US-Iran war Highlights: Trump reminds Iran of Strait of Hormuz deadline, warns ‘time running out’

Over 10.4 million people in Iran have reportedly registered as volunteers to defend the nation and take up arms against the United States if a ground invasion takes place.

Azerbaijan’s state news agency Azertac said on Saturday ten trucks with 200 tons of food, medicine and medical supplies were dispatched to Iran, according to AP.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev took to social media and said that his country and Iran would “continue to stand by each other in both good and difficult times.

Pakistan on Saturday dismissed media claims that its initiative to facilitate talks between the United States and Iran had faced hurdles following an initial exchange of peace proposals, as per PTI.

The speculation arose after a senior Foreign Ministry official briefed a select group of journalists on Islamabad’s efforts to broker a negotiated settlement to the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi rejected the media reports as "baseless" and a "figment of imagination."

"We have noted several reports in the media, including on social media, citing so-called official government sources regarding the ongoing conflict in the region and Pakistan's efforts to promote peace and dialogue," he said in a statement.

"We categorically reject these false insinuations attributed to purported official sources as baseless and a figment of imagination. Any attribution to official sources in this regard is incorrect," Andrabi said, commenting on media reports.

US-Israeli strikes have targeted over 30 universities across Iran since the conflict erupted in late February, Iran's science minister stated on Saturday, as per AFP.

"To date, more than 30 universities have been directly targeted," Hossein Simai Sarraf told reporters during a visit to the Shahid Beheshti University in northern Tehran, which was struck on Friday.

Iran’s top joint military command reportedly said it is confident of achieving complete control over the country’s skies. The command also stated that a newly deployed air defence system was used in operations on Friday, as per Reuters.

Iran’s state media reported that a drone attack targeted a vessel linked to Israel in the Strait of Hormuz, setting it ablaze. The report cited the commander of the Revolutionary Guards navy, reported Reuters.

There was no immediate response from Israel following the incident.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday stated its air defense systems engaged 23 ballistic missiles and 56 drones from Iran, as per AP.

What could a pilot, who crash-landed in the enemy country amid a war, face? As the news about Iran attacking two American fighter jets hit the headlines, Retired US Brigadier General Houston Cantwell spoke about survival strategies adopted when a pilot crash-lands in the enemy country alive.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on social media that any further strikes on the Bushehr nuclear power plant could trigger radioactive fallout with severe consequences for capitals across the region, not just Tehran.

He also criticised Western governments for what he described as their silence over repeated attacks on the facility, located about 750 kilometers south of the Iranian capital.

"Israel-U.S. have bombed our Bushehr plant four times now. Radioactive fallout will end life in GCC capitals, not Tehran," Abbas said.

The plant, which generates around 1,000 megawatts of electricity, operates using low-enriched uranium supplied by Russia and is supported by Russian technicians.

Iran said it would allow ships carrying “essential goods” to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, reported CNN citing the state-run Tasnim news agency.

However, it remains unclear what Tehran considers “essential” items or whether restrictions will continue for vessels from countries it views as hostile.

In a directive addressed to the head of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization, Deputy for Commercial Development Houman Fathi stated “permission is hereby granted for the transit of vessels carrying essential goods – especially basic commodities and livestock inputs – through the Strait of Hormuz.”

The Israeli military an urgent evacuation warning Saturday to residents of the coastal city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, ahead of potential strikes on Hezbollah targets, as per AFP.

"Urgent warning to the residents of the city of Tyre... Hezbollah's terrorist activity compels the IDF to operate against it with determination," the military's Arabic-language spokesman Colonel Avichay Adraee said on X.

"For your safety, we call on you to evacuate your homes immediately, according to the area shown on the map, and move north of the Zahrani River," he said, noting that the area extended to the Burj al-Shamali refugee camp.

An Indian-flagged tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas has safely navigated the Strait of Hormuz, the Indian government said on Saturday.

Maritime movement through the crucial waterway has been largely disrupted following US-Israel military strikes, with Iran effectively restricting traffic along the route, a key artery for global oil and gas supplies.

Despite the situation, New Delhi, the world’s second-largest importer of LPG, has secured safe passage for multiple Indian-flagged vessels in recent weeks.

The shipping ministry confirmed that the LPG carrier Green Sanvi successfully passed through the strategic chokepoint on Saturday.

Iran’s foreign minister says Tehran never refused to go to Islamabad for mediation talks, according to Reuters.

Israeli military says it has completed its latest wave of strikes on Tehran on Saturday, reported AP.

A US-Israeli strike on Saturday targeted a cement plant in southern Iran, media reported, adding that operations were not hindered.

"The American-Zionist attack against the cement plant of Bandar Khamir did not leave any casualties," said Tasnim news agency, quoting Ahmad Nafisi, the deputy governor of the southern Hormozgan province.

He added that operations at the plant have "continued as normal". (AFP)

Iran's oil exports from the key island of Kharg have increased even as the war with the United States and Israel rages, Iranian media reported on Saturday.

"Following the visits carried out and meetings held on Kharg island, I must say that in recent days not only have oil exports not decreased, but they have increased," ISNA news agency quoted Moussa Ahmadi, the head of the Iranian parliament's energy commission, as saying. (AFP)

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps condemned the attack on the US embassy in Riyadh and said Tehran had no role in the incident. As per Press TV, The IRGC strongly condemned the incident and mentioned, “This event has absolutely no connection to the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran informed it that a projectile landed near the Bushehr nuclear power plant earlier in the day. Tehran also told the watchdog that a member of the site’s security team was killed by fragments from the impact, as per Reuters.

Even as Iran continue using drones and missiles to attack Israeli infrastructure and US assets in West Asia, most of its ballistic missiles are “combat ineffective” and would be unable to fulfil their intended missions, even if half of the launchers remain “intact,” US-based think tank Institute of the Study of War's report stated on Saturday.

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Iran has carried out missiles toward the country, according to Israel's military, reported AP. This comes after Iran's Mahshahr petrochemical hub was hit.