China repeats its calls for a ceasefire in the Middle East
China repeated calls for a ceasefire in the Middle East and safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz in conversations with western counterparts on Thursday.
China’s foreign minister Wang Yi discussed the Middle East situation in separate phone calls with the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas and Germany’s foreign minister Johann Wadephul, appealing for joint efforts to push for a prompt end to the war.
A ceasefire is the key to safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, Wang told Kallas, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.
“All parties should work to build a broader consensus to this end and create the necessary conditions,” Wang was quoted as telling Kallas.
Separately, the Chinese diplomat told Wadephul that as responsible major countries, China and Germany should uphold an objective and impartial stance and play a constructive role in the process, according to another Chinese statement.
China has called US-Israeli attacks on Iran a violation of international law and demanded an end to the military action, which triggered Iranian strikes against Israel, US bases and Gulf states.
Trump urges Iran to make deal “before it is too late”
Donald Trump has shared footage on his Truth Social platform of the bridge strike near Tehran and appeared to take responsibility for the attack.
He warned there was “much more to follow” and urged Tehran to “make a deal before it is too late”.
“The biggest bridge in Iran comes tumbling down, never to be used again – Much more to follow! IT IS TIME FOR IRAN TO MAKE A DEAL BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE, AND THERE IS NOTHING LEFT OF WHAT STILL COULD BECOME A GREAT COUNTRY!,” he wrote.
Strikes hit the B1 bridge between Karaj and Tehran on Thursday, which had already been hit around an hour earlier, Iranian state TV reported.
“The American-Zionist enemy once again targeted the B1 bridge in Karaj,” a city west of Tehran, state TV said earlier, adding that the first strike had caused two civilian casualties.
The Israel Defense Forces previously told the BBC that they were unaware of the strike.
Drone attack targets US diplomatic and logistics centre in Baghdad
A drone attack targeted the US diplomatic and logistics centre in Baghdad’s international airport complex on Thursday, two Iraqi security sources have told AFP.
“Two drones targeted the logistics support centre, causing a fire but no injuries,” one security source said, adding that one of the drones was shot down “behind the airport”.
A second source confirmed the incident.
The airport complex houses an Iraqi military base as well as the US facility.
UK foreign minister calls for ‘immediate’ reopening of Hormuz
Iran could face further sanctions if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, the UK’s foreign secretary Yvette Cooper has signalled, after holding talks with more than 40 nations from across the world.
Cooper said collective action to increase pressure on Tehran was being discussed as she accused the country of trying to “hold the global economy hostage” with its stranglehold on the key shipping lane.
“Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz is a direct threat to global prosperity,” she said in a statement following the virtual meeting on Thursday.
“Iran is trying to hold the global economy hostage in the Strait of Hormuz. They must not prevail. To that effect, partners today called for the immediate and unconditional reopening of the Strait and respect for the fundamental principles of freedom of navigation and the law of the sea”.
Talks focused on the prospect of increasing diplomatic pressure, including through the UN, to push Iran to allow unimpeded transit and to “comprehensively reject” tolls being imposed on vessels seeking to pass through, she said.
Countries also discussed exploring “co-ordinated economic and political measures, such as sanctions, to bear down on Iran if the Strait remains closed”, according to the statement.
Argentina expels Iranian embassy diplomat
Argentina has expelled the Iranian embassy’s charge d’affaires, ordering them to leave the country within 48 hours, after Tehran criticised Argentina’s designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a “terrorist organisation”.
Argentina’s foreign ministry declared Mohsen Soltani Tehrani persona non grata and said Iran had made “false, offensive and unfounded accusations against the Argentinian Republic and its highest authorities”.
In a statement released by its embassy in Uruguay on Wednesday, Iran criticised Argentina’s decision to declare the IRGC a terrorist organisation as “illegal and unfounded” and warned the move would damage bilateral relations.
Pakistan raises consumer prices for diesel again
Pakistan has again raised consumer prices for diesel to 520.35 rupees ($1.88) per litre and petrol prices to 458.40 rupees per litre amid rising global oil prices spurred by the conflict in the Middle East.
“It was inevitable to raise the prices due to the international market prices going out of control after the US-Iran war,” Pakistan’s petroleum minister said late on Thursday.
The country’s finance minister also separately announced subsidies for intercity transportation of goods and travel, and for small farmers.
Iran preparing a proposal for Strait of Hormuz navigation protocol with Oman
Iran said it was drafting a peacetime protocol that would supervise – but not restrict – maritime traffic through the strait of Hormuz with Oman, AFP reports, citing state media, with Tehran’s closure of the vital oil corridor roiling the global economy.
Deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi told Russia’s Sputnik state media that the protocol would apply after the ongoing war with the US and Israel had ended, setting basic rules to manage ship movements, the IRNA news agency said.
“We are currently finalising the drafting of this protocol and, once it has been finalised internally, we will undoubtedly begin negotiations with the Omani side in order to reach a joint protocol,” he said.
Oman has yet to report any such negotiations. Its foreign minister said last month his country was “working intensively to put in place safe passage arrangements for the strait of Hormuz”.
US striking civilian structures a sign of ‘moral collapse’, says Iranian foreign minister
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has said that Washington’s recent strikes on civilian infrastructure will not force Tehran to back down, adding that such actions “convey the defeat and moral collapse of an enemy in disarray”.
“Striking civilian structures, including unfinished bridges, will not compel Iranians to surrender,” Araghchi said in a post on X.
“It only conveys the defeat and moral collapse of an enemy in disarray. Every bridge and building will be built back stronger. What will never recover: damage to America’s standing”.
Death toll in strike on Iranian bridge rises to eight with almost 100 injured
The death toll from Thursday’s attack on the B1 bridge in Karaj, Iran, has risen to eight, up from two, and 95 others were injured, Iranian state media reports.
US army chief of staff asked to step down
Reuters is reporting that a source familiar with US army matters has said that the US army chief of staff Randy George has been asked by defence secretary Pete Hegseth to step down.
That concludes this evening’s live updates of the war in the Middle East. We’ll be back tomorrow with more rolling coverage.
