Japan says one national freed from Iran custody, another remains detained

Witnesses reported early-morning strikes and air activity across several parts of Iran, including Chabahar, Ahvaz, Bushehr, Yazd and Rasht.

Messages sent to Iran International said fighter jets were heard over Chabahar around dawn, while repeated jet activity and several explosions were reported in Ahvaz later in the morning.

In Bushehr, residents reported multiple overnight explosions, followed by two more blasts near daybreak, one of them near a Revolutionary Guards site.

A missile base in Yazd was also reported bombed in the morning. In Rasht, an explosion was heard before dawn and electricity was briefly cut in some areas.

Japan could consider deploying its military for minesweeping in the Strait of Hormuz if a ceasefire is reached in the US-Israeli war on Iran, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Sunday.

“If there were to be a complete ceasefire, hypothetically speaking, then things like minesweeping could come up,” Motegi said, adding that such a move would depend on conditions after any halt in fighting.

He said it was “extremely important” to ensure ships can navigate through the strategic waterway, which carries about a fifth of global oil supplies and remains heavily disrupted during the war.

Japan, which relies on the strait for around 90% of its oil imports, has no immediate plans to arrange passage for its vessels, Motegi said, while adding that any military role would be constrained by domestic laws limiting overseas deployments.

Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry said on Saturday its forces intercepted and destroyed four drones over the kingdom’s eastern region, according to an official spokesperson.

G7 foreign ministers on Saturday condemned what they called Iran’s “unjustifiable” and “reckless” attacks on civilians and energy infrastructure in Gulf and regional states, vowing support for partners’ security and the protection of vital shipping routes including the Strait of Hormuz.

The joint statement said Iran must halt its ballistic missile program, never obtain a nuclear weapon, and stop destabilizing activities, while reaffirming the right of countries targeted by Tehran or its proxies to defend their territories.

US President Donald Trump issued a warning on Saturday that if Iran does not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz “without threat” within 48 hours, Washington will “hit and obliterate” the country’s power plants, starting with the largest.

Trump demanded Tehran restore safe passage through the vital oil waterway in a post on Truth Social.