G7 Meeting: Latest on Ukraine War | News & Updates

Table of Contents

• Saudi Arabia intercepts a seventh missile launched by Iran
• Saudi Arabia shoots down six Iranian ballistic missiles
• Explosions in the air in Tel Aviv and millions of people in shelters across the country
• Trump: if Iran has placed mines in Hormuz, remove them or never-seen consequences
• 007 USA: Iran prepares to deploy mines in the Strait of Hormuz
• The British ship Dragon has set sail for the Mediterranean
• The plan for the Strait of Hormuz
• The British ship Dragon has set sail for the Mediterranean
• Iran, 30 arrested on charges of espionage, including a foreigner
• London: GB-Italy-Germany working on options to protect ships in Hormuz
• US used 5.6 billion ammunition in the first two days in Iran
• Hegseth: it won’t be an endless war, today is an intense day of attacks
• Hegseth: forward until the enemy is completely defeated
• Missile alert from Lebanon towards central-northern Israel
• Trump: I might be willing to talk to Iran
• Larijiani to Trump: “Be careful not to be cancelled”
• New York Times: Trump has no idea how to end the war
• Netanyahu: We’re breaking Iran’s bones but we’re not done yet
• Tehran, 1,255 dead and over 12,000 injured since the attack began
• UNHCR: over 100,000 new displaced people in Lebanon in 24 hours
• Costa: freedom for Iranians cannot be achieved with bombs
• Bloomberg: Gulf countries reduce daily oil production
• Turkey deploys the Patriots: in consultation with NATO
• Trump: We will hit 20 times harder if Iran blocks flow of Hormuz oil
• IDF, imminent raids on Tire and Sidon in Lebanon
• US Embassy in Beirut urges fellow countrymen to leave Lebanon
• New wave of Iranian attacks in the Gulf, US-based missiles in Iraq
• IDF: around 30 assets of Hezbollah’s financial arm affected
• Media: Israeli attacks in southern and eastern Lebanon
• Araghchi: Carry on with the attacks as long as necessary
• Australia will send planes and air-to-air missiles to the Gulf
• New attack from Iran towards the Arab Emirates
• INSIGHTS
• Trump and the phone call with Putin

Saudi Arabia said it intercepted seven ballistic missiles in separate attacks against an air base and its eastern region, as reported by AFP. “Six ballistic missiles launched towards Prince Sultan Air Base were intercepted and destroyed,” the Saudi Ministry of Defense wrote on X, adding in a separate post that it had intercepted another ballistic missile launched “towards the eastern region.”

«Saudi Arabian air defense forces destroyed six Iranian missiles launched in the direction of Prince Sultan air base». The Ministry of Defense declared this in a note, as reported by Tass.

Strong explosions were heard in the sky of Tel Aviv during the latest attack from Iran a few minutes ago. The alarm sounded in much of the country, causing millions of people to rush into shelters.

«If Iran has placed mines in the Strait of Hormuz, of which we have no reports, remove them immediately» otherwise «the military consequences will reach levels never seen before. If he removes them, however, it would be a step in the right direction.” Donald Trump said it on his social network Truth.

American intelligence has begun to see indications that Iran is taking steps to deploy mines in the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane. CBS reports it.

The Hms Dragon, a latest generation British destroyer, left the Royal Navy base in Portsmouth, in the south of England, after several days of delays, heading for the eastern Mediterranean to defend the island of Cyprus targeted by Iran following the US and Israeli attacks against Tehran. The Dragon had been at the center of controversy against the Labor government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the military unpreparedness shown by the United Kingdom, compared to other allied countries who had sent their ships quickly.

The Iranian Intelligence Ministry today announced the arrest of 30 people accused of espionage, including a foreigner. The foreigner, whose nationality was not revealed, “was carrying out espionage activities on behalf of two Persian Gulf countries in the name of the American-Zionist enemy” and was arrested in northeastern Iran, the ministry said in a statement published by the judiciary’s online news portal Mizan.

“Work together on a range of options to protect commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, in response to growing threats from Iran.” This is what the leaders of Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany, Giorgia Meloni, Keir Starmer and Friedrich Merz, agreed in separate telephone calls, as reported by Downing Street. “The vital importance of freedom of navigation” was also highlighted and close coordination agreed in the coming days.

The United States used $5.6 billion worth of ammunition in the first two days of the attack on Iran. The Washington Post reports this, underlining that the significant figure is fueling fears within Congress about the speed with which American forces are running out of supplies of advanced weapons. The Trump administration is expected to request new funding from Congress this week to help support the campaign in Iran.

“Today will be the most intense day of attacks in Iran.” Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said this, insisting that the American operation is targeted and that the United States is winning. “As the president said yesterday, we are crushing the enemy,” he added. In Iran «we are winning. We will not give up until the enemy is completely defeated. This is not 2003.”

Forward until the “complete defeat of the enemy”. The American Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, reiterated this in a press conference on the 11th day of the war and after President Donald Trump stated that the conflict will end “soon”. The Iranians are “running towards a nuclear bomb”, claimed the Pentagon’s number one, and Trump “will never allow it”. According to Hegseth, the mullahs know that their army is being “systematically degraded” and that Iran “is alone and losing badly.” On the contrary, he says, America is “winning” and pursuing its goals to destroy its missiles, its navy and “permanently prevent Iran from having nuclear weapons forever.” “We will not desist until the enemy is totally and completely defeated,” he says.

Alarms for the arrival of missiles from Lebanon are sounding in the area between south Haifa and north Tel Aviv. The previous wave of launches that occurred a few minutes ago was joint from Lebanon and Iran and no impacts were identified.

Donald Trump told Fox News that he may be willing to talk to Iran but that it would depend on conditions, the cable news network said Tuesday. Trump told Fox that he had heard that Tehran strongly wanted to talk, reported by Reuters on the site. The US president also reiterated his dissatisfaction with Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei: “I don’t think he can live in peace.”

Alì Larijiani has rejected US President Donald Trump’s threats to hit Iran twenty times harder. “The people of Ashura in Iran are not afraid of your empty threats,” the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council wrote on X. “Not even people bigger than you could eliminate the Iranian nation. Be careful that you don’t get erased,” he warned.

«Trump has no idea how to end the war with Iran»: this is the title of an editorial in the New York Times by the authoritative columnist Thomas L. Friedman, winner of three Pulitzer Prizes and profound expert on the Middle East. For Friedman “it is obvious that Trump and Netanyahu started this war without having a clear end goal in mind.” “Netanyahu, I suspect, would probably be happy to turn Iran into another great Gaza and continue to ‘mow the grass’ or make periodic threats, as he was so inclined to do in Gaza,” writes the editorialist. For his part, Friedman continues, “Trump has made a lot of talk about the ‘morning after’ in Iran, saying truly ridiculous and often contradictory things that reveal a commander in chief who invents everything from scratch. One day he doesn’t care about Iran’s future, the next day he will have a say in the choice of the country’s next leader; one day he is open to negotiations, the next day he demands ‘unconditional surrender’.” “The wise thing to do now is to stop and see how the situation will evolve in what I call ‘the morning after the morning after'”, suggests Friedman, who would bet “on an explosive debate and infighting among the ruling elite in Tehran. “Of course – admits Friedman – no one can guarantee that this policy of the morning after the morning after will end with a change in the regime or of the regime. But it has the same probability of bombing Tehran and Beirut until they are reduced to rubble and hope that a popular uprising will ensue.” “Bombing Iran endlessly – he concludes – destroying more and more military and civilian infrastructure and simply hoping that democracy-seeking Iranians will band together – with barely an internet connection to communicate and where moving anywhere on the streets can be deadly dangerous – and single-handedly overthrow this murderous, entrenched regime… well, show me where anything like this has ever happened in history. My guess is that this regime will only fall from the top, and this it will be a process that will only begin after a ceasefire.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel has been “breaking the bones” of Iranian power since the start of the offensive conducted jointly with the United States since February 28, but that it is “not finished yet.” “We aspire to lead the Iranian people to break the yoke of tyranny, but in the end it depends on them,” Netanyahu said during a visit to an emergency center of the Israeli Ministry of Health late yesterday. “There is no doubt that with the actions we have taken so far we are breaking their bones – and we are not done yet,” he added.

There have been 1,255 victims, including 200 children and 11 healthcare workers, and over 12,000 injured in Iran since the start of the attack by the United States and Israel. This was announced by the Deputy Minister of Health, Ali Jafarian, as reported by Al Jazeera.

UNHCR says there are more than 100,000 new war-displaced people in Lebanon in 24 hours.

«The EU stands by the Iranian people. We support his right to live in peace and determine his own future. But freedom and human rights cannot be won with bombs. Only international law protects them. Protecting civilians, ensuring nuclear safety and respecting international law is paramount. We must avoid further escalation. Such a path threatens the Middle East, Europe and beyond. The consequences are serious, even in the economic sphere.” The President of the European Council Antonio Costa said this while speaking at the Conference of EU Ambassadors.

Middle Eastern countries reduce daily oil production. Bloomberg writes it. Saudi Arabia has reduced oil production by between 2 and 2.5 million barrels per day, while the United Arab Emirates has cut its production by 500,000-800,000 barrels per day. Kuwait also reduced production by half a million barrels a day, and Iraq by about 2.9 million, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter.

Turkey announces that a Patriot air defense system is being prepared to be made operational in the eastern part of the country, as part of coordinated efforts with NATO to help protect the national airspace amid regional tensions. Anadolu reports it. In a statement, the Ministry of National Defense said “in light of recent developments in our region, the necessary measures have been taken to ensure the security of our borders and airspace and we are in consultation with NATO and our allies.”

“Should Iran take any action that blocks the flow of oil into the Strait of Hormuz, it will be hit by the United States of America with ‘TWENTY TIMES GREATER’ force than has been used thus far.” US President Donald Trump wrote it in a post on Truth. “Furthermore – adds Trump – we will destroy easily vulnerable targets that will make it practically impossible for Iran to rebuild itself as a nation: death, fire and fury will descend on them. However, I hope and pray that this does not happen. This is a gift from the United States of America to China and all those nations that make intensive use of the Strait of Hormuz. Hopefully it is a gesture that will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

The IDF has issued an evacuation order for some buildings in the Lebanese coastal cities of Tire and Sidon, ahead of air strikes against Hezbollah infrastructure. “The IDF will strike military infrastructure belonging to the terrorist organization Hezbollah,” says the spokesman, Colonel Avichay Adraee. Civilians in the area have been instructed to keep a distance of at least 300 meters from buildings.

The US embassy in Beirut urges its citizens to find “shelter” if they do not intend to leave Lebanon. The BBC reports it. In a security advisory issued this morning, the embassy says that US citizens “should seriously consider” leaving the country on Middle East Airlines flights departing from Beirut’s Rafic Hariri Airport if they believe it is safe to do so.

Iran has launched new attacks against Gulf countries: Missile warning sirens sounded in the early hours of the morning in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. Riyadh destroyed two drones in its oil-rich eastern region. Kuwait instead shot down six drones. The Pasdaran then announced that they had “hit” the American air base of Al-Harir, in Iraqi Kurdistan, targeting “5 missiles”.

The IDF has completed another wave of attacks against Qard al-Hasan, the financial arm of Hezbollah. An Israeli army spokesman said around 30 of the arm’s assets were hit last week. “The attacks aimed to aggravate the military blow dealt to Hezbollah,” the statement read.

Israeli attacks hit southern and eastern Lebanon overnight. This was reported by the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA), specifying that “enemy warplanes launched attacks during the night on the cities of Almajadel, Shaqra and Srifa” and adding that attacks also took place in the Bekaa valley.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the country would continue missile attacks as long as necessary, AFP reported. Araghchi ruled out talks after US President Donald Trump said the war with Iran would end “very soon”. The minister told US broadcaster PBS News that his country was ready to continue missile attacks and that negotiations with the United States were no longer on the agenda.

Australia will deploy an Australian Defense Force surveillance aircraft, air-to-air missiles and support personnel to the Middle East, responding to a request from United Arab Emirates president Mohamed bin Zayed. Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it “an effort to help protect Australians in the region under threat of attack from Iran.” And he reiterated that Australia does not take offensive action against Iran and will not deploy troops on the ground in any offensive conducted by the United States or Israel. Albanese reported that Australia’s assistance was decided after a request from the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed. He added that there are 24,000 Australians living in the Emirates and characterized his government’s assistance as helping to protect the region’s inhabitants, after areas of Dubai were hit by Iranian missile attacks. The 27 E7 Wedgetail aircraft will provide long-range reconnaissance capabilities. They will be deployed initially for four weeks in support of the collective self-defense of the Gulf nations. This will be followed by a supply of surface-to-air missiles to protect the airspace. “My government makes it clear that we will not take offensive action against Iran and that we will not deploy Australian troops on the ground in Iran. We continue to take contingency actions to keep Australians safe and to help travelers leave the Middle East,” Albanese added.

The United Arab Emirates had to face a new attack by Iranian drones and missiles on the eleventh day of the conflict in the Middle East, the Ministry of Defense announced, according to AFP. “The UAE’s air defenses are currently responding to missile and drone threats from Iran,” the ministry wrote on X.