May, with just three commodity vessels crossing on Thursday as ships halted or turned back amid renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran.
China and Pakistan have called for an immediate ceasefire and the resumption of talks between the United States and Iran, China's foreign ministry said.
Jordan’s armed forces said they intercepted three Iranian missiles targeting the country. No casualties or material damage were reported.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards say they struck the former U.S. base at al-Tanf in Syria in retaliation for the killing of Iranian soldiers in Iranshahr.
The claim could not be independently verified, while the U.S. military has previously said it withdrew from the base.
The Guards also said Iran would halt oil and gas exports through the Strait of Hormuz while U.S. attacks continue.
IEA warns global energy security is at risk if oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz do not improve in the coming weeks, saying emergency reserves and higher U.S. production can only offset supply disruptions for so long.
"Oil security is still a critical issue," head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, told a Council on Foreign Relations event on Thursday.
"We should be worried, and I am worried if the situation does not improve in the next few weeks."
Seven people were killed in U.S. attacks on bridges in Bandar Khamir, a port city in southern Iran, IRNA reported, citing the Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences.
Three explosions were heard in the south-eastern Iranian port city of Chabahar, state media reported.
Air raid sirens sounded across Bahrain for a second time on Friday, the country's interior ministry said, amid heightened regional tensions.
Qatar’s defence ministry said its forces intercepted an Iranian missile attack early on Friday. The interior ministry said a child was injured by shrapnel during the interception and was receiving medical treatment.
Explosion-like sounds were heard in Doha as security alerts were sent to mobile phones. Iran has intensified attacks on Gulf states following U.S. strikes on its territory.
U.S. projectiles struck Qeshm Island and areas near Bandar Abbas on Thursday evening, targeting locations close to Iran's largest port and key naval and Revolutionary Guards facilities on the Strait of Hormuz.
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An agreement between Iran and the U.S. to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is expected "soon," a U.S. official has said. The deal would result in the resumption of commercial shipping through the sea passage and the lifting of an American naval blockade on Iranian ports.
Flights arriving at Catania airport in eastern Sicily were suspended after volcanic ash from a new eruption of Mount Etna drifted into the airspace around the airport, disrupting operations at one of Italy’s busiest aviation hubs.
A deal on a new route for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is "very close," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said, while warning that the reopening of the waterway depends on the U.S. meeting other conditions, including paying compensation to Iran.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 9th of August, covering the latest developments.
Iran said it was nearing a final pact with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz but repeated that the U.S. must meet other conditions.
Iran said it was nearing a final pact with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz but repeated that the U.S. must meet other conditions.
A deal on a new route for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is "very close," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said, while warning that the reopening of the waterway depends on the U.S. meeting other conditions, including paying compensation to Iran.
An agreement between Iran and the U.S. to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is expected "soon," a U.S. official has said. The deal would result in the resumption of commercial shipping through the sea passage and the lifting of an American naval blockade on Iranian ports.
U.S. President Donald Trump said negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz are progressing and suggested an agreement with Iran could be reached “soon”.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, two key maritime chokepoints in the region, decreased significantly from the previous day, according to shipping data.
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