The Council of the EU announced on Friday that the European Union has sanctioned five Iranian judges for alleged human rights violations, as well as a leading figure of a cyber group accused of helping the regime suppress information.
In Lebanon, on July 24, residents began entering the town of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh in southern Lebanon, some to inspect damaged homes and search for their belongings following the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the deployment of the Lebanese army under a US-brokered agreement.
In addition, the United States has imposed sanctions against nine companies and four individuals belonging to the business network of already sanctioned Iranian financier Babak Zanjani for evading sanctions.
Pakistan is considering resuming talks between the United States and Iran, following a push by China.
Exploratory discussions took place during Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni’s visit to Islamabad this week, his second in the past 10 days. Momeni, considered close to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, met with Pakistani government leaders and army chief Asim Munir, according to the Pakistani government.
Pakistan faces an increasingly complex situation as a potential future mediator: it has a military alliance with Saudi Arabia and relies on China. Being perceived as too receptive to Iranian arguments could risk angering Riyadh. In a statement, China’s Foreign Ministry said that “China supports the mediation efforts made by Pakistan and other parties.” It added that China will continue to “play an active role in restoring peace and tranquility in the Gulf region in the Middle East as soon as possible.”
Tracking data from Kpler and the London Stock Exchange Group showed that the oil tanker Torm Innovation, carrying approximately 500,000 barrels of naphtha and bound for Asia, changed course, heading toward the exit of the Suez Canal instead of continuing through Bab al-Mandeb.
Regional trade sources reported that diverting ships through the Suez Canal instead of Bab al-Mandeb could nearly triple transit times to Asian destinations.
Saudi Aramco has begun offering additional crude oil cargoes to be loaded at the Egyptian port of Sidi Kerir on the Mediterranean coast, rather than at its Red Sea terminals, due to persistent maritime security concerns in the region.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the world’s leading authority on food insecurity, said conditions in Gaza have improved since famine was declared in parts of the Palestinian territory last year. According to the IPC, the reduction in fighting and increased aid from Israel have had a “significant, albeit uneven, impact across different areas,” but it warns that the overall situation remains critical. The report states that most families in the war-torn enclave still lack enough to eat, and there is no immediate prospect of lifting Gaza’s 2.1 million Palestinians out of the crisis. It also warns that “even small disruptions to humanitarian access could quickly undo recent progress,” while long lines at soup kitchens and high prices continue to impact daily life.
Let’s take a look at the front lines.
The US military said it conducted a new series of strikes against Iran overnight, targeting military command centers, drone depots, and other infrastructure.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces completed the thirteenth consecutive night of operations against Iran, targeting what it described as military command facilities, drone depots, communications networks, coastal surveillance systems, and naval capabilities linked to threats against civilian sailors and merchant ships.
CENTCOM said the Strait of Hormuz remains open to international shipping despite recent Iranian attacks, adding that merchant ships continue to pass through the strategic waterway with the support of U.S. forces.
Data from energy analytics firm Kpler showed that only one oil tanker passed through the strait on Thursday, compared to three the previous day, the lowest level since May 7. No oil tanker entered the canal on the same day. The supertanker New Giant, carrying approximately 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude from Basra, was the only tanker recorded exiting the strait on Thursday and is expected to arrive in the Chinese port of Rizhao in mid-August, according to data.
At the same time, tanker traffic increased through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, with 32 vessels transiting on Thursday compared to 26 the previous day. Fourteen vessels were headed for the Red Sea, while 18 were departing for the Gulf of Aden. Kpler data showed that nine ships exiting Bab al-Mandeb were carrying crude oil cargoes, including two supertankers bound for China.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claims to have inflicted heavy damage and losses on the invading US army with an attack on an ammunition depot and barracks at the US air base at Ali Al Salem in Kuwait.
In a statement released Friday, the IRGC referred to the 27th wave of Operation Nasr 2, announcing that a large ammunition depot and shelters housing US personnel at the Ali Salem base were completely destroyed by the impact of super-heavy, technologically advanced destructive drones.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that, following a previous operation against the intelligence data center of the US company Amazon in Bahrain, the remaining building of that center was targeted and destroyed.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic of Iran Army issued a further statement related to Operation Thunder, saying it targeted several US positions in Kuwait, including a military equipment depot at Al-Udairi Camp, the US forces barracks in Doha, and Arifjan Camp.
Bahrain said it intercepted and shot down Iranian airstrikes on Friday, but did not specify whether there were any casualties or damage.
Jordanian forces claimed to have shot down seven Iranian missiles and six Iranian drones on Friday.
US strikes hit a Revolutionary Guards naval base in northern Iran, according to the semi-official Fars and ISNA news agencies. Explosions from U.S. bombing raids were also reported overnight on the Iranian island of Qeshm, a base for naval assets, including drones that Iran can use to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and in Isfahan province, home to a major Iranian air base and one of Iran’s nuclear sites.
Other strikes reportedly hit the southwestern province of Khuzestan and the southern province of Fars.
The Central Command said the latest bombing was designed to “further weaken Iran’s ability to threaten civilian sailors and commercial vessels transiting regional waters,” as the Americans work to regain control of the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas passes during peacetime.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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