Bahrain detains 41

HMS Dragon heads to West Asia for ‘strait mission’: The Royal Navy is sending a warship to West Asia where it could join an international mission to safeguard shipping in the strait. HMS Dragon, a type 45 destroyer, will “pre-position” in the region ahead of its “potential role” in what the Ministry of Defence (MoD) described as a “strictly defensive and independent” mission. Britain’s PM Sir Keir Starmer, who together with French President Emmanuel Macron is championing the mission, has said the shipping mission would only take place once fighting in the region ends.

IRGC links

Dubai: The Bahrain Ministry of Interior said on Saturday it had arrested 41 people it alleges are part of a group affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard. It said investigations are on to take action against anyone affiliated with the group but did not provide further details.

A US strike overnight killed at least one sailor and injured 10 others aboard a cargo vessel that caught fire, a news agency affiliated with Iran's judiciary reported. It was unclear if the ship was one of the two tankers the US acknowledged striking.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the country was not paying attention to “deadlines” and Tehran continues reviewing a US proposal related to ongoing negotiations, according to state-run IRNA.

Mazaher Hosseini, affiliated with the office of Iran’s former supreme leader, told a gathering Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was in “complete health” and he would eventually appear in public. CNN reported Mojtaba was out of public view but still shaping strategy, US intelligence has assessed.

Russia’s foreign ministry said it, along with Saudi, is calling for continued diplomatic efforts to reach a “sustainable, long-term pact” to end the war. Egyptian and Qatari diplomats have reiterated diplomacy is the sole path to finding a solution, as per a readout of a Saturday phone call between Egyptian Fore­ign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

PM Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan has been in touch with the US and Iran to extend the ceasefire and reach a peace deal. Reportedly, Iran has seized an oil tanker, accusing it of “attempting to disrupt oil exports and the interests of the Iranian nation”. China confirmed a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker carrying Chinese crew members had been attacked near the strait.