Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Friday that the strait could not be seized through political statements or military force.

“The Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by a tweet, an aircraft carrier, an order, or an election speech,” Gharibabadi said in a post on X.

He accused the United States of refusing to acknowledge what he described as its “strategic and serious defeats” against Iran, saying Tehran was neither intimidated by threats nor deterred by displays of military power.

“The Strait of Hormuz was Iran’s, is Iran’s, and will remain Iran’s,” Gharibabadi said, adding that the waterway would be opened or closed only on Iran’s orders.

He said Iran would continue its blockade of the strait until Washington accepted what he called the reality of its defeat and abandoned its “fantasies”.

Trump had claimed a day earlier that the US Navy was enforcing a complete blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and said he would declare the waterway US territory “very soon” after what he described as the complete defeat of Iran.

The US president also said on Truth Social that Washington had “full control” of the strait and believed it could maintain that control.

Iranian officials have repeatedly said the waterway would remain closed as long as the United States continued its intervention, maintained a naval blockade and failed to meet the requirements of a June framework agreement between Tehran and Washington.

Ibrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam Al Anbiya Central Headquarters, also rejected Trump’s assertion of US control.

“No vessel will be permitted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without Iran’s permission and supervision,” Zolfaqari said.

Araghchi also rejected reports that Tehran and Washington need to extend a 60-day ceasefire under the Islamabad Memorandum, a June framework agreement brokered by Pakistan.

“What was included in the Islamabad Memorandum was the end of the war, not a ceasefire,” Araghchi told Iran’s ISNA news agency on Friday.

He said the United States had violated the memorandum and that fighting subsequently resumed, meaning there was no 60-day ceasefire requiring an extension.

According to Araghchi, the 60-day period outlined in the memorandum was intended as a window for negotiations aimed at reaching a final agreement rather than establishing a fixed ceasefire period.

“Both Qatar and Pakistan continue to exchange messages and remain in contact with us, but that does not mean negotiations,” he said.

“No decision has yet been made to resume talks with the United States.”

Araghchi said Iran’s separate negotiations with Oman were continuing, but stressed that they were unrelated to any potential discussions with Washington.

He described the Oman talks as technical negotiations focused on establishing new shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, saying the previous routes were no longer suitable.

“We are currently designing a temporary route that will later become a permanent route,” he said, adding that experts from Iran and Oman, along with members of Iran’s armed forces, were participating in the discussions.

Araghchi said the negotiations could conclude soon but stressed that determining a new shipping route should not be confused with a decision to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

“Once the route is determined, whether the Strait of Hormuz is reopened depends on the fulfilment of other conditions that the United States must comply with,” he said.

Tsunami waves of less than 1 metre were recorded in several areas of the Southeast Asian nation after the early morning tremor.

The tsunami warning was lifted about three hours after the quake.

Rescuers around the port town of Maumere found 20 dead, six ​injured and two trapped under the rubble, said Fathur Rahman, head of the city’s rescue agency.

Maumere is the main ​town in Sikka Regency on Flores Island in the east of Indonesia’s vast archipelago.

Teams have yet to ⁠reach Nagekeo, the region closest to the epicentre, and communication signals there had been affected, Fathur told Reuters.

Attempts to reach ​Nagekeo by car were blocked by landslides, while another team was attempting to go by ferry, he said.

About 2,000 residents in Nagekeo evacuated, ​and damage was reported to a number of houses, warehouses and government facilities, the national disaster mitigation agency BNPB said.

Authorities also reported traffic congestion and power outages affecting parts of the regency, it said.

The governor of East Nusa ​Tenggara Province, Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena, told a press conference that five people died ⁠from collapsing rubble as they slept.

Parts of a building collapsed into dust and rubble as people screamed and ran in the street, ​a video on Facebook, verified by Reuters as being at a port in Maumere, showed.

It is the main town in Sikka Regency on Flores Island in the east of Indonesia’s vast archipelago.

“The quake was massive, the shock was so strong, we ​were resting at home with family,” said Nona, a 51-year-old resident of Talibura, a village in East Nusa ​Tenggara.

“There were 13 of us inside the house, and we all ran to save ourselves.”

Strong shaking was felt across East Nusa ‌Tenggara, ⁠West Nusa Tenggara and parts of South Sulawesi, and residents in several areas reported shaking lasting about one minute, BNPB said in a statement.

“Most of the people felt the shock and scattered out of their homes,” it said.

A hospital in the district of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara Province was moving patients outside, Kompas TV footage ​showed, and Kompas.com reported at ​least one landslide.

Indonesian geophysics ⁠agency BMKG recorded the first quake at 4.58am at a depth of 15km, followed by several aftershocks.

About 2,000 residents in Nagekeo evacuated, and ​damage was reported to a number of houses, warehouses and government facilities, BNPB said. ​

Authorities also ⁠reported traffic congestion and power outages affecting parts of the regency, it said.

Australia’s tsunami warning centre said the undersea earthquake would have “no tsunami threat to the Australian mainland, islands or territories”.

Indonesia straddles the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, a highly seismically ⁠active ​zone, where different plates on the earth’s crust meet, creating a ​large number of earthquakes and volcanoes.

Tlaib, the first Palestinian American member of Congress, was scheduled to appear on Friday at a rally for three candidates in Florida’s upcoming ​Democratic Party primary.

However, The Venue Fort Lauderdale, which was scheduled to ​host the event, suddenly cancelled it after State Representative Michael Gottlieb, ⁠chairman of the Florida Legislative Jewish Caucus, posted a statement on Thursday ​calling the planned rally an “anti-Jew” gathering.

Tlaib has condemned antisemitism and says criticism of ​Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and its attacks in Gaza and Lebanon is not antisemitic.

The Venue, in a statement, cited “increased security concerns” for its decision and said it is Jewish-owned ​and “our values and commitment to the Jewish community are deeply important to us.”

The Florida Democratic Progressive Caucus said ​the cancellation of the rally was rooted in anti-Muslim sentiment.

Prominent ​progressive Democrats, including Tlaib and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, have opposed US support for ‌Israel ⁠over Israeli attacks in Gaza and Lebanon, the US-Israeli war with Iran and radical Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s close ties to Republicans, leading to an erosion of Democratic backing for Washington’s ally.

The rally was organised by groups such as “Florida Youth Justice Coalition,” “Gen-Z For ​Change” and a ​local chapter of ⁠the Democratic Socialists of America.

It was meant to support State Representative Angie Nixon, who is running for the US Senate, ​and Elijah Manley and Oliver Larkin, who are seeking ​seats in ⁠the US House of Representatives.

After The Venue withdrew its support, the event was expected to proceed on Friday night at a Fort Lauderdale wine bar, an organiser told ⁠The ​New York Times.

The Florida Democratic Progressive Caucus said ​the cancellation of the rally was rooted in anti-Muslim sentiment.

Florida’s primary elections are scheduled for August ​18.

The latest incident occurred on the evening of August 14, according to ADNOC.

No injuries were reported, and the situation was brought under control.

ADNOC stressed the importance of protecting the safety and well-being of seafarers, maintaining freedom of navigation and safeguarding maritime security.

The incident came a day after two ADNOC tankers were targeted while passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

No deaths or injuries were reported in that incident either.

The attack was the ​third such incident involving ADNOC vessels in less than a week.

The UAE had accused Iran of ​being behind the earlier attacks, but ​there was no official comment from the UAE on ‌Friday’s ⁠attack.

Qatar and Kuwait condemned the attacks on the ADNOC vessels and expressed solidarity with the UAE.

In separate statements, the two Gulf states described the attacks as a blatant violation of international law and freedom of maritime navigation, as well as a breach of UN Security Council Resolution 2817.

Qatar also described the attacks as a “tool of pressure” and called on Iran to halt attacks against neighbouring countries.

Both countries reaffirmed their “full solidarity with the UAE” and support for measures taken by Abu Dhabi to protect its assets.

ADNOC has previously said the ongoing war has had a “significant” impact on its operations but stressed that the safety of its personnel and assets remained its priority.

Iran has not publicly responded to the UAE’s latest allegations regarding the tanker attack.

Arday had resigned earlier this month ‌as a professor of sociology of education following the accusations, which caused a furore in the world of academia.

He was the university’s youngest ever Black professor.

He was found unresponsive by the ​ambulance service at a property in Battersea, south London.

“Sadly, a 41-year-old man was ​pronounced dead at the scene. His next of kin have been informed and are ⁠being supported by officers,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

“At this time ​his death is being treated as unexpected, but is not believed to be suspicious. The ​case is being investigated by officers from the Met’s Central South Command Unit,” the police said.

The University of Cambridge announced an investigation earlier this week into the circumstances of Arday’s appointment to the ​Faculty of Education in 2022 and his time there since.

A high-profile professor who appeared ​frequently in the media, Arday faced accusations this year that parts of his 2015 PhD thesis were ‌plagiarised, ⁠which he denied.

The allegations expanded to include apparent inconsistencies in Arday’s other academic work, and questions over his claims about his career, personal life and medical conditions.

“We are desperately saddened to hear this tragic news. Our heartfelt sympathies go to Jason Arday’s family ​and friends at this ​incredibly difficult time,” Cambridge’s ⁠Vice-Chancellor Deborah Prentice said in a statement.

Britain’s education secretary, Lucy Powell, said she was saddened to hear the news of Arday’s ​death.

His family said they were in shock.

“The campaign of misinformation was ​too much ⁠for Jason, who was a gentle man and who always wanted to see the best in everyone,” the family said in a statement provided by Arday’s publisher, Simon & Schuster UK.

“We ⁠won’t ​comment further at this point beyond asking the press ​to leave us alone now, and to stop the campaign of harassment which has been waged against Jason ​and his family for too long.”

In a brief exchange ​with reporters before flying to New York, Trump rejected ⁠suggestions that the deployment had gone on too long.

“No, ​no, no. Not nearly long enough,” Trump said when asked ​whether the carrier’s eight-and-a-half months at sea was excessive.

“That ship is moving right now, or very shortly, and it’s being replaced with another ​very similar ship,” Trump said.

The Lincoln left its home port ​of San Diego last November and was later redirected to the Middle ‌East ⁠to support US military operations in the war with Iran.

The carrier has roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard.

The ship has not made a port call in more than ​200 days, setting ​a modern-day ⁠record for consecutive days at sea, according to US Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democratic member ​of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Several Democratic lawmakers ​have ⁠called for answers after families of sailors raised concerns about worsening mental health, living conditions and supply issues aboard the carrier.

Defence ⁠Secretary ​Pete Hegseth on Thursday pushed back against ​reports of deteriorating conditions aboard the Lincoln, calling them “completely misrepresented.”

A senior Iranian source said on Wednesday that there had been no progress in talks to ‌build on a June agreement to end the war. Since the ceasefire renewed in the June deal broke down, Iran has resumed attacks on ships it accuses of trying to transit the strait without its permission.

The United Arab Emirates’ Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said two of its vessels were attacked transiting the strait on Thursday evening. The UAE government blamed Iran, which made no immediate comment.

Two vessels passed through the narrow waterway on Friday, according to analysis from ship tracking firm ​Kpler: a grain ship entering Iranian waters and an empty dry bulk ship going in the other direction.

A separate empty liquefied petroleum products tanker was sailing into the Gulf via the ​strait, the data showed. There were no crude oil shipments visible on Friday.

Nine vessels passed through the strait on Thursday, up from five on Wednesday but ⁠below the average of 12 for August.

Some ships may pass through undetected with their transponders off, but the figures are nowhere near the more than 130 ships that traversed the Strait of Hormuz daily ​before the war launched by the US and Israel on Iran in February.

“Alongside the threat to energy infrastructure in the region, Iran’s ability to restrict shipping through the strait is its main source of leverage in ​negotiations,” said Torbjorn Solvedt, principal Middle East analyst with risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

US PLEDGES NEW MEASURES AGAINST IRAN IN COMING WEEK

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters the US military has the capability to maintain a naval presence in the region to enforce its retaliatory blockade of Iran, which has inflicted severe economic damage on the country.

“Indefinitely the United States Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we’ll rotate ships in and out, as we have, and we’ll ​continue to,” Hegseth told reporters during a trip to Panama.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States planned to inflict more financial damage on Iran.

“Watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we ​are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of economic isolation on a country,” he said in an interview on Newsmax’s “Rob Schmitt Tonight” programme.

US President Donald Trump is under pressure at home to ‌end an unpopular ⁠war, with high fuel prices dragging down his approval ratings and potentially eroding his party’s control of Congress in midterm elections in November.

Benchmark Brent futures and US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were both up slightly at about $87 and $81 a barrel, respectively.

India’s reliance on Russian crude surged to a record in July, while refineries in Asia, a major customer for fuel from the Gulf, bought US crude this week to ensure future supplies.

Trump has repeatedly asserted that the US has “total control” over the strait, through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the start of the war.

Iran rejects that, and has said it will ​not allow the waterway to reopen until its ​conditions are met. These include removing economic sanctions ⁠and releasing frozen Iranian assets.

On Thursday, an Iranian parliamentary committee approved Iran’s plan for the strait. It includes a provision banning the transit of US, Israeli and other “hostile” countries’ assets and equipment, the semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported.

The US lifted its blockade of Iran’s shipping and ports for a month in mid-June but ​has since reimposed it, cutting off Tehran’s primary source of hard currency and compounding earlier losses from wartime strikes on its energy infrastructure.

Washington previously said ​it would lift the Iranian ⁠blockade once Iran and Oman, which sit on either side of the strait, reach an agreement to restore commercial shipping.

SHRINKING OIL SUPPLY

Trump has also repeatedly threatened to escalate military strikes and “hit Iran hard”, although he has thus far resisted deploying ground troops or seizing strategic islands and bombing desalination plants. Earlier this week, Trump suggested he would rely on economic means, rather than military action.

The US has tightened economic sanctions against Iran and other individuals and ⁠entities that ​it says are helping it procure weapons, but the pressure campaign has not brought Tehran back to the negotiating table.

Reports that ​Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis had targeted a Saudi Aramco refinery with drones on Thursday renewed concerns about a widening regional war.

Global economists have forecast a sharp drop in global growth, and potentially a swing into recession in some areas, warning that the impact would ​grow if the war was not ended soon.

The comments by Vice President JD Vance and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent illustrate the powerful leverage Tehran has gained by shutting down the Strait of Hormuz.

Preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon — consistently touted by President Donald Trump as his main reason for the war — now takes a back seat to getting oil flowing again freely through the strait, Vance said on Fox News.

Vance’s comments underscored the stark reality that the war now centres on control of the Strait of Hormuz, the critical fuel supply conduit that was open before Trump started the war along with Israel in late February.

Iran has all but shut it down in retaliation and thus found a crucial bargaining chip against Trump as he struggles to find a way out of the war and shies away from resuming large-scale attacks.

The 80-year-old president’s approval rating is plummeting, the war is unpopular among Americans, and midterm elections are approaching in November.

Republicans fear Trump and the war, which has caused gasoline prices to soar, will cost them their control of Congress.

“I know that oil is down today and it’s way down from the highs in the early days of the conflict,” Vance said on Fox News. “That’s goal number one — keep oil and gas cheap for Americans all over our country.”

“And then obviously goal number two is ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon,” he added.

‘Low-keying it’

The vice president has been among the members of the administration most sceptical of the offensive launched against Iran in late February.

These remarks, however, appear to confirm the more cautious approach now favoured by the US president, which involves maintaining strong economic pressure on Iran by blockading its ports and preventing it from selling oil.

Heralding more economic punishment, Bessent threatened to subject Iran to economic isolation “like the world has never seen before.” He said new measures are expected next week.

Only days ago Trump had said an agreement to reopen the strait was imminent. Now his administration seems to be digging in, with diplomacy on hold as he hopes economic suffering will cause Iran to yield.

“We are low-keying it,” Trump said Sunday. “We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money,” Trump told the news outlet Axios.

The US military reportedly burned through stockpiles of costly high-tech missiles and other weapons in the months since the war started at a cost of billions and is now reportedly running low, limiting Trump’s options for resuming attacks on Iran.

“Sometimes we’re focused on the energy piece of it because we want Americans to be able to afford the price of oil and gas. Sometimes we’re obviously focused on the military… on the nuclear program,” Vance also said.

Trump had said recently he would hold off on attacking Iran again only if an agreement were reached quickly to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Now Iran has set a list of conditions for reopening the passageway that the Trump administration is unlikely to accept: an end to the war on all fronts, the lifting of the US blockade of Iranian ports, the end of sanctions, the release of frozen assets and compensation for wartime damage.

Those conditions echo the terms of a so-called memorandum of understanding which was reached in June and collapsed as fighting resumed. It included a provision to create a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran.

More than ​360 millimetres of rain fell in 24 hours in parts of Chiba prefecture, ​which adjoins the capital Tokyo, inundating roads and railways during one of ⁠Japan’s busiest holiday weeks.

Authorities said four deaths have been confirmed so far, including one ​person trapped in a submerged vehicle, while another person is missing. Soldiers have been dispatched to the ​area to help with relief efforts.

“This case was an extremely unusual situation,” Chiba Governor Toshihito Kumagai told reporters on Friday morning. “I have responded to many disasters in the past, but I have never experienced ​a case like this.”

More than 22,000 households remained without power on Friday at ​11:00am, according to utility provider Tokyo Electric Power.

In Chiba city, one of the worst ‌hit ⁠areas, hundreds of people spent the night under foil blankets at government buildings serving as temporary evacuation centres.

The transport disruption left around 7,000 people stranded at Narita, an airport spokesperson said, adding that all flights are scheduled to operate normally on Friday. Japan Airlines said some flights may ​experience delays but ⁠no cancellations are currently expected.

Some major highways in Chiba were shut, forcing drivers onto alternative routes and causing heavy traffic, according to highway ​operator NEXCO East.

Several rail services also remained suspended on Friday morning, ​though some ⁠trains connecting Narita to Tokyo had resumed operations, easing congestion at the international transport hub.

Overnight, hundreds of passengers queued to collect blankets, water bottles and snacks from airport staff ⁠before bedding ​down across the terminal building, footage on public broadcaster ​NHK showed.

“We are never going to forget this trip,” one American traveller stranded with his family at the ​airport told NHK.

Trump signed a national security memorandum directing the change, which would require the fourth vessel in the Gerald R. Ford class of aircraft carriers to ​abandon the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) used on the first three vessels. The design change is expected to ​cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Huntington Ingalls is the primary contractor building Ford-class aircraft carriers. ⁠Huntington’s shares were up slightly in after-hours trading in New York.

As of March 2026, the USS Gerald R. Ford, ​the lead ship in the new class of carriers, had completed 36,863 EMALS launches, according to Pentagon documents.

The design change will ​occur on the Doris Miller, the fourth ship in the planned Ford class. The keel for the Doris Miller is slated to be laid by the end of 2026 with delivery anticipated by the Navy in early 2034.

Trump has frequently criticised the Navy’s electromagnetic launch system ​as being more expensive and not as effective as steam catapults.

“Billions of dollars more they spent on electric catapults and ​they’re not good. They’re not nearly as good, too complex,” Trump said at a defence summit in Pennsylvania last month.

When the Navy selected ‌EMALS ⁠in 2009, it said it would lower overall lifecycle costs, require less maintenance than steam catapults and generate less physical stress on carrier-based aircraft. The system, also selected by France’s navy, had initial troubles but has since completed thousands of launches.

General Atomics, the maker of EMALS, said in a statement that the decision not to proceed with the system on the Doris Miller ​warranted “careful reconsideration.”

“With nearly 50% of ​production complete, changing course ⁠now would introduce significant cost, schedule, and integration risks,” General Atomics said.

The Navy referred requests for comment to the White House.

The memo Trump signed also opens up the Navy to having ​ships made overseas for the first time in decades.

Foreign shipbuilders who have made “substantial and durable ​investments” in ⁠US shipyards “will be temporarily permitted to build up to two ships in their parent shipyards that will be delivered to bridge gaps on a quick turnaround,” to supplement ships built in US shipyards.

Australian shipbuilder Austal said on Tuesday that Hanwha Group had offered ⁠to buy its ​US operations for up to $1.2 billion as the South Korean conglomerate seeks ​to expand in the American defence market.

Trump’s memo also instructed the Secretary of Defence to establish a fifth Navy shipyard to increase submarine and aircraft ​carrier repair capacity.

Two military-focused outlets, Navy Times and Stars and ‌Stripes, reported suicide attempts and declining morale on the 5,000-person ship, which has been at sea since November 2025.

The carrier has been in the Middle East since January, supporting the US war with Iran.

“We ​make sure every ship, every crew, every captain has everything we can provide ​them at every single moment. Some deployments are longer than others, and ⁠I have more respect and gratitude for those sailors than anybody. What they do in ​those high seas in those austere conditions with less port calls — it’s incredible,” Hegseth told reporters ​during a visit to Panama.

Typically naval deployments are for between six and nine months, but during times of conflict, that can be extended.

Extended deployments can pose enormous strain on crews’ mental health, particularly in wartime, ​and have always been a challenge for the US Navy. Sailors must maintain a heightened ​state of alert and readiness, especially with the threat of drone and missile attack from Iran.

A US ‌official, ⁠speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the George Washington aircraft carrier is heading to the region with the intention of replacing the Lincoln carrier. That move was pre-planned, the official said.

Democratic lawmakers are unhappy about the extended deployment of the Lincoln carrier and the conditions on the ship.

“There ​have been widespread reports ​of shortages of ⁠basic supplies, water contamination, plumbing issues, deteriorating mental health, deck safety concerns, and disruptions in the mail system, which have caused many care ​packages in route to the ship to be lost in transit ​for months,” ⁠US Senator Richard Blumenthal wrote to Hegseth and the Navy secretary this week.

When asked about reports of poor conditions on the Abraham Lincoln, White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said President Donald Trump ⁠and ​Hegseth were committed to ensuring the US military was “equipped ​with the resources necessary to counter any threat to the United States”.

The plans were reported earlier by Axios, which ​also said that Kushner was planning to meet mediators from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey ​as well next week in Cairo.

“We agree with the Israelis on the goal ⁠of disarming Hamas but they have expressed concerns which are valid and we have been ​working through them,” the source told Reuters, asking not to be identified.

The goal of a Kushner ​visit to Israel will be to “find a pathway to move forward with implementation of the 20 point plan” that Trump put forward for Gaza in late 2025, the source added.

Trump said in late July a deal was ​reached for the complete disarmament of Palestinian Hamas militants and other armed groups in Gaza.

Trump had ​said the deal would be carried out in phases, with Israeli forces withdrawing from Gaza as disarmament proceeded and ‌an International ⁠Stabilization Force working with a new Palestinian police force to secure the enclave.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is seeking re-election at a vote due in October, has publicly rejected Trump’s plan.

Hamas has said it agreed to the plan but the deal’s implementation would depend on Israel first ​meeting its own commitments, ​including withdrawal and halting attacks.

The ⁠Gaza ceasefire has been repeatedly violated, with more than 1,250 Palestinians, mostly civilians, being killed by Israeli attacks and four Israeli soldiers being killed ​by militants since the truce began in October, according to Gaza health ​officials and ⁠Israeli tallies, respectively. Hamas does not usually disclose its losses.

Gaza has been left devastated by an Israeli military assault that has killed tens of thousands, caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza’s entire population and ⁠led to ​assessments of genocide by rights experts, scholars and UN inquiries.

Israel has called its ​actions self-defence-led militants killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages in an October 2023 attack.

The ​spring served as a lifeline for the nearby village of Fasayil in the fertile Jordan Valley, where Palestinians have relied on it for generations for food, employment and to supplement irregular Israeli ‌supplies to their domestic taps.

“Our water supply remains cut off to this day, depriving us of the water we depend on for our homes, our livelihoods, and our agricultural land,” said Saad Nemer, who farms the land.

Israeli settlers seized his irrigation pipeline in June, channelling the water to an ancient pool in an archaeological site. Soon after, settlers advertised it as an Israeli tourist attraction and Israel’s far-right finance minister pledged financial support.

“They are now in the process of developing a recreational park around the pool,” Nemer said.

Settlers stop Palestinian villagers approaching.

The seizure of the spring at Fasayil is part of a pattern that Palestinians say is designed to make their lives in the West Bank untenable. Israeli settlers have attacked at least 160 ​water and sanitation sites across the Palestinian territory this year, United Nations data shows.

Nemer’s greenhouses and fields would normally be full of eggplant, zucchini and watermelons, but without ⁠water he has not been able to plant in the scorched land.

“The settlers cutting off our water has caused us losses and has meant that many families will lose their work and their livelihoods,” he said.

Nemer said that ​an employee had been beaten up by settlers and he himself had faced threats for attempting to approach the spring as far back as two years ago.

Yishai Shreiber, 21, an Israeli settler who had come to swim in the pool ​near Fasayil on an August afternoon, said Palestinians would not now dare approach.

“Now that they see this entire mass of people, all these large groups of Jews coming here to bathe, they are afraid to come here,” said Shreiber.

Shreiber said the West Bank belonged to the Jewish people, and that if Palestinians don’t want to accept Jewish authority, they should leave.

Nemer showed Reuters a 2025 land ownership document from COGAT, the Israeli military agency which enforces civilian policy in the occupied territories.

He also presented a map drawn ​for the pre-occupation 1957 registration of his title deeds showing that his land included both the spring and the pool. COGAT and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich did not respond to requests for comment.

‘water war’ is part of Israeli West Bank takeover, Palestinians say

Israel’s far-right coalition government has overseen massive settlement construction that Smotrich says is aimed at burying the idea of a Palestinian state, which has been recognised by more than 150 of 193 UN member states as encompassing the ‌Gaza Strip and ⁠West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

The United Nations and most governments consider the settlements to be illegal under international law related to military occupation. Israel seized the West Bank in the 1967 war, but argues the territory is disputed rather than occupied.

Palestinians have experienced a sharp rise in settler violence, and Palestinian field researcher Fares Foqahaa estimated that settlers had now seized control of 95% of springs in the northern Jordan Valley, displacing communities.

In another West Bank village, Qusra, settlers still besieging three homes on Thursday had also cut off their water and electricity.

Adel Yassin, an official with the Palestinian Authority’s water authority, said that settlers target water resources as part of a systematic campaign to force Palestinians off their land.

“I ​see this as a water war. It is the silent ​bullet that kills Palestinians without a sound,” he ⁠said, referring to the process of making their livelihoods unsustainable.

Israel archaeologist says settlers are damaging the site

In early June, Eliav Libi, a settler leader targeted with sanctions by Canada and other countries, posted a video showing the pool beginning to fill with water.

He and other settlers say the pool belonged to the biblical-era Jewish king Herod. An archaeologist ​with the Israeli rights group Emek Shaveh, Alon Arad, said the pool’s provenance is unclear.

“We see in many cases the use of archaeology … to create this feeling ​that the West Bank is exclusively ⁠Jewish,” Arad said, adding that the settlers were damaging an archaeological site by filling it with water.

Outside the pool, a billboard advertised a 3 million shekel ($1 million) investment from Smotrich, an architect of settler expansion, who said in a Telegram post the money was for the restoration and development of “Herod’s Pools”.

The pool and the nearby spring were packed with Israeli families swimming and wading in the water. No Palestinians were present.

One of the few natural springs still available to Palestinians is near ⁠the city of ​Nablus at Wadi al-Badhan. In July, families sat at plastic tables placed in shallow streams, picnicking with their feet in the running water.

The ​springs are located close to Nablus’ urban centre and had until this year rarely faced incursions from settlers.

Hundreds of settlers descended into the springs earlier this summer, sitting at the plastic tables and walking through the pools, five Palestinians said.

Nizam Fares, the owner of a natural spring park ​in al-Badhan, said people could no longer enjoy visiting the area.

“People have become scared and jumpy. They come and ask if the settlers are coming or not?” he said.

In a crime that shook corporate America and gripped the country, 28-year-old Mangione is alleged to have shot dead chief executive of UnitedHealthcare Brian Thompson, 50, in December 2024 to protest the US insurance system.

“On the morning of December 4, I shot Mr Thompson in Manhattan and he died,” Mangione told a federal judge as he pleaded guilty to stalking his victim. He will be sentenced on December 18 and prosecutors said they would seek a life term.

He had been facing the stalking charges in the federal system, alongside murder charges in the New York state system but Mangione’s lawyers called on Friday for the state charges to be dropped to prevent him being prosecuted twice for the same conduct.

“We just filed our motion in state court, explaining why the state charges must be dismissed under New York’s double jeopardy protections,” said Mangione’s lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo.

The stalking charges and the murder charges could both lead to life sentences. Two other federal charges that carried the death penalty were thrown out by a judge earlier this year.

The case has sharply divided already polarized public opinion, with conservatives led by US President Donald Trump calling for an example to be made of Mangione.

Prosecutors on Friday said he deserved heavy punishment.

“There can be no celebrity in assassination,” Jamie McDonald, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, told reporters.

But ardent supporters of Mangione flocked to the Manhattan courthouse to show their support amid heavy security as a helicopter hovered overhead.

Relatives of Thompson were reportedly in court for the hearing, and a man shouted “America loves Luigi” at them as they left in a convoy of black SUVs.

Insurance industry frustration

Thompson’s murder unsurfaced deep public frustration with the lucrative US commercial health care system, with some social media users painting Mangione as a hero.

He was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9 following a tip from staff at a McDonald’s restaurant, after a days-long manhunt.

He had travelled to New York by bus from Atlanta about 10 days before the crime, US prosecutors said.

After checking into a Manhattan hostel with false identification, he allegedly performed reconnaissance near the victim’s hotel and the conference venue where the shooting took place.

Following his arrest, officers strip-searched him and went through property that included a handgun, a silencer and a jar of Skippy peanut butter.

Mangione also admitted in court on Friday that he used a 3-D printer to make a gun and equipped it with a silencer and magazine.

A checklist also found on Mangione contained entries including “intel check in” and reminders to purchase a camera from the Best Buy retail chain.

Defendants in the United States can be tried at both the state and federal level for the same crime, although the charges tend to differ — as they do for Mangione.

Half a year into the war, Kuwait remains a hostage to its uncompromising need to access the Strait of Hormuz — where the war between the US and Iran has choked off the once plentiful energy exports that moved across its waters.

Oil has long been the bedrock for the tiny Gulf state’s economy — where more than 90 per cent of government revenue and nearly all export earnings rely on reliable crude sales. The country is also home to roughly six per cent of total oil reserves globally.

Unlike Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait has no pipelines bypassing the strait — forcing its crude exports to sail through the contested waterway to the international market.

“Without a doubt, this is the toughest and biggest crisis that we have faced in the oil sector in Kuwait since the 1990 invasion by Iraq,” said Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) chief executive Shaikh Nawaf Saud Al-Sabah.

Then, as Saddam Hussein’s forces retreated from a US-led onslaught to liberate Kuwait, the Iraqi army torched hundreds of wells, destroyed massive storage tanks and targeted refineries — causing catastrophic damage to much of the country’s oil sector.

‘Crisis’

Kuwait has been spared the same levels of destruction during this war but has not emerged unscathed.

Just days into the war, the state-owned KPC declared force majeure — a legal manoeuvre that protects an enterprise when they cannot meet its contractual obligations due to unforeseeable events, like wars and natural disasters.

The notice was lifted in June.

The country has also weathered repeated waves of Iranian strikes targeting water desalination plants and energy installations, including petroleum infrastructure, along with salvos aimed at US military bases.

“This crisis has presented us with a new challenge,” Al-Sabah told AFP during an exclusive interview from a temporary office space he relocated to after KPC’s headquarters was hit by a drone strike in April.

Before the war, Kuwait was producing slightly more than 2.6 million barrels of oil per day, with an ambitious plan to reach 4 million barrels daily by 2040.

“Once the strait is open, it reverts to free movement, then we can easily go back to our pre-war production levels and even higher,” said Al-Sabah.

But when asked how much Kuwait was now able to deliver on a given day, the executive refused to provide a figure.

“It’s something that — during this crisis — we prefer to keep to ourselves,” he told AFP.

According to preliminary official data, Kuwait’s economy contracted 4.6 per cent year-on-year during the first quarter of 2026, with its oil-sector GDP collapsing by 12.5 per cent.

The true toll is likely more damning, with available economic data only accounting for the first month of the conflict.

‘In our blood’

Kuwaitis have largely remained resilient in the face of the war, despite Iranian attacks and talk of a Tehran-backed military buildup at the nearby Iraq-Iran border.

At night, lights at most of the country’s major energy installations, including power stations and water plants, have been switched off.

Scaffolding has also been constructed around many of Kuwait’s storage tanks — where vast quantities of crude are held — hoping to protect the structures from any future strikes.

“We have recovered from worse. We are Kuwait. Resistance is in our blood,” Noura, 45, told AFP at the historic Al-Mubarakiya market.

But in private conversations, Kuwaitis are much more frank, with some criticising American forces or lambasting US President Donald Trump’s willingness to continue the war.

Al-Sabah insists the company is working tirelessly to execute contingency plans and said storage tanks outside of the region have helped buffer the strait crisis.

But even with such plans, experts said the strait’s fate remains crucial to Kuwait’s future.

“Kuwait’s dependence on Hormuz has become a strategic vulnerability,” said Amena Bakr, head of Middle East insights at Kpler.

According to Bakr, estimates predict that Kuwait’s oil production could likely be restored to pre-war levels in two to three months.

“The country does have financial resources to withstand a serious temporary shock,” said Bakr.

“But the longer the war drags on, the more the economy is exposed to the risks of not having a safe export route for this oil.”

But Al-Sabah warned there was “no substitute” for unfettered access to the strait.

“If you do not have free flow of hydrocarbons through the Strait of Hormuz and free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, you will end up with another energy crisis very quickly,” he said.

Both Russia and Ukraine have stepped up attacks in recent weeks against commercial ships in the Black Sea, driving world grain prices higher.

In a statement, ​Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine of “brazen acts of ​terrorism” against shipping, while making no mention of Russia’s own ⁠attacks.

“We view these attacks (by Ukraine) as a deliberate policy aimed at destabilising ​civilian shipping in the Black Sea region to further escalate tensions and ​prolong the conflict, all with the blatant acquiescence of regional neighbours,” Zakharova said.

“At the same time, we see no signs of improvement in the situation and, consequently, ​no grounds for half-measures that merely grant the Kyiv regime a temporary ​breathing space.”

Zakharova said she was commenting on a statement by Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan ‌Fidan in a media interview that Ankara had put proposals to both Russia and Ukraine for a moratorium on military operations in the Black Sea.

She said Russia had received no formal proposal from Turkey.

Reuters reported on Thursday ​that Ukraine has ​transmitted an offer ⁠to Russia, via a third party, for both sides to halt attacks on civilian targets in the Black ​Sea.

Zakharova said it was not feasible to return to ​the ⁠2022-23 Black Sea grain initiative brokered by Turkey, an arrangement that allowed Russia and Ukraine - both major grain exporters - to continue to supply world markets. ⁠

The ​agreement, which she called one-sided, broke down ​after Russia accused Ukraine and the West of failing to honour their side of the deal.

According to the UAE’s official news agency WAM, the vessels came under attack on Thursday evening while transiting the strategic waterway. The situation was brought under control following the incident.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack and stressed the need to protect maritime routes and ensure safe navigation for commercial vessels.

Separately, Yemen’s Houthi movement launched two missile attacks near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, according to Houthi-affiliated Saba news agency, citing local sources.

The incidents around the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab have renewed attention on the security of key maritime routes used by commercial and energy vessels.

The offer to suspend attacks was transmitted by Kyiv via a third ​party, and Ukraine was still waiting for a response, the ​source who is familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Both Russia ⁠and Ukraine, major players on the world agriculture market, have accused ​each other of intensified targeting of vessels used for agriculture exports.

Kyiv was forced to ​turn to alternative shipment routes after many shipowners halted stops at ports in the southern region of Odesa - primarily for grain exports - wary of Russian strikes on ​dozens of foreign-flagged ships and port infrastructure.

Russia did not immediately comment ​on the matter publicly. Before the report, Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said ‌Moscow ⁠had received no formal Black Sea ceasefire proposal.

“Recently, we have been hearing many calls for various kinds of moratoriums and truces. These ideas are being put forward through various channels, but we have not received ​any formal proposals,” ​he said, ⁠according to Russia’s state news agency TASS.

Euronext September wheat BL2U6 turned lower, giving up sharp earlier gains following the Reuters ​report about Ukraine’s offer.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said ​on Saturday ⁠that a proposal had been conveyed to Russia and Ukraine for both countries to declare a moratorium on attacks in Black Sea.

Russia’s de facto blockade ⁠of ​Ukraine’s Black Sea ports in the Odesa ​region has sent Ukrainian grain exports tumbling 76% year-on-year so far in August, with the agricultural sector ​warning of vast consequences for the economy should it persist.

“By prohibiting minors under the age of ​fifteen from accessing certain online services, the ⁠law inherently requires every person, even an adult, to ​prove their age before accessing them,” the Constitutional Council ​said in its decision.

“However, by failing to specify the conditions and limits under which such proof must be provided, the ​legislature has not established the legal safeguards necessary ​to ensure compliance with these requirements,” it added.

French lawmakers had approved a ‌ban ⁠on social media access for children under age 15, becoming the first in Europe to follow Australia, whose world-first ban barred access to platforms including Facebook, ​TikTok and YouTube ​for under-16s ⁠in December.

Macron has ordered Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu to re-work the draft legislation ​to take the Constitutional Council’s concerns into ​account, ⁠the Elysee said in a statement.

The Elysee said Macron was determined the reform take effect before spring 2027, ⁠when ​France holds a presidential election. ​Macron cannot run for a third term.

The mudslide occurred around 6:30am Thursday in Changxing County and caused a house to collapse, state-run Xinhua News Agency said.

A preliminary investigation showed that the ​mudslide was triggered by a flash flood after a sudden burst ​of heavy rain. Rescue work was underway, Xinhua reported.

China is ⁠increasingly battling destructive weather that scientists link to climate change, especially ​this year, as an emerging El Niño pattern boosts temperatures and fuels more ​frequent and intense typhoons.

Natural disasters in China in July, when the country was affected by Typhoons Maysak, Bavi and Noul, left 318 people dead or missing and caused direct economic ​losses of 57.15 billion yuan ($8.5 billion), according to data released by ​the emergency management ministry.

Both numbers were higher compared with July last year.

Typhoon Dolphin, which made ‌landfall ⁠on the country’s eastern coast on Sunday, unleashed extreme rain across eastern, central and northern regions this week, breaking single-day rainfall records at 13 weather stations across the country.

In central China’s Henan Province, authorities were organising the ​evacuation of 781 ​people after a ⁠riverbank was breached late on Thursday in the city of Zhoukou, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Friday.

Remnants of ​Typhoon Dolphin, combined with cold air and a monsoon ​trough, are ⁠expected to bring more heavy rain in eastern and southeastern China from Friday to Sunday, CCTV said in a separate report.

A basin-wide major flood is ⁠expected in ​Lake Tai in the east, the country’s ​third-largest freshwater lake and the origin of several rivers, according to CCTV.

“The false claims of the United States that ships are passing through the Strait of Hormuz normally… are nothing more than lies and fabrications,” said Ebrahim Zolfaghari, the spokesperson for Iran’s central military command, Khatam-al Anbiya.

“The Strait of Hormuz is, as in the past, under the complete management and control of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and no commercial ship or tanker without the permission and supervision of the powerful Iranian armed forces has had and will have the possibility of safe passage through this strait,” he said in a video carried by state television.

Iran has kept control of Hormuz, a vital energy conduit, since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East on February 28, requiring vessels to obtain permission and pay transit fees before using the waterway.

In a Wednesday Truth Social post, Trump claimed that the US “has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT!”

“Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, ‘A WALL OF STEEL,’ and there is nothing Iran can do about it,” he added.

On Thursday, the head of Iran’s paramilitary Basij forces under the Revolutionary Guards also said that the strait was under Iranian control.

“Today, you see that the Strait of Hormuz is under the management and control of the Islamic republic, and our country continues on its path in complete security,” said Hossein Taeb according to state television.

Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi on Thursday said the US makes miscalculations in regard to the waterway.

“The U.S. has long miscalculated due to intelligence failures. Case in point: The war on Iran. Now, an even bigger miscalculation on the Strait of Hormuz,” he said on X.

Iranian parliamentarian and member of the national security commission Behnam Saeedi said the strait is closed to US and Israeli ships.

“Ships belonging to the Zionist regime will not have the right to pass through the Strait of Hormuz under any circumstances, whether in war or peacetime,” he told state TV, adding that “US military ships will also be barred from passing through the Strait”.

Iran and Oman have been in talks to establish a new route through the strait, but negotiations have not yet been finalised.

Tehran, however, says even if the talks produce a new route, that would not on its own open the waterway unless the US meets Iran’s demands.

There have been more than 900 attacks between January and August this ​year, resulting in at least 900 deaths and more than 1,400 injuries, according to WHO data presented ​in Geneva by Altaf Musani, the agency’s director of humanitarian and disaster management.

Ukraine, Lebanon and ⁠the occupied Palestinian territory account for the largest share of reported incidents, although attacks have also been recorded ​in countries including Iran, Sudan, Myanmar, Syria, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Musani said.

“What we are witnessing are multiple ​forms of violence,” Musani said, citing the use of heavy weapons, destruction of health facilities and the detention or abduction of healthcare workers and patients. During this period, 94 healthcare workers have been detained.

In Gaza, all 36 hospitals have been damaged, and only about ​half remain partially functional, while in Sudan 37% of health facilities are reported non-functional this year, he said. In ​Ukraine, the WHO has verified more than 3,100 attacks since Russia’s full-scale invasion, including a recent strike affecting a WHO warehouse.

“An ‌attack on ⁠healthcare does not end when an attack gets verified,” Musani said. “It is the patient who cannot receive healthcare tomorrow. It is the ambulance that cannot make the next referral.”

A WHO study of 69 attacks in northwest Syria found outpatient consultations fell by 51% immediately after an attack and remained depressed for more than a month.

Attacks can also ​undermine responses to disease outbreaks, ​Musani said. In the ⁠Democratic Republic of Congo, 12 verified attacks on healthcare since an Ebola outbreak was declared in May have disrupted surveillance, contact tracing, treatment and community outreach efforts. Such incidents ​make it harder to detect and contain outbreaks, he said.

The 156 verified attacks in ​Ukraine so far ⁠this year, out of a total of 3,100 since Russia’s full-scale invasion began, have affected hospitals, ambulances, warehouses and medical supply chains, Musani stated.

Since the WHO’s surveillance system began tracking such incidents in 2018, more than 10,400 attacks have been ⁠verified ​across 29 countries and territories, resulting in about 5,700 deaths and over ​8,500 injuries, Musani said.

Musani said not a single one of the more than 10,000 verified attacks had yet entered an accountability process.

Health facilities ​are protected under international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions, he noted.

Araghchi made the comments in a post on X on Thursday after France’s Foreign Ministry said 32 countries, including France, the UK and Canada, along with the European Union’s foreign policy chief, had issued a joint statement condemning Iran’s use of capital punishment against foreign-linked rioters.

“Countries like France should stop lecturing the world about ‘human rights’ and international law. The hypocrisy is blatant and embarrassing,” Araghchi said.

He accused these countries of undermining their own claims to uphold international law by backing Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and US-Israeli attacks against Iran.

“Your backing of Israel’s genocide in Gaza — and aggression against Iran — has destroyed whatever moral high ground you imagined you had,” he added.

Israel launched its military offensive in Gaza in October 2023, and the conflict has killed at least 73,388 Palestinians and injured 174,259 others.

Israel and the United States also launched two rounds of military aggression against Iran.

The first took place in June 2025, while a second campaign began on February 28 and ended in early April after 40 days.

Foreign powers backing unrest

Araghchi’s remarks came amid Western criticism of Iran’s handling of unrest that erupted in Tehran and several other cities in January.

The protests initially began over economic grievances at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar before escalating into violent clashes and unrest, according to Iranian authorities.

Iranian officials have accused foreign intelligence agencies of exploiting the demonstrations as part of an effort to destabilise the country’s government.

They said armed rioters and militants attacked security personnel and set fire to public and private property, including shops, buses and mosques, particularly on January 8 and 9.

Iranian officials have linked the violence to the United States and Israel.

President Masoud Pezeshkian has alleged that armed rioters received training from US and Israeli intelligence agencies.

Iranian authorities have warned that the US supported riots inside Iran to disintegrate the country and plunder its oil and other natural resources.

“A military source confirmed that the Yemeni Armed Forces targeted an Aramco refinery in the Jizan region using two drones, achieving a precise hit by the grace of God,” Saba reported, referring to Houthi forces.

The agency reported that the source said the strike was a response to a Saudi “violation of Yemeni airspace and the country’s sovereignty in the Saada and Hajjah governorates”.

The source said the Houthis would “respond decisively to any violation of the country’s sovereignty or any act of aggression targeting the nation”, according to Saba.

A years-long truce in Yemen’s civil war between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed, internationally-recognised government appeared to collapse last month as fighting between regional allies of the United States and Iran flared.

In July the Houthis announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia, hitting Saudi tankers in the Red Sea.

On Sunday, the Iran-backed Houthis said they had struck an oil facility on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast in response to incursions by drones from the Gulf monarchy into northwest Yemen.

The Houthi threat to shipping and Saudi oil facilities comes in parallel with Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has become the central flashpoint between Tehran and Washington amid efforts to end the Middle East war, which was launched by the US and Israel in February.

Hegseth’s comments suggest he is advising US President Donald Trump that the US military can keep applying economic pressure on Iran for as long as needed to help so-far ​failed negotiations to end the conflict, begun in February.

“Indefinitely the United States Navy ​can maintain a blockade like that because we’ll rotate ships in ⁠and out, as we have, and we’ll continue to,” Hegseth told reporters.

He ​spoke in Panama after addressing the crew aboard the USS Gridley, a guided-missile destroyer, ​which had previously deployed to the Middle East.

Trump on Wednesday said the United States is in control of the Strait of Hormuz.

“The USA has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I ​THINK WE WILL KEEP IT! Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, “A ​WALL OF STEEL,” and there is nothing Iran can do about it,” he wrote on his ‌Truth ⁠Social platform.

After the start of the war, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, Tehran effectively shut the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas was previously shipped.

The US subsequently imposed ​a naval blockade on ​Iranian shipping and ⁠ports, while saying it would protect freedom of navigation for vessels travelling to and from non-Iranian ports.

Washington has poured tens ​of thousands of troops into the Middle East since the ​war started, ⁠including more than 20 warships.

Since the blockade started, the US military has redirected more than 55 commercial vessels that were attempting to run the blockade, including disabling three ⁠ships ​and boarding two.

Earlier this week, a US ​Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles into a Panama-flagged ship’s engine room after it ignored warnings from US ​forces, the military said.

Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the slick had “degraded the waters” of the Gulf and Sea of Oman, claiming “preliminary evidence indicates a foreign bulk carrier as the source”.

TankerTrackers, a US-hosted website that monitors shipping movements worldwide, said however that the spill seemed to derive from an Iranian attack on bulk carrier Minoan Pioneer in Omani waters on August 3.

“The spillage then drifted across the strait over to Iran,” it said.

Baqaei wrote on X that such spills have in “recent decades imposed trillions of dollars in damage on Iran’s coastal areas”, calling for compensation.

“Every party that benefits from commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz carries both a legal and a moral obligation to remediate the environmental harm inflicted,” he added.

The spill had reached Qeshm island but had been “almost completely cleaned up by Wednesday evening”, said Habib Masihi, head of the environmental protection department in Iran’s southern province of Hormozgan.

He said about 32,000 square metres of coastal area had been affected, along with waters covering 90,000 square metres.

“The oil pollution on the southern coast of Qeshm is just one example of the widespread pollution that has destroyed the region’s marine ecosystem over the past few decades,” added Sheena Ansari, the head of Iran’s Environmental Protection Organisation.

“Who is responsible for compensating for the damage? The countries consuming energy exports from our region or the aggressors who have made this region a staging ground for military operations?” Ansari posted to X on Thursday.

Iran has maintained control over the Strait of Hormuz since the outbreak of the Middle East war on February 28, blocking the passage of ships carrying energy exports from US-allied countries in the Gulf.

It has said it plans to charge navigational fees from passing vessels to fund services including environmental protection.

The United States and some regional countries have expressed opposition to any fees.

The spill comes after another slick in recent days near neighbouring Oman from a tanker that ran aground.

An AFP investigation previously found the ship had been stranded for weeks near Oman’s Al-Qibliyyah island after it was damaged by explosions.

The Persian Gulf Strait Authority, the body Iran set up to manage the waterway, rejected claims by US officials, saying the Strait of Hormuz remains closed until Tehran’s demands are met.

“The claims and repeated posts by US officials that the Strait of Hormuz is no longer blocked do not change the reality,” the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) said in a post on X on Wednesday.

“The Strait of Hormuz remains blocked and will not be reopened until Iran’s conditions are accepted,” it added.

Iran had declared the vital global energy chokepoint closed in response to US-Israeli aggression against the country between February 28 and April 7.

Tehran and Washington signed a memorandum of understanding in June aimed at ending the cycle of hostilities triggered by the aggression.

Iran subsequently reopened the strait but later reinstated the closure, accusing Washington of interfering with a legal transit mechanism Tehran had established for vessels passing through the waterway under the agreement.

Earlier this month, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) said the Strait of Hormuz would only be reopened after Iran’s conditions were met.

These included a permanent end to US aggression against Iran and its regional allies, the lifting of US naval blockade and sanctions, the return of Iran’s frozen assets, and compensation for damage caused by the aggression.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important energy transit routes, with disruptions to shipping through the waterway posing risks to global oil and gas supplies.

Since taking office in ​2022, Meloni has done little on the economic front to increase opportunities for the young, analysts say, while passing a raft of law-and-order measures that often disproportionately affect them.

The ‌result is a disaffection among 18- to 34-year-olds that may be crucial at a 2027 election shaping up as a neck-and-neck race between her rightist coalition and the centre-left opposition.

“Younger voters are clearly leaning towards the centre-left,” Lorenzo Pregliasco, head of the Youtrend polling agency, told Reuters.

Meloni’s coalition, comprising her Brothers of Italy Party (FDI), Matteo Salvini’s League and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani’s more moderate Forza Italia, now commands less than 30% of voting support among under-35s, Pregliasco said.

That compares with almost 50% in the ​same age group for the opposition bloc dominated by the Democratic Party (PD), the 5-Star Movement and the Left-Green Alliance (AVS).

At the peak of Meloni’s popularity in 2023, Youtrend polling showed her party alone ​attracted roughly the same support among young people as the whole ruling coalition does now.

Young Italians also present the same gender gap seen in other European countries, ⁠with men tending to vote more for the right and women favouring the left, according to a study last year by Milan’s Bocconi University based on data from polling firm SWG.

The sharpest party divides showed ​support for Meloni’s FDI at 15% among 18- to 29-year-old men and just 4.2% among women, while 5-Star was backed by 18% of women under 30, and just 5.1% of men.

Lack of reforms to boost youth opportunities

Lorenzo ​De Sio, political science professor at Rome’s Luiss University, said the main reason for young people’s hostility towards the government was its inertia on economic policy.

“Meloni has made no significant economic reforms,” he said.

“That is fine if you benefit from the status quo, but very bad for those least protected by it, which often means young people.”

Meloni’s office declined to answer questions from Reuters for this article.

Italy’s employment rate among 15- to 24-year-olds is the lowest in the 21-nation euro zone, Eurostat ​data shows, and it invests less in education than almost all its partners in the bloc.

A young graduate in Germany earns on average 80% more than an Italian peer, according to the Bank of Italy, and tens ​of thousands of young Italians leave the country every year in search of better prospects abroad.

The government’s approval rating among under-35 voters is just 25% compared with 35% among the overall population, Youtrend data shows.

Meloni also faces competition for ‌what remains of ⁠the youth vote in her own ideological camp. National Future, a far-right opposition party formed in February by former army general Roberto Vannacci, is already polling at about 7%.

Surveys show its strongest support comes from middle-aged men, but Vannacci also has a significant following among anti-immigrant urban youths who like his pledge to return thousands of migrants to their countries of origin.

“Vannacci is certainly holding up better with young voters than the ruling parties are,” Pregliasco said.

Law-and-order crackdowns

The government’s security measures have affected a range of groups from prisoners to migrants, but young people have often found themselves in the eye of the storm.

After cracking down on rave parties in Meloni’s first ​law decree four years ago, subsequent government steps have targeted production of so-called “light” cannabis, disruptive street protests, ⁠squatters, and juvenile crime.

A nationwide student protest dubbed ‘No Meloni Day’ in November last year saw thousands march against the security decrees, education spending cuts and Meloni’s support for Israel in Gaza.

In one of its latest moves, the government last month presented a bill to change the rules on the criminal responsibility of minors.

Those aged between ​14 and 17 who commit crimes will be considered fully responsible unless proven otherwise, reversing current rules by which a judge must show they understood ​the implications of their actions.

A ⁠2023 decree toughening sanctions for offending minors has already triggered a 50% rise in the juvenile prison population, according to prisoners’ rights group Antigone.

Yet while teenagers are to be fully responsible for their crimes, they cannot receive sex education in school without their parents’ written consent, under another government step.

Young voters helped sink Meloni-backed refrendum

Meloni’s failure to attract the young has often been masked by voter apathy. Turnout in Italy is normally low among under-35s, who, rather than ⁠express their dissatisfaction ​by voting against the government, have simply opted not to vote.

However, this trend reversed abruptly at a referendum in March on a ​reform of the justice system championed by Meloni.

Some 67% of under-35s cast a ballot, with 60% of them rejecting the reform, compared with an overall turnout of 59%, of whom 54% voted ‘no’.

Sensing trouble, days before the crucial referendum, Meloni had joined an irreverent podcast hosted by a popular rapper in a bid to reach younger voters.

“The referendum showed what impact the young can have if they vote en masse,” De Sio said. “At the next election they could be decisive.”

In the local market, the gold price per tola reached Rs460,436 after a decline of Rs3,500 during the day.

Similarly, 10-gram gold was sold at Rs394,749 after it fell by Rs3,001, according to rates shared by the All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA).

On Wednesday, gold price per tola reached Rs463,936 after a gain of Rs4,200 during the day.

The international rate of gold declined by $35 to reach $4,380 per ounce (with a premium of $20).

Meanwhile, the price of silver also decreased by Rs175 to reach Rs6,936 per tola.