Middle East crisis live: Iraq says it had ‘no prior knowledge’ of US-Saudi attacks

Oil prices have settled lower after a volatile session as traders digested proposed plans for a Saudi-led maritime coalition to boost defence cooperation around the Red Sea.

Brent futures settled down $1.71, or 1.88%, at $89.03 ⁠a barrel on Thursday. Trade was choppy and Brent touched a session high of $93.31 after the US and Iran traded strikes on each other’s military targets again, Reuters reports.

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled down 87c, or 1.03%, at $83.59, after hitting a high of $85.94.

Tehran-aligned Houthi militants in Yemen last week declared a naval ⁠blockade on Saudi Arabia, threatening the Red Sea route for its oil exports, an alternative to the largely blockaded strait of Hormuz.

A partner at Again Capital, John Kilduff, said:

There is this sense that there is a lot ​of supply waiting to hit market once all of this is resolved, and that ‌is a weight against any kind of dramatic ‌price rise.

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has shared this statement on X:

The United States soils its hands with a new crime every day; the terrorist attack on the residential homes of civilians on Qeshm Island is a continuation of the atrocities in Minab and Lamerd. Americans have grown accustomed to making up for the slaps they receive on the battlefield by spilling the blood of the innocent. They will pay the price.

At least 175 people – most of them children – were killed on the first day of the war when a Tomahawk missile hit a girls’ elementary school in the southern Iranian city of Minab.

A preliminary US military investigation found that American forces were responsible. But while reports suggest that a secretive probe into the attack has concluded, some critics fear the Pentagon will bury the results under classifications to keep the worst mistakes secret from the public.

That same day, a strike hit a sports hall in Lamerd, also in southern Iran, killing at least 24 people, including teenage girls playing volleyball. The US was reportedly responsible for that too.

Egypt’s government said on Thursday that authorities were analysing drone fragments from an unprecedented strike on one of its Mediterranean ports, after president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned of regional escalation, AFP reports.

His government had earlier confirmed that a fire the day before on two gas vessels in the Damietta port – one of which was US-owned – was a result of a drone strike, the first to target the country since the outbreak of the war.

Officials have struck a cautious tone in the aftermath, warning against both regional “escalation” and “speculation”.

In his first statement addressing the strike on Wednesday, al-Sisi warned of the “danger of regional escalation”, in a call with Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez.

Authorities were carrying out an ongoing investigation into the strike, after “technical teams boarded the ship and examined the remains of the drone, which security agencies are currently analysing and studying to establish with certainty its origin”, prime minister Mostafa Madbouly said.

The drone strike, similar to others that have hit Egypt’s Gulf and Arab allies throughout the US-Israeli war against Iran, has not been claimed by any warring party.

Iraq’s prime minister will postpone a trip to Saudi Arabia in light of US-Saudi attacks that killed at least 20 members of the country’s Iran-backed Popular Mobilisation Forces, Al Jazeera reports, citing a government spokesperson via the Iraqi News Agency.

Haider al-Aboudi said Baghdad “has not granted any approval for attacks on specific sites or groups within Iraqi territory”.

“The government had no prior knowledge of the attacks on Iraqi territory,” he added.

It comes after Donald Trump claimed the strikes were coordinated with the Iraqi government, despite Baghdad’s condemnation on Wednesday.

Iraq has also said it wanted evidence regarding the launch of alleged attacks on Saudi Arabia from Iran-backed groups in its territory, a demand for which al-Aboudi said Baghdad had contacted Riyadh.

The Saudi defense ministry said this week that drone strikes launched from Iraq had targeted its critical infrastructure and Riyadh on Monday and Tuesday.

“No party has provided any evidence to substantiate these claims so far,” the Iraqi prime minister’s spokesperson Sabah al-Numan told the Iraqi news agency, in comments reported by CNN.

“The government will not tolerate any unilateral actions originating from within Iraq, while at the same time it will not accept any violation coming from outside its borders,” al-Numan added.

As we reported earlier, earlier on Thursday Iran’s IRGC said it struck the US-run Azraq base in Jordan in response to the latest US strikes that were carried out overnight.

“With the help of God, the aggressor will be punished today,” the IRGC said earlier ‌in a statement carried by state media.

Three IRGC members were killed in the northwestern Zanjan province, while a toddler and their parents were killed on the island of Qeshm, in the strait of Hormuz, state media reported.

And Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has said that Egypt’s security “of utmost importance” to Tehran.

He wrote on X:

Egypt is an important friend and partner in the region, and its security is of utmost importance to us. We must all be vigilant against Israeli plots and false-flag operations designed to undermine regional peace. The threat is clear, mutual, and fearful of Muslim solidarity.

It comes a day after a drone attack saw a fire break out on two natural gas vessels at the Egyptian port of Damietta. It was the first time Egypt has been attacked since the Iran war started in late February and signalled a potential widening of the conflict.

In his post, Araghchi appeared to suggest the attack was an Israeli false-flag operation.

Egypt’s prime minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Thursday that Egypt has secured alternatives to cover its energy needs after the attack.

No group has claimed responsibility, and authorities are continuing their investigation, he added.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei has shared this statement on X:

The criminal attack last night on the homes of the noblest Iranians in Qeshm, which resulted in the destruction of several houses and the martyrdom of a hardworking taxi driver, Qeysar Jafari, his wife Zahra Jafari, and their innocent two-year-old child, Sina, pains the heart of every conscientious human being.

These crimes, which evoke the terrorist actions of ISIS and are carried out under the guise of “peace through force” with the aim of punishing a nation for insisting on its rights, dignity, and independence, will never produce authority or credibility for the criminals.

With every explosion, with every crime, with every sanction, with every threat, with the killing of every child, you only make Iranians more determined and united in defending their homeland.

Iranian residents, mostly the fishermen community living on Qeshm Island, described waking to a series of powerful explosions at around 3.45am local time, when at least three huge strikes rocked the strategic island in the strait of Hormuz.

“The first blast shook the roof sheets and rattled the doors, waking everyone up from the sleep,” one resident told the Guardian, speaking on condition of anonymity. “By the second and third explosions, the whole neighborhood was outside, and there were killed near our neighborhood. Fishermen, women, and children gathered in groups, calling relatives and trying to understand what had been hit. No one could go back to sleep.”

Another resident said the strikes had left the community living in constant fear. “You never know if it’s over after one strike or if another is coming in minutes. Every loud noise now makes people panic and feel threatening,” he said. “Residents remain outside the rest of the night checking their phones for updates and news, making sure their families are safe. Everyone is frightened because we don’t know what will happen next; we are still outside our homes sitting in groups.”

In the UK, the co-founder of Palestine Action has won permission to challenge the ban against the group at the supreme court.

The direct action group was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in July last year but its co-founder, Huda Ammori, has been fighting to have the ban overturned amid a mass civil disobedience campaign.

In February, the supreme court ruled that the ban was disproportionate and unlawful but its decision was overturned by the court of appeal last month.

On Thursday, the high court said Ammori could appeal against the court of appeal’s decision and that the case would be heard in the final quarter of this year.

It means the fate of more than 3,500 people who have been arrested for alleged support of Palestine Action since the ban remains in limbo as their cases are on hold until the legality of proscription has been definitely resolved.

Ammori welcomed the supreme court’s decision, saying:

The proscription of Palestine Action has become a vehicle for a far broader crackdown on expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian people.

This unprecedented attack on free speech and the right to protest in this country is already having a chilling effect at a time when speaking out about Israel’s crimes could not be more urgent.

Saudi Arabia is preparing for a major military offensive against the Houthis by sea and possibly by land in central Yemen, Yemeni sources believe, in a move to break the chokehold on its oil exports through the southern Red Sea.

Saudi forces have been seen withdrawing from the east of Yemen in what could be preparation for a land offensive. At the same time, Riyadh is trying to organise a naval coalition to protect shipping from Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab strait.

The Saudi defence ministry said on Thursday that 14 states including Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan and Djibouti had issued a joint statement supporting a multinational maritime defence coalition.

The Iran-aligned Houthis, who control Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, and much of its Red Sea coastline, announced on 20 July that they were implementing a blockade against Saudi ships, but they have denied they are planning to impose tolls on all ships.

The group says it will lift the blockade once Saudi Arabia lifts its blockade on Yemen, positioning the dispute as over the future of Yemen and not directly about Iran. Saudi Arabia intervened in the Yemeni civil war in 2015 in support of the country’s UN-recognised government against the Houthi rebels.

Riyadh has also asked the US and a group of European countries including Germany, France, the UK and Italy to join a Red Sea coalition.

Here’s Patrick’s full report:

Over in the US, the latest attempt by Congress to rein-in Donald Trump’s attacks in the Middle East has failed in the Senate.

The war powers resolution failed in a 49-50 vote. Democratic senator John Fetterman voted with Republicans to sink the measure. But notably, Republicans senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Rand Paul voted in favor of the motion to prevent Trump from continuing hostilities against Iran.

Mitch McConnell was absent for the vote as he recovers from a June fall and has not received clearance to return to work.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, wrote on X:

Senate Republicans just voted to continue Donald Trumps war with Iran for the 13th time.

– Rising gas prices
– Increasing grocery bills
– 18 U.S. service members have been killed
– Over 600 Americans have been injured

We must end Trump’s war.

It comes as a new poll was released on Thursday on American attitudes about the war, with most people believing it is not worth fighting. Trump’s approval rating also showed a slump, according to the new AP-NORC poll.

The results are a stark repudiation of Trump’s approach to the conflict, which has dragged on far longer than he originally predicted.

About two-thirds of US adults say the war with Iran has not been worthwhile, according to the new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That includes the vast majority of Democrats and independents, as well as about 37% of Republicans.

On Wednesday, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer gave a speech on the chamber floor in which he implored Republicans to abandon their support of Trump’s war in Iran.

“Are Senate Republicans listening? The country is clamoring for you to end this war,” he said. “I urge and plead with my Republican colleagues: listen to the American people. Vote to end this war. We’re going to keep forcing Republicans to vote until we do.”

On Thursday before the vote was finalized, Schumer posted on X:

Trump’s war with Iran has been one of the greatest foreign policy dumpster fires in American history, and it seems to be expanding with new attacks now targeting Egypt. Our troops’ lives are unnecessarily at risk fighting a war that was totally avoidable. All while Trump is too busy playing keyboard warrior on Truth Social. We must end this war now.

Following reports of Iranian strikes hitting a Chinese company in Kuwait, the Chinese embassy in Kuwait released a statement on Thursday, saying:

“According to the information we have, the attack occurred in northern Kuwait, where a vehicle belonging to a Kuwaiti subcontractor working on a project being carried out by a Chinese company was attacked, resulting in the death of a driver of Nepalese nationality.

We express our condolences to the family of the deceased. The Chinese side reiterates that any attack targeting innocent civilians or non-military targets should be condemned. It also calls on all relevant parties to immediately cease hostilities, resume communication and dialogue, and avoid further escalation of the conflict.”

Lebanon’s president Joseph Aoun concluded talks with his Turkish counterpart today during a visit to Ankara.

President Aoun spoke with Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after a visit to the United States earlier this month, as Lebanon seeks to recover from the violence of recent months.

Turkey has expressed interest in participating in a new security initiative in the south of the country, part of which remains occupied by Israel.

The mandate of the current UN peacekeeping mission, Unifil, will come to a close at the end of this year after the Security Council voted to terminate the operation, which was set up in 1978.

A joint statement has been issued by 14 countries, including Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan, supporting the proposal of a multinational maritime defence coalition.

According to Reuters, the Saudi defence ministry said that the coalition would seek to increase defence cooperation in the Bab al-Mandeb strait, Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

It follows a meeting on the proposed alliance, which was attended by representatives of 43 states and an EU delegation, with attendees discussing the possibility of Saudi Arabia hosting its headquarters.

Other signatories include Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Yemen, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Somalia.

• The IRGC has claimed responsibility for an attack on Kuwait, according to Iranian state media. The semi-official Fars news agency reported the IRGC attacked the Ali al-Salem airbase in Kuwait this morning. It claimed two drone hangars and a fuel tank for aircraft and military helicopters were destroyed in the strike.

• The IRGC also said three of its members were killed in a US attack on the north-western Zanjan province this morning, state media reported.

• Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least four people, including two children, health officials said. An eight-year-old girl and an 18-month-old child were among the people killed in Israeli attacks in Bureij refugee camp, Khan Younis and Gaza City today, Reuters reported, citing Gaza health officials.

• Pakistan said negotiations between the US and Iran are “ongoing” despite escalating attacks in the Middle East. Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, said Islamabad was doing its “utmost” to bring the warring parties back to the negotiating table under the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the US and Iran in June.

• A drone strike on the Egyptian port of Damietta, the first attack on the country since the US-Iran war broke out, could be a high-risk message for American interests everywhere in the Middle East, analysts say. No party has claimed the strike on the Mediterranean port and Egypt has not assigned blame for the attack, which struck an American-owned and operated floating gas storage vessel, AFP reports.

• Shell more than doubled its profit in its second quarter of the year, as Europe’s biggest oil and gas company reaped the benefits from the jump in oil and gas prices triggered by war in the Middle East. The FTSE 100 company’s net profit hit $9.84bn (£7.4bn) in the three months to June, more than double compared with the same period last year.

• The US military said it completed a “heavy wave of strikes” against Iran on Thursday in retaliation for Tehran targeting American bases in Jordan, as intensified fighting fueled the risk of a return to all-out war in the region.

• The new strikes were launched hours after Donald Trump vowed to hit Iran “very hard” after a days-long pause in violence between the two sides.

• Jordan’s military said later it had foiled an Iranian attempt to target the kingdom with five missiles, the state news agency reported. There were no casualties.

• US forces struck dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets including military command centres, US Central Command said.

• Iran’s state news agency Irna reported strikes on several cities in the south-western Khuzestan province, as well as on Qeshm island in the Gulf. Areas around the cities of Abadan, Shadegan, Arvandkenar and Ahvaz – all in Khuzestan – were struck, Irna said, citing provincial authorities.

• Earlier, the US partnered with Saudi Arabia to strike Iran-backed militias in neighbouring Iraq on Wednesday, killing at least 20 fighters and six Iranian advisers. Saudi Arabia had reported two days of drone attacks targeting crude facilities.

• The Israeli military accused Iran-backed Hezbollah of a truce violation in Lebanon, saying it had fired a drone at an Israeli vehicle.

The US military has carried out a wave of airstrikes against Iran in response to Tehran targeting American bases in Jordan.

The strikes were launched after Donald Trump vowed to hit Iran ‘very hard’ following a days-long pause in fighting.

Iran has expanded its military strikes in the region, raising fears of an all-out war.

Lucy Hough speaks to Guardian senior international reporter Peter Beaumont…