Jonathan Sacerdoti

Situation report Nearly four days after Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei as its next ‘Supreme Leader’, his whereabouts remain unknown. The 56-year-old cleric and son of Ali Khamenei has not appeared publicly, delivered a speech, or issued even a written statement since the announcement. Iranian state media has instead relied on archival footage when introducing him to the public. Reports in Iran’s state media suggest Mojtaba may have been injured during the ongoing US-Israeli strikes Reports in Iran’s state media suggest Mojtaba may have been injured during the ongoing US-Israeli strikes. State television has described him as an injured war veteran.

Situation report The war with Iran shows little sign of slowing. Even as Donald Trump said on Monday that the war was ‘very complete, pretty much’ and suggested it was nearing its end, fresh waves of strikes continued overnight across Iran while missiles were fired toward Israeli cities. The exchange now stretches from southern Lebanon to the Gulf, with oil prices surging and diplomatic efforts elsewhere in the region abruptly frozen.

Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has announced that the country’s temporary leadership council has approved the suspension of attacks against neighbouring countries unless those countries launch attacks on Iran themselves. He said that the council decided the day before that Iran will stop attacking surrounding states unless attacks on Iran originate from those territories. The statement was delivered publicly as the war in the region continues to intensify, and while Iran continues to launch attacks in the region in response to the US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic.

Situation update The Middle East conflict intensified dramatically on Tuesday, as Israel and Iran exchanged strikes across multiple fronts while regional powers scrambled to respond to a rapidly widening confrontation stretching from Lebanon to the Gulf. The day began with reports of Iranian drone attacks far beyond the immediate battlefield. Overnight, two Iranian drones struck the United States embassy compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The building had been emptied of personnel and no casualties were reported, but the attack marked a significant escalation and drew swift condemnation from Riyadh, which warned it reserved the right to respond to the ‘aggression’. Separate reports suggested the attack in Riyadh may have struck more than diplomatic facilities.

Situation update The conflict between Israel, the United States and Iran has escalated dramatically, with simultaneous air strikes on Tehran and Beirut, missile exchanges across the Gulf, and drone attacks reaching the US embassy in Riyadh. By 7.30 a.m. Israel time, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced it was conducting a ‘wide-scale wave of attacks’ against what it described as the Iranian terror regime and the Hezbollah organisation, striking targets in both the Iranian capital and Lebanon’s southern suburbs of Dahiya. The IDF later said its aircraft had killed members of Iran’s air defence array who were attempting to target Israeli jets, and that it was continuing to suppress Iranian radar systems, launchers and ballistic missile sites.

Half of America’s deployable air power sits within striking distance of Iran, and yet Washington is negotiating. Gaza is promised a gleaming future, and yet Hamas still refuses to disarm.Is this strategic patience, or proof that the US President has been dangerously misled, indulging adversaries who are buying time? By placing comprehensive proposals on the table, publicly, the administration creates a test for Iran Two US carrier strike groups sit in the eastern Mediterranean and the Gulf. Land-based fighters rotate through Jordan and the Gulf states. Long-range bombers have been repositioned.