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US Iran war: IRGC claims interception of US MQ-9 drone over Khuzestan region's Ahvaz
Tehran: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it has intercepted and destroyed a US MQ-9 drone in Ahvaz, a city in the Khuzestan region that borders Iraq, state-run Press TV reported. An MQ-9 is a "large, remotely piloted unmanned aerial vehicle designed primarily for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and air strikes," according to a description by the US Air Force. Track live updates of US-Iran war here The development comes amid a sharp escalation in regional hostilities, with US Central Command (CENTCOM) carrying out a series of military operations targeting Iranian assets. The strikes mark an "eighth consecutive night" of kinetic actions against Tehran-backed facilities in the region. According to an official statement released on X, the operation was executed late Saturday under direct authorisation from the White House. "US Central Command (CENTCOM) completed another round of strikes against Iran on July 18 at 11:30 p.m. ET, at the Commander in Chief's direction," the statement read. Authorised by US President Donald Trump, the military engagement was also "designed to further degrade Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM stated. During the operational sweep, American forces engaged multiple strategic locations, focusing heavily on degradation operations. The strikes successfully hit Iranian military coastal surveillance and air defence facilities, maritime capabilities, and missile and drone storage sites. CENTCOM noted that the primary objective of the mission was to continue degrading "Iranian military capabilities". The military action also served as a direct retaliatory response to hostilities directed at American personnel the previous day, specifically designed to "punish" Iran following the fatalities of two American service members during an assault attributed to Tehran-backed forces in Jordan. Elaborating on this punitive objective, CENTCOM confirmed that the strikes were intended to "swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces who launched attacks against American service members in Jordan last night". Also read: Burnham faces key call on whether to let Donald Trump use UK military bases for Iran war The two US soldiers lost their lives on Friday while they "defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks". CENTCOM further noted that another service member was still missing in action, bringing the official tally to 16 US military personnel killed since hostilities escalated on February 28 following joint US-Israeli strikes. Providing an update on the wounded, the military command stated, "Four American service members were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals. They have since been discharged. Other personnel who were evaluated for minor injuries have returned to duty." Highlighting the scale of the American military posture amid this escalating regional friction, the command added, "More than 50,000 U.S. men and women in uniform are operating across the Middle East. They remain highly vigilant, focused, lethal, and ready." In response to these incursions, counter-claims emerged from the region. Iranian state media reported that the latest operations targeted fuel infrastructure at the Al-Azraq US base in Jordan. This follows assertions by the IRGC the previous day that it had struck American aircraft deployed in the country using a combination of missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. Washington had initiated this latest round of military actions earlier this month, accusing Tehran of threatening maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most vital energy conduit. In retaliation, Tehran has repeatedly targeted American bases across Gulf nations. This ongoing escalation marks a sharp deterioration in relations, occurring just weeks after the collapse of an interim diplomatic framework intended to de-escalate the conflict. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had previously signed a 14-point bilateral agreement on June 17 aimed at halting the hostilities. The framework mandated an immediate cessation of military actions, including theatres in Lebanon, and bound both capitals to negotiate a permanent settlement within a 60-day window. However, the diplomatic track disintegrated on July 8 when President Trump declared that the agreement was "over". Tehran subsequently voided the memorandum of understanding, alleging that Washington was "violating all its commitments". Also read: US-Iran war: Trump drops 20% toll plan on Hormuz, seeks Gulf investment deals instead Reacting to the developments, Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who assumed leadership following the death of his father, Ali Khamenei, during the February 28 opening of hostilities, severely criticised the American administration. In a statement published on X, the supreme leader, who has remained out of public view since the outbreak of the war, asserted, "The repeated breaches of the agreement by the Great Satan [the US] regarding the MOU signed by the Presidents of Iran and the US have once again laid bare a fundamental truth. The signature of the US President is utterly worthless and devoid of credibility." He further warned that the ongoing campaign "once again demonstrated to everyone the worthlessness of the American president's signature". Khamenei cautioned Washington against broader escalation, stating, "Now that the American enemy is seeking to escalate the conflict, thereby incurring even heavier costs and further humiliation, it should know that the noble nation of Iran and the Resistance Front have unforgettable lessons in store for it." Reiterating this aggressive posture, Major General Mohsen Rezaei, senior military adviser to the supreme leader, warned via state media channels that Tehran is prepared to launch "full-scale offensive operations" should American strikes persist. Rezaei concluded by stating that "Iran will no longer limit itself to retaliatory, like-for-like responses", indicating a potential shift towards unrestricted regional warfare. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) An MQ-9 is a "large, remotely piloted unmanned aerial vehicle designed primarily for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and air strikes," according to a description by the US Air Force. Track live updates of US-Iran war here The development comes amid a sharp escalation in regional hostilities, with US Central Command (CENTCOM) carrying out a series of military operations targeting Iranian assets. The strikes mark an "eighth consecutive night" of kinetic actions against Tehran-backed facilities in the region. According to an official statement released on X, the operation was executed late Saturday under direct authorisation from the White House. "US Central Command (CENTCOM) completed another round of strikes against Iran on July 18 at 11:30 p.m. ET, at the Commander in Chief's direction," the statement read. Authorised by US President Donald Trump, the military engagement was also "designed to further degrade Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM stated. During the operational sweep, American forces engaged multiple strategic locations, focusing heavily on degradation operations. The strikes successfully hit Iranian military coastal surveillance and air defence facilities, maritime capabilities, and missile and drone storage sites. CENTCOM noted that the primary objective of the mission was to continue degrading "Iranian military capabilities". The military action also served as a direct retaliatory response to hostilities directed at American personnel the previous day, specifically designed to "punish" Iran following the fatalities of two American service members during an assault attributed to Tehran-backed forces in Jordan. Elaborating on this punitive objective, CENTCOM confirmed that the strikes were intended to "swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces who launched attacks against American service members in Jordan last night". Also read: Burnham faces key call on whether to let Donald Trump use UK military bases for Iran war The two US soldiers lost their lives on Friday while they "defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks". CENTCOM further noted that another service member was still missing in action, bringing the official tally to 16 US military personnel killed since hostilities escalated on February 28 following joint US-Israeli strikes. Providing an update on the wounded, the military command stated, "Four American service members were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals. They have since been discharged. Other personnel who were evaluated for minor injuries have returned to duty." Highlighting the scale of the American military posture amid this escalating regional friction, the command added, "More than 50,000 U.S. men and women in uniform are operating across the Middle East. They remain highly vigilant, focused, lethal, and ready." In response to these incursions, counter-claims emerged from the region. Iranian state media reported that the latest operations targeted fuel infrastructure at the Al-Azraq US base in Jordan. This follows assertions by the IRGC the previous day that it had struck American aircraft deployed in the country using a combination of missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. Washington had initiated this latest round of military actions earlier this month, accusing Tehran of threatening maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most vital energy conduit. In retaliation, Tehran has repeatedly targeted American bases across Gulf nations. This ongoing escalation marks a sharp deterioration in relations, occurring just weeks after the collapse of an interim diplomatic framework intended to de-escalate the conflict. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had previously signed a 14-point bilateral agreement on June 17 aimed at halting the hostilities. The framework mandated an immediate cessation of military actions, including theatres in Lebanon, and bound both capitals to negotiate a permanent settlement within a 60-day window. However, the diplomatic track disintegrated on July 8 when President Trump declared that the agreement was "over". Tehran subsequently voided the memorandum of understanding, alleging that Washington was "violating all its commitments". Also read: US-Iran war: Trump drops 20% toll plan on Hormuz, seeks Gulf investment deals instead Reacting to the developments, Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who assumed leadership following the death of his father, Ali Khamenei, during the February 28 opening of hostilities, severely criticised the American administration. In a statement published on X, the supreme leader, who has remained out of public view since the outbreak of the war, asserted, "The repeated breaches of the agreement by the Great Satan [the US] regarding the MOU signed by the Presidents of Iran and the US have once again laid bare a fundamental truth. The signature of the US President is utterly worthless and devoid of credibility." He further warned that the ongoing campaign "once again demonstrated to everyone the worthlessness of the American president's signature". Khamenei cautioned Washington against broader escalation, stating, "Now that the American enemy is seeking to escalate the conflict, thereby incurring even heavier costs and further humiliation, it should know that the noble nation of Iran and the Resistance Front have unforgettable lessons in store for it." Reiterating this aggressive posture, Major General Mohsen Rezaei, senior military adviser to the supreme leader, warned via state media channels that Tehran is prepared to launch "full-scale offensive operations" should American strikes persist. Rezaei concluded by stating that "Iran will no longer limit itself to retaliatory, like-for-like responses", indicating a potential shift towards unrestricted regional warfare. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) Prime ExclusivesInvestment IdeasStock Report PlusePaperWealth Edition
Global financial markets remain on the back foot: the repo rate may increase
Global financial markets remain on the back foot: the repo rate may increase MARKETS ON MONDAY Global financial markets face renewed challenges as US-Iran tensions escalate, pushing Brent crude prices above $85 per barrel and raising concerns over the repo rate. Image: Ander Gillenea / AFP It seems it was more of the same on global financial markets last week. The war between the US and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz continues, and the chances of a renewed ceasefire are slim, driving Brent crude prices up by 12% to more than $85 per barrel on Friday. The sudden disruption in oil supplies and the subsequent impact on financial markets have manifested in several ways. With up to 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas passing through the Strait, energy traders are highly alert. Global inventories are depleted, making the system incredibly sensitive to the resumption of the US blockade and Iranian attacks on shipping. The geopolitical shockwave has heavily weighed on broader market indices and the tech sector, while energy related stocks have provided relative resilience. Major indices, including the Dow Jones, have experienced downward pressure and high volatility amid fears of wider economic fallout. Middle Eastern equities have seen uneven reactions, with financial, real estate and consumer discretionary sectors in countries such as Qatar, the UAE and Egypt recording the largest declines. As the Strait remains heavily restricted, experts note that the global market has been slightly cushioned by producers rerouting shipments through pipelines in Saudi Arabia and the UAE to the Red Sea, although these alternative buffers are running thin. South African financial markets, especially the rand, are under immense pressure. The ongoing attacks between the US and Iran continue, with no peace talks or ceasefire prospects in sight. The US demands free, unimpeded global transit, while Tehran asserts its sovereign right to control routes and levy tolls on commercial vessels. These two points of dispute are wiping out the chances of a new agreement any time soon. In reaction, the rand came under severe pressure last week. The currency depreciated by 20 cents, from R16.32/$ the previous Friday to R16.52/$ at the close of the JSE last Friday. The currency also depreciated by 25 cents against the euro to R18.88/€ and by 32 cents against the UK pound to R22.19/£ over the week. On the JSE, equity prices remained bearish, with big losses across all the various indices. The precious metals and minerals index, in particular, tumbled by 3.6% as the prices of gold, platinum and palladium remained under pressure. The price of gold traded below $4 000 several times during the week. The ALSI decreased by 0.7% but is now 18 885 points lower than the record level of 128 455 reached on Friday, 28 February, the day before the US, Israel and Iran attacks. This represents a decline of 14.70%. Weaker rand and higher oil price wiped out the over recovery in the diesel price The over recovery in the diesel price vanished quickly last week and, by Thursday, the diesel price had become under recovered by around 2 cents per litre, meaning that motorists can expect to pay more for diesel at the beginning of August. This was at a rand exchange rate of R16.34/$. Given that the rand depreciated further to R16.50/$ and the oil price moved above $86 per barrel on Friday, the under recovery is expected to widen further this coming week. At one stage during the first week in July, the over recovery for diesel exceeded R5.00 per litre. Currently, the price of 95 ULP petrol is still over recovered by R1.02 per litre. Prospects for the coming week This coming week, the domestic financial markets await the release of South Africa's inflation rate for June 2026 on Wednesday. Expectations are that the CPI increased to an annual rate of 4.7%, compared with the annual inflation rate of 4.5% in May 2026. The Monetary Policy Committee will meet this week from Tuesday, with its interest rate decision to be announced on Thursday. Expectations are that the committee may decide to increase the repo rate by 25 basis points to 10.75%. Retail sales for May 2026 will also be announced by Stats SA on Wednesday. Chris Harmse is the consulting economist at Sequoia Investment Solutions and a senior lecturer at STADIO Higher Education. Chris Harmse is the consulting economist of Sequoia Capital Management and a senior lecturer at Stadio Higher Education. Image: Supplied Follow Business Report on Facebook, X and on LinkedIn for the latest Business and tech news.
Iran urged to halt attacks on Gulf States, stop hurling threats at US President
LAHORE - President Patriotic Companions Mian Mateen has said that Iran should immediately halt attacks on the Gulf countries to avert further escalation in the region as US-Iran conflict widens. He said the US should also prefer negotiations and end further strikes on Tehran. He also said that Tehran should shun the rhetoric of revenge and avoid hurling threats at US President Donald Trump and American installations in the Gulf and Arab states. He regretted that the war is escalating in the region due stubborn attitude of Iran after its leadership suspended the peace deal with US signed last month under the Islamabad declaration. In a statement, Mian Mateen said that Pakistan Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir played a very important role to ensure ceasefire between Iran and the USA. However, all his efforts would go in vain and the situation could worsen if Iran does not prefer diplomacy which is the need of the hour. This is the need of the hour that Iran should not suspend peace agreement and hold negotiations to resolve all issues. He said that Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir can once again help build the bridge between the US and Iran but the Iran must ensure that it would not unleash more attacks on UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. It is imperative for Iran regime to maintain good ties with Gulf nations. Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait are very important countries for the entire Muslim world particularly Pakistan. Mian Mateen hoped that sense would prevail in Iran over the escalating regional tensions and Tehran would make efforts for peace.
16 US service members have died in the Iran war, reflecting a conflict fought largely in the air
BRIDGEWATER, New Jersey (AP) — The U.S. military said on Saturday that two additional service members were killed as part of the war with Iran, bringing the total number of deaths to 16. The deaths reflect the complicated reality that American boots don’t need to be on the ground for there to be lethal risks in a conflict that involves drones, missiles and airplanes. American forces are arrayed across the Middle East, making other nations targets of Iran as the fighting has escalated after a breakdown in peace talks. President Donald Trump has said the war is necessary to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. As of Saturday afternoon, he had yet to issue a statement on the latest set of deaths that occurred in Jordan, with the White House instead sending the statement issued by U.S. Central Command. First fatalities came soon after the war started Shortly after the war began on Feb. 28, an Iranian drone strike at a civilian port in Kuwait killed six American soldiers. The soldiers were part of a supply and logistics unit based in Iowa who were working at a shipping container-style building that had no defenses. A seventh soldier died more than a week after being wounded during a March 1 attack by Iran on the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Later in March, six service members were killed when a KC-135 refueling aircraft supporting U.S. military operations against Iran crashed in Iraq. The aircraft was in “friendly” airspace when an unspecified incident involving another aircraft took place, according to U.S. Central Command. On Monday, the U.S. military said a Navy pilot died in a helicopter crash in the Arabian Sea. The Navy initially described the July 1 crash as an emergency landing and said there was “no indication the emergency was caused by hostile action.” The remaining three sailors aboard the helicopter were rescued. On Saturday, the U.S. Central Command said two service members were killed in Jordan while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. The military said one U.S. service member is “currently” missing after the attack. The military said as part of the most recent announcement that it was withholding additional information, including the names of the deceased, until 24 hours after families had been notified. The deaths in the war are not limited to Americans. Iranian authorities said at least 50 people have been killed and more than 500 wounded in U.S. strikes in the past three weeks, including eight killed in a strike on a bridge Friday. People working on ships, as well as foreign workers and others in Gulf nations, Israel and Lebanon have also perished in the conflict.
The Hormuz Extortion: How Washington's maritime toll weaponizes global trade for big oil
The flawless synchronization between manufactured military crises and the sudden, record-breaking valuation spikes of defense contractors and fossil fuel executives points to a far more cynical reality. These are not spontaneous failures of diplomacy, but rather meticulously engineered extraction schemes designed to bleed the American taxpayer while weaponizing global trade for elite profit. The recent escalation in the Strait of Hormuz is being packaged by Western mainstream media as a necessary assertion of maritime security, but in reality it represents a brazen act of economic warfare and neo-colonial extortion. The Trump administration's decision to reinstate a naval blockade in the world's most critical oil chokepoint, coupled with the unprecedented demand for a 20% toll on all passing cargo, is not a matter of national defense but a calculated profit play designed to enrich the United States fossil fuel oligarchy and the military-industrial complex while extracting wealth from the American working class and deliberately suffocating the economic growth of China and the broader Asian multipolar bloc. Shale Windfall and the Military-Industrial Pump-and-Dump The immediate consequence of this manufactured crisis is a violent shock to global energy markets, with domestic projections warning that United States gasoline prices are poised to climb back to the $4-per-gallon mark. To understand who truly benefits, one must examine the mechanics of the United States shale industry and the defense sector. Unlike conventional Middle Eastern oil, United States shale operates on much higher break-even thresholds that often require prices of $60 to $70 per barrel just to remain viable. When geopolitical tensions artificially inflate global benchmarks like Brent crude past $85, United States shale does not merely survive but becomes a highly profitable enterprise because the spread between the cost of extraction and the market price widens dramatically to generate massive and unearned windfall profits. The American taxpayer has historically subsidized this industry through generous tax breaks, depleted lease rates on federal lands, and regulatory rollbacks, and now the public is forced to subsidize it again at the pump. This is not merely a long-term yield strategy for energy but a synchronized geopolitical market manipulation scheme spanning both the fossil fuel and defense sectors. As oil prices are artificially driven higher, the perceived demand for the hardware required to sustain the blockade also increases. Over the past month alone, shares of RTX Corporation, a prime contractor for the very missile defense systems and aerospace technology required to maintain this posture, have surged over 7% to inflate its market capitalization to nearly $265 billion. This financial footprint of manufactured conflict ensures that the network of allied financiers, energy executives, and defense lobbyists who positioned themselves ahead of this crisis will quietly sell at the peak to cash out their windfall gains. The American consumer absorbs the inflationary damage through higher fuel, transport, and grocery costs while a subsidized oligarchy pockets the difference and exits the stage. The Micro-Manipulations: Weaponized Volatility and the Win-Win Stock Play Beyond the macro-historical patterns, the most damning evidence of this racket lies in the recent micro-manipulations executed since the first coordinated United States and Israeli strikes on regional Iranian assets. The administration has perfected a cynical mechanism for toggling geopolitical tension, transforming foreign policy into a volatility harvesting machine that operates with brutal simplicity and high profitability for insiders. - The On Switch and the Spike: A sudden and aggressive rhetorical escalation or a leaked threat of imminent strikes causes markets to react instantly, making oil futures jump and defense stocks surge as algorithms and retail traders price in war while insiders and institutional backers watch their already positioned portfolios inflate. - The Off Switch and the Harvest: Just as retail investors rush into the rally, the administration abruptly pivots with a sudden announcement of a temporary de-escalation or a claim of mission accomplished, which triggers a market dip that allows insiders to quietly offload their overvalued shares at the peak to lock in massive profits. - The Win-Win Reset: While the public is distracted by the political theater of peace or strength, these same insiders use their realized gains to buy back into energy and defense stocks at the newly lowered prices so the cycle is primed to repeat with the next manufactured provocation. The Geopolitical Endgame: Bleeding Asia's Economic Rise While the domestic wealth transfer is lucrative for political donors, the 20% maritime toll reveals a far more ambitious geopolitical endgame because the Strait of Hormuz is not merely a conduit for oil but the jugular vein of the Asian economic miracle. The data is stark, with China being the largest importer and receiving approximately 37.7% of all oil exports that pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Other major top importers include India at 14.7%, South Korea at 12.0%, and Japan at 10.9%, meaning Asian countries collectively receive nearly 89% of all crude and condensate flows leaving the strait. By asserting the right to levy a 20% surcharge on shipments that make it through, the United States is attempting to weaponize its residual naval hegemony to impose a de facto tariff on the very heart of the global manufacturing and energy base. This economic warfare by chokepoint has the clear objective of artificially inflating the cost of doing business for China, India, and their regional partners to force them to bleed capital directly into the United States financial system just to maintain their supply chains. Washington is essentially declaring that emerging economies must pay a 20% premium to the American hegemon if they wish to participate in globalized trade, which is a desperate gambit to offset United States domestic economic vulnerabilities by siphoning wealth from its primary geopolitical rivals. The Mirage: Munitions Depletion and Regional Fatigue This aggressive posture entirely ignores the physical and strategic limits of American power, as the United States is already grappling with depleted munitions stockpiles and a strained defense industrial base stretched thin by prolonged proxy conflicts. Sustaining a high-intensity naval blockade and missile defense posture in the Strait of Hormuz is a finite endeavor, and the financial surge of companies like Raytheon masks a stark physical reality. Eventually, the United States will face critical and undeniable shortages of interceptors and precision-guided munitions. Simultaneously, the Middle East will not absorb endless provocation indefinitely, and as regional fatigue sets in and Iranian retaliatory capabilities adapt and expand, the risk of an uncontrollable and asymmetric escalation grows exponentially. Washington is playing a game of chicken with a region that has nothing left to lose while betting on a military endurance it no longer possesses. When the missiles run out and the diplomatic off-ramps have been deliberately burned, the resulting blowback will not be contained to the Middle East but will shatter the very global supply chains the United States claims to be protecting. A Ledger of Manufactured Crisis and Elite Enrichment To fully grasp the cynicism of the current moment, one must recognize that this is not an isolated incident but the culmination of a recurring and highly profitable playbook. Since the administration first initiated unprovoked aggression toward Iran, this exact sequence of provocation, market manipulation, and elite capitalization has been executed with algorithmic precision. Consider the historical ledger: - May 2018 and the JCPOA Withdrawal: The United States unilaterally tore up the Iran nuclear deal to reimpose maximum pressure sanctions, which caused Brent crude to surge from around $70 to over $85 a barrel by late 2018 and allowed United States shale executives and early political major donors to see their portfolios balloon while subsidized by the very taxpayers whose foreign policy security was deliberately undermined. - Mid-2019 and the Gulf of Oman Tanker Incidents: Mysterious attacks and the downing of a United States drone spiked geopolitical fear and severe oil market volatility amid escalating maximum pressure, which high-frequency energy traders and defense lobbyists capitalized on to secure lucrative contracts for increased regional security deployments. - January 2020 and the Assassination of Qasem Soleimani: An unprovoked drone strike on an Iranian general brought the world to the brink of war, causing oil prices to jump 4% overnight and shares of major defense contractors to surge as markets priced in inevitable conflict while the military-industrial complex saw immediate valuation spikes and political war chests were replenished by defense industry political action committees. - July 2026 and the Current Hormuz Blockade: The reinstatement of the naval blockade and the extortionate maritime toll represents the ultimate and synchronized cash-out for the fossil fuel and defense oligarchy, funded by a 20% tax on Asian trade and an invisible inflation tax on the American worker. Conclusion The crisis in the Strait of Hormuz is a masterclass in the weaponization of interdependence, serving as a policy that simultaneously lines the pockets of the United States fossil fuel and defense elites through artificial price spikes and sets up a cynical insider sell-off at the taxpayer's expense. It attempts to place a 20% stranglehold on the trade of China, India, and the emerging multipolar world while gasoline prices climb and global supply chains are deliberately disrupted. The international community must recognize this for what it truly is, which is not a security operation but a predatory and finite extraction scheme. The survival of the global economy depends on the ability of sovereign nations to collectively resist this maritime extortion and accelerate the build-out of a resilient and alternative financial and trade architecture that is entirely immune to the toll booths of Washington.
US military says two service members killed in Iranian strike in Jordan
US military says two service members killed in Iranian strike in Jordan US and Iran have stepped up attacks in the last week, prompting alarm about return to full-scale war across the region. The United States military says that two service members have been killed and four medically evacuated following an Iranian missile and drone attack in Jordan. In a statement shared on Saturday, US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees US military operations in the Middle East, said that one service member remains missing following an Iranian strike on Friday. Recommended Storieslist of 3 items - list 1 of 3Gulf states come under Iranian fire as US strikes intensify - list 2 of 3Why is the US attacking southern Iran’s civilian infrastructure? - list 3 of 3Iran suggests MoU ‘suspended’ amid reports 50 killed in US strikes in July “On July 17, two US service members in Jordan were killed in action as US Central Command (CENTCOM) and partner forces defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. Additionally, one service member is currently missing in action,” the statement reads. “Four American service members were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals. They have since been discharged. Other personnel who were evaluated for minor injuries have returned to duty. “Out of respect for the families, CENTCOM will withhold additional information, including the identities of the fallen warriors, until 24 hours after the next of kin have been notified.” The statement appears to be the first US confirmation of casualties resulting from renewed Iranian strikes on US forces, following the breakdown of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that temporarily paused fighting between the US and Israel, and Iran. Observers have watched escalating attacks between Iranian and US forces with growing alarm, warning that people across the region would suffer from a return to war. The US has struck Iranian civilian infrastructure, including bridges and desalination plants. Iranian forces have also reportedly struck energy infrastructure and desalination facilities, a key source of water, in Gulf states that host US military forces. Legal experts have said such attacks by both sides violate international law. The head of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) slammed recent Iranian attacks on Jordan, Kuwait, and Bahrain as a “war crime” and “highly dangerous escalation”, saying that the strikes included the targeting of civilian infrastructure. Neither side, however, appears to be interested in stepping back. Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei slammed US attacks in a statement shared on Saturday, saying that they proved that US President Donald Trump’s signature was “worthless and invalid”.
IRGC targets US command center in Syria un unprecedented attack
IRGC Targets US Command Center In Syria In Unprecedented Attack Iran's large-scale 'retaliation' on US bases and Gulf states overnight included a rare first if confirmed. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it conducted a missile or drone attack on an American special operations command center at al-Tanf in Syria on Friday. The action came after the US bombed Iran for a sixth consecutive night, and while Iranian targets have on several occasions reached into Jordan, it is unprecedented that the Iranians take active aim at sites within Syria. The IRGC stated the attack was in retaliation for the killing of Iranian soldiers in Iranshahr, in southern Iran. While the hit on Syria was reported in Reuters based on state media claims, the alleged Tanf strike hasn't been independently verified: A Syrian military source told Reuters that Iran carried out an attack near al-Tanf, but it had not hit the base itself. There were no casualties or material damage, the source added. The episode is the first reported attack on Syria since the US-Israeli war on Iran began in late February. And more: "The IRGC statement claimed that a radar system, multiple helicopters, and several US personnel were destroyed in the strike. Reuters reported that it has not yet been able to independently verify these claims." While it is unprecedented or at least unusual for US bases in Syria to come under direct attack by Iran, Tanf base has on multiple occasions come under attack from Iran-aligned Iraqi paramilitaries, and other hostile actors both within Syria and Iraq. US troops had long operated out of Tanf to pressure the Assad government as part of the long-running US-backed regime change project. The US primarily trained the Syrian Free Army (FSA) in that remote desert area - which was an umbrella group of various factions, likely among them jihadists, armed and funded by Washington. But when Assad was finally ousted in December 2024, replaced by an Al-Qaeda group founder (Jolani/Sharaa), this also put Iranian forces in rapid retreat from the country after an over decade-long proxy war. Syria's new AQ-linked government has been trying to impress its backers by claiming to bust up Iran-Hezbollah axis arms shipments: 🇸🇾🇮🇷🇱🇧 Here's footage of the massive weapons cache that was hidden inside an oil tanker by Iran and bound for Hezbollah in Lebanon. Until Syria intercepted it along the way. Inside were hundreds of drones, missiles, and components... Writer: Michaelpic.twitter.com/4uEykApWFW — Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) July 17, 2026 Iran, alongside Russia, had been a close military supporter of the Syrian army, but the Syrian government's collapse - along with the weaking of Hezbollah with the recent Israeli assassination of much of its leadership in Lebanon, caused most Russian and Iranian troops into a hasty and forced withdrawal. Tyler Durden Fri, 07/17/2026 - 11:45
ABC Entertains Baseless War Crime Speculations
With military operations kicking back up in Iran, ABC chief international correspondent James Longman joined Friday’s World News Tonight to play up the possibility that U.S. has committed, or is about to commit, war crimes. Longman began by recapping recent days’ events, “CENTCOM has tonight released this footage of a strike on a surveillance tower at an Iranian port, which they say the regime used to track and target commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Although the White House says the strait is open to shipping, maritime tracking shows the reality is that only a handful have been able to pass through under the threat of Iranian attack. And after President Trump's threat to strike at civilian infrastructure next week, Iranian state media reports two bridges being hit by U.S. airstrikes, as well as a train station and an airport.” ABC's chief international correspondent James Longman tries to bring back war crime accusations, "President Trump's threat to strike at civilian infrastructure next week, Iranian state media reports two bridges being hit by U.S. airstrikes, as well as a train station and an… pic.twitter.com/dKKSNmLQTq — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) July 18, 2026 He then added, “Legal experts say striking civilian targets could be a war crime. CENTCOM says they never target civilians.” Bridges, train stations, and airports can all be used for military purposes. In Trump’s “threat to strike at civilian infrastructure,” Trump threatened “next week comes the power plants” and “next week comes the bridges.” As Longman noted, the U.S. has already started hitting bridges. Power plants can also be considered military targets, and the U.S. has historically hit them with graphite bombs, which are designed to disable electrical grids but are considered non-lethal. What is not up for debate is that Iran actually is hitting civilian infrastructure in non-belligerent countries, but Longman didn’t throw the phrase “war crime” around for that. Instead, he simply reported, “Iran is still firing back with alerts in Qatar, Jordan, and Bahrain and major damage to a power and water desalination plant in Kuwait today that forced the government there to advise citizens to conserve energy while they stabilize the grid.” War crimes are real things, and Iran has spent this war committing scores of them. From attacks on neutral shipping to attacks on civilians. The American media should focus more on that than launching into unfounded allegations against the U.S. military. Here is a transcript for the July 17 show: ABC World News Tonight 7/17/2026 6:41 PM ET JAMES LONGMAN: Mary, CENTCOM has tonight released this footage of a strike on a surveillance tower at an Iranian port, which they say the regime used to track and target commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Although the White House says the strait is open to shipping, maritime tracking shows the reality is that only a handful have been able to pass through under the threat of Iranian attack. And after President Trump's threat to strike at civilian infrastructure next week, Iranian state media reports two bridges being hit by U.S. airstrikes, as well as a train station, and an airport. Legal experts say striking civilian targets could be a war crime. CENTCOM says they never target civilians. And Iran is still firing back with alerts in Qatar, Jordan, and Bahrain and major damage to a power and water desalination plant in Kuwait today that forced the government there to advise citizens to conserve energy while they stabilize the grid. Mary.
Iran tears up US peace deal, launches wider Gulf offensive hitting critical Kuwait water plant: 5 updates
Iran on Saturday suspended its commitments under the interim agreement with the United States, accusing Washington of violating the deal as both countries exchanged fresh strikes targeting military sites and critical infrastructure. The announcement came as the conflict spread across the Gulf, with Iran attacking facilities in Kuwait and the US launching its seventh consecutive night of strikes inside Iran, raising fears of a wider regional war and further disruption to global energy supplies, news agency Associated Press reported. He added that Iran had also suspended its obligations under the agreement and was now “busy defending the country.” The announcement marks another setback for diplomatic efforts that had briefly paused hostilities before fighting resumed. Story continues below this ad 2. US carries out seventh consecutive night of strikes The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its overnight operation targeted Iranian surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage facilities and maritime capabilities, news agency Reuters reported. Iranian media reported that US strikes hit infrastructure in Hormozgan province, including power and desalination facilities, while roads, bridges and tunnels near Bandar Abbas were also damaged. Iranian authorities said at least 50 people have been killed and more than 500 wounded in US strikes over the past three weeks. US officials, meanwhile, said 13 additional American service members had been injured since Monday. 3. Iran expands attacks across Gulf, Kuwait hit Iran widened its military campaign by launching attacks against several US allies in the region. Story continues below this ad Kuwait reported strikes on a water desalination plant and an oil facility, triggering fires, injuries and temporary airspace closures. It marked the second attack on a Kuwaiti desalination plant in two days, raising concerns over drinking water supplies in the Gulf state. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also claimed it targeted US military facilities in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, while Iraq and Jordan said they intercepted Iranian drones and missiles. Reuters could not independently verify several of the Iranian claims. 4. Iran warns of broader offensive as Strait of Hormuz tensions deepen A senior Iranian military official warned Tehran would launch “full-scale offensive operations” if US bombing continued, saying Iran would no longer limit itself to retaliatory strikes. The fighting has increasingly centred on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway that once carried around 20% of global crude oil supplies. Iran has effectively restricted shipping through the strait since the war began, while the US has tightened pressure by reimposing a naval blockade on Iranian ports. Story continues below this ad Oil prices climbed above $86 a barrel on Friday as concerns over supply disruptions intensified. 5. War adds pressure on Trump as diplomacy unravels Before the conflict escalated, Washington and Tehran had been negotiating over Iran’s nuclear programme. The collapse of the interim agreement now further dims hopes for diplomacy. The renewed fighting also increases political pressure on US President Donald Trump, who had campaigned on avoiding another prolonged Middle East conflict but now faces a deepening regional war with no clear end in sight. The Express Global Desk at indianexpress.com which delivers authoritative, verified, and context-driven coverage of key international developments shaping global politics, policy, and migration trends. The desk focuses on stories with direct relevance for Indian and global audiences, combining breaking news with in-depth explainers and analysis. A major focus area of the desk is US immigration and visa policy, including developments related to student visas, work permits, permanent residency pathways, executive actions, and court rulings. The Global Desk also closely tracks Canada’s immigration, visa, and study policies, covering changes to study permits, post-study work options, permanent residence programmes, and regulatory updates affecting migrants and international students. All reporting from the Global Desk adheres to The Indian Express’ editorial standards, relying on official data, government notifications, court documents, and on-record sources. The desk prioritises clarity, accuracy, and accountability, ensuring readers can navigate complex global systems with confidence. 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Iran threatens wider war if US strikes persist: 'No political border' will be safe
A senior Iranian adviser threatened on Friday to launch a wider war in the Middle East following days of intense fighting, warning that “full-scale offensive operations” could resume if U.S. military strikes do not cease. “Iran will no longer limit itself to retaliatory, like-for-like responses…and no political border will be safe,” Major-General Mohsen Rezaei, an...
US Strikes Take Out 116 Telecoms Towers In Southern Iran
US Strikes Take Out 116 Telecoms Towers In Southern Iran Communications and even the supply of drinking water has been severely impacted in some places of southern Iran, amid continuing US airstrikes on civic and national infrastructure, amid the seventh consecutive day of war. "Hormozgan’s chief of communications and information technology says the US's overnight attacks disrupted telecommunications in Bandar Abbas and Hajiabad, in the northern part of the province," Al Jazeera reports Authorities there have tallied at least 116 telecommunication towers which were taken out of service due to the US onslaught. This has resulted in outages and disruptions of fixed-line, mobile, and internet services, per Tasnim news agency. via Fars This suggests the US is returning to a strategy which seeks to create destabilization within, targeting the ability of the public to communicate and access information, returning the situation to the early weeks of the war, which saw Tehran authorities themselves curb internet and some telecoms access for the citizenry. It might also be that the US simply perceives infrastructure like telecommunications towers as utilized chiefly by the government and military, in a dual-use way, and so is ready to punish entire swathes of the country in order to cripple this ability. It could be Washington still maintains the fantasy of fomenting a mass uprising against government leadership by imposing as much daily hardship and disruption, and economic pain as possible. Of course, the biggest squeeze is the blockade of Iranian ports and disallowing the country's ability to sell oil. The Wall Street Journal this week observed that it will continue to be ordinary Iranians feeling the immense strain: Iran’s economy is already buckling under the combined weight of years of sanctions and soaring inflation. The conflict has intensified those pressures by damaging factories, disrupting trade and payments, shutting down internet access and further weakening the currency. Consumer prices in June were up 88.6% from a year earlier, according to official statistics. Just in the first few days of July, the price of a tray of eggs in Tehran shot up by 40%, to the equivalent of $3.30, according to Iran’s Fars news agency, which is close to the paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. It seems the US wants to create the conditions of a return to the January economic protests, which resulted in thousands of deaths, which involved protesters and rioters clashing with police and security services, the latter which suffered deaths too as clearly some of the anti-government elements were armed. According to more of the Iranian economy's spiral via the WSJ report: Iran’s gross domestic product is expected to shrink by 5.4% this year, according to forecasts by the International Monetary Fund prepared before the recent uptick in fighting. According to Kahalzadeh’s calculations, only the top 3% of Iranian households are able to afford the full food basket recommended by Iranian health officials. Many families are buying basic groceries like rice, meat and pasta on credit via a government program. Others are eliminating meat from meals and purchasing staples one at a time as their wages lose value. Below: Despite US bombs blowing up vital telecoms infrastructure, there's a renewed effort by Saudi-Israeli aligned opposition media to accuse the regime of imposing a new internet blackout... Meanwhile the war on infrastructure is only growing more aggressive and somewhat unprecedented. Power is one thing, but going after the population's water supply?... "Iranian authorities also said the supply of drinking water to several villages in the south had been cut off, accusing the US of striking power facilities and desalination plant pumps in the village of Bonji, according to Tasnim," Al Jazeera writes. Already Iranians nationwide have been urged to conserve electricity - for example by switching off air conditioners during peak hours, amid an ongoing severe strain on the power grid. Things look to get a lot worse for Iranians, and the outlook for broader war, before they get better. Tyler Durden Sat, 07/18/2026 - 09:55
Kuwait Pounded By Iranian Barrage As Oil And Desalination Plants Come Under Attack
Kuwait Pounded By Iranian Barrage As Oil And Desalination Plants Come Under Attack Kuwait was bombarded overnight in one of the fiercest Iranian retaliatory strikes since the US-Iran conflict erupted in late February, with missiles and one-way drones targeting power infrastructure and other critical energy assets. Local outlet Kuwait News Agency reports an unspecified site of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation suffered "significant material losses" as the week-long flare-up in Gulf tensions has derailed any near-term normalization of tanker flows through the Strait of Hormuz. There was a report that the Al-Subiya power station was struck. This marks the second attack on Kuwaiti power infrastructure in just days, after a transformer at the Zour South electricity and desalination complex was hit on Friday. Authorities disconnected several power-generating units as a precaution and urged residents to conserve electricity. A Kuwaiti army base was also struck during the latest escalation, injuring several personnel. Second Iranian strike in two days hit a Kuwaiti power/desalination plant, sparking a fire. A similar plant was hit yesterday. Strikes are part of Iran's ongoing campaign against US military sites in Kuwait (Ali Al Salem base and others). Kuwait relies on desalination for ~90%… pic.twitter.com/EyTPOwTIsM — Clash Report (@clashreport) July 18, 2026 On March 2, we warned: Airports, Data Centers, Skyscrapers, & Power Plants: Are Desalination Plants Next Targets In U.S.-Iran War Bahrain and Jordan intercepted Iranian missiles and drones. The overnight barrage followed a seventh consecutive night of US strikes targeting Iranian surveillance sites, weapons storage, logistics infrastructure and maritime offensive capabilities as the Department of War seeks to erode Tehran's leverage on the Hormuz waterway. As of late Friday, the previous US-Iran wrap stated: Surge in more large US refueling planes headed to Mideast, signaling likely expansion of strikes on Iran. US attacks hit Iranian energy and transport infrastructure. Iran threatens stronger retaliation and claims strike on US base in Qatar - and deepens attacks to include US outposts in Jordan, Syria. Iran urges power conservation; Hormuz shipping traffic declines further. Oil prices rise to session highs on fears of broader regional conflict. Brent chart The latest Hormuz tanker transit data via Bloomberg shows that activity at the maritime chokepoint has all but ceased. This data is based on ships activating their transponders and doesn't account for ships that 'go dark'... Latest overnight headlines (courtesy of Bloomberg): US-Iran Escalation The US launched its seventh consecutive night of strikes against Iran on Friday at 3 p.m. ET, aimed at degrading Iran's military capabilities, including hitting bridges, energy infrastructure, and a port facility in southern Iran, according to Iranian state media. The conflict has intensified beyond military targets, with the US striking six road bridges and reports of attacks near Bushehr's nuclear power plant and the province of Lorestan, raising fears of a return to full-scale war. The hostilities were triggered by an Iranian drone strike on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on June 25, just days after the US and Iran signed a preliminary ceasefire deal, setting off a chain of escalating attacks. Iran has threatened a "full-scale offensive" in response to US strikes, with the Strait of Hormuz remaining virtually closed as of Saturday. Iran Attacks Kuwait Iran launched a heavy barrage on Kuwait on Saturday morning, striking a vital oil facility and causing significant material losses and injuries, according to Kuwait Petroleum Corporation via state news agency KUNA. Kuwait airport suspended flights following the Saturday attacks, which triggered multiple rounds of sirens from around dawn. Iran also struck a power and desalination plant and a transformer at the Zour South facility, causing a fire and marking Tehran's first targeting of power infrastructure during the current escalation. Kuwait's foreign ministry accused Iran of systematically targeting civilian sites and vital infrastructure, saying it "endangers the lives and safety of civilians." Iran's Counterstrikes Iran has been targeting US bases in Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain in retaliation for US strikes. The IRGC claimed its 20th wave of "Nasr 2" operations destroyed several American aircraft at a US airbase in Jordan. US-sanctioned Iranian tankers are U-turning and zig-zagging in the Gulf of Oman as the US enforces an aggressive blockade of Iranian shipping, having redirected three merchant ships, boarded one vessel, and disabled a non-compliant tanker. Energy Market Impact Crude oil prices surged sharply, posting their biggest rise since April, as fears of renewed escalation grew and shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slumped significantly. The Strait of Hormuz shutdown is expected to spark massive investments aimed at permanently reducing reliance on the chokepoint, restructuring global energy infrastructure and trade flows, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Tyler Durden Sat, 07/18/2026 - 08:45
US-Iran fighting escalates with infrastructure targeted
TEHRAN - Iran on Saturday struck infrastructure in the Gulf and threatened a “full-scale offensive” in retaliation for the seventh consecutive night of US strikes on the Islamic republic. A month after they agreed a preliminary deal aimed at ending their war, fighting has intensified, with Tehran accusing Washington of hitting an airport, railway station and bridges. Iran retaliated Saturday with strikes on an oil facility in Kuwait as well as a power and water plant, authorities in the Gulf state said, while in Bahrain the army said air defences repelled a wave of Iranian attacks. “Iran will no longer limit itself to retaliatory, like-for-like responses … and no political border will be safe,” said Major General Mohsen Rezaei, a senior military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, according to state media. He said Tehran would resume “full-scale offensive operations” if US strikes continue for another two or three days. Kuwait accused Iran of targeting civilian sites and vital infrastructure after the strike on the power plant forced several power generation units to be deactivated. It was the second attack on a Kuwaiti power and water plant in as many days, with the first on Friday causing a fire and damage. Kuwait’s state oil firm reported injuries and damage in an attack on an oil facility, and the country’s fire service said firefighters were injured battling blazes sparked by Iranian attacks. In Bahrain, another US ally in the Gulf, the Iranian army said it targeted an air base used by the United States, according to the state broadcaster. Drones targeted “aircraft shelters and parking areas, fuel storage tanks of the US military at Sheikh Isa Air Base, as well as several connecting bridges”, the army said. Jordan was also hit, with the Iranian state broadcaster reporting fuel tanks at its Al-Azraq base were targeted. Jordan’s army said it had shot down 10 missiles but with no casualties or damage. (Story continues below) US marines board the tanker M/T Wen Yao in the Gulf of Oman as part of the American blockade. (Photo: US Marine Corps via AFP) Escalating threats Hope for a political settlement to the war has fallen by the wayside, though mediators have attempted to bring both sides back to the negotiating table. US President Donald Trump this week threatened to hit Iranian infrastructure, although there has been no confirmation from Washington since then that US forces have begun to do so. Iranian state news agency IRNA reported Saturday that US attacks killed three people and wounded eight in the southern province of Hormozgan. Local authorities said 116 telecommunications towers had been knocked out of service, with landline, mobile and internet connections down in some northern areas of the province. In Khuzestan province, the deputy provincial governor said the US had attacked 95 locations in 12 cities over the past 10 days, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency. Eight people had been killed in the attacks, he said. Iranian authorities also said the supply of drinking water to several villages in the south had been cut off, accusing the US of striking power facilities and desalination plant pumps in the village of Bonji, according to Tasnim. Iran’s energy ministry urged citizens to reduce electricity use and switch off air conditioners in peak hours after the power grid came under strain. The health ministry said Friday that 50 people had been killed since the renewed fighting broke out a week ago and more than 500 injured. ‘Capitulation’ David Khalfa, a Middle East specialist at the Paris-based Jean-Jaures Foundation, said a “widening range of strategic infrastructure” was being drawn into the conflict. “The paradox is that, while the conflict continues to escalate, neither side has a strategic interest in allowing this dynamic to continue. Yet both perceive any compromise as a form of capitulation,” Khalfa told AFP. The latest bout of violence was sparked by Iranian attacks on ships in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a vital transport lane for Gulf energy exports that Iran seeks to control. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Saturday said two oil tankers in the waterway, which they claimed were being directed by US intelligence agencies, had exploded after hitting mines, but the US military quickly denied the claim. The Revolutionary Guards also said on state television they had “stopped” four ships trying to transit. Iran closed the strait after the war broke out in late February with US-Israeli strikes, and control over the route has become key leverage in negotiations with the US. But the US has also reimposed its own blockade of Iran’s ports as part of the recent escalation, seeking to cut off the country’s oil revenues.
Tensions escalate as Iran and U.S. continue to exchange strikes
Tensions escalate as Iran and U.S. continue to exchange strikes Latest wave of attacks reportedly damaged civilian infrastructure Iran launched more attacks on Washington's Gulf allies on Saturday after a seventh straight night of U.S. strikes targeting Iranian military sites, including logistics facilities. The exchange of attacks escalates the war one week after a ceasefire fell apart. Kuwait came under sustained attack, with a desalination plant hit and operations at Kuwait International Airport suspended due to repeated missile and drone threats. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said they struck a U.S. military support centre at Camp Arifjan and destroyed a radar facility at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait. The IRGC also targeted a site in Bahrain where U.S. combat aircraft were gathered at Sheikh Isa Air Base and an intelligence data centre, Iranian state media reported. The Guards said they had also destroyed at least two U.S. fighter aircraft and three other aircraft during a missile and drone attack early Saturday on the U.S. base in Al Azraq, Jordan, according to Iranian state TV. Reuters was not able to verify the reports. Oil prices soar to highest in a month "Since there is no international institution to prevent the savagery of the U.S. military, we have no path before us except the Quranic command: ‘Whoever attacks you, attack them in the same manner,'" the IRGC said in a statement warning U.S. allies in the region to expect more strikes. On Friday, both sides took aim at shipping traffic, with the U.S. saying it was enforcing a naval blockade while Iran said it targeted vessels that violated its rules on navigating the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway for one-fifth of the world's oil supply. Oil prices climbed more than four per cent on Friday to their highest level in more than a month, applying political pressure on U.S. President Donald Trump as his Republican Party tries to maintain power in November's congressional elections. Desalination facilities hit in region Washington and Tehran have been testing the limits of escalation since their ceasefire agreement collapsed last week, raising the prospect of a return to all-out war. Civilian infrastructure was increasingly being subjected to attack despite concerns about potential war crimes. Iranian media reported that several missiles struck power facilities and desalination pumps in the southern city of Jask on Saturday, citing a local official. Some 10,000 people in 20 villages were without water, Tasnim news agency reported. A power generation and water desalination plant in Kuwait was hit in an Iranian attack, the country's Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy Ministry said in a statement. It was the second attack on Kuwaiti water desalination sites in two days. The U.S. military's Central Command said earlier it concluded its seventh consecutive day of strikes by hitting Iranian surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage and maritime capabilities. UN's Guterres concerned about civilian infrastructure UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was concerned about escalation in the conflict, particularly "attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran and across the region," his spokesperson said on Friday. Iranian media reported strikes early on Saturday in Hormozgan province on the Strait of Hormuz. State TV said three people were killed and eight wounded while two bridges and a road tunnel were damaged. A day earlier, Iranian state media said U.S. strikes hit at least five bridges in the south. Seven people were reported killed in attacks on bridges in the southern port of Bandar Khamir, where a train station was also hit. An airport was reportedly hit further east in Iranshahr. Trump has threatened to launch broad-based air strikes on Iran's infrastructure and has also declined to rule out a ground assault on Iran's coast or islands. U.S. officials have said attacks on southern Iran are designed in part to give Trump options. Such moves risk provoking Iran to attack the vital infrastructure of vulnerable Gulf states or having its allies in Yemen further disrupt global energy supplies by attacking shipping from the Red Sea.
US-Iran War Live: Iranian attack hits key Kuwait oil site, says Kuwait Petroleum Corporation
Advertisement Live blog US-Iran War Live: Iranian attack hits key Kuwait oil site, says Kuwait Petroleum Corporation UPDATED: Jul 18, 2026 16:18 IST US-Iran War News Live Updates: The Iran-US conflict widened across the Gulf on Saturday as Iran launched fresh missile and drone attacks on Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan following a seventh consecutive night of US strikes on Iranian military targets. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said one of its vital oil facilities was hit, leaving several people injured and causing significant damage, while attacks also disrupted desalination plants and airport operations. The escalating exchange has raised fears of a broader regional war and renewed threats to global energy supplies....Read More Iran missile strike(Photo: Reuters) 2 Jul 18, 2026 16:18 IST Middle East crisis: US embassy in Beirut issues new security alert The US embassy in Beirut on Saturday asked all its nationals not to travel to Lebanon and to reconsider travel to or through the Middle East. “Due to high tensions in the Middle East, the security environment remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation,” the embassy said in a statement. Jul 18, 2026 16:13 IST US Iran War: Iranian attack hits key Kuwait oil site, causes injuries and damage, says Kuwait Petroleum Corporation Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said one of its vital oil sector sites came under repeated Iranian attacks on Saturday morning, leaving several people injured and causing significant material damage. The company said the injured received medical assistance, the site was evacuated, and response efforts are being coordinated with the relevant state authorities.
The US and Iran have blown past red lines as they lurch back toward all-out war
A week after the United States and Iran signed a preliminary deal aimed at ending the war, an Iranian drone slammed into a cargo ship sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. There were no casualties or major damage, but the June 25 attack set off a chain of hostilities that would put the two countries on a path back toward all-out war less than a month after they agreed to stop fighting. Each strike and counterstrike chipped away at the pillars of the agreement, which has now collapsed, though there are still efforts to salvage it. Red lines set by both sides have been crossed. A return to full-scale war that would further destabilize the Middle East and disrupt the world economy appears increasingly likely. Here's a look at how we got here. Iran attacks ships using a route bypassing its control The attack on the cargo ship came after Iran had warned vessels not to use an alternative route through the Strait of Hormuz that is overseen by the U.S. military and intended to be outside Tehran's control. Iran had largely shut down the waterway — which carried a fifth of the world's traded oil and gas in peacetime — after the surprise U.S.-Israeli attack on Feb. 28 that started the war. Tehran has come to see control over the strait, and its far-reaching economic impact, as a key pressure point in its confrontation with the U.S. The preliminary agreement called for the strait to be fully reopened, but it also contained language suggesting Iran would manage traffic and potentially charge fees in the future. Iran has seized on that, saying it has the right to control the strait and that the alternative route is a violation of the deal. The U.S. and others dispute that, saying the strait should be open to all and toll-free, as it was before the war. US strikes Iran, which retaliates against Gulf states The U.S. launched strikes on Iran a day after the June 25 attack, hitting what the U.S. military said were missile and drone locations and coastal radar sites. The following day, Iran attacked a tanker using the alternative route through the strait, and the U.S. responded with more strikes. This time, Iran lashed out at nearby Gulf states, attacking Kuwait and Bahrain, both of which host American troops. The two sides pulled back the following week, each sending delegations to Qatar, which had played a key role in mediating the agreement. But they did not meet directly. Iran reiterated its warning against using the alternative route as it prepared for the dayslong funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening U.S.-Israeli strikes. The funeral began on July 4, with crowds calling for revenge against U.S. President Donald Trump. Fighting resumes after attacks on 3 ships Days later, Iran attacked three ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. responded with a wave of strikes that it said targeted air defense systems, radars and over 60 small boats used by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. Such boats have been used to harass ships in the strait. The U.S. also revoked a waiver that had allowed Iran for the first time in years to sell its oil on the international market for U.S. dollars. The waiver was part of the interim deal. Iran condemned the U.S. strikes and the restoration of oil sanctions as violations of the agreement while insisting it had the right to control the strait, which the military command says is an “unbreakable red line.” Iran also broadened its retaliatory strikes, hitting Bahrain, Kuwait and mediator Qatar. Trump, after departing from a NATO summit, offered mixed messages. He said the U.S. strikes were in response to the attacks on shipping, warning that “if it happens again, it will get much worse!” But he also appeared to rule out long-term military action, saying “anything that happens is going to happen very fast." He also suggested the U.S. military might “just finish the job.” The fighting has steadily escalated since then. On Wednesday, the U.S. restored its blockade on Iran's ports, which had been lifted as part of the interim agreement. The next red line is civilian infrastructure, and it may have been crossed In recent days, the U.S. has expanded its strikes to northern Iran, hitting targets far from the strait. On Friday, it struck bridges and power stations in the south, collapsing a tower that it said was used by the Revolutionary Guard for maritime surveillance at one of Iran's main ports. Iran said Friday that U.S. strikes have killed at least 46 people and wounded more than 400 since hostilities resumed. Trump has repeatedly threatened to target civilian infrastructure in Iran, at one point earlier in the war vowing to annihilate Iran's “whole civilization.” Until now, he has repeatedly backed off from such threats, citing diplomatic progress. But Iran's leaders may already believe that yet another line has been crossed. On Friday and again Saturday, Iran attacked a water desalination plant in extremely arid Kuwait. Trump has also mused about taking control of the strait by force, possibly by seizing one or more strategic islands held by Iran. That would likely require a far larger naval presence and potentially tens of thousands of ground troops.
Iran renews attacks on Gulf states after seventh straight night of US strikes
- Iran launched attacks on Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Saudi Arabia after seven consecutive nights of United States strikes. - Kuwait’s desalination plant and oil facilities were hit, with airport operations suspended due to repeated missile threats. - Oil prices climbed more than four per cent to their highest level in over a month. Iran launched more attacks on Washington’s Gulf allies and Jordan on Saturday after a seventh straight night of US strikes on Iranian military targets, including logistics hubs, escalating the war one week after a ceasefire collapsed. Kuwait came under sustained attack, with a desalination plant hit and operations at Kuwait International Airport suspended due to repeated missile and drone threats. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had struck a US military support centre at Camp Arifjan and destroyed a radar facility at Ali Al Salem Air Base. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation later said one of its oil facilities had been hit in “repeated Iranian attacks”, causing significant damage and some injuries, according to the state news agency. Kuwait’s armed forces said they had intercepted Iranian ballistic missiles and drones early on Saturday, adding that a number of firefighters and oil sector workers had been injured while responding to the attacks. Iran was responding to US strikes targeting bridges, power facilities and other infrastructure. In a statement warning US allies in the region to expect more strikes, the IRGC said: The IRGC targeted a site in Bahrain where US combat aircraft were gathered at Sheikh Isa Air Base and an intelligence data centre, Iranian state media reported. The Guards said they had also destroyed at least two US fighter aircraft and three other aircraft during a missile and drone attack early on Saturday on the US base in Al Azraq, Jordan, according to Iranian state TV. Reuters was not able to verify the reports. Saudi Arabia attacked Iran launched attacks on Saudi Arabia for the first time in about three months, according to two people familiar with the matter, triggering early warning alarms in Al-Kharj, east of the capital Riyadh, and at Yanbu on the kingdom’s Red Sea coast. The people said one attack had targeted the Prince Sultan Airbase in Al-Kharj, which hosts US forces. Saudi state media did not elaborate on what triggered the early warnings, and the government media office did not respond to a request for comment. The IRGC made no mention of any attack on Saudi Arabia. Oil prices at highest in more than a month Oil prices climbed more than 4% on Friday to their highest level in more than a month, adding to political pressure on US President Donald Trump as his Republican Party tries to hold on to power in November congressional elections. Washington and Tehran have been testing the limits of escalation since their ceasefire agreement fell apart last week, raising the prospect of a return to all-out war. READ | Bahrain, Kuwait suffer attacks as Iran war escalates with US On Friday, both sides took aim at shipping traffic, with the US saying it was enforcing a naval blockade while Iran said it targeted vessels that violated its rules on navigating the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway for one-fifth of the world’s oil supply. Iranian media reported that several missiles had struck power facilities and desalination pumps in the southern city of Jask on Saturday, citing a local official. Some 10 000 people in 20 villages were without water, Tasnim news agency reported. The governor of Jask later said emergency water deliveries had begun to the affected villages. A power generation and water desalination plant in Kuwait was hit in an Iranian attack, the country’s Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy Ministry said in a statement. It was the second attack on Kuwaiti water desalination sites in two days. Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry said Iran’s targeting of vital infrastructure endangered civilians and violated international law, adding it held Tehran fully responsible for the attacks. The US military’s Central Command said earlier it concluded its seventh consecutive day of strikes by hitting Iranian surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage and maritime capabilities. Infrastructure strikes kill civilians in Iran UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was concerned about the escalation, particularly “attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran and across the region”, his spokesperson said on Friday. Iranian media reported strikes early on Saturday in Hormozgan Province on the Strait of Hormuz. State TV said three people were killed and eight wounded while two bridges and a road tunnel were damaged. READ | Iran threatens regional reprisals for ‘very intense’ US strikes A day earlier, Iranian state media said US strikes hit at least five bridges in the south. Seven people were reported killed in attacks on bridges in the port of Bandar Khamir, where a train station was also hit. An airport was reported to have been hit further east in Iranshahr. Trump has threatened to launch broad-based airstrikes on Iran’s infrastructure and has also declined to rule out a ground assault on Iran’s coast or islands. US officials have said attacks on southern Iran are designed in part to give Trump options. Such moves risk provoking Iran to mount further attacks on the vital infrastructure of Gulf states, or renewed efforts by Tehran’s allies in Yemen to disrupt global energy supplies by targeting Red Sea shipping.
Trump may have to choose between an endless quagmire and ceding the Strait of Hormuz to Iran | Fortune
Nearly five months into the war in Iran, the conflict has entered a “second round” as bombs fly throughout the Middle East after a temporary truce collapsed. Iran is again threatening passage through the now-infamous Strait of Hormuz, while the U.S. has reinstated a naval blockade on Iranian oil exports. As the world’s emergency petroleum supplies dangerously dwindle and prices again rise, the Trump administration appears to have lost the upper hand and faces a stark choice: escalate the conflict in a prolonged morass resembling Ukraine, or capitulate and let Iran control the world’s leading energy artery—with the ability to charge service fees for passage and recoup costs, a toll in all but name— energy and geopolitical analysts told Fortune. The decision could shape energy and fuel prices heading into the fall, including the midterm elections, and set a precedent for how far the U.S. will go to defend global shipping lanes. “I don’t think there’s any military option for reopening the Strait of Hormuz,” said Gregory Brew, senior analyst for Iran and energy with the Eurasia Group. “The Iranians have considerable leverage here. I don’t see them backing down and, honestly, time is probably on their side.” Despite being militarily battered and with much of its leadership killed early in the war, the Iranian regime remains steadfast and determined to hold onto its prize—the narrow waterway that controls nearly 20% of the world’s energy flows, Brew said. Whatever the result, the Persian Gulf is unlikely to return to a free flow of energy and trade, he added. “The options are to escalate or cut a deal. And I think the [Trump] administration is likely to do the first, see it fail, and end up with the second,” Brew said. When the 60-day, interim peace deal was reached in mid-June, traffic through the strait began to resume—but not to normal levels—and energy prices plunged as oil markets even began to predict a temporary glut. The global oil benchmark fell from a high of $124 per barrel in early May down to $68 at the start of July, lower than expected. Already though, it surged back above $88 per barrel as of July 17. Global stockpiles are dwindled—the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve is at a 43-year low—U.S. midterm elections are approaching, and China, which sharply cut its imports and leaned on its hefty reserves to help balance the global market, hasn’t yet started buying more oil. “All of the signs point to higher prices and a longer duration,” said oil forecaster Dan Pickering, founder of the Pickering Energy Partners consulting and research firm. “We’re in the fifth month of this. We have fewer strategic reserves. We have less flexibility, less optionality. It’s a more precarious starting point for round two.” Iranian determination As tanker traffic rose in late June and early July, the U.S. encouraged more vessels to take a southern, shallower route closer to Oman through the Strait of Hormuz to avoid making extra payments to Iran. The Iranian regime interpreted this as an existential threat and the ceasefire broke down on July 7 when Iran opened fire on vessels hewing closer to the Omani shoreline. Yet again, the U.S. launched strategic attacks on Iran, and Iran countered with strikes on its Gulf neighbors, including at U.S. military installations. U.S. forces have bombed Iran every night this week, including civilian bridges. The United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain acknowledged damage to their power grids or refineries from Iran. Kuwait said a water desalination plant was hit for the first time, threatening the primary source of drinking water for the Middle East’s population. Trump even proposed—then quickly shelved—an exorbitant 20% toll on Hormuz traffic. The U.S. position remains that Iran cannot be allowed to charge fees for passage. Still, Brew said it now seems “unrealistic” that an Iranian fee structure—or a so-called “voluntary” payment scheme—can be avoided, even though tolls violate international maritime law. “The Iranians felt that they won. They came out of the war [in June] believing they were entitled to a more permanent role in managing the Strait of Hormuz,” Brew said. “They see the war as having justified their view that the strait essentially belongs to them.” The 60-day memorandum of understanding treaty never properly addressed control of the strait, and now it’s undone. “The Iranians have illustrated time and again that if you hit them, it only strengthens their resolve to maintain their position and avoid giving any concessions,” Brew added. The average U.S. price for a gallon of regular unleaded has climbed back to $4 a gallon again this weekend. During the war, the U.S. has exported record volumes of oil and refined fuel, helping push refining margins to all-time highs while keeping prices at the pump inflated. Refinery outages—voluntary or not—in the Middle East, China, and Russia are keeping fuel prices higher worldwide. With the U.S. midterm elections approaching in November and Trumply keep aware of inflation and gasoline costs, analysts argued that U.S. acquiescence to Iran over Hormuz becomes more likely. Iranian fees on tankers may be reduced to a secondary concern. “Any question about tolling’s impact on [oil] volumes is downstream of a more basic one—whether the strait is reliably open at all,” said Claire Jungman, director of maritime risk and intelligence for Vortexa. If the U.S. cedes control to Iran, at least the strait would be open, even if traffic may never fully normalize. With Iran’s Gulf neighbors hesitant to pay fees, they will keep diverting as many barrels via pipelines as possible while rapidly building new pipelines and ports to render Hormuz less relevant long term. Spurred by the war, the UAE is doubling the size of its West-East pipeline and planning a new Fujairah port to bypass Hormuz and move more oil directly into the Gulf of Oman. Iraq is building the Basra-Haditha Pipeline, creating pathways to oil hubs in Turkey, Syria, and Jordan. Saudi Arabia has rapidly expanded pipeline shipments to export oil through the Red Sea, but new attacks from the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen could threaten the alternate route. Iran may win the battle but lose influence long term, Pickering said. Its leverage is strongest right now and should diminish over time. “What we’re going to wind up with in five years is multiple export routes out of the Middle East.” Instead of fighting over Hormuz routes closer to Iran or Oman, “Those would just be two of maybe six ways to get oil out of the Middle East.” Precarious petroleum supplies The Trump administration clearly believed it—and Israel—could strike Iran hard and fast, forcing regime change or bending Iran to Trump’s will, similar to the Venezuelan operation in January that emboldened the president, said Brew. The administration failed to heed warnings that Iran was stronger militarily, more radicalized, and held more strategic and geographic influence. Now, U.S. commercial energy stockpiles and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) are rapidly being depleted, and only China—which has slashed its crude imports by nearly 5 million barrels a day—has kept prices from spiraling out of control. But China can only keep that up for so long before it starts to buying more barrels. “We’re not in crisis territory [yet], but there’s less breathing room at a time of intense global uncertainty,” said David Russell, global head of market strategy at the TradeStation brokerage firm. “Oil remains a top risk…given its importance in inflation and, ultimately, monetary policy. The SPR draws can’t continue forever.” Iran has clearly demonstrated the heightened value of the Strait of Hormuz, and that’s why it’s so insistent on maintaining control at any cost militarily and economically to wait out the U.S, Pickering said. “We’ve seen how expensive it is to shut everything off. The irony is before all this started that value was there for free for all the participants. “So, are you going to wind up worse off? Yes.” And the U.S. has very limited options pressing forward, Brew said.“Trump can escalate and potentially widen the conflict to one that causes even more damage and pushes oil prices even higher.” Or he can try to outlast Iran, a middle path that seems unlikely to succeed. Or he cedes the strait to Iran to reopen it. Because emergency oil stockpiles aren’t depleted—yet—and the price per barrel remains below $100, Brew expects Trump to attempt an escalation that’s now playing out before he feels he’s truly running out of options in a month or two. “My sense is that things are going to get worse before they get better,” Brew said. The U.S. is intensifying its attacks, and Iran is targeting more energy infrastructure of its Gulf neighbors, including potentially the Saudi’s Red Sea traffic, he added. Even another peace deal is unlikely to last, he said. “It’s not going to be fully resolved. We’re likely to see continued flareups, continued rounds of skirmishing and hostilities. I don’t expect anything more durable than an interim deal that allows traffic to resume somewhat.” In the meantime, “We’re going to see more fireworks in the next two or three weeks before we see any kind of progress towards de-escalation or accommodation.”
Iran-US war latest: Flights suspended at major airport after Trump and Tehran exchange fresh strikes
Kuwait Airways has rescheduled all flights after operations were suspended at the country’s international airport due to “hostile missile and drone attacks” from Iran. The US and Iran exchanged fresh strikes for a seventh consecutive night into Saturday morning, with Iran claiming it struck US military assets in Bahrain, including aircraft hangars and fuel tanks at the Sheikh Isa Air Base. Jordan said it intercepted 10 missiles, while Saudi Arabia and Bahrain issued public alerts warning residents of potential threats. Iran says it has launched fresh operations targeting maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, where the US has also resumed its own blockade. Tehran claimed its forces stopped four vessels in the Strait, while Iranian state media reported that two oil tankers caught fire and exploded after passing through what it described as a mined route. The US military rejected that account as false. And the Iranian authorities said 10,000 people were without water after a US strike on a desalination plant in Jask county. The US has begun targeting civilian infrastructure including bridges and water desalination plants in recent days, despite UN calls for restraint. • The US carried out a seventh consecutive night of strikes on Iran, targeting military and logistical sites. • Iran expanded its response beyond Israel, launching missiles and drones towards Gulf countries. Bahrain said it had “intercepted and destroyed a number of the treacherous Iranian aerial attacks”, while Kuwait said its air defences were responding to “hostile drone threats”. Saudi Arabia briefly issued alerts for Yanbu and Al-Kharj before saying the danger had passed. • Kuwait Airways suspended flights until further notice, saying the decision was taken “due to the regional security situation and to ensure the safety of our passengers and crew”. • Bahrain urged residents to avoid debris from the attacks, saying “the deliberate use of missiles and drones to target civilians and private property constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.” • In southern Iran, officials said a US strike on a desalination plant in Jask county cut drinking water supplies to 20 villages with around 10,000 residents. Hamzeh Pour, chief executive of the Hormozgan Water and Wastewater Company, said the pumping station and a power transformer had been “completely destroyed”, leaving the area facing “a severe water shortage”. Shahana Yasmin18 July 2026 08:19 Why it's so difficult for the US to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz President Donald Trump has been trying to force Iran to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz for months, turning to everything from airstrikes and naval blockades to negotiations and threats to destroy a “whole civilization.” But restoring oil tanker traffic in the vital Middle East shipping corridor to prewar flows likely will require a much bigger armada of U.S. warships if not tens of thousands of American troops on Iranian soil, experts say. Despite on-and-off fighting, Iran can still target vessels in the narrow Persian Gulf waterway with drones and missiles that have been hidden in a country a third of the size of the continental United States. Bahrain says it intercepted multiple Iranian aerial attacks Bahrain’s Defence Force said it had intercepted and destroyed several Iranian aerial attacks on Saturday, accusing Tehran of continuing its “systematic hostile approach” by targeting civilians in the kingdom. In a statement on X, the General Command of the Bahrain Defence Force said its air defence systems had “intercepted and destroyed a number of the treacherous Iranian aerial attacks”, adding that all branches and units remained “at the highest levels of readiness” to defend the country. The military urged residents not to approach any suspicious objects or debris left behind by the attacks and to report them immediately, saying specialist teams were prepared to deal with them safely. It added that “the deliberate use of missiles and drones to target civilians and private property constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.” Shahana Yasmin18 July 2026 08:04 US strike leaves 10,000 people without water in southern Iran A US strike on a desalination plant in Iran's Jask county has disrupted drinking water supplies to 20 villages with a combined population of about 10,000. The attack hit water desalination pumps in the coastal village of Bunji, an Al Jazeera report citing Tasnim news agency said. Hamzeh Pour, chief executive of the Hormozgan Water and Wastewater Company, said the pumping station drawing seawater into the plant and a power transformer were “completely destroyed”. Pour described the strikes as “a series of crimes and terrorist attacks” and said the affected villages were facing “a severe water shortage” after the destruction of the facilities. Shahana Yasmin18 July 2026 07:47 Vance says some Israeli leaders want conflict with Iran to continue ‘indefinitely’ Shahana Yasmin18 July 2026 07:30 Fire breaks out at Kuwait power and desalination plant after Iranian attack A fire broke out at a power generation and water desalination plant after an Iranian attack, Kuwait's Ministry of Electricity said on Saturday, hours after authorities said the facility had been damaged in the latest wave of strikes. The ministry said the blaze had broken out at the station following the attack but did not immediately identify the affected plant or provide details on casualties. Earlier, it said the strike had damaged facilities and disrupted several electricity generation units. Shahana Yasmin18 July 2026 07:20 Iran claims strikes on US-linked sites in Bahrain and Kuwait Tehran says it has launched strikes targeting US aircraft in Bahrain, following a seventh consecutive night of American airstrikes on Iran. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed it had targeted “the site where US combat aircraft were gathered” at Bahrain’s Sheikh Isa Air Base, according to Iranian state media. The IRGC also claimed it struck an “intelligence data centre” at Batelco in Bahrain, as well as a US naval fuel-support pier at Al Ahmadi Port and a US “signals and communications centre” in Kuwait. Iran has warned that countries hosting US forces could face “corresponding responses” if their territory is used to launch attacks on Iran. Shahana Yasmin18 July 2026 07:00 US oil firms sign deals with Iraq to develop alternative shipping routes US companies signed roughly $60bn in agreements and partnerships with the Iraqi government on Friday, including deals intended to create alternative routes for shipping oil out of the Persian Gulf. It's not clear when the oil deals will be able to create viable alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil flows. 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Tehran warns of ‘full-scale offensive’ if US strikes continue
This is an entry from: Live: US bombs Iran for seventh night running Tehran warns of ‘full-scale offensive’ if US strikes continue 18 July 2026 05:23 BST Major General Mohsen Rezaee, a senior Iranian military adviser, has warned that if the US continues bombing Iran over the coming days, Tehran will launch “full-scale offensive operations”, according to state-controlled news agency IRIB. "Iran will no longer limit itself to retaliatory, like-for-like responses ... and no political border will be safe," he said. Rezaee also said that the “policy of negotiating during war is over”. "Until now, we have not focused on expanding the war, nor on launching an invasion. Until now, the goal was deterrence, to put an end to the conflict. We seized Hormuz to end the conflict," he said.