Iran war day 118: IRGC rejects new Hormuz route; Rubio to meet GCC leaders

Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard warns against alternative route in the Strait of Hormuz as top US diplomat to meet Gulf officials.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has arrived for a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Bahrain, where he is expected to reassure regional allies that Washington will protect their security and economic interests as it seeks to reach a peace deal with Iran.

At the same time, differences remain over the future of Iran’s nuclear programme. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said its inspectors will return to Iran’s nuclear sites, but Tehran insisted inspections will resume only once a final agreement with the United States has been reached.

Meanwhile, tensions continue in Lebanon despite ongoing diplomacy and a ceasefire. Two people were killed in an Israeli strike on the southern city of Nabatieh while Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israeli forces would remain in southern Lebanon even if the US called for a withdrawal.