Iran launches strikes on US military positions after fresh attack | June 27 West Asia conflict highlights

Iran's Revolutionary Guards spokesperson denied claims of a direct Iran-U.S. line on the Strait of Hormuz, calling them 'a complete lie', saying it is 'Iranian territory and has nothing to do with the US, Nour News reported.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health has said the overall toll from Israeli attacks since March 2 has risen to 4,243 dead and 12,186 wounded.

Israeli officials insist they will stay in Lebanon, despite Iran saying Israel is obliged to withdraw under the terms of the interim US-Iran ceasefire agreement that also covers Lebanon.

Iran has fired at least four one-way attack drones at ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, US President Donald Trump said on Friday, adding that one of the drones hit the upper deck of a cargo ship.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran shot at least four One Way Attack Drones at Ships transversing the Strait of Hormuz. One of the Drones solidly hit the upper deck of a large and very expensive Cargo Carrying Ship. Damage was done, but the Ship was able to proceed on its way. We knocked down three other Drones. Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement. President DONALD J. TRUMP,” he wote on Truth Social.

An Israeli attack has killed three people in al-Maghazi camp in central Gaza, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital told Al Jazeera.

Israel bombed a vehicle in the camp, leading to the killings of three Palestinians.

World oil prices extended sharp losses Friday on optimism for traffic flows in the Strait of Hormuz despite suspension of a UN evacuation programme.

The price of Brent North Sea crude, the international benchmark, dived more than five percent to around $71.50 a barrrel and the main US contract, West Texas Intermediate, shed 4.5 percent to under $69.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raji says he spoke with the GCC secretary-general, Jasem Albudaiwi, to convey his “appreciation for the support expressed in the joint ministerial statement” for the Lebanese-Israeli negotiations mediated by the US.

In a statement posted on X, Raji said the ministry had “highly appreciated” the references to Lebanon in the GCC-US statement.

“Particularly its welcome of the ongoing US-mediated negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, its emphasis on preserving the negotiation process and keeping it separate from any other track, and its affirmation that Lebanon cannot achieve full sovereignty as long as non-state armed groups retain military capabilities,” the statement read.

“The ministry also welcomes its call for the complete disarmament of all such groups and for the Lebanese state alone to have the exclusive authority to use force,” it added.

As Tehran and Washington continue with their engagements following the signing of the MoU earlier this month, sources have told Al Arabiya that the two are set to hold the next round of negotiations in Switzerland on June 28 and 29.

Citing sources, Al Arabiya said that the next round of US-Iran negotiations will be held on June 28 and 29 at the Burgenstock resort in Switzerland.

According to sources, Al Arabiya said that these will be technical talks held at the expert level.

The major development comes as US Vice President JD Vance confirmed that the US and Iran have agreed to establish a direct deconfliction channel involving military representatives from both countries, reported Al Jazeera.

Iraq's Oil Ministry said on Friday that OPEC has begun gradually restoring Iraq's pre-war production allocations, a move it said would strengthen Iraq's output capacity and support recovery of its oil sector.

In a statement carried by the state news agency, the ministry said Baghdad supported a reassessment of OPEC production quotas to better reflect member states’ conditions, including Iraq’s economic and security circumstances. It added that Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi had not discussed the possibility of Iraq leaving OPEC.

The UN maritime head has said that 115 vessels, 2,500 seafarers, have been evacuated from the Strait of Hormuz since Tuesday.

The United Arab Emirates said on Friday that a technical malfunction in its early warning system had led to incorrect messages being sent to residents about a possible missile threat.

The National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority said the issue, which occurred on Friday evening, had been addressed and that specialised teams had begun corrective measures to ensure service continuity and minimise any impact.

The alert recalled warnings issued during the height of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, when Iranian attacks on targets in the Gulf region, where U.S. military bases are located, prompted UAE authorities to send public safety messages.

Tehran said Friday that 22 Iranian crew members whose oil tanker was seized by the United States during the recent conflict had been transferred to Iran's consulate in Pakistan.

Iran's eastern neighbour and mediator in talks with the US, Pakistan, facilitated the return of "the 22 Iranian seafarers whose oil tanker had been seized by the United States", the state news agency IRNA reported.

The crew were handed over to Iranian diplomats in Karachi and are expected to return to Iran in the coming days, according to the agency.

Neither IRNA nor Iranian authorities identified the tanker or disclosed where or when it was seized.

UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed on Friday stressed the need to adhere to the terms of a U.S.-Iran agreement and to protect maritime corridors, including freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, in a call with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araqchi, the UAE state news agency WAM reported.

The Israeli army has claimed to have killed seven Hezbollah members who had transferred weapons near soldiers in southern Lebanon.

In a statement on Telegram, the army said it had struck the alleged members near the so-called “security zone” in the al-Manzala area that was used as a “combat and observation post”.

The “security zone” is an area of southern Lebanon that Israeli forces are occupying north of the Israeli border.

UAE has sent another alert saying ‘please disregard the previous warning’.

A Ministry of interior official told HT that citizens can disregard the warning as this was a precautionary test alert

Authorities sound an incoming missile alert in Dubai in the UAE, reports AP.

"Iran's Press TV has reported that a communication line between the U.S. and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz has been established"

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Friday that any Iranian attack on Israel would be Tehran's "biggest mistake".

Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani said on Thursday that if Israel did not withdraw voluntarily from South Lebanon, it would eventually be forced to leave in defeat.

Crude prices plunged by about 3% on Friday, on course for steep weekly losses, on easing supply concerns as more stranded oil tankers exited the Strait of Hormuz, even though a cargo vessel was hit near Oman on Thursday.

Brent crude futures fell $2.50, or 3.32%, to $72.76 a barrel by 1209 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate lost $2.15, or 2.99%, to $69.77. The Brent benchmark was heading for a weekly decline of about 9.7%, while WTI was trading around 8.9% below its close last Thursday, before the market closed for a public holiday last Friday.

Ali Akbar Velayati said that the stability of Gulf Arab states “is indebted to Iran’s century-long management of the Strait of Hormuz,” adding that “the West has brought nothing to the region but plunder and violence”.

In a post on X, Velayati wrote: “These political minors of the periphery should not be comforted by commissioned statements; know this, your survival feeds off the scraps of this table.

“In the great realignment, peripheral minor players have no seat at the table,” he added, “They are eliminated, and their strategic survival is at the mercy of Tehran’s tolerance.”

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have warned that passage through the world’s energy chokepoint, the Strait of Hormuz, “is only possible via routes announced by Iran,” the state broadcaster IRIB has reported.

“The only law that governs this region is still the law of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Revolutionary Guards Navy,” a reporter from the state broadcaster said.

Israeli forces dropped leaflets over a town in southern Lebanon on Friday, ordering residents to leave, Lebanese state media reported, in a first such order issued since the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect.

The town lies near the boundary of the area occupied by Israeli troops inside southern Lebanon, as designated by Israel.

Several middlemen have offered Indian refiners discounted Iranian oil as Tehran looks to expedite sales after Washington's temporary sanctions waiver, Indian refining sources told Reuters.

On Monday, the United States waived sanctions on Iran for 60 days after the first talks under a nascent peace deal, opening a narrow window for renewed energy trade.

The approaches to Indian refiners have come directly from the National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) and through intermediaries, the sources quoted by Reuters said, adding that they have been allocated oil by the Iranian state producer.

"Apart from NIOC, several traders are contacting us for the sale of Iranian oil. But my priority is to give a chance to NIOC," said one of the refining sources. The sources declined to be named because the discussions are confidential.

NIOC is telling Indian buyers that Iranian crude would be $3 to $4 a barrel cheaper than similar regional grades on a landed basis, they said.

The traders approaching refiners are mainly from small and mid-sized trading companies based in Singapore and Dubai, the sources said, declining to name them.

Iran's state TV has reported that three foreign tankers attempting an 'unauthorised' passage of the Strait of Hormuz turned back after a warning by the IRGC Navy

Gaza’s only prosthetic eye clinic has reopened for the first time in nearly three years. Hundreds of people have signed up for treatment.

Most prosthetic eyes brought into Gaza since October 7 were brought by visiting medical teams. Now supplies are running out.

Yousef, 13, lost his eye in an Israeli attack. Last year, an air strike hit his family's tent as they slept, killing his father and brother.

His mother, Heba, has been bringing him to this prosthetic eye clinic since it reopened a month ago.

“Before that, he had a small round plastic piece fitted in his eye socket,” Heba Rayan told Al Jazeera.

“Each day I would clean it for him, and every time I did, it was painful to look at. I kept thinking, Oh God, I wish he had a proper prosthetic eye instead of this plastic piece.

“The prosthetic eye has since made a tremendous difference. It is far better in every way – more natural in appearance, more beautiful, and it has restored his confidence.”

Since October 2023, only 140 prosthetic eyes have been allowed into Gaza.

“Some of the available sizes did not meet the patients’ needs, and the colours were not always a good match. In some cases, the ocular centring was slightly off,” Sabri Hajaj, a prosthetic eye specialist, told Al Jazeera.

“In others, post-surgical complications made it impossible to fit a prosthetic eye at all.”

Mustafa al-Huwaiti says he hasn’t been able to find a prosthetic at the clinic.

“When I came in for the fitting, they couldn’t find a suitable size or colour, so I wasn’t able to get the prosthetic and will remain as I am for now,” he told Al Jazeera.

For many people like Mustafa, finding a suitable match will likely only happen when more medical aid is allowed to enter.

Japan has announced an emergency grant of $15 million to support worsening humanitarian conditions in Iran, Lebanon and the occupied West Bank, its foreign ministry said in a statement.

The aid will be delivered through international organisations, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and focus on healthcare, food, shelter, and water and sanitation services.

An additional $640,000 will be provided through the Japan Platform to support NGO-led relief efforts in Lebanon.