Israeli military vows to continue to “remove threats” from Hezbollah after Lebanon strikes
Israel’s military said Monday that it was committed to the ceasefire but would continue to “remove threats” from Hezbollah, after the Lebanese health ministry reported 12 people killed in overnight strikes.
The Israeli military said it had struck Hezbollah “infrastructure sites” across southern Lebanon in response to the launch of two explosive drones toward its troops, as well as “several terrorists” it said were transferring weapons.
In a separate statement, it said it killed a Hezbollah member in the area of the Beaufort fortress who opened fire on its troops from inside a building, and that “during the close-quarters encounter,” two Israeli soldiers “were lightly injured.”
“The claim that several uninvolved individuals were harmed as a result of the strikes is being reviewed,” the Israeli military said, adding that it “will continue to operate to remove threats while remaining committed to the ceasefire agreement.”
Oman navy rescued 16 crew members from tanker struck by Iran
Sixteen crew members aboard a Saudi-flagged oil tanker were rescued by Oman’s navy one week ago, after Iran attacked the vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, according to an Omani maritime safety agency. Two people on the tanker were killed in the attack, the agency said on Monday.
“A Royal Navy of Oman vessel provided logistical support to the tanker’s 25-member crew and evacuated 16 crew members while ensuring that the necessary medical care was provided,” Oman’s Maritime Security Center said in a statement.
The statement did not share what happened to the rest of the crew.
Saudi Arabia’s national shipping firm said on Wednesday that two Filipino sailors were killed when the tanker was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, as fresh violence flared between the U.S. and Iran earlier in the week.
CBS/AFP
School books seen among rubble after deadly strike in Lebanon
School books and remnants of furniture were among the rubble left by Israeli strikes that hit a building in the Lebanese town of Kfar Rumman, according to an AFP photographer who saw the debris.
The building was destroyed, and 11 people were killed, according to local media reports. The Lebanese health ministry said another attack in the same town killed a rescuer and wounded another person.
Rescue teams were searching the debris Monday for other victims.
People in the town had returned home following the June truce after being displaced by the war. But one of them, Fouad Chakaron, told AFP that “we’ve lived in fear” since returning.
Chakaron said the targeted building was inhabited by “peaceful people with no connection to anyone.”
Neighbors fled after the strike, which also damaged nearby buildings, AFP’s photographer said.
CBS/AFP
U.N. nuclear agency chief says Iran engagement is key to resuming inspections
International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi said renewed engagement between Iran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog is essential to resuming inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities. At a briefing Monday, Grossi told reporters that access, security and confidentiality concerns can be addressed through dialogue.
Grossi said, at this point, “there’s no engagement” with Iran, adding that it has indicated it will not cooperate until a broader political agreement is reached.
“We do not subscribe to this logic,” he said, stressing that Iran’s obligations as a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty “do not disappear.”
Grossi said Iran has yet to provide information required under its safeguards agreement about the status and condition of safeguarded nuclear material following attacks on its facilities, which he said “should never take place.”
Asked about the prospects for renewed inspections, Grossi gave a clear answer: “The best, shortest way for a positive outcome is for Iran to engage with us.”
Traffic through Strait of Hormuz reportedly hits lowest level since May
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz dipped to its lowest level since May, according to shipping data quoted by the Reuters news agency.
Data from analytics firm Kpler recorded on Sunday an average of 10 ships per day transiting the vital waterway. The 10-day average measured Saturday was 13. It was more than 15 on Friday.
Only two vessels passed through the strait on Saturday, and six on Sunday, using mostly the Iranian route, according to Reuters.
The dip in traffic comes amid a flare-up in the conflict, with the U.S. announcing on Saturday it had struck and disabled three Iranian oil tankers in retaliation for previous attacks. Tehran responded by announcing it had targeted more ships traveling in what it calls unauthorized routes.
Traffic through the strait has been volatile since a period of relative calm in the fighting between the U.S. and Iran, but it is still well below pre-war levels of 130 per day.
Lebanese President says Israeli strikes undermine efforts to stop escalation in region
Lebanon’s president on Monday condemned Israeli airstrikes in the country’s south, which local media said killed 11 people.
During a meeting with the visiting French justice minister, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Israel’s attacks undermine “all the efforts made to stop the escalation in the south and the region as a whole.”
“What Israel is doing through successive attacks, killing innocent people, children and women, destroying and burning homes, and bulldozing properties are condemned, rejected and unjustifiable crimes,” Aoun said
Qatar says Gulf countries cannot rely on the U.S. alone for security
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said Monday the war with Iran had shown that Persian Gulf countries should not rely solely on their strategic partnership with the United States to maintain their security.
“We need to recognize in the Gulf region that the presence of international forces in the region and the establishment of a strategic partnership with the United States are extremely important, but they are not sufficient,” Al Ansari said during a panel discussion at the Hili Forum in Abu Dhabi. “Self-reliance in the field of security is the only way forward.”
“We need our partners and allies, but we cannot rely on them alone for our security,” he said.
Qatar was one of the countries targeted on a regular basis by Iran in retaliation for U.S. strikes at the height of the war.
Tehran says Iran-Oman talks on Strait of Hormuz in “final stages”
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Monday that negotiations with Oman regarding the future of the Strait of Hormuz had reached the “final stage.”
The two countries sit on opposite sides of the strategic waterway and have been engaged in talks for months with the goal of reaching an understanding on how to manage commercial traffic through the strait in the future.
“Within the coming days, the understanding between Iran and Oman for a temporary route safe in the Strait of Hormuz will be registered with the International Maritime Organization.”
Throughout the talks, both sides have suggested the possibility of charging fees for ships to transit the waterway, a notion the U.S. government has bristled at.
Emirati diplomat says restoring trust with Iran will be difficult but necessary
A top Emirati official appeared to extend an olive branch to Iran on Monday, saying that restoring trust with Tehran would be difficult, but necessary.
Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the United Arab Emirates president, also said Persian Gulf countries had failed to respond in a united fashion to Iran’s attacks and threats during the U.S.-Iran war, with each country defending itself but not embracing a shared strategy.
Gulf countries bore the brunt of Tehran’s retaliation for American strikes, with missiles and drone strikes hitting military targets as well as civilian areas on a regular basis at the height of the fighting.
“Geography leaves us no alternative to engagement, but we must distinguish clearly between rebuilding a necessary and functional relationship with Iran and rebuilding the trust that has been broken. The first is necessary. The second will be far more difficult,” Gargash said at the Hili Forum in Abu Dhabi.
CBS/AFP
Iran warns South Korea against military deployment alongside the U.S.
Iran’s foreign ministry on Monday warned South Korea against deploying military assets or getting involved in any other way with U.S. operations in and around the Strait of Hormuz, saying such a move would have “serious consequences.”
On Friday, the South Korean government said it would consider taking part in naval operations, provided that its own military readiness was not compromised, but added that no decision had been made.
On Monday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei warned Seoul against succumbing to what he called “U.S. pressure and intimidation.”
“Any military deployment or participation in operations by other countries in the Persian Gulf or the Strait of Hormuz can only be regarded as direct support for the party responsible for that aggression and will have serious consequences,” he said in a post on X.
Tehran says it will announce new Strait of Hormuz “exclusion zone”
The new head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said Tehran plans to announce an “exclusion zone” outside the Strait of Hormuz aimed at vessels it believes are attempting to transit the waterway.
Mohsen Rezaei’s comments to Iran’s state broadcaster came with few details, a day after the U.S. struck three Iranian oil tankers in response to Tehran launching ballistic missiles at U.S. warships.
The new zone should be announced in the coming days and weeks and “will begin from the line of the U.S. naval blockade, extend toward the Strait of Hormuz, and from this side continue into the Persian Gulf,” Rezaei said without providing more details.
CBS/AP
Price of oil climbs, as regular gas averages nearly a dollar higher than last year’s Labor Day
The price of Brent crude, the international standard for oil, added another 67 cents, reaching $96.95 per barrel.
The average price of regular gas was $4.14 a gallon heading into the holiday, nearly a dollar higher than last year and well above the Labor Day weekend record of $3.82 from 2012, according to AAA motor club.
Prices shot up after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February and have not settled down since. Crude oil traffic through the key Strait of Hormuz has plunged, and Iran has refused to reopen the waterway.
Iran threatens “intense” and “painful” response to U.S. strikes on oil tankers
The speaker of Iran’s Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, threatened on Sunday to launch swifter and more forceful responses to U.S. attacks, after Tehran targeted American warships in retaliation for U.S. attacks on tankers.
“The Americans must have understood that the era of proportionate responses has come to an end,” said Ghalibaf in a speech carried by state media, adding that “any aggression against Iran’s interests and security will receive a faster, more intense and more painful response.”
U.S. Central Command said Saturday it had “permanently disabled” three Iranian oil tankers in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
“Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours,” Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, said in a statement. “We will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet.”
