Senior Iranian official says any launch point for attacks would be legitimate target

“All visa applicants, regardless of nationality, must meet the eligibility requirements set out in Australia’s migration legislation before a visa can be granted,” a Department of Home Affairs spokesperson told Iran International on Friday.

The processing times, the spokesperson said, depend on factors including application complexity, completeness, demand, ministerial priorities and migration planning levels.

“Processing times can also be affected by application processing requirements, including verification of applicant information ... and the time taken to receive clearances from external agencies, particularly for health, character and national security assessments,” the spokesperson said.

The department did not directly address the question on whether Iranian citizens undergo broader or different security screening than applicants from other countries.

The response came after images emerged of protests by Iranian applicants outside the Australian embassy in Tehran, alongside letters, official correspondence with the Department of Home Affairs, documents related to pending cases and messages from applicants inside and outside Australia.

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Documents and correspondence show some applications have remained unresolved for more than two years, and in some cases more than 30 months, despite applicants completing key requirements including skills assessments, medical examinations and biometric checks.

Protests and travel restrictions

The department also did not provide a specific explanation for delays affecting Iranian skilled visa applicants who were already inside Australia when they lodged their applications.

Officials said some applicants have faced conflict-related obstacles inside Iran, including internet disruptions that hinder access to biometric appointments, medical examinations and documents such as police certificates and passports. The extensions, the department said, may be granted in such cases but applicants must still satisfy all legal visa requirements.

In recent months, groups of Iranian applicants have staged two protests outside the Australian embassy in Tehran, calling for greater transparency over prolonged processing delays and requesting decisions on their applications.

The department also referred to temporary travel restrictions affecting holders of Australian Visitor visas linked to Iranian passports. It said the Arrival Control Determination, introduced on March 26, 2026, remains in force for six months and prevents affected visa holders outside Australia from entering the country.

Any extension beyond the initial six-month period, according to the department, would require a new legal determination and a finding that continuing the restrictions serves Australia’s national interest. The government has said the measure is intended to provide time to assess conditions in Iran and associated migration risks, leaving the future of both the travel restrictions and many pending visa applications uncert

Bahrain's military said its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed a number of Iranian aerial attacks on Friday, accusing Iran of continuing attacks targeting civilians in the kingdom.

The Bahrain Defence Force said all its units remained at the highest level of readiness and urged the public to avoid approaching suspicious objects that could be debris from the attacks and report them to the authorities.

It said targeting civilians and private property with missiles and drones would constitute a violation of international humanitarian law.

The developments unfolded along three parallel fronts: Iranian attacks on US facilities across the Persian Gulf, continued US strikes inside Iran and an intensifying contest over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran said it launched drone attacks on US facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain early Friday, after a sixth consecutive night of American strikes on Iranian military targets.

Iran’s army said it targeted US force deployment and logistics centers in Kuwait, Iran’s IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency reported.

In Bahrain, the army said it struck US helicopters and reconnaissance aircraft at Sakhir Air Base. Sirens sounded in the country for the second time on Friday, according to the Interior Ministry.

In Qatar, several booms were heard after the government sent a second security alert to mobile phones, Reuters reported. The Defense Ministry said Qatar was intercepting several air attacks, while the Interior Ministry said a child was injured by shrapnel from an intercepted missile.

US Central Command has not confirmed the reported attacks in Kuwait or Bahrain.

At the same time, US forces continued striking targets in southern Iran.

CENTCOM said US fighter jets, drones and warships used precision munitions to hit dozens of military targets, including coastal surveillance and air defense sites, logistics infrastructure and maritime capabilities near Bandar Abbas and on Qeshm Island.

Hamshahri, a newspaper owned by Tehran Municipality, reported that five bridges in Hormozgan province were hit in the latest wave of attacks.

The death toll from strikes on bridges in Bandar Khamir rose to seven, Iran’s IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency reported. Iranian media also reported damage to a power substation on Kish Island and attacks on transport infrastructure in Bandar Abbas and Bandar Khamir.

The reports could not be independently verified.

Control over Strait of Hormuz

As the two sides exchanged attacks on land, their confrontation also deepened at sea.

CENTCOM said US forces redirected three commercial vessels attempting to breach the naval blockade against Iran, disabled another that failed to comply with orders and boarded the M/T Wen Yao in the Gulf of Oman to verify compliance.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared an image from the boarding and wrote that Iran “does not control” the Strait of Hormuz.

CENTCOM said the strait and surrounding waters remained free and open, except for vessels attempting to violate what it called the US “steel wall” blockade.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, however, said Tehran remained in full control of the waterway and would prevent oil and gas exports through it for as long as US attacks continued.

Trump cast the military and maritime operations as signs of US momentum.

“You will see the fruits of that labor very, very shortly,” he said after declaring that Washington was “winning big in Iran.”

The possibility of a wider regional conflict emerged more clearly on Friday, when the Revolutionary Guards said they had struck a US special operations command center in Syria’s al-Tanf region, destroying a radar system and several helicopters and killing US personnel.

US Central Command has not confirmed the report.

Police said Vahid Aberi, of Liverpool, was charged under Section 3 of the National Security Act 2023 with assisting a foreign intelligence service. They said the foreign state to which the investigation relates is Iran.

Aberi was arrested on Wednesday in the Birmingham area and taken to a West Midlands police station. Officers also carried out searches at addresses in Birmingham and Liverpool.

He was remanded in custody and was due to appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday.

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  UK says support for Iran's IRGC outlawed under new state threats law

Police say no direct threat identified

Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said the investigation reflected what she described as a sustained increase in national security casework.

"We have seen a significant and sustained increase in the tempo of our work in national security investigations in recent years," she said in a statement.

She said police had "intervened to disrupt suspected activity linked to foreign intelligence services" but declined to comment further on the allegations because criminal proceedings had begun.

Flanagan added that police had not identified any direct threat to the public, nor any threat to a community or individual, in connection with the investigation.

The charges were authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service.

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  Romanian men get combined 20 years over Iran International journalist attack

Scrutiny of alleged Iran-linked activity

The case comes as Britain has intensified efforts to counter what it says is hostile activity linked to Iran.

Earlier this month, a London court sentenced two Romanian nationals to a combined 20 years in prison for stabbing Iran International journalist Pouria Zeraati outside his home in Wimbledon in 2024. The judge accepted the prosecution's case that the attack was carried out on behalf of the Iranian state. Iran has previously rejected accusations that it has been involved in attacks or plots in Britain.

Separately, the British government announced this week that it intends to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guards under new state threats legislation. If approved by parliament, supporting or assisting the group under the new legal framework could carry a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

The government has said the designation is separate from proscription under Britain's terrorism laws and is intended to address foreign state-backed activity, including espionage, interference, sabotage and physical attacks.

British authorities have repeatedly said they have disrupted a number of alleged Iran-linked plots in recent years. Iran has previously dismissed British allegations that it has directed hostile activity in the UK.

Pakistan is planning to buy more liquefied natural gas as the conflict involving Iran disrupts shipments through the Strait of Hormuz from Qatar, its main supplier, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.

The government is finalizing a plan to buy at least one additional LNG cargo from the spot market for delivery in July and as many as six cargoes for August, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The purchases would come as disruption around the Strait of Hormuz raises concern over the availability of Qatari LNG supplies and forces Pakistan to seek more expensive cargoes on the spot market.