Al Jazeera

By Lyndal Rowlands and Zaid Sabah

    The United States military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces conducted “self-defence” strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island and “defeated multiple” Iranian missiles and drones, as civilian vessels and regional allies Kuwait and Bahrain came under attack.

    Kuwait’s military said air defence systems intercepted incoming drones and missiles, while Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said warning sirens were activated. Earlier, Iranian media reported that explosions were heard in the vicinity of Qeshm Island.

    US President Donald Trump has hit back at reports that negotiations with Iran to end the war have stalled, saying that “conversations between us have been going on continuously”.

    Israel continues its deadly bombing campaign in southern Lebanon a day after Trump said that Israel’s leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, had agreed to call off planned attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs.

    At least 3,468 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2, with 10,577 injured, Lebanon’s Health Ministry reports.

EXPLAINER

Why is the US military targeting Iran’s Qeshm Island

    Once a peaceful free-trade zone and tourist paradise, famous for its UNESCO-recognised Geopark, Iran’s Qeshm Island has transformed into a front-line military fortress.

    Spanning approximately 1,445sq km (558sq miles), Qeshm is the largest island in the Gulf and dominates the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical energy transit bottleneck.

    The island’s unique geography and heavily fortified infrastructure make it a primary target for the US military due to several key factors.

    Underground networks: Qeshm serves as an unsinkable aircraft carrier for Iran. Its subterranean networks and labyrinthine salt caves hide heavily classified coastal missile batteries and fast-attack boats.

    ‘Missile cities’: Beneath the surface of the island, Iran has hidden coastal batteries focused on naval warfare, with the explicit goal of controlling or shutting down shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

    Choking global energy corridors: Because Iran has successfully used Qeshm Island as a base to halt or restrict global oil and gas tankers in the strait, the US military views the island as the nerve centre in the ongoing energy war.

    Retaliatory front line: The island has become a frequent flashpoint for US-Iran exchanges of fire. For instance, following past escalations in which Iran targeted regional US installations, the US military launched targeted “self-defence” strikes against IRGC positions and communication infrastructure on Qeshm Island to degrade Iran’s ability to disrupt the Strait of Hormuz.

US insists ceasefire ongoing despite latest ‘self-defence’ strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island

By Kimberly Halkett

Reporting from the White House, Washington DC, US

    US Central Command has said that the US military conducted air strikes in what it says was self-defence on Iran’s Qeshm Island.

    Now, this, the United States says, was in response to attempted attacks on Tuesday against regional neighbours.

    What we know is that the United States says that, along with Bahraini forces, it was able to intercept missiles that were fired towards Bahrain, and also that two of the Iranian ballistic missiles fired at Kuwait either fell short of their target or broke apart.

    The US Central Command is also stating that Iran attempted to attack regional mariners, but that those were also unsuccessful.

    Again, the United States is saying, not only was the US military action self-defence, but it insists that the ceasefire is still ongoing.

    In the meantime, we know that US President Donald Trump, in a Truth Social post on Tuesday, is pushing back against media reports suggesting that talks with Iran are no longer ongoing.

    In fact, the US president is saying just the opposite: that they have been continuous, despite earlier in the week, the Iranians suggesting that those talks had been halted.

    The US president is saying that the talks have continued, and reports to the contrary are simply fake news.

Israeli artillery targets south Lebanon’s Blat, blast heard in Dibbine town

    Our Al Jazeera colleagues on the ground are reporting that Israeli artillery is targeting the town of Blat in the Marjayoun district of southern Lebanon.

    They also report that a powerful blast was heard in the nearby town of Dibbine earlier.

    Trump has rejected reports that Tehran and Washington have broken off contact, saying that communication is ongoing “continuously” between the two capitals.

    In Lebanon, at least 10 people were killed and dozens wounded in Israeli strikes across the south of the country on Tuesday, despite Trump declaring an end on Monday to fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Doctor who volunteered in Gaza wins US Democratic primary race

    Adam Hamawy, a surgeon who volunteered in Gaza, has won the Democratic nomination to represent New Jersey’s 12th congressional district.

    Hamawy volunteered at the European Hospital in Gaza’s southern Khan Younis in 2024, refusing to leave behind his colleagues and patients when ordered to flee the hospital by Israeli forces.

    “Voters were drawn to Dr. Hamawy’s candidacy because he knows firsthand the reality of Israel’s genocide in Gaza like few do – having worked to save the lives of Palestinian children under bombardment and unimaginable conditions,” the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) Policy Project and Justice Democrats said in a joint statement.

    In a post on X, Justice Democrats, a political advocacy group that supported Hamawy’s campaign financially, together with IMEU, said that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) had “tried and failed to buy” the electorate by campaigning against Hamawy.

Oil spikes following latest US-Iran clash, targeting of Kuwait and Bahrain

    Crude oil prices climbed by more than 1 percent in early trading on Wednesday morning, as clashes erupted in the Middle East following US strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island and Iranian missiles and drones launched towards Kuwait and Bahrain, coupled with a lack of breakthroughs in US-Iran diplomatic negotiations.

    Brent crude futures advanced by $1.05, or 1.09 percent, to settle at $97.05 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) surged by $1.01, or 1.08 percent, to reach $94.77.

    Washington maintains that despite clashes between US and Iranian forces, the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran is still holding.

Palestinian-American activist says Israel banned her from visiting family

    Palestinian-American Linda Sarsour has said that Israel has barred her from visiting Palestine due to her advocacy.

    “My advocacy for the concept that all people are created equal and deserve freedom and human rights is so terrifying to a genocidal apartheid regime that they will bar the entry of a prominent Palestinian-American mom and grandmother from New York,” Sarsour said in a post on social media.

    The Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned the ban, saying “it is long past time” US authorities “defend the rights of American citizens and others to visit Palestine without interference”.

    “Apartheid Israel does not have the moral or legal right to cut off Palestinian-Americans from their families and loved ones living under occupation,” CAIR said in a statement.

Cyber-attack exposed personal details of 600,000 Gaza households, WFP says

    The World Food Programme (WFP) has informed 600,000 Palestinian families in Gaza that their personal information was exposed in a “security-related incident”, according to The New Humanitarian news organisation.

    According to a statement provided to The New Humanitarian by the WFP, the data that was accessed came from a “self-registration application (SRA) for Palestine, where individuals are able to register to receive food and cash assistance after verification”.

    The information exposed to “unauthorised actors” included names, ID and mobile phone numbers, and location data, the news organisation reports.