War, latest news. Trump orders a halt to attacks on Iran. Clashes between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank.

An Israeli man was injured after being struck by a stone during a violent clash between Israelis and Palestinians near the Susya settlement in the West Bank, according to the army. This is reported by *The Times of Israel*. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said it had taken the 25-year-old man to hospital, where his condition was described as non-life-threatening. The Israel Defence Forces claim that during the incident, both sides threw stones at each other and that a Palestinian “terrorist” snatched a gun from an Israeli civilian.

Katy Perry has lashed out at US President Donald Trump’s administration for using her 2010 hit, ‘Firework’, in a social media video showing missile strikes carried out by the US government. The singer shared a fiery tweet in response to the video posted on the White House’s TikTok account, saying she was “deeply shocked and angry” to see the famous song used as background music for the video compiling footage of military strikes. She added: “I did not approve this, I was not asked for permission, and I absolutely do not condone it.” Katy went on to explain the meaning of the song, describing it as “an anthem of hope, healing and inner strength for people going through the darkest moments of their lives. To see a message of self-esteem and encouragement exploited as the soundtrack to destruction and violence is a complete violation of everything my song stands for. My music is meant to bring people together, not to celebrate war.”

The spokesperson for the Houthis’ political office, Mohammed Abdulsalam, met with a Saudi delegation in Oman today. This was reported by the Qatari television channel Al Jazeera, citing a Houthi source, according to whom the meeting was aimed at “promoting regional security and stability”.

Today, the Yemeni Houthi rebels, whose official name is ‘Ansar Allah’ (Partisans of God), allies of Iran, opened fire on Saudi oil facilities in two ports on the Red Sea coast, after Riyadh had launched air strikes on the Yemeni province of Hodeidah.

Israel had braced itself for a major US strike against Iran during the night between Friday and Saturday, but officials subsequently concluded that Donald Trump had decided to postpone the operation and give Tehran more time to make concessions, according to the Israeli news site Ynet. According to some sources, Qatar and Oman are said to have put pressure on Iran to soften its stance and avert what appeared to be an imminent large-scale US operation. Israeli officials viewed the pause as a temporary truce rather than a broader shift in perspective, stating that the prospects for a lasting agreement between the United States and Iran remained slim.

The impact of the war in Iran is now weighing far too heavily on energy and fuel costs. There is talk of an extra 29 billion ‘hike’ in a single year just to pay bills and fill up the tank. Meanwhile, filling up with petrol and diesel between July and August will cost almost 11 billion – in just two months. Minister Adolfo Urso has made it clear that the government will take action soon, that the measures are likely to include a review of variable excise duties, and that, however, the decision currently rests with the Minister for the Economy, Giancarlo Giorgetti, and, of course, on the ongoing discussions – which have intensified in recent days – with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who would like to send a clear signal by approving measures to combat price rises as soon as possible.

Monitoring by the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, based on data from the Fuel Price Observatory, confirms that at self-service stations the average price of petrol is 1.979 euros per litre and that of diesel is over 2.1 euros; and we are talking about the national network of petrol stations, because on the motorways prices are even higher, exceeding 2 euros for petrol and 2.2 euros for diesel.

An Israeli air strike has killed the head of the Hamas-led police force in the northern Gaza Strip, Brigadier General Abdel-Nasser Al-Maqadma. This has been reported by the Israeli media. Medical sources also report that another Israeli attack killed a Palestinian paramedic in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, and that a further air strike claimed two lives in a house in Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave. According to health officials in Gaza, the latest deaths bring the total to over 1,180 Palestinians, mostly civilians, killed by Israeli attacks since the October ceasefire between Israel and Hamas militants came into effect.

The Houthis’ decision to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and impose a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia is neither an isolated incident nor a mere local act of retaliation. It is the latest sign of a plan aimed at destabilising the entire Middle East and striking directly at the very heart of global trade. Freedom of navigation, a cornerstone of international law, is being turned into a geopolitical weapon to disrupt trade and energy routes, and to bring our production system and our economies to their knees.

But this escalation has not come out of nowhere. It is the result of a well-thought-out strategy by Tehran, which for years has been using its proxies as tools of destabilisation, transforming militias and armed groups into actors capable of striking on multiple fronts. A decentralised network operating with tactical autonomy but with a common goal, with the sole aim of weakening its neighbours, disrupting maritime routes, and bringing the West and Europe to their knees. Meanwhile, the Iranian theocracy continues to repress its own people, massacring young people – and above all young women – who are demanding freedom and rights – a moral tragedy that should have mobilised the international community but which has, all too often, been ignored – and aims to throw the entire region into turmoil through instability, conflicts, naval blockades and attacks on strategic infrastructure.

The Israeli army says it arrested more than 70 wanted Palestinians in the West Bank overnight and questioned hundreds more following the announcement of an “anti-terrorism operation” after a shootout between settlers and Palestinians yesterday near Nablus.

Iraqi air defences shot down a drone near the US consulate in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region. Security sources told Reuters.

In the village of Tell, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, Palestinians have buried the four men killed yesterday in clashes with Israeli settlers, according to local authorities, who said that only around thirty people were able to attend due to restrictions imposed by the IDF. “The families of the four martyrs held a funeral early this morning,” Walid Zidan, head of the village council, told AFP, adding that “only around thirty people were able to attend”.

The military spokesperson for the Yemeni Houthi group, Yahya Saree, today claimed responsibility for “two military operations” against Saudi Arabia in response to the attacks launched by Riyadh last night against the port city of Hodeidah and the island of Kamaran.

In a statement, Saree reported that “dozens of missiles and drones” had been launched against “facilities linked to Aramco” in Jizan and Yanbu.

The US armed forces opened fire and neutralised an oil tanker as it attempted to evade the American blockade in the Strait of Hormuz imposed on Iranian ports. This has been reported by the American media, which state that the crew had attempted to breach ‘the blockade at least four times previously’, according to the US Central Command (Centcom). The vessel, therefore, ‘is no longer heading towards Iran’. US forces stopped the oil tanker, identified as the Lavine, by opening fire after the crew had attempted to breach the US blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, reports the New York Times, quoting Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for US Central Command. Hawkins stated that the crew had been warned but had failed to heed the warnings on at least four previous occasions. “The vessel is no longer en route to Iran,” he added.

Jordan today condemned “the escalation of settler terrorism against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank”. In a statement, the Foreign Ministry condemned “the recent attacks on several villages, including the burning of houses, farmland and vehicles, the uprooting of numerous trees and assaults on Palestinians”.

The ministry’s spokesperson, Ambassador Fouad Majali, stated that “these attacks reflect the Israeli government’s extremist policies and its illegal measures in the occupied West Bank, which fuel extremism and violence against the Palestinian people and undermine the prospects of achieving peace based on the two-state solution”.

In the village of Tell, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, Palestinians have buried the four men killed yesterday in clashes with Israeli settlers, according to local authorities, who said that only around thirty people were able to attend due to restrictions imposed by the IDF. “The families of the four martyrs held a funeral early this morning,” Walid Zidan, head of the village council, told AFP, adding that “only around thirty people were able to attend”. The clashes broke out yesterday after around twenty settlers from the nearby settlement of Havat Gilad entered the village, according to Zidan: an incident like so many others in recent years, which have intensified since 7 October 2023. According to the Israeli army, whose soldiers were deployed to the scene, a Palestinian seized a settler’s weapon and killed him. There was an exchange of fire “from both sides”, during which four Palestinians and a second Israeli – a soldier – were killed. Israel subsequently announced a large-scale operation, cordoning off the area and closing checkpoints across the West Bank. The army is still deployed in the village this morning, according to a Palestinian official, who stated that 51 residents had been arrested for questioning, of whom only six had been released so far. A religious service was held overnight at Nablus Hospital, attended by the regional governor, Ghassan Daghlas.

In a Ukrainian ‘long-range’ attack, ‘ships used to transport military equipment destined for Iran, as well as a warship, were struck in the Caspian Sea’: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated this in a brief post on X, listing other Russian targets struck in recent hours by Ukraine’s ‘long-range strikes’. For months, Kyiv has maintained that Russia is using the Caspian Sea shipping corridor to transport both weapons and goods to Tehran.

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, has stated that there is no ‘military solution’ to the clashes between the Houthi rebels in Yemen – who are backed by Tehran – and Saudi Arabia. In an interview published by the state-run newspaper Iran Daily, Araghchi also called for ‘dialogue’ between the warring parties, whilst the conflict between Iran and the United States has been raging for months and has spread throughout the region.

Israeli forces have launched a large-scale arrest campaign in various areas of the West Bank, detaining 56 Palestinians. The updated figures have been provided by Wafa, the Palestinian news agency. In Nablus, the occupying forces arrested 30 Palestinians from the village of Tell, south of the city. In Ramallah, four Palestinians were arrested. In Jenin, Israeli troops arrested five people during raids on their homes. In Hebron, Israeli forces carried out raids in several towns and villages, arresting eight people. In Bethlehem, Israeli soldiers arrested three Palestinians. In Tulkarm, five Palestinians were arrested by Israeli troops. From Jerusalem, Israeli police carried out a military raid in the town of Al-Eizariya, in the south of the country, arresting a local resident.

According to press reports, US President Donald Trump is considering stepping up air strikes on Iran, whilst the conflict is spreading across the Middle East with cross-fire between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Specifically, according to US media reports, during a meeting held this morning between the President – who is increasingly frustrated by the deadlock in Iran – and his closest advisers, the possibility of a large-scale military operation in Iran was raised. At the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, however, Trump said he had not yet taken any decision on the matter.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, in Kyrgyzstan, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers in the resort town of Cholpon-Ata. Wang called for the resumption of negotiations and the implementation of a memorandum of understanding aimed at easing tensions in the Middle East and the Gulf region, according to reports by the Chinese state news agency Xinhua. Wang was referring to the preliminary agreement aimed at ending the war, which is currently at a standstill due to the resumption of hostilities between the parties over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Media reports: first night without attacks in the war between the US and Iran. CNN highlights this, explaining that US Central Command (CENTCOM) did not announce any new military actions against Iran yesterday, after having launched daily attacks against the country for almost two weeks. As of this morning, Iranian state media had also not reported any attacks or explosions in the country overnight.

The Iran-backed Houthis have claimed responsibility for a missile attack on Saudi Arabia, after Riyadh launched strikes against targets linked to the militant group yesterday. In the early hours of the morning, the Houthis reported on Telegram that a ‘Yemeni missile attack’ had caused fires in the Saudi city of Jizan. The Saudi authorities issued an emergency alert for the province. The group had vowed retaliation after Saudi Arabia carried out air strikes against Houthi targets in the Yemeni port city of Hodeida and on the nearby island of Kamaran yesterday. This was reported by Al Jazeera.

A Greek air defence system in Saudi Arabia has intercepted two ballistic missiles launched from Yemen. This was reported by the Haaretz website, citing security sources in Athens speaking to Reuters. The missiles launched from Yemen were targeting the oil refineries in Yanbu, the sources explained.

A new wave of Israeli military raids and violence by settlers swept through several areas of the West Bank overnight, leaving a Palestinian teenager and an elderly man injured in Bethlehem and Nablus, according to Al-Jazeera correspondents on the ground. Israeli forces raided the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp south of Jericho, the town of Qalqilya, the village of Kobar in the Ramallah district, and the town of Kafr Aqab north of Jerusalem. Troops also stormed the town of Yabad and the villages of Zababdeh and Burqin in the Jenin Governorate, whilst another raid targeted the village of Faroun, south of Tulkarem. In Nablus, military units entered the villages of Tal and Qaryut, as well as the town of Beit Furik, launching a widespread campaign of arrests in Tal and searching several homes in Beit Furik. During these raids, soldiers fired tear gas at Palestinian homes in Qaryut, whilst settlers attacked houses in the village of Urif, south of Nablus.

A Saudi ship was struck today in the Red Sea, sustaining minor damage to its hull. This was reported by a Saudi transport official to state media, just a few days after the Iranian-backed Yemeni Houthis had announced a naval blockade against Riyadh. “An official source from the Public Transport Authority stated that the vessel (Ncc Masa), owned by a Saudi company, was targeted whilst sailing in the Red Sea today, resulting in minor damage to the hull,” reported the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). According to media outlets linked to the Iran-backed Yemeni Houthis, Saudi Arabia struck telecommunications infrastructure in the rebel-held city of Hodeida and on the island of Kamaran. “A Saudi aggression, involving a series of air strikes, has hit the telecommunications authority’s infrastructure,” said the Al-Masirah television channel, adding that the attacks also targeted the island of Kamaran in the Red Sea.

Iran wants a deal and ‘we’re talking, but I don’t think they’re ready yet’: ‘I’m in no hurry, despite the mid-term elections; we need to get things done properly’. This is according to Donald Trump, who nevertheless emphasised that, in his view, Tehran is becoming more ‘serious’ in the negotiations as the days go by, for ‘obvious reasons’. The talks are being led, amongst others, by ‘Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio’.