Iran yesterday called Israel’s wave of strikes a declaration of war, while US President Donald Trump warned Tehran of “even more brutal” attacks if it does not make a deal on its nuclear programme.

The UN nuclear watchdog’s board of governors declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations yesterday and Tehran announced counter-measures, as tensions rose in the Middle East before further US-Iranian nuclear talks.

If nuclear negotiations fail and conflict arises with the United States, Iran will strike American bases in the region, Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said yesterday, days ahead of a planned sixth round of Iran-US nuclear talks.

A fire broke out at a petrochemical complex in southern Iran yesterday, killing at least three people, state television reported.

Iran yesterday executed a man after convicting him of killing seven people, including a 10-year-old boy, during nationwide protests in 2022, the judiciary said.

Kuwait is to require foreigners working in the private sector to obtain their employer’s permission before leaving the country, authorities said yesterday, adding further restrictions on workers bound by the kafala sponsorship system.

Israel’s navy said it struck Houthi targets in Yemen’s Red Sea port of Hodeidah yesterday, and Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened the Iran-aligned movement with a naval and air blockade if attacks on Israel continue.

The United States and Israel are seeking to turn nuclear talks into a “strategic trap” for Iran, Iranian lawmakers said in a statement yesterday, days before a planned sixth round of Iran-US nuclear talks.

Aid distribution in Gaza was halted on Friday after the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said overcrowding had made it unsafe to continue operations, in the latest disruption to its troubled relief effort.

Thousands of pilgrims began to gather before dawn around the hill and the surrounding plain

More than a million pilgrims participated in Islam’s most important rite under a scorching sun yesterday as the hajj pilgrimage began.

More than 1.4 million Muslims will begin the annual hajj pilgrimage in the Saudi holy city of Makkah today.

The Israeli army said it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen yesterday after air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem and other cities.

Gaza is “the hungriest place on Earth”, the United Nations said yesterday, warning that the Palestinian territory’s entire population was now at risk of famine.

The Israeli army said it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen on Thursday evening after air raid sirens sounded in the centre of the country and explosions were heard over Jerusalem.

Iran said it had held consular meetings with the cleric since his arrest on Monday after a video circulated online showing him criticising the Saudi government

Iran has executed a man convicted of spying for Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, the judiciary said yesterday.

Israel’s military said yesterday it had intercepted a missile and another projectile fired from Yemen, which Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they had fired.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian yesterday began a two-day visit to Oman, which is mediating ongoing nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington.

The crescent moon was sighted in the Kingdom this evening