Live! Hormuz Strait closed only to ships from US, Israel, Europe, allies: Iran

Pakistan has evacuated nearly 2,000 of its nationals, including about three dozen diplomats, from Iran through the southwestern Taftan border following US and Israeli attacks inside the country, officials said.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said in a statement that the evacuees returned through the main land route between the two countries.

He said in recent days, a total of 1,979 people have returned home through the Taftan border, including 37 diplomats.

About 3,500 Pakistani pilgrims, students, and businesspeople were in Iran when the attacks began.

Some Pakistanis have also been evacuated through Azerbaijan, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Taftan border crossing in southwestern Balochistan is commonly used by traders, pilgrims, and travellers between the two countries.

The number of people killed in Lebanon since a resurgence in hostilities between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group Monday has risen to 77, with 527 people wounded, the Lebanese health ministry said Thursday.

It was not clear how many of the casualties were civilians. The health ministry had earlier said that seven children were killed.

After the attacks by the US and Israel on Iran triggered a new war in the Middle East, Hezbollah launched missiles and drones into Israel Monday for the first time in over a year, and Israel has retaliated with bombardment of southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs.

More than 83,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon by the renewed conflict.

Iran launched its large Khorramshahr-4 missiles in an attack Thursday targeting Israel, the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said.

The Guard said the missiles had a 1-tonne warhead. The missiles also can have multiple warheads. Israel has said Iran used cluster munitions in attacks.

The Guard claimed attacks in Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates as well.

Iran's general staff of the armed forces denied Thursday that it had launched a drone towards Azerbaijan.

The denial comes, however, as Iran has repeatedly denied targeting oil infrastructure and other civilian targets during the war, despite its drone and missile fire hitting those sites.

The United Arab Emirates' Defence Ministry said Thursday that one ballistic missile and six drones hit the country's territory.

The ministry added in a statement that it repelled six missiles and 131 drones Thursday, and hundreds since the start of the war.

Earlier this week, shrapnel from the interception of cruise missiles killed three residents, and falling shrapnel in past days has wounded 94, it said.

A security official with Iraq's navy told news agency AP an oil tanker flying the Bahamas flag was hit by an explosion Thursday while docked near Khor al-Zubair port in southern Iraq. 

The official said a small, unidentified boat approached the tanker at 01.20 am local time, shortly before an explosion was heard near the vessel's left side. The cause of the explosion and the extent of the damage were not immediately clear.

Also Thursday, Iraq's state-run Iraqi News Agency reported that an attempt to launch missiles from an area in Basra province in southern Iraq “intended to target a neighbouring country,” was thwarted and that security forces seized a mobile launch platform carrying two missiles that were ready to be fired.

The UN refugee agency, citing Syrian authorities, told AP that at least 38,000 people have crossed from Lebanon into Syria – mostly Syrians – in the wake of new fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.

On Wednesday, UNHCR and Lebanese officials said 84,000 people have been internally displaced within Lebanon.

“Across the Middle East and beyond, a troubling displacement picture is emerging in the aftermath of the ongoing conflicts in the region,” UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch said Thursday.

UNHCR said Wednesday that 1,00,000 people were displaced within Iran in the first two days after US and Israeli strikes on Iran, but there are no immediate signs of large numbers of people trying to leave the country.

The war in West Asia has blocked access to major ports in the Gulf region, impacting the supply of food to over 50 million people in a region highly dependent on agricultural imports, a ship-spotting platform said Thursday.

MarineTraffic.com said that container vessels heading to ports in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait are now stranded.

This has impacted agricultural supplies to over 50 million people in the Gulf, a region that imports over 90 per cent of its food, it said.

France, Italy and Greece will work together to ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, according to an AP report.

The decision was announced Thursday after French President Emmanuel Macron called Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Noting that the Suez Canal and the Red Sea were under strain, Macron said earlier this week that France was taking the initiative to build a coalition to bring together the necessary means, “including military ones,” to restore and secure traffic through these maritime routes.

Rice exporters on Thursday sought urgent relief measures from the government, such as waiver of port-related charges and payment adjustments to deal with the Iran crisis following the joint attack by the US and Israel on the Islamic nation.

They have asked for waiver of port-related charges (storage/demurrage and other levies) where cargo is rolled due to vessel cancellations; and facilitation for cargo in transit to be returned, redirected or diverted, with customs and the RBI support for documentation and payment adjustments.

In addition, they have urged the government to issue an official advisory recognising the disruption as a force-majeure type event to prevent unfair contractual penalties; and temporary banking support through ad-hoc working capital limits and credit extensions, on lines similar to COVID-era relief.

The Indian Rice Exporters Federation said these measures are important as exporters are facing severe shipping and logistics disruption following the Iran crisis and heightened instability across key maritime routes.

It said that exporters are reporting an acute shortage of containers, suspension/cancellation of vessel calls to the Middle East, and a sharp escalation in costs. International freight is up by an estimated 15-20 per cent, while war-risk surcharges and insurance premiums for Gulf transits have risen steeply.