Russia’s Lavrov holds call with Iran’s Araghchi on Strait of Hormuz

The Israeli military said on Thursday it had killed Mokarram Azimi, a commander of a surface-to-surface missile unit based in western Iran, during a recent operation.

In a statement, the military said Azimi had been responsible for multiple missile launches toward Israel.

It added that three battalion commanders from the same missile command were also killed in the strike, describing them as figures involved in directing projectile launches toward Israeli territory.

“We will continue to pursue all those who fire missiles at Israel—launchers, missiles and personnel,” the statement said.

US President Donald Trump posted a video of an airstrike hitting the B1 Bridge west of Tehran, saying, "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 added.

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Sanctioned Iranian oil traders have increased profits from the war as US policy shifts allowed some Tehran-linked shipments to continue, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the operations and tanker-tracking data.

The report said traders, including Hossein Shamkhani, have been able to move crude through the Strait of Hormuz and benefit from higher global prices, despite earlier US action targeting his shipping network.

It added that a second network linked to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has also benefited from the waiver, citing people familiar with the trading activities.

Bloomberg said the US Treasury issued a temporary sanctions waiver allowing Iran-linked vessels to move and sell oil already loaded as of March 20, after the Justice Department moved to seize funds tied to Shamkhani’s network.

That helped Iranian oil, previously sold at a discount, trade at a slight premium to Brent crude, the report said.

The report said Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz has enabled its ships to transit while restricting flows from other producers in the Persian Gulf, contributing to supply shortages and higher prices.

Finland’s President Alexander Stubb in a call with his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday called for a diplomatic solution, urging an end to strikes and restoration of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

“A ceasefire and a diplomatic solution are urgently needed,” Stubb said on X.

“I emphasized the need to end the strikes on neighbouring countries and restore freedom of navigation in the Strait Hormuz,” he added.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday they had attacked an Amazon cloud computing center in Bahrain, warning of further action against companies it accused of supporting US and Israeli operations, according to an official statement carried by state media.

“After delusional While House rulers ignored our warnings on Wednesday, the Amazon cloud computing center in Bahrain was attacked and destroyed in a first action against spy and terrorist technology companies,” the statement said.

Seven air bases belonging to US and Israeli forces were also attacked in the Wednesday operation, the IRGC added.

“If the assassinations continue, the next companies we have previously announced will be punished much more severely, and responsibility for the complete destruction of these companies in the region lies with the US president himself,” the statement said.