Iran-US war latest: Trump denies he’s sending troops to Iran as Netanyahu says Israel acted alone in gas field strikes

Qatar has shared guidelines for worshippers going to Eid al-Fitr prayer services amid the Iran war:

• Arrive at services early to avoid traffic
• If a mosque is full, go to another mosque. Don’t pray outside
• If a national warning is issued, those inside a mosque should remain in place. Those outside a mosque should go to the nearest building.
• At the end of prayer services, leave the mosque in an orderly fashion, avoiding crowding and pushing.

Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the most sacred time of the year for Muslims.

The United Arab Emirates has said it disrupted ”a terrorist network funded and operated by” Iran and Lebanon’s Iranian-backed militant group, Hezbollah, the Associated Press reported.

The UAE said the arrested terrorist network operatives were “operating within the country under a fictitious commercial cover and sought to infiltrate the national economy and carry out external schemes threatening the country’s financial stability.”

Members of Iran’s national women’s soccer team were greeted by fans in Tehran as they returned home.

“First of all we are so happy to be in Iran, because Iran is our homeland,” midfielder Fatemeh Shaban said, per the Associated Press.

A couple of players decided to remain in Australia amid the war.

The father of US service member killed in Iran war said he did not tell Pete Hegseth to “finish” the job, NBC reports.

Defence secretary Mr Hegseth met privately on Wednesday with the families of six American service members who have died in the Iran war.

About that, he said: “What I heard through tears, through hugs, through strength and through unbreakable resolve was the same from family after family. They said, ‘Finish this. Honour their sacrifice. Do not waver. Do not stop until the job is done.’”

Charles Simmons’s 28-year-old son Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons was among the six crew members killed when their refueling plane crashed last week.

Mr Simmons said: “I can’t speak for the other families. When he (Mr Hesgeth) spoke to me, that was not something we talked about.”

Israel struck the vital gas field in a move that drew condemnation from both Iran and Qatar, a close ally of the US, who share the facility.

In retaliation, Tehran struck multiple energy facilities across the Gulf, including Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City, where an estimated 115,000 people work.

Speaking about the attack on Iran’s South Pars gas field, a major escalation of Israel’s war on the country, Benjamin Netanyahu this evening told a press conference: “Israel acted alone against the gas compound.

“President Trump asked us to hold off on future attacks and we’re holding out.”

Mr Trump was earlier asked whether he spoke with Mr Netanyahu after Israel attacked Iran’s South Pars gas field.

“I did, I did, I told him: ‘don’t do that’,” the US president said.

“We’re independent, we get along great, it’s coordinated. But on occasion, he’ll do something, and if I don’t like it… so we’re not doing that anymore.”

EU leaders will ask the European Commission to help their countries take temporary nd targeted measures to curb the surge in energy prices triggered by the Iran war, according to draft joint conclusions seen by Reuters.

The draft document also said any measures should maintain long-term investment incentives, support faster deployment of renewables and safeguard fair competition in the EU’s internal market.

Britain is to “step up” defensive support for Gulf states after Iran attacked energy sites across the region in a “serious escalation” of the war that could push up inflation and interest rates.

The price of Brent crude climbed as high as $119 a barrel and European gas prices briefly surged by 35 per cent after Iran pounded Qatar’s Ras Laffan energy hub and other Middle Eastern oil and gas infrastructure with missiles.

Interest rates were held at 3.75 per cent instead of the previously expected cut, as the Bank of England warned that the war could push inflation as high as 3.5 per cent by July on the back of rising energy bills, and that rates could rise – creating misery for homeowners.

A US fighter jet was forced to make an emergency landing in the Middle East after it was reportedly struck by Iranian fire.

“We are aware of reports that a U.S. F-35 aircraft conducted an emergency landing at a regional U.S airbase after flying a combat mission over Iran,” Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command, told The Independent.

“The aircraft landed safely, and the pilot is in stable condition,” Hawkins added. “This incident is under investigation.”