US Secretary of State Rubio to Meet Pope Leo Amid Iran War Tensions

An unnamed Iranian military official told Iran's IRIB news agency that a fire at the UAE's Fujairah port resulted from US military adventurism aimed at creating passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz. The official stated that Iran had no pre-planned program to attack the oil facilities and that the US must be held accountable and end the use of force in diplomatic processes.

Oil prices fell after a rise on Monday following escalations in the Strait of Hormuz, with Brent Crude futures dropping more than 1 percent to $112 per barrel and US oil futures to just below $104 per barrel. Prices remain above $100 per barrel as disruptions in the strait continue, with traders monitoring the ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran.

10. Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at US-based Tastylive, said prices are digesting after the return of war-related market movements, but gains were limited as rising crude oil prices stoked inflation fears and affected the US interest rate outlook.

He noted that higher US Treasury yields and a stronger dollar weighed on gold, which is non-interest-bearing. Hezbollah reported targeting Israeli soldiers, vehicles, a tank with a drone, and bulldozers in southern Lebanon areas including Biyyada, al-Qaouzah, Deir Siryan, and Rashaf.

A ceasefire is in place between Israel and Lebanon, but fighting continues.

Lorenzo Kamel, a professor of history at the University of Turin, told Al Jazeera that outsourcing militarized stabilization to countries housing US forces is a problem for the Middle East. He stated that history shows outsourcing security to external countries will not bring lasting peace and that real peace, not armed stability, is needed.

On US-Iran negotiations, Kamel said talks will not progress without understanding that there is no military solution to a political problem, noting that Western countries have propped up regimes in the region for control over centuries. Israeli military commander Avi Bluth warned in a closed forum that rising settler attacks in the occupied West Bank could lead to a Palestinian uprising and described the actions as a disgrace to the Jewish people, according to Israeli media reports.

Even as these warnings circulated, settler attacks continued, new illegal outposts were established, and Israel's navy intercepted a humanitarian flotilla in international waters.