US, Iran trade strikes as hopes dim for a quick resolution

The stop-start fighting between the United States and Iran appears to have entered a new phase as Saudi Arabia has publicly joined.

Fighting between the US and Iran has intensified over the Strait of Hormuz as both nations launched fresh retaliatory strikes since July 7 targeting strategic military assets and critical infrastructure sites across the region. Iran has targeted American bases across countries in the Gulf region

Conflict enters new phase as Saudi Arabia helps hit proxies

The stop-start fighting between the United States and Iran appears to have entered a new phase as Saudi Arabia has publicly joined military escalations against Tehran-backed proxies and an already untenable diplomatic effort to end the war faltering once again.

Despite several days of relative calm, both sides carried out military strikes in the last 24 hours that once again risk a return to all-out war — and further expansion in the region — while little is clear about what strategy, if any, American or Iranian officials have for a path forward.

Jordan said Thursday it intercepted Iranian missiles for the second consecutive day, while Kuwait said a strike in the northern part of the country killed one person.

The spiraling violence underscored the difficulty of winding down a five-month conflict that has sent the price of fuel and other basics soaring and jolted the world economy. After an earlier hiatus had given hope that diplomatic efforts were moving forward, there was no public sign of progress.

GCC condemns attack on Kuwait

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi forcefully condemned renewed Iranian strikes targeting Kuwait and Jordan, calling them a blatant breach of international law and national sovereignty.

Warning that the strikes mark a dangerous escalation for regional stability, Albudaiwi reaffirmed the GCC’s complete solidarity with both nations, backing whatever measures they take to safeguard their security

China rejects reports of shipment of air-defence missile to Iran

China has denied a Reuters report that said Iran would be receiving 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air-defence missile launchers in weeks. The country called the report “not true and not factual at all.”

Reuters had cited unnamed official sources that said China would be sending Iran air-defence systems.

“The reports are not true and not factual at all,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, adding that Beijing “always works for peace and the end of the conflict.”

Nepalese national killed in Iranian strike in Kuwait, says foreign ministry

A Nepalese worker was killed in an Iranian strike in Kuwait on Thursday, Nepal’s Foreign Ministry said.

The Iranian attack struck a building belonging to a Chinese company in northern Kuwait, said Gulf News quoting Kuwait’s Ministry of Defence.

The Foreign Ministry here said it is awaiting a detailed report on the attack. According to local media, the Nepalese national was working for the Chinese firm.

IRGC says it attacked US military base in Kuwait

The Iranian military has claimed an attack on Kuwait’s Akli al-Salem base this morning, which hosts American forces. According to a statement reported by the Tasnim news agency, two drone hangars along with an aircraft and helicopter fuel tank were set ablaze and destroyed.

Pakistan ‘doing its utmost’ to bring US, Iran back to negotiating table

 Pakistan on Thursday said it was “doing its utmost” to bring the US and Iran back to the negotiating table under the Islamabad memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed last month, amid escalating tensions in the region.

“We support dialogue and diplomacy as they are the only viable path forward,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said at his weekly press briefing here.

Andrabi said Pakistan was “doing its utmost” to revive negotiations between Washington and Tehran and resolve outstanding issues in the spirit of the Islamabad MoU and the Pakistan-Qatar joint statement of June 22.

Drone downed over Imam Khomeini port, says Iran

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shot down a hostile drone over the southwestern port city of Bandar Imam Khomeini early Thursday morning, local state media reported.

According to a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency, the IRGC’s local unit intercepted and destroyed the unmanned aircraft in the city’s airspace. Although debris from the downed drone crashed into a residential home, no casualties were reported. An IRGC ordnance disposal team subsequently secured the crash site, neutralized potential hazards, and cleared the wreckage

Oil prices slip, world shares are mixed

Oil prices bounced between gains and losses on Thursday, and world shares were mixed, with South Korea’s Kospi falling again after losing more than 16 per cent over the past two days due to selling of stocks related to artificial intelligence.

Crude prices remained volatile after the US said early Thursday it had conducted a “heavy wave” of strikes against Iran, responding to an attack on a US base.