Iran: ‘Prepared for a protracted war, have tripled arms production’. UK considers halting trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank

The IDF reports that it has struck in the Deir al-Balah area of Gaza, killing the terrorist Sharif al-Hasanat, a company commander in the military wing of Hamas. “During the war, the terrorist played a leading role in efforts to restore Hamas’s underground infrastructure, and recently continued to orchestrate terrorist attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians,” the army said in a statement, “The terrorist posed an immediate threat to IDF troops and was neutralised.”

The UK is considering a new sanctions regime that would ban trade in goods and services with the Israeli settlements in the West Bank. This is reported by the Haaretz website, citing Bloomberg, whilst the government of British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is considering a tougher response to Israel’s settlement policies. According to informed sources, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is weighing up various options to increase pressure on Israel after it pressed ahead with plans for the construction of 1,200 homes in settlements in the E1 area of the West Bank. Among the options under consideration are a ban on the trade of goods and services with the settlements and the extension of existing human rights sanctions.

‘Iran is better prepared than its adversaries for a protracted war’, particularly given that ‘the production of weapons and ammunition has continued uninterrupted during recent conflicts’. This was stated by the spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Defence, Reza Talaei-Nik, adding that “Iran continues to modernise its strategic weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles” and “the production of certain strategic weapons and ammunition has more than tripled during the recent 40-day war”. Quoted by the Tasnim news agency, Talaei-Nik stated that ‘the enemy faces far greater constraints in a long and gruelling war, whilst the Islamic Republic of Iran has long been prepared for such conditions’.

For further reading: Iran: US bases at risk in Europe: from Bulgaria to Cyprus and on to Italia

Syria has condemned an Israeli attack south-west of Damascus which left one person injured today; this is the second such attack in a week. “This attack constitutes a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic and the integrity of its territory, as well as a flagrant breach of international law, and forms part of a pattern of repeated Israeli attacks on Syrian territory,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have confirmed that they carried out an attack in south-western Syria, stating that the target was a member of a terrorist organisation “who was carrying out terrorist attacks in the final stages of their preparation”.

“The terrorist’s actions posed an immediate threat to our forces,” the army said.

“We have received numerous messages from neighbouring countries regarding the establishment of new security arrangements and economic cooperation in the region.” This was announced on X by the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf. “Through their high-handedness and total disregard for the interests of their own allies, to the benefit of Israel, the United States has jeopardised the security of each of these countries to such an extent that, for a moment, they saw their very existence under threat,” the post reads - “An autonomous, home-grown regional order is what will truly guarantee peace and security.”

Iran’s production of defensive weapons has doubled over the past year. This was stated by Reza Talaei-Nik, spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Defence. “The pace of our production of defence weapons has doubled over the past year, from July last year to July this year,” said Talaei-Nik, according to the Tasnim news agency. Weapons and ammunition used on the battlefield are being rapidly replaced, he added, whilst production continues in parallel with the deployment of domestically manufactured equipment. Talaei-Nik also stated that Iran has scaled back military exhibitions and the unveiling of new weapons to reduce its vulnerabilities and “take the enemy by surprise”. “The only way to resist hegemony and confront foreign powers that threaten the country’s independence, existence and identity is to become stronger and more powerful,” he emphasised.

Iran has authorised a number of Iraqi oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz to safeguard Baghdad’s economic interests. This was reported by the official Iranian news agency IRNA, which stated that the decision coincided with the visit to Iraq by the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. According to IRNA, the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, Haibat al-Halbousi, asked Ghalibaf to allow the oil tankers to pass through the strategic strait. The agency does not specify how many ships will be authorised to transit, when the authorisation will come into effect, or whether there is an expiry date.

Iranian military doctrine is shifting from a ‘defensive’ to an ‘offensive’ approach, based on lessons learnt from recent wars. This was stated by the Iranian army spokesperson, Mohammad Akraminia, as quoted by state media. “In the past, our country’s military doctrine was defensive, but gradually, over the course of these two wars, we have witnessed a shift from a defensive to an offensive posture,” he explained. This change, he clarified, “does not mean carrying out pre-emptive operations against the enemy”, but “we will respond immediately to any act of aggression and on a larger scale than the aggression itself”. Akraminia stated that Tehran has repaired military systems damaged in previous fighting and has brought new ones into service. “We are working tirelessly so that, should the enemy make another miscalculation, we can inflict an even more crushing response upon them than before,” he said, adding that the recent reorganisation of the chain of command aims to speed up reaction times. “Since we entered a phase of ceasefire and calm, we have tried not to waste a single moment, because we do not trust the enemy at all,” he emphasised. Furthermore, according to the general, since the war, the Strait of Hormuz has acquired “decisive geopolitical influence” in the pursuit of Tehran’s foreign policy objectives.

The number of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz has risen by 27 per cent over the past week, according to a CNN analysis based on data from UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), the UK Maritime Trade Operations Authority), which recorded 103 ships entering and 89 leaving. However, this still represents only 20 per cent of the average for the seven days prior to the war, and the Strait remains a focal point of the conflict between Iran and the United States. Most of the ships were flying the flags of Panama (7) and Liberia (6), whilst no US-flagged vessels were recorded. The most common type of vessel to pass through the Strait was the refined products tanker, generally used to transport processed petroleum products. For the time being, the data suggest that the US Navy is increasing its control over the Strait, whilst Iran is losing much of its control over the area: over 80 per cent of the liquids transported in the last two weeks have passed through the Omani route, a maritime corridor authorised by the United Nations which Iran strongly contests.

Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon. According to the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA), the villages and towns of Al-Mansouri, the Majdal area and the homes in Al-Sayyad were hit, with no house left ‘intact’. Explosions were also reported in Yit Yahoun and Aita al-Jabal. Machine-gun sweeps have also been recorded in the neighbouring valleys, accompanied by continuous drone flights over the airspace of villages and towns in the western and central sectors.