Turkish FM says he is optimistic US-Iran ceasefire will be extended

The Israeli military said more than 150 Hezbollah operatives, including several commanders, were killed in airstrikes across Lebanon on the day before the ceasefire took effect.

According to the IDF, around 300 Hezbollah sites were struck on Thursday, including rocket launchers, command centers and weapons depots.

The military said those killed included Ali Reda Abbas, commander of the Bint Jbeil area, and said he was the fourth commander of that sector killed by Israel in recent years.

It added that since hostilities with Lebanon escalated during the Iran war, when Hezbollah resumed rocket and drone attacks on Israel, more than 1,800 Hezbollah operatives had been killed in Lebanon.

Iran’s armed forces turned back two more tankers attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, Tasnim news agency reported, saying the move came amid the continuing US maritime blockade on Iran.

According to the report, the two vessels were sailing under the flags of Botswana and Angola and were forced to change course after trying to pass through the strategic waterway.

Tasnim said Iranian forces acted after issuing warnings and described the transit as unauthorized.

Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to the former Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, said in a post on X that the era of imposing security “from across the oceans” was over and warned that “any mischief will trigger a chain reaction.”

He said security in Hormuz and Malacca was now guaranteed “under the shadow of our power and that of our strategic partners,” and added that security in the Bab al-Mandab was in the hands of “our Ansarallah brothers,” referring to Yemen’s Houthis.

Velayati also took aim at Britain and France, saying that if they were concerned about shipping security, they should “think about the English Channel and the old wound of Gibraltar.” He added: “We appreciate Madrid’s independent and wise positions.”

IRGC aerospace commander said Iran had replenished its missile and drone stocks during the ceasefire at a pace even faster than before the war, while saying the other side had failed to rebuild its own munitions.

In a message posted alongside a video showing what he described as the rebuilding of missile and drone reserves, Mousavi said: “During the pause in fire, our speed in updating and refilling missile and drone launch platforms has been even greater than before the war.”

He added: “We know the enemy is unable to create such conditions for itself and is forced to bring in munitions drop by drop from the other side of the world.”

Mousavi also said: “They lost this phase of the war too. They lost the strait, and they lost Lebanon and the region as well.”

Gholamhossein Mohammadi, a deputy labor minister and head of Iran’s Technical and Vocational Training Organization, said initial estimates showed the war had wiped out more than one million jobs and caused the direct or indirect unemployment of two million people.

The comments come as Iran’s internet shutdown, now stretching beyond eight weeks, has also been reported to have cut off income and work for millions of Iranians both directly and indirectly.

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  Iran blackout cripples freelancer, small business incomes