Henning Ott
Iran reports further explosions on oil tankers
Iran's Revolutionary Guards have reported explosions on two oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. The ships were forced to stop by detonations and heavy fires, the Iranian news agency Tasnim reported, citing the Revolutionary Guards. The oil tankers violated Iranian regulations and chose unauthorized routes in the important strait. One of the ships hit a sea mine. The report could not initially be independently verified.
Iran's armed forces have intensified their attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks. They usually attack oil tankers and freighters that are on a southern route near the Omani coast. The US Navy has been accompanying civilian ships there for several months in order to enable trade in oil and liquid gas again. Tehran wants to put pressure on the USA and President Donald Trump with rising energy prices.
Henning Ott
Iran escalates critical stance on nuclear control
The Iranian leadership says it does not feel obliged to subject itself to comprehensive monitoring of its nuclear program as long as the country is under the threat of US attacks. In a ten-page report to the IAEA that was circulated among diplomats at the end of last week, Tehran wrote that attacks on its nuclear facilities and the threat of new strikes made normal inspections impossible.
More comprehensive cooperation is only possible if the review can be carried out safely, which requires a breakthrough in negotiations with Washington. The UN has been warning for 17 months that it cannot verify the whereabouts of the 441 kilograms of almost weapons-grade uranium. The IAEA Board of Governors will discuss the case at the end of the month.
Miriam Braun
Saudi Arabia intercepts Houthi missiles fired at capital Riyadh
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said it intercepted and destroyed two rockets fired at the capital Riyadh by Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Tuesday.
The coalition said air defense shot down a ballistic missile and a cruise missile. In another statement it was also said that a ballistic missile fired at the southern region of the country had also been repelled. The south of Saudi Arabia, which borders Yemen, has repeatedly been the target of Houthi missile and drone attacks.
Miriam Braun
Trump: Iran war practically ended militarily
US President Donald Trump says he believes the war against Iran is largely over from a military perspective. “Militarily, Iran is virtually destroyed,” Trump said at the White House on Monday. The USA merely maintained the current situation.
“At this point, military action does not appear to be very necessary,” Trump told reporters. “However, we are ready to fight if anything changes.”
Trump made a surprise appearance in the White House press room after meeting the head of government of Qatar. Iran has been “decapitated,” Trump said. But he still wants to ensure that a long-term solution is found that will render Iran's nuclear program harmless.
Miriam Braun
Erdogan: Talked to Trump about Iran
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has conveyed his rejection of new attacks on Iran to US President Donald Trump. Erdogan told journalists on the flight back from a trip to Azerbaijan that he spoke to Trump about his concerns. “We do not want to see a new wave of attacks launched against Iran, nor do we want our region to be drawn into further instability,” he said. "Unfortunately, we are now seeing a turn in a negative direction. We are doing everything in our power to prevent this."
Vivian Melchert
Trump: Qatar and Saudi Arabia for a peaceful solution with Iran
According to US President Donald Trump, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are very interested in a peaceful solution to the Iran conflict. However, the US is ready to resume military strikes if necessary, Trump said in a brief telephone interview with the Reuters news agency. “Qatar would prefer a peaceful agreement,” the president said after meeting the Qatari prime minister. “We can leave at any time,” he added, referring to possible attacks.
Vivian Melchert
Syria denies plans for military action against Houthi militia
Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani has rejected reports of a planned military operation by his country against the Houthi militia in Yemen. Syria has not sent troops to Yemen and does not plan to do so in the immediate future, al-Shaibani said on Monday.
The AP news agency reported on Sunday that Syria was preparing to send a first group of 600 special forces to Saudi Arabia. The soldiers should therefore be stationed on the border with Yemen and could later potentially be involved in operations against the Houthis in Yemen.
At a news conference in Damascus, al-Shaibani did not directly address reports of a planned deployment of fighters to Saudi Arabia. “Any military operation outside our borders would of course be announced and discussed publicly,” he said. “It would not be carried out in secret.”
Vivian Melchert
US Defense Secretary Hegseth defends war on Iran
Faced with a looming impeachment trial in Congress, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has defended President Donald Trump's administration's military actions in Iran and Venezuela. Hegseth told journalists on Monday that he was looking forward to discussing the political decisions. He announced a press conference on Tuesday about the impending impeachment - his first in more than 180 days.
Anyone who wants to question what the government did in operations against Iran, the Houthis in Yemen or in the capture of the then Venezuelan head of state Nicolás Maduro is “questioning the soldiers and their historical achievements”.
Vivian Melchert
Iran is apparently making negotiations with the USA subject to conditions
Iran has made negotiations with the US conditional on the fulfillment of seven conditions. A senior security official said this, according to Iranian state media. The government in Tehran set this out in an interim agreement in June. Washington must take practical steps to meet the demands.
Vivian Melchert
Drone attack paralyzes gas field in Iraq - RWE and OMV involved
A suspected drone attack has brought production to a standstill at Iraq's Khor Mor gas field. The co-operator Dana Gas announced this on Monday. A fire broke out during the attack on Sunday, which has since been extinguished. No employees were injured. The company based in the United Arab Emirates is now assessing the damage. Khor Mor is one of the largest gas fields in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region. It is operated by the Pearl Petroleum consortium, in which the German RWE and the Austrian OMV also hold a ten percent stake. Other partners include the Hungarian MOL, also with ten percent, as well as Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum, each with 35 percent.
The attack cut power generation in the region by about 2.8 gigawatts, the Electricity Ministry said. Eyewitnesses reported significant shortages in electricity supplies and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in key Kurdish cities. According to security sources, initial findings indicate that the drone was launched from an area east of the town of Tuz Churmatu, which is about 80 kilometers southwest of Khor Mor. Security sources said the investigations have so far produced no evidence that the drone was launched from Iran.
Patricia Hoffhaus
US military supplements Iran's naval blockade with measures on land
In addition to the sea blockade of the ports, the USA also wants to cut off other delivery routes for Iran. The responsible regional command Centcom of the US military formed a task force that, among other things, was supposed to prevent arms deliveries across the mainland and the Caspian Sea. President Donald Trump announced that the task force called “Iron Gate” was already active. “Very little” could get into Iran or leave the country, Trump wrote on his online platform Truth Social.
Henning Ott
Houthi attack on financial center in Riyadh
One of the landmarks of the financial district of the Saudi capital Riyadh was damaged in an attack by Houthi rebels. About a month earlier, fatal airstrikes hit Riyadh airport and led to the cancellation of prestigious events.
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis, who have been fighting Saudi Arabia for a decade, later claimed responsibility for the attack. Saudi authorities later said they had retaliated by destroying two missile launchers used in attempted attacks.
Henning Ott
Wadephul calls for negotiations on the Iran conflict ahead of the foreign ministers' meeting
Before the meeting of the G7 foreign ministers in Paris, Federal Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called for concrete negotiations in the Iran conflict and warned against a new military escalation. “Diplomacy is in full swing,” said Wadephul before his departure from Berlin on Monday morning. “This now means concrete negotiations for the Iran conflict and no new military escalation.” Europe must also be part of a solution to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven leading Western industrial nations (G7) are meeting in the French capital today to discuss the conflicts in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine. Wadephul said Germany would bring the European position together with France and Great Britain. He rejected a new security architecture based on Russian ideas. Instead, the existing European security order must be restored on the basis of the Helsinki Final Act, the Charter of Paris and the Budapest Memorandum.
Sarah Sendner
Trump will host Qatar's head of government for Iran talks
US President Donald Trump will receive Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the White House on Monday. This is evident from the president's official calendar. The focus of the meeting is likely to be Qatar's mediation in the conflict between the USA and Iran. As the AP news agency reported, Tehran is currently examining proposals from Qatar to resolve differences with Washington over Iran's nuclear program.
However, Iran is making negotiations with the US government subject to several conditions. These include an end to the US blockade of Iranian ports, the lifting of sanctions, the release of frozen assets and compensation for war damage. Tehran is also calling for an end to hostilities throughout the region, including Israeli military operations in Lebanon.
Angelika Ahrens
Iraq: Agreement with USA on oil exports through Strait of Hormuz
Iraq says it has reached an agreement with the US to allow oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz. The deliveries will take place via a shipping route near Oman, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told Al Jazeera broadcaster. Exports would therefore continue. Hussein estimated the country's losses from the Iran war and the interruptions in oil exports at $60 billion.
Angelika Ahrens
Iran: US election outcome disrupts mediation efforts
According to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the results of the US congressional elections have led to a disruption in mediation efforts between the government in Tehran and the US. Iran now has to wait a while until the mediators can resume diplomatic channels, Araghchi said on state television. In the elections, the Democrats won the majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives. Iranian government officials reacted with glee to the election results, which are seen as a setback for US President Donald Trump.
Angelika Ahrens
Israel's military: Hezbollah weapons depot discovered in Lebanon
The Israeli military says it has discovered several weapons depots belonging to the Shiite Islamist Hezbollah militia during operations in southern Lebanon. In the Mais al-Jabal area, Israeli troops found weapons in a civilian home and a storage room, the military said. Among other things, rifles, rockets, fragmentation grenades, explosive devices, ammunition and communications and surveillance equipment were found.
Equipment and food supplies were also found in an apartment in the al-Tiri area. The locations were therefore not far from UN posts in the region.
Anna Kipnis
Trump: New Iran attacks “very unlikely” if talks are good
US President Donald Trump has described new attacks on Iran as very unlikely as long as talks to end the conflict continue. “It depends on whether they sign a very strong agreement or not,” CNN quoted Trump as saying in a telephone interview. “The answer is: it is highly unlikely that this will be necessary,” it continued.
CNN did not specify what the network had asked Trump. Trump also said the US had identified potential targets on Iran's infrastructure. This included 38 bridges “that we can literally destroy in an hour.”
Helena Smolak
Gulf states are pushing forward a shared rail network
The Gulf states continue to work on a common rail network along the coast of the Persian Gulf. Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad received representatives of the states that signed an agreement on the project in Manama, state agency BNO reported.
The network is scheduled to be completed by 2030. The rail connection will run from Kuwait in the north via Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to Oman. The costs were estimated in recent years at around 250 billion US dollars. To date, Saudi Arabia and the Emirates have invested the most in their own rail networks.
