US-French Military & Gulf Oil Tanker Attack – Live Updates

Israeli raids on Iran resumed at dawn, on the sixth day since the start of the conflict. Tehran says it hit an American oil tanker in the Gulf. The ship ‘is currently on fire’ according to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards who say they have ‘complete control’ of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran also launched drone strikes on Nakhchivan International Airport in Azerbaijan. And while the fear of an escalation of the conflict grows, EU high representative Kaja Kallas asks that ‘there is space for diplomacy in Iran’. Russia’s appeal to create ‘a united front to end the war’ in the Persian Gulf. American planes have been authorized to use French bases in the Middle East. This was announced by the French general staff

American planes have been authorized to use French bases in the Middle East. This was announced by the French general staff.

“There must be space for diplomacy to break out of the cycle of escalation, wars end with diplomacy: our common vision is that we want stability in the region, that the conflict does not continue and that there is respect for international law.” EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said this before the video conference with Gulf partners, during which possible EU support for the area will be discussed. The parties are also negotiating a joint statement. “Iran is exporting war, trying to spread it to as many countries as possible to sow chaos,” he added.

Russia has not received any requests for military assistance from Iran to deal with American and Israeli attacks. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this, quoted by the Tass agency.

Russia launches an appeal to create “a united front to end the war” in the Persian Gulf and warns that it will do “everything possible” within the Security Council and the UN General Assembly to “create an atmosphere that makes the operation launched against Iran completely impossible”. Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov said this as quoted by the Ria Novosti agency.

Iran has launched drone attacks on Nakhchivan International Airport, in the exclave of the same name in Azerbaijan. This was reported by the Azerbaijani government agency Apa, adding that other drones fell “in other places” in the country, without providing further details. Videos from the scene show extensive damage and columns of black smoke. Two people were injured, according to Baku’s Foreign Ministry, cited by the Russian Tass agency, following the attack of at least one drone from Iran on Nakhchivan, an exclave of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said “drone attacks on Nakhchivan were carried out from Iranian territory.” This was reported by the Azerbaijani agency Apa, after various media had reported attacks with drones and missiles against the international airport of the Autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan, an exclave of Azerbaijan that borders Iranian territory and partly with Turkey and the Syunik region of Armenia. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry also summoned the Iranian ambassador to Baku after confirming the drone attack on Nakhchivan. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said the Iranian ambassador, Mojtaba Demirchilou, was summoned to receive a note of protest over the drone attacks on the Nakhchivan exclave, which caused damage to the airport building and injured two civilians. This was learned from a note from the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan. “This attack on the territory of Azerbaijan is contrary to the norms and principles of international law and contributes to increasing tensions in the region. We demand that the Islamic Republic of Iran clarify this issue in a short time and take urgent measures necessary to prevent the recurrence of such cases in the future,” the statement said. “The Azerbaijani side reserves the right to take appropriate retaliatory measures,” the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry added.

The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran respect the sovereignty of its neighboring and friendly country, Turkey, and deny any missile launch towards Turkish territory. The Irna agency writes it.

The Israeli Ministry of Health reports that in the last 24 hours, 199 injured people have been transported to hospital due to the conflict with Iran. Among the people hospitalized, 14 are in moderate condition and 170 in good condition.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot spoke by telephone with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi yesterday, on the fifth day of the conflict that is devastating the Middle East, the French Ministry announced today. “The Minister condemned the Iranian attacks, reaffirmed France’s commitment to the stability of the Middle East, to de-escalation and to the resumption of a challenging diplomatic dialogue, in accordance with international law regulating the use of force,” the Quai d’Orsay said. Barrot also expressed France’s “constant concern” for the fate of “citizens detained in Iran” and called for their “immediate and unconditional release.”

The United States will “bitterly regret” the precedent set by the sinking of an Iranian ship. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi writes this on X. “The United States has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles from the Iranian coast. The frigate Dena, a guest of the Indian Navy with almost 130 sailors on board, was hit in international waters without warning – he writes -. Mark my words: the United States will end up bitterly regretting the precedent it has created”.

Several explosions hit Tehran and its western suburbs this morning, local media reported, after Israel announced new airstrikes on the sixth day of a war that has spread across the Middle East with retaliatory strikes by Iran. The Fars news agency reported an explosion in western Tehran, while the Shargh e Iran newspapers reported at least one explosion in Karaj, a city on the western border with the capital.

The Israeli army announced that it had launched new attacks on Tehran. In the previous hours, the Iranian news agency Tasnim had reported that several explosions had been heard in the capital and defenses had been “activated”.

Lebanese state media reports that an Israeli strike killed a Hamas official today, the first targeted killing of a member of the Palestinian militant group since Israeli-American raids on Iran sparked a regional war. Wassim Atallah al-Ali and his wife were killed when an “enemy drone targeted their home” in Beddawi, a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli, in a pre-dawn attack, the National News Agency (NNA) reported, describing the man as a senior Hamas official.

An oil tanker has been hit by a “large explosion” in waters off Kuwait causing an oil spill, Britain’s maritime safety agency Ukmto said on Tuesday, as war in the Middle East paralyzes shipping traffic in the Gulf. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had “complete control” of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial point in the Gulf and one of the world’s most vital energy trade routes. “The captain of an anchored oil tanker reports seeing and hearing a large explosion on the port side, only to see a small vessel moving away” off the coast of Mubarak Al-Kabeer, Ukmto said on X. “There is oil in the water from a cargo tank, which could have an environmental impact.” Kuwait’s Interior Ministry said the explosion occurred “outside Kuwaiti territorial waters”, at least 60 kilometers from the port of Mubarak Al-Kabeer.

Iran said today it had fired missiles at the headquarters of Kurdish forces in Iraqi Kurdistan, state media reported. “We targeted the headquarters of Kurdish groups opposing the revolution in Iraqi Kurdistan with three missiles,” read a military statement quoted by the IRNA news agency on its Telegram channel. Since the start of the Israeli-American offensive against Tehran, the autonomous Kurdistan region, which hosts US troops, has been the target of drone strikes, most of which have been intercepted by air defenses.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he could not rule out his country’s military involvement in the escalating war in the Middle East. “You can never categorically rule out participation,” he and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese said in Canberra. “We will support our allies,” Carney added

Loud explosions were heard in Jerusalem in recent hours, with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) speaking of “missiles launched from Iran”.

Three people were killed and six others were injured in two Israeli airstrikes that targeted two cars on the highway leading to Beirut airport, Lebanese authorities said late Tuesday. The Israeli army said it had targeted two “terrorists” near the Lebanese capital. Tel Aviv had issued new evacuation orders yesterday morning targeting a Beirut suburb before hitting targets it believes linked to Hezbollah.

The authorities in Riyadh have announced that Saudi anti-aircraft defenses have intercepted and shot down three Iranian cruise missiles in the south-east of the capital. No damage was reported.

“No Iraqi Kurds have crossed the border”: this was stated by the deputy chief of staff of the prime minister of the Iraqi Kurdistan region, Aziz Ahmad, in response to what was filtered by Fox News. The Guardian reports it. Barak Ravid (Axios), who had reported the start of the offensive, also deleted the initial post by writing a new one: “There are conflicting reports about what is currently happening in northwestern Iran, near the border with Iraq. It is unclear whether a ground offensive by Kurdish-Iranian militias has already begun or could be launched in the next few hours. A senior official from one of the Kurdish-Iranian factions denied to me that a ground offensive has begun.” Iran’s Tasnim news agency similarly says its journalists in three border provinces deny reports that armed Kurdish militiamen have crossed the border into Iran from Iraq.