Iran warns of retaliation after fresh US strikes
Washington denies escorting ships as Iran warns of retaliation after strikes.
Middle East tensions escalated again as the United States denied resuming naval escorts through the Strait of Hormuz following fresh strikes inside Iran that Tehran condemned as a ceasefire violation. As diplomatic efforts continued, US President Donald Trump shifted high-level talks to Washington, while conflict widened across Lebanon and Gaza, and regional leaders renewed de-escalation efforts. Follow our live coverage for the latest updates.
Mumbai: Ten Indian sailors, detained in Iran in July 2025 on an oil tanker, have been released after "sustained diplomatic engagement", India's shipping authorities said late Tuesday.
The sailors on the MV Harbour Phoenix were "detained, arrested and imprisoned in Iran following the vessel's interception near Jask Port in July 2025", the Directorate General of Shipping said in a statement.
"The seafarers have now been released and reunited safely," the shipping authority said.
Lebanon said Israeli strikes on the country's south killed 31 people on Tuesday, as Israel said it was intensifying attacks despite a truce in its war with Hezbollah.
In a statement, the health ministry said 31 people, including at least four children and three women, were killed in attacks and 40 wounded. Fourteen were killed in Burj al-Shamali near Tyre.
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Israel's military clashed with the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group Tuesday along a strategic river in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops pushed farther north, days ahead of talks in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli delegations.
A U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict appeared more nominal by the day, complicating efforts at a broader peace in the Iran war as Tehran wants an agreement to include an end to the fighting in Lebanon.
The Litani River has been a de facto boundary in Lebanon, with large areas to the south under Israeli military control despite the ceasefire that's been in place for over a month.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after meeting with his defense minister and senior military officials that Israel will expand its operations in Lebanon.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted Afghanistan’s fragile trade lifelines, worsening shortages and raising costs after conflict with Pakistan had already shut key border routes. Aid agencies, including the World Food Programme, say food and nutrition supplies have been severely affected, while Afghan businesses face stranded shipments, soaring transport costs and growing fears of economic collapse despite increased reliance on Central Asian trade routes.
The military has denied resuming escorts of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. In a statementm the Central Command, which overseas US military operations in the Middle East said "Project Freedom has not resumed, and US forces are not currently escorting commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz."
US President Donald Trump said he had shifted a rare Cabinet meeting planned for Wednesday at his Camp David retreat to the White House because of bad weather. The meeting at the secluded lodge in the Maryland hills was expected to focus on talks to end the Iran war.
Tensions between the US and Iran surged again after Tehran warned of retaliation over fresh military strikes targeting Iranian missile launch sites and mine-laying boats near the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
Iran condemned the US attacks as a "gross violation" of the ceasefire.
The overnight attacks marked the first direct US strikes inside Iran since a fragile ceasefire framework began taking shape earlier this month.
According to US Central Command, American forces launched what officials described as “self-defence strikes” against missile batteries and vessels allegedly threatening US aircraft and commercial shipping routes in southern Iran. Iran condemned the operation as a violation of ongoing ceasefire negotiations and warned Washington that any further attacks would trigger a response.
US President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social: "If Iran surrenders, admits their Navy is gone and resting at the bottom of the sea, and their Air Force is no longer with us, and if their entire Military walks out of Tehran, weapons dropped and hands held high, each shouting “I surrender, I surrender” while wildly waving the representative White Flag, and if their entire remaining Leadership signs all necessary “Documents of Surrender,” and admit their defeat to the great power and force of the magnificent U.S.A., The Failing New York Times, The China Street Journal (WSJ!), Corrupt and now Irrelevant CNN, and all other members of the Fake News Media, will headline that Iran had a Masterful and Brilliant Victory over The United States of America, it wasn’t even close. The Dumacrats and Media have totally lost their way. They have gone absolutely CRAZY!!! President DJT"
The Israeli military issued two new evacuation warnings on Tuesday for residents of 19 villages across southern Lebanon, as it expanded its ground operations deeper inside Lebanese territory.
"For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move north of the Zahrani River," the military's Arabic-language spokesman, Colonel Avichay Adraee, wrote on X, listing 14 villages.
Minutes later, he issued another warning calling on residents of five more villages to evacuate.
KLM has decided to cancel flights to Dubai up to and including August 2. Flights to Riyadh and Dammam have been canceled up to and including July 12, it announced through its website.
Israel said it targeted the new chief of Hamas' armed wing in a strike in Gaza on Tuesday, just days after his predecessor was killed in a similar attack in the Palestinian territory.
"Under the direction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz, the IDF has just carried out a strike in Gaza targeting Mohammed Odeh - the new commander of the military wing of the Hamas terrorist organisation and one of the architects of the October 7 massacre," a joint statement issued by Netanyahu and Katz said.
Odeh was appointed as chief of the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades after his predecessor Ezzedine Al-Haddad was killed in a strike in Gaza earlier in May.
Iranians reacted with a mix of skepticism, caution and sarcasm on Tuesday after internet monitors reported a partial restoration of online access following months of near-total isolation under a nationwide shutdown imposed by Iranian authorities.
“Yes, I’m connected, but I still have to use a VPN. Don’t get too excited though — the internet isn’t fully open, it’s just no longer completely shut down,” a 46-year-old man in Tehran told CNN on the condition of anonymity because of security concerns.
Several strikes hit the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh on Tuesday after an Israeli evacuation warning, an AFP correspondent said, as an Israeli military official confirmed ground operations had expanded deeper into the country.
The latest strikes came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday ordered his military to intensify attacks on Hezbollah to "crush" the Iran-backed group, the same day at least 11 people were killed in a strike in eastern Lebanon.
An AFP correspondent in Nabatieh reported airstrikes following the warning on Tuesday and saw plumes of smoke rising from various locations within the city.
An Israeli military official told AFP that troops had begun operating beyond the Israel-announced "Yellow Line" in south Lebanon, which runs around 10 kilometres (six miles) deep inside Lebanese territory.
The leaders of Iran and Qatar spoke over the phone today about de-escalation efforts regarding the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, according to a readout of the conversation shared by Qatar’s Amiri Diwan, the administrative offices of the emir, reported CNN.
It added, Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, spoke to Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, where they “reviewed the latest developments in the region and the efforts being made to reduce escalation, preserve regional security, and strengthen peace and stability,” the Amiri Diwan said.
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