The National

The US publicly rejected Israeli proposals to remove Palestinians from Gaza, while Iran claimed missile strikes on US bases in Jordan and Israel freed four more Lebanese detainees via the Red Cross. US diesel hit a record $5.85/gallon amid the Iran war, and the US and allies moved to refer Iran to the UN Security Council over nuclear compliance.

Houthi rebels killed six crew members and wounded ten in a double-tap missile strike on a cargo ship in the Bab al-Mandeb strait, marking the first fatal attack on shipping since the Iran war began. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council chief reiterated that the Strait of Hormuz will only fully reopen when the US accepts Tehran’s conditions, as Pakistan’s interior minister visited Tehran for mediation talks. The IDF condemned settler takeovers of Palestinian homes in the West Bank but did not evacuate them, while Israel and Venezuela agreed to renew consular ties after a 17-year break.

President Trump demanded Iran pay compensation for Americans and protesters killed in the war, while dismissing Tehran’s own reparations demands. Colombia became the second country to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Drone attacks struck Libya’s Zawiya refinery for the third time in 48 hours, and the next round of Israel-Lebanon talks was set for early September.

President Trump threatened to destroy Iranian bridges and power plants for each attack on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, while the IRGC claimed a new strike on US bases in Jordan. The US is expected to sign a 30-year civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, drawing sharp Israeli objections. In Lebanon, the army deployed to a pilot zone as the prime minister visited a southern village, calling for a full Israeli withdrawal.

The US launched a sixth consecutive night of strikes on Iran, expanding targets to areas near Tehran for the first time, while Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks on US military facilities in Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain. Iran instructed Yemen’s Houthis to prepare to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait if US strikes hit Iranian power infrastructure. Israel postponed Prime Minister Netanyahu’s trip to Washington after Senator Lindsey Graham’s funeral was delayed.

The US launched a sixth consecutive night of strikes on Iran, expanding targets to areas near Tehran for the first time, while Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks on US military facilities in Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain. President Trump is reportedly considering a ground operation to seize Iranian islands in the Strait of Hormuz and strikes on the Pickaxe nuclear site. Iran declared the June 17 peace deal void and claimed full freedom of action against US aggression.

The US launched a fifth day of strikes on Iranian military targets and reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, while the IRGC seized at least two ships in the Strait of Hormuz and threatened regional oil routes. Iran reported seven soldiers killed in a US missile strike on an army base in Bampur. US, Israeli, and Lebanese officials agreed to move to expanded technical talks on a Lebanon framework, as Israeli artillery and airstrikes continued in southern Lebanon. In Gaza, the IDF eliminated a Hamas terrorist involved in the October 7 abduction of three soldiers and killed two Nukhba commanders in the north.

The US launched a third consecutive night of strikes on Iranian military targets, as Iran retaliated with attacks on UAE-flagged tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and US bases in Jordan and Bahrain. President Trump reversed his plan for a 20% Hormuz toll, replacing it with Gulf investment deals, while Israel and Lebanon resumed talks in Rome focused on an IDF withdrawal pilot. Houthi rebels threatened a siege on Saudi Arabia after strikes on Sanaa airport, and oil prices rose amid the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

An armed infiltrator in Hezbollah uniform was shot dead by IDF troops after crossing the Lebanon border near Ramim Ridge and opening fire. Israel issued a sweeping evacuation warning for the city of Tyre, including the Christian quarter for the first time, and carried out strikes that killed at least eight. A US Army Apache helicopter crashed near the Strait of Hormuz; both pilots were rescued. Six countries announced new sanctions targeting Israeli settler networks in the West Bank, and France banned Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

An Israeli airstrike killed a Lebanese army general and two soldiers in southern Lebanon, which the IDF said was under review after the vehicle entered an active combat zone without coordination. In the Gulf, the US and Iran continued to exchange fire, with US forces striking Iranian radar sites and Iran launching ballistic missiles at US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain. In the West Bank, a settler rampage in Huwara left nine Palestinians wounded, and an IDF soldier was filmed beating two men. The Pentagon reportedly raised its threat assessment of Israeli spying on the US to the highest level.

Hezbollah launched multiple explosive-drone attacks on Israeli positions along the Lebanon border on Friday, with the IDF confirming several impacts inside Israeli territory and a serious security incident involving casualties. Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon killed at least 11 people, including paramedics, according to Lebanese health authorities. Meanwhile, a draft US-Iran ceasefire framework circulated by Saudi media would pause hostilities and open the Strait of Hormuz but explicitly excludes the nuclear file, as Iran rejects uranium export demands and asserts expanded maritime claims.

US House Republicans abruptly delayed a vote on a war powers resolution that would have limited President Trump’s authority to strike Iran, as the administration sanctioned nine Hezbollah-linked Lebanese officials. On the ground, the IDF killed two armed suspects approaching the Israel-Lebanon border, while an Israeli strike on a Civil Defense center in Hanaweih killed four paramedics. Diplomatic signals between Washington and Tehran continued, with both sides citing progress but stuck on uranium enrichment and Hormuz tolls.

Iran submitted its response to the latest US ceasefire proposal via Pakistani mediators, focusing on ending hostilities and maritime security. Meanwhile, drone attacks on Gulf states and a cargo ship off Qatar, along with IRGC threats against US assets, are straining the month-old truce. In Lebanon, Hezbollah claimed multiple attacks on Israeli forces, while the IDF reported intercepting rockets and drones and killing over 10 Hezbollah operatives over the weekend.

US and Iranian forces exchanged fire in the Strait of Hormuz late Thursday, with the US striking Qeshm port and Bandar Abbas after Iran attacked US Navy destroyers. President Trump called the US strikes a 'love tap' and insisted the ceasefire remains in effect, while Iran accused the US of violating the truce. The UAE reported intercepting a separate missile and drone attack early Friday. In Lebanon, the IDF confirmed killing Hezbollah Radwan commander Ahmed Ali Balout, and Hezbollah launched rockets and mortars at Israeli troops. Gaza ceasefire talks remain stalled over Hamas disarmament.

President Trump suspended Project Freedom naval escorts in the Strait of Hormuz after Saudi Arabia denied US access to its airspace and bases, while the IDF struck Beirut’s Dahieh suburb targeting a senior Hezbollah commander and a Hezbollah drone seriously wounded an Israeli soldier in southern Lebanon. Israel-Lebanon talks are set to resume in Washington, and France moved its aircraft carrier to the Red Sea for a potential Hormuz mission.