Iran-US war latest: Trump says Iran can call US to negotiate an end to the war after cancelling Witkoff and Kushner visit

Iranian attacks on US military bases caused far more extensive damage than has been publicly acknowledged, a new report by NBC has suggested.

Three US officials familiar with the damage told the publication that it was extensive and wide-reaching.

Facilities affected by Iranian retaliatory strikes include the headquarters of the US navy in Bahrain, the centre for the navy’s operations in the region, which suffered serious damage while some parts of the building sustained destruction that was likely more repairable.

Bases had been largely cleared of troops leaving them vulnerable to attack.

The American Enterprise Institute found that multiple hangars and warehouses at the Ali Al Salem air base in Kuwait was also hit. The AEI said that Iran hit more than 100 targets across 11 Gulf countries, with estimated damage at around $5bn.

Two air defence systems were also damaged in the region.

The US Central Command said it intercepted a merchant vessel attempting to breach the blockade of Iran, in what it described as part of ongoing efforts to curb illicit energy shipments.

The ship, identified as Sevan, was among a 19-vessel “shadow fleet” allegedly transporting Iranian oil and gas products to foreign markets, according to the US military.

Central Command said the vessel was intercepted in the Arabian Sea by a US Navy helicopter operating from the guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney. The ship is now “complying with US military direction to turn back to Iran under escort,” it added.

Officials said the so-called shadow fleet has been sanctioned by the US Treasury for moving billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian energy exports – including propane and butane – to overseas buyers.

Since the blockade began, the US military says it has redirected 37 vessels attempting similar routes.

UK prime minister Keir Starmer and US president Donald Trump discussed an urgent need to get shipping moving through the Strait of Hormuz during a call on Sunday, according to a Downing Street spokesperson.

“The leaders discussed the urgent need to get shipping moving again in the Strait of Hormuz, given the severe consequences for the global economy and cost of living for people in the UK and globally,” read the statement.

“The prime minister shared the latest progress on his joint initiative with President (Emmanuel) Macron to restore freedom of navigation.”

Price hikes as a result of the Iran war will be felt for at least eight months after the conflict ends, a government minister has warned.

Chief Secretary to the prime minister, Darren Jones, warned people will see higher energy, food and flight prices “as a consequence of what Donald Trump has done in the Middle East” and said there will be a “long tail from this”.

The government has stepped up planning for how to offset potential shortages sparked by the conflict, following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane crucial for the supply of a fifth of global oil and gas, which sent oil prices soaring.

The prime minister will chair another meeting of the Cabinet committee set up to deal with the fallout on Tuesday, after the so-called Middle East Response Committee met last week.

The Independent’s political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:

Even so, experts say Iran has shown far more tolerance to this kind of pressure than outsiders would like to admit, and Trump will still be influenced by domestic political pressure over rising energy prices.

James C Reynolds reports:

Israel has issued an evacuation order for southern Lebanon after one of its soldiers was killed, warning residents to leave ⁠seven towns beyond the “buffer zone” it occupied before a ceasefire that has failed to fully halt hostilities.

A spokesperson for the Israeli military said in a statement on X that Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was violating the ceasefire and that Israel would act against it, telling people to head north and west away from the towns.

The towns are north ⁠of the Litani River and the zone in southern Lebanon ​occupied ⁠by Israeli troops, who have continued military operations despite the ceasefire. The military said that it struck Hezbollah fighters, rocket launchers and a weapons depot.

“From our perspective, what obliges us ⁠is the security of Israel, the security of our soldiers, the security of our communities,” Israeli Prime ​Minister ⁠Benjamin Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting in ‌Jerusalem.

“We act vigorously according to the rules we agreed upon with the United States, and also, by the way, with Lebanon.”

Oil prices have soared since the US-Israel war on Iran began, driven by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz – a key shipping lane that once handled a fifth of global oil and gas.

The Prime Minister will chair another meeting of the Cabinet committee, established to manage the fallout, this Tuesday, following last week’s Middle East Response Committee session.

A separate contingency group of ministers, led by Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones, also meets twice weekly.