- Israel hits petrochemical plant in southwestern Iran - Trump tells Iran, Israel to ‘stop shooting’ - Sounds of explosions heard in Tehran - Latest attacks follow Iranian missile strikes on Israel DUBAI, June 8 — Iran’s military announced today that its first wave of attacks on Israel since a ceasefire in April was now over, although it threatened to resume the strikes if Israel continued attacks on Lebanon. There was no immediate response from Israel, which had launched attacks on Iran after Tehran fired missiles towards Israel late on Sunday. Iran had said its strikes were in retaliation for Israeli strikes on the outskirts of Beirut. Earlier, US President Donald Trump demanded that Israel and Iran “immediately stop ‘shooting’”. The flurry of attacks drove oil prices up around 4 per cent and threatened to wreck US-led efforts to broker a deal to end the war. Israel hit a petrochemical plant in southwestern Iran that it said was used to produce ballistic missiles. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it retaliated with a strike aimed at a similar Israeli plant in the city of Haifa. The first direct exchange between Israel and Iran since April could interfere with Trump’s efforts to end the war he launched alongside Israel at the end of February. Iran’s military headquarters said it had “delivered a painful response” against Israel for its attacks on Lebanon, including Sunday’s strikes on the outskirts of Beirut. “Accordingly, the operations of the armed forces are hereby declared halted; however, it is emphasized that if the aggressions and acts of mischief continue — including in southern Lebanon — much more severe and crushing actions than before will follow.” In one of several posts on social media, Trump said Israel and Iran both wanted “an immediate CEASEFIRE! Final negotiations on ‘Peace’ are proceeding, subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way.” He added that a US blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place till a final deal was reached. An Israeli official said Trump had spoken on Monday to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Earlier on Monday an Israeli military official said Israel was prepared for a range of options for military strikes against Iran, from several days to “as long as it takes”. Israel had struck Iranian air defence systems that were being rebuilt after previous Israeli attacks, as well as the petrochemical plant. In a similarly defiant vein, an Iranian military source quoted by the Tasnim news agency had said Tehran was prepared for a prolonged conflict with Israel and for renewed strikes against US interests in the region. ‘Extreme suspicion’ Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was exchanging messages with Washington in an atmosphere of “extreme suspicion”. Israel’s actions in Lebanon, whether carried out with US knowledge and consent or not, were aimed at sabotaging diplomacy, he added. “The United States bears direct responsibility for any action the Zionist regime (Israel) takes in relation to violating regional peace and security against Iran,” he said. Iranian media reported the sound of explosions in Tehran on Monday, and the semi-official Mehr news agency said air defences had shot down a drone over the capital. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis pledged in a statement to stop Israel’s maritime navigation in the Red Sea, and said they had also fired missiles at Israel. The Houthis have so far largely stayed out of the regional war; they control territory at the mouth of the Red Sea, increasingly important as the alternative route for millions of barrels per day of Middle East oil otherwise blocked by Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz. The Israeli military official said Iran had fired “close to 30 ballistic missiles” at Israel since Sunday evening, and the Houthis a further two missiles. Israel said it struck targets at the Mahshahr petrochemical complex that were used to produce and export raw materials for Iran’s missile programme. A provincial official told Iranian media parts of the plant were damaged. — Reuters
- Israel hits petrochemical plant in southwestern Iran - Trump tells Iran, Israel to ‘stop shooting’ - Sounds of explosions heard in Tehran - Latest attacks follow Iranian missile strikes on Israel DUBAI, June 8 — Iran’s military announced today that its first wave of attacks on …
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A tanker identified as the Kaifan was struck by an unknown projectile northeast of Oman’s Limah in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a July 21 report from UK Maritime Trade Operations. No ships were observed transiting the strait that day. Attribution of the strike and links to prior incidents have not been confirmed by the vessel’s owner.
Goldman Sachs has projected Brent crude averaging $80 per barrel in the fourth quarter and $75 in the following year, conditional on reduced Middle East tensions, while noting upside risks from potential shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz or Red Sea.
Brent prices rose above $91 per barrel amid recent U.S.-Iran exchanges and Houthi threats to Saudi shipments before edging lower on Tuesday. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that mediators had proposed a 10-day ceasefire to preserve an interim agreement.
Opening summary: Iran claims attacks on strait of Hormuz ships amid fresh US strikes Welcome to our live coverage of the latest developments in the Middle East crisis. Iran attacked a tanker in the strait of Hormuz early on Tuesday, forcing its crew to abandon the ship, as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis announced they were imposing an immediate maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea after the two sides traded fire last week for the first time in years.
A Houthi official said the Bab al-Mandeb strait – at the southern end of the Red Sea, through which about 12% of the world’s trade usually passes – would be closed to the Saudis in response to the kingdom’s “unjust blockade on Yemenis for over 10 years”.
Saudi Arabia said it would take “all necessary measures to protect its vessels in accordance with international law”. A 10 consecutive night of US airstrikes has not compelled Tehran to loosen its grip on the strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy supplies.
But even as Iran’s president said the country had returned “full-scale war”, the Iranian interior minister travelled to Pakistan – a key mediator in the conflict – for talks. In key developments: The latest US strikes came hours after Donald Trump said Iran would pay “many times over” for killing US soldiers after multiple service members were killed in action over the weekend.
A tanker came under attack early Tuesday in the Hormuz strait off Oman, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed the attack as well as two other attacks on ships in the waterway on Monday.
The US military’s Central Command said its latest airstrikes were to “degrade” Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping in the strait and included hitting military command centres and missile and drone launch sites. Iranian media reported strikes in parts of the country including Bandar Abbas, Tabriz and Bushehr, home to the country’s only operational civilian nuclear power.
Iran’s launched attacks in response against Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, which all host US forces. Oil prices softened after hitting their highest levels in more than a month in the previous session. Brent crude futures eased 0.4% to $88.87 a barrel by 0052 GMT on Tuesday while US West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was steady at $82.
47 a barrel. Democrats have seized on the deaths of three US troops killed in Iranian strikes to urge Trump to urgently reverse his resumption of the war with Iran amid widespread anxiety over climbing casualties. The Lebanese army began taking charge of security in three southern villages, the US said, as a deal to secure an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah faced its first test on the ground.
US forces struck the tanker Settebello in the Gulf of Oman on June 10, killing three Indian crew members when munitions hit the engine room and adjacent areas. Maritime tracking data indicate the vessel had transported Iranian oil under US sanctions for several years and conducted offshore transfers prior to the strike.
The US military described the action as a precision operation, while reports note the ship was stationary at the time.