Iran-US war latest: Tehran shares letter from supreme leader not seen for months

Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei has issued a new handwritten letter to the military serving as potential proof of life after not being seen in public for months, according to state media.

Khamenei addressed IRGC Aerospace Force commander Majid Mousavi in a letter dated 1 August and praised a report he submitted while encouraging the military to continue.

“Efforts regarding the supply chain should, God willing, continue, and reports on it should be regularly conveyed to me,” reads the document, which has not been independently verified.

He also urged the commander to protect himself and others: “Taking care of your dear life and all the brothers is my emphatic request.”

Khamenei has not been seen since US-Israeli strikes killed his father on 28 February. Communications since the attacks have been electronic or communicated through intermediaries and the letter marks the first time a handwritten document has been attributed to the leader.

Meanwhile, Iran’s president condemned Donald Trump’s “bullying mentality” as he stood before the United Nations in New York on Wednesday. He said Iran was ready to resolve tensions through diplomacy, but warned that they would not accept the language of force.

Iranian and Ukrainian foreign ministers held a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported, the first such meeting since tensions rose in July following a Ukrainian attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea.

Indian sailors have urged prime minister Narendra Modi to deploy naval escorts for Indian crews in the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf waters following the death of another Indian sailor. Forward Seamen’s Union in a letter to the PM said Suraj Yadav, 26, was working as a wiper aboard the MV Cape Dao, which was struck twice on its port side.

Thousands of Yemenis displaced by intensified fighting have fled across the Red Sea to Djibouti, with aid agencies “more than overwhelmed” by new arrivals amid the fallout from abrupt cuts to international aid. More than 120,000 people have been displaced by a surge in fighting along Yemen's coast in recent weeks.

The Saudi civil defence issued alerts on Thursday warning of potential danger in the holy city of Mecca, the northwestern area of Tabuk, the Red Sea areas of Jeddah and Yanbu, and the southern area of Taif. They were removed shortly after as the Saudi civil defence said the “danger has passed”.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei has hit out at Canadian prime minister Mark Carney for saying that Donald Trump’s threats to “annihilate” Iran were part of the “language of war”. He accused Carney of “reframing a threat” when he should have been “condemning US blatant aggression and warmongering”.

Ten commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, up from seven a day earlier and below the 10-day moving average of about 17, preliminary shipping data showed on Thursday.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to use his UN address on Thursday to berate New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani for calling him a war criminal ahead of elections at home that he may lose.