Iran’s deputy defence minister, Reza Talaei-Nik, has been quoted by state media as having said that Iran is ready to share its defensive weapons capabilities with “independent countries, especially members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)”.
The ten member states of the SCO are Belarus, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The Iranian deputy defence minister recently held talks with Russian and Belarusian defence personnel, after which both countries reaffirmed their commitment to continue cooperation with Tehran.
Lebanon’s minister for the environment has accused Israel’s military of committing “an act of ecocide” in the foreword to a report detailing the harm done to the country’s natural resources during the invasion of 2023 to 2024.
Israeli military aggression “reshaped both the physical and ecological landscape” of southern Lebanon, according to the report, which does not consider the impacts of Israel’s latest barrage of attacks this spring.
Published amid a patchy ceasefire, as refugees from Israel’s latest invasion return to shattered homes and communities, the 106-page report outlines how southern Lebanon has suffered profound ecological disruption and the loss of essential ecosystem services.
In her foreword, Tamara el Zein said:
The scale and intentionality of the damage to forests, agricultural lands, marine ecosystems, water resources, and atmospheric quality constitute what must be recognised as an act of ecocide, with consequences that extend far beyond immediate destruction
The environmental damage we face is not simply ecological – it is a matter of public health, food security, livelihoods, social fabric, and national resilience.
Reports of Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon continue despite ceasefire
Al Jazeera is reporting that Israeli forces are shelling areas of southern Lebanon despite the ceasefire.
Lebanon’s national news agency reported earlier that Israeli warplanes launched three airstrikes on the town of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah at 6am local time, with Israeli attacks also reportedly launched on the town of Bint Jbeil, which is about 5km north of the Israeli border and has seen heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah.
Israel, which claims it is striking Hezbollah operatives and sites even though it has killed many civilians and destroyed civilian infrastructure with apparent impunity, was given extremely wide scope by the wording of the ceasefire that permits it the “right to take all necessary measures in self-defence, at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks”.
The ceasefire deal, which took effect on 16 April and was extended by three weeks last Thursday, was agreed between Israel and the Lebanese state, not Hezbollah, the Iranian backed Lebanese militant group and political party.
In its latest update, the Lebanese health ministry said since 2 March Israeli attacks have killed at least 2,521 people, including many women and children.
The renewed Israeli war on Lebanon started when Hezbollah launched missiles at Israel on 2 March after the US-Israeli bombing of Iran, triggering an Israeli aerial assault, invasion and continuing occupation of Israeli troops in some of Lebanon’s territory.
The US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has said Iran’s oil industry is starting to shut production down because of the American blockade of the strait of Hormuz, the critical shipping channel via which about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas is usually transported through.
“Pumping will soon collapse. Gasoline shortages in Iran next,” he added in a post on X.
In response to US-Israeli attacks on Iran in late February, Tehran effectively closed the strait to vessels, only allowing a relatively small number of ships from “friendly” countries like China, Malaysia and Pakistan through. It used the control of the strait as crucial leverage.
After the breakdown of peace talks in Islamabad earlier this month, Donald Trump imposed a counter-blockade of shipping using Iranian ports. Iran is grappling with high inflation, rising food prices and the US blockade is harming its economy further with Tehran now facing a looming oil storage crisis.
Trump has demanded the complete reopening of the strait and has opposed the idea of Iran introducing tolls as the waterway’s effective closure has sparked fears of a global recession and led to a surge in fuel prices around the world, including in the US.
Updated
Iran says it needs guarantees against attacks before Gulf can be stable
We are restarting our live coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Iran needs “credible guarantees” against more US-Israeli attacks before it can ensure security in the Gulf, Tehran’s envoy to the UN has said, while on a Russian visit Iran’s foreign minister blamed Washington for the failure of peace talks.
“The US approaches caused the previous round of negotiations, despite progress, to fail to reach its goals because of the excessive demands,” the minister, Abbas Araghchi, said on Monday in St Petersburg, where Vladimir Putin promised him Moscow’s support in ending the war.
Donald Trump on Sunday had told Fox News that if Iran wanted talks, “they can call us” – adding that his cancellation of sending his envoys to Pakistan at the weekend did not signal a return to hostilities.
On Monday Amir Saeid Iravani, Tehran’s UN ambassador, told a security council session: “Lasting stability and security in the Persian Gulf and the wider region can only be achieved through a durable and permanent cessation of aggression against Iran supplemented by credible guarantees of non-recurrence and full respect for the legitimate sovereign rights and interests of Iran.”
Meanwhile, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed, without providing evidence, that Hezbollah’s rockets and drones were a key threat demanding military action as the Israeli army expanded airstrikes on Lebanon. Authorities there reported at least four people were killed on Monday despite a supposed ceasefire.
In other key developments:
Donald Trump is unhappy with an Iranian proposal on the war because it does not address Iran’s nuclear program, Reuters cited a US official as saying on Monday, after Trump discussed the proposal with his top national security aides. Iran had offered to end its closure of the strait of Hormuz if the US lifted its blockade and ended the war in a proposal that would postpone discussions on Iran’s nuclear program, the Associated Press reported earlier, citing two unnamed regional officials. Later reporting quoted White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt as saying the proposal was “being discussed”.
Lebanese president Joseph Aoun said direct talks with Israel sought to end the war on Lebanon and that those who dragged Lebanon into it were the ones committing “treason” – a jab at the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah, which claimed several attacks on Israeli targets in south Lebanon on Monday.
Iraq’s newly elected president nominated businessman Ali al-Zaidi as the country’s prime minister-designate on Monday, after the country’s leaders yielded to US pressure not to support the bid of a former premier close to Iran.
The Coordination Framework – an alliance of Shia factions with varying links to Iran – had initially backed powerbroker Nouri al-Maliki to become the country’s next premier, but Trump’s ultimatum left Iraqi leaders looking elsewhere.
The US and Iran clashed at the UN on Monday over Tehran’s nuclear program and its selection to be one of dozens of vice-presidents at a month-long conference to review the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. US official Christopher Yeaw said Iran’s selection was an “affront” to the treaty. Tehran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Reza Najafi, rejected the US statement as “baseless and politically motivated”.
Updated
