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Middle East crisis live: Iran warns it will attack US forces if they enter strait of Hormuz after Trump says US will help ‘guide’ stranded ships | US-Israel war on Iran
Iran’s military warns it will attack if US forces enter Hormuz strait
The head of the Iranian military’s unified command has said US or any other foreign armed forces will be attacked if they enter the strait of Hormuz.
The command warned US forces to stay out of the strait and said its forces would “respond harshly” to any threat, telling commercial ships and oil tankers to refrain from any movement in the absence of coordination with Iran’s military.
Ali Abdollahi, head of the forces’ unified command, said in the statement quoted by Reuters:
We have repeatedly said the security of the strait of Hormuz is in our hands and that the safe passage of vessels needs to be coordinated with the armed forces.
We warn that any foreign armed forces, especially the aggressive US army, will be attacked if they intend to approach and enter the strait of Hormuz.”
Key events
Israel has also established a “yellow line” in southern Lebanon where Israeli troops are active, comprising at least 55 villages. They have continued to demolish homes there and the establishment of what is framed as a security zone has stoked fears of a long-term occupation.
The renewed Israeli war on Lebanon started when Hezbollah launched missiles at Israel on 2 March after the US-Israeli bombing of Iran in late February.
In its latest update, the Lebanese health ministry said since 2 March Israeli attacks have killed at least 2,679 people in Lebanon, including many women and children.
The Israeli military’s subsequent evacuation orders covering huge swathes of southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut displaced over a million people, and many have not been able to safely return despite diplomatic efforts from the Lebanese government. Israel’s forced displacement of civilians in Lebanon is a possible war crime, according to the UN and Human Rights Watch.
The IDF has said it has begun a wave of airstrikes on what it claimed was Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon, after issuing evacuation warnings for four villages in the south.
The ceasefire in Lebanon came into effect on 17 April after the US requested Israel come to the negotiating table with the Lebanese government, in an apparent attempt to ensure peace talks with Iran were not disrupted by the renewed Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
But since then Israel has been accused of violating the agreement many times, with strikes killing civilians and homes continuing to be demolished despite the military saying it is only targeting Hezbollah sites.
Lebanon’s national news agency said Israeli forces carried out bombing operations in Khiam and Qantara in southern Lebanon overnight.
Israel has said its attacks are in response to what it describes as violations of the deal by Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group and political party, which was not involved in the ceasefire agreement.
Hezbollah, which has been striking Israeli troops in Lebanon, says it will not cease its attacks on Israeli troops inside Lebanon and on towns in northern Israel as long as Israel continued its ceasefire violations. Under the agreement’s terms, Israel retains its “right to take all necessary measures in self-defence, at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks”.
US evacuates crew on seized Iranian ship to Pakistan, says Islamabad
The US has evacuated 22 crew members held aboard an Iranian container vessel to Pakistan and will hand them over to Iranian authorities on Monday, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said, calling the move a “confidence-building measure”.
“The Iranian ship will also be backloaded to Pakistani territorial waters for return to its original owners after necessary repairs,” the ministry said in a statement cited by Reuters.
Iran’s military warns it will attack if US forces enter Hormuz strait
The head of the Iranian military’s unified command has said US or any other foreign armed forces will be attacked if they enter the strait of Hormuz.
The command warned US forces to stay out of the strait and said its forces would “respond harshly” to any threat, telling commercial ships and oil tankers to refrain from any movement in the absence of coordination with Iran’s military.
Ali Abdollahi, head of the forces’ unified command, said in the statement quoted by Reuters:
We have repeatedly said the security of the strait of Hormuz is in our hands and that the safe passage of vessels needs to be coordinated with the armed forces.
We warn that any foreign armed forces, especially the aggressive US army, will be attacked if they intend to approach and enter the strait of Hormuz.”
Iran’s military is reportedly saying US forces will be attacked if they enter the strait of Hormuz.
Iran warns US against entering strait of Hormuz
Iran has warned the US navy against entering the Hormuz strait, according to a statement from the unified command of Iran’s armed forces reported by state media.
The warning came after Donald Trump announced the US would start an effort on Monday to free ships stranded in the waterway.
The Iranian statement, cited by Reuters, added:
We have repeatedly said the security of the Strait of Hormuz is in our hands and that the safe passage of vessels needs to be coordinated with the armed forces.”
Hormuz strait’s security threat level ‘critical’
The Joint Maritime Information Centre says the maritime security threat level in the strait of Hormuz remains critical due to ongoing regional military operations.
The centre’s advisory note – posted on X by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre – said on Monday that mariners were advised to coordinate with Omani authorities via VHF channel 16 and should consider routing via Oman territorial waters south of the traffic separation scheme, where the US has established an enhanced security area.
The note said:
Transit via or in close proximity to the Traffic Separation Scheme should be considered extremely hazardous due [to] the presence of mines that have not been fully surveyed and mitigated.”
Tanker reports being hit by projectiles after Trump announcement
A tanker reported being hit by “unknown projectiles” in the strait of Hormuz soon after Donald Trump announced the US would help trapped ships through the waterway.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said all crew were reported safe in the incident, which occurred 78 nautical miles north of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.
Authorities were investigating, it said, adding that vessels were advised to “transit with caution”.
Opening summary
Welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.
Donald Trump has said the US will start an effort on Monday morning to free ships stranded in the strait of Hormuz as a “humanitarian gesture” to aid neutral countries in the US-Israeli war against Iran.
The US president provided few details about the plan, which he said would aid ships and their crews that have been “locked up” in the strait and are running low on food and other supplies as Iran blocks access through the crucial waterway.
“We have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site on Sunday.
He threatened that any interference with the US operation would “have to be dealt with forcefully”.
It was not immediately clear which countries the US operation would aid or how the operation would work. US Central Command said support would include guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 land- and sea-based aircraft and 15,000 service members.
A report from Axios later claimed the navy would not necessarily escort ships through the strait.
In other key developments:
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Iran said on Sunday it had received a US response to its latest offer for peace talks a day after Trump said he would probably reject the Iranian proposal because “they have not paid a big enough price”. Iranian state media reported that Washington had conveyed its response to Iran’s 14-point proposal via Pakistan, and that Tehran was now reviewing it.
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“At this stage, we do not have nuclear negotiations,” state media quoted Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying, an apparent reference to Iran’s proposal to set aside talks on nuclear issues until after the war has ended and the foes have agreed to lift opposing blockades of Gulf shipping. Iran has been blocking nearly all shipping from the Gulf apart from its own for more than two months. Last month the US imposed its own blockade of ships from Iranian ports.
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Israel on Sunday ordered thousands of Lebanese people to leave 11 towns and villages in southern Lebanon, an escalation of a war between Israel and Iran’s Hezbollah allies there that has run in parallel to the Iran war and could further complicate wider peace efforts.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
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