Rubio claims US still open to Iran negotiations, but strikes continue

Top Israeli Minister: 'Best For Us' If US Fights Iran While Israel Sits Out New Round of War

As four more American families grieve the deaths of soldiers killed in the war on Iran, one of the top-ranking ministers in Israel's cabinet told an Israeli audience that having America do all the fighting and dying is "the best for us." Israel had intensely lobbied President Trump to launch a joint war on Iran on Feb 22, and traded blows with Iran up until early June. Since Trump restarted intense, daily bombardment of Iran 11 days ago, however, Israel has sat out the action, sparing Israelis from lethal Iranian retaliation.

“The State of Israel has no interest in joining the contained confrontation between Iran and the United States," far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said in a session at the Katif Conference for National Responsibility, which endorses Jewish settlement in Palestinian territories. "The current situation is the best one for us.” Bezalel Smotrich leads the Religious Zionism party and wants Israel to annex the West Bank and Gaza (MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP)

Smotrich is generally regarded as the second-most powerful cabinet member in Israel, and is a vital linchpin in Netanyahu's government that took power in January 2023. Lacking an outright majority, Netanyahu was forced to build a ruling coalition that gives unprecedented power to religious and ultra-nationalist extremists. Smotrich leads the Religious Zionism party. He personally aspires to make Israel a theocracy, wants Israel to annex the West Bank and Gaza while barring most Palestinians from citizenship, and has said it would be "just and moral" to starve two million Palestinian men, women and children in Gaza.

In his latest remarks, Smotrich candidly acknowledged that Israel and the United States have different goals vis a vis Iran, but said America's continued military engagement furthers the Israeli agenda. “[We] must remember that the ultimate goal of Israel, and not necessarily the United States, is to undermine and weaken the regime in Iran – to the point of overthrowing it,” Smotrich said. Army SGT Michael Swinton was killed July 19 when a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone went terribly wrong (Mia Gonzalez-Swinton via Guardian)

Disregarding the widespread victimization of innocents that the strategy entails, Smotrich said destruction of Iran's economy will help precipitate the Iranian government's collapse. "Currently, inflation in Iran is at 85 percent, food inflation of over 134 percent in a total of four months, and the Iranian rial is trading at an exchange rate of 1.9 million to the dollar - and it's going up." He then reiterated that "the current situation is good for us, and there's no point in pushing ourselves inward."

Footage of the Iranian ballistic missile strike on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan last night. At least two missiles hit the base, killing two American service members. pic.twitter.com/8tOm6yyXwe — OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) July 18, 2026 Here's how Israeli journalist Hagai Amit recently described the benefits of Israel allowing the United States to plunge forward alone in the war that Israel urged America to start:

It reduces the risk of [Israeli] casualties and allows daily life to continue largely as normal, without midnight sirens, trips to bomb shelters or major disruptions. The Finance Ministry is also relieved not to have to burden the state budget with billions of additional shekels for air operations and the interception of ballistic missiles.

Meanwhile, as Amit warmly describes the cost savings for Israel, various analysts say America's cost of the Iran quagmire is now close to or even exceeding $100 billion, which is upwards of triple what the Pentagon has owned up to at this point. 1LT Tyler Feehan and PVT Isabella Gonzales were two of three Army soldiers killed in the Iranian strike on US forces at base in Jordan

Of course, the highest price is being paid by American service members who've been thrown into an unconstitutionally-initiated war launched on false premises. Four more US soldiers have been killed since Trump re-escalated the war. In addition to US Army SGT Michael Swinton being killed in Iraq when a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone went wrong, three more soldiers were killed in an Iranian strike that hit prefabricated housing units at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.

Initially, the Pentagon confirmed only two fatalities in Jordan: 19-year-old PVT Isabella Gonzales and 1LT Tyler Feehan. The third was classified as MIA, but the Pentagon is now saying SGT Angel Rampersad is "believed to be deceased."  The grim implication is that Rampersad's body was devastated by an Iranian missile -- nearly five months after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared that Iran's military had been "made combat-ineffective," and almost two months after Sen. Ted Cruz said US forces had "destroy[ed] all of their missiles and drones."

Tyler Durden Wed, 07/22/2026 - 12:05

Jordan: Regional tensions upset Jordanian port city. Shotlist Aqaba, Jordan - July 21, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 1. Traffic, trees 2. Various of sea, seaside promenade 3. Boats 4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohammed (full name not given): "The war has indeed seriously affected us, not just the tourism industry, but also us merchants and our business activities.

Even import and export trade has become worse and worse." 5. Seaside resort 6. Various of cargo ship 7. People at beach Storyline Jordan's Red Sea port city Aqaba, once synonymous with sun-soaked beaches and pleasant diving, has been thrust into the forefront of regional tensions highlighted by the United States-Israel military strikes on Iran and Iran's retaliatory attacks on U.

S. assets in the country in recent months. Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Monday that its forces had launched missile and drone strikes against U.S. assets and facilities in Jordan and Kuwait in retaliation for the U.S. frequent "aggressions" against Iran's territory.

The Jordanian military has issued a series of statements saying that its air defense system has once again intercepted multiple missiles that entered Jordanian airspace from abroad. The Jordanian government emphasized that safeguarding national sovereignty and airspace security is the air forces' top priority, and called on the international community to de-escalate regional tensions as soon as possible to prevent further spillover of the conflict.

For Jordan, Aqaba is not only a tourist city, but also plays a vital role as the country's only outlet to the sea, and most of the country's import and export goods are transported through here. If the regional security situation remains tense, it will not only upset the tourism industry, but could also have a ripple effect on the country's logistics, energy supply, and overall economy, said affected residents.

"The war has indeed seriously affected us, not just the tourism industry, but also us merchants and our business activities. Even import and export trade has become worse and worse," said a local resident named Mohammed. More stories from StringersHub Join the flipboard community Discover, collect, and share stories for all your interestsSign up More stories from Middle East Coveted U.

S. Nuclear Deal Is a Coup for Saudi Crown Prince Saudi Arabia had for years sought the controversial deal to transfer American nuclear technology to the kingdom. It is expected to be sealed on Wednesday. A deal to provide American nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia, expected to be announced on Wednesday, would represent a major triumph for the … US to announce deal allowing Saudi Arabia a nuclear programme, reports say The US and Saudi Arabia are expected to announce a deal that will allow the Gulf kingdom to develop a civilian nuclear programme.

An announcement is expected from US President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday, according to CBS News, the BBC's US partner.

CAIRO — A declared blockade of Saudi Arabia by Yemen’s Houthi rebels has the potential to widen the Iran war and further disrupt global oil supplies and international trade. The rebels say they have closed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Saudi-linked shipping in retaliation for the kingdom’s blockade on Yemen and a recent attack on the international airport in Yemen’s rebel-held capital, Sanaa.

The Houthis claim to have forced six ships to reroute on Tuesday, but there was no independent confirmation. Bab el-Mandeb, at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is a vital shipping chokepoint, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Around 12% of the world’s trade, including a fourth of global container traffic, passes through the narrows, moving between Europe and Asia via Egypt’s Suez Canal.

The strait has become even more vital for Saudi oil exports since the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran war has severely limited shipping out of the Persian Gulf. The Houthis say they will only stop vessels connected to Saudi Arabia or going in and out of its Red Sea ports.

But during a similar blockade announced against Israel over the war in Gaza, the rebels attacked many vessels with little or no connection to that conflict. The threat alone could keep international shippers from using the route. Sporadic attacks could largely block the waterway The Houthis don’t control the part of Yemen’s coastline along Bab el-Mandeb — that’s in the hands of its opponents in the country’s civil war.

But they hold territory less than 100 kilometers (60 miles) away. Three Houthi officials told the AP on Tuesday that the group has planned for months how to disrupt shipping in the strait. Those plans include the use of naval mines, explosive-laden boats, drones and helicopters to allow fighters to board ships, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media.

They said vessels would first be warned not to cross designated boundaries in the strait. If ships ignore the warnings, the Houthis would resort to military action. In the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has shown that even sporadic attacks on ships can be enough to effectively close a critical waterway, by driving up risks and insurance premiums.

Global trade could be disrupted at a second chokepoint “If Bab el-Mandeb comes under pressure at the same time as shipping in the Gulf, you have disruption around two of the world’s most important maritime routes at once,” Clionadh Raleigh, the founder of ACLED, a conflict monitoring service, said Tuesday.

More than 7 million barrels of petroleum a day transited Bab el-Mandeb in June, compared to around 4 million before the Iran war, Allison Minor, the director of the Atlantic Council’s Project for Middle East Integration, wrote in an analysis published Monday.

Saudi Arabia has been recently exporting some 4 million barrels of oil a day through its Red Sea port of Yanbu, blunting the impact of the Strait of Hormuz closure, which has still rattled economies around the world. Saudi Arabia could still get crude to market without using Bab el-Mandeb, by shipping up to 2.

5 million barrels a day across the Red Sea to Egypt, whose SUMED pipeline can carry it to the Mediterranean. It could also ship 1 million barrels a day through the Suez Canal. International shippers could also reroute, as they did at the height of the war in Gaza.

But that means going the long way around the Cape of Good Hope off South Africa, adding one or two weeks to voyages — and raising costs. Attacks could draw retaliation and reignite Yemen’s war The Houthis attacked over 100 vessels at the height of the war in Gaza, before a punishing U.

S. and Israeli air campaign put an end to the attacks in early 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump brushed off the latest threat. “So far, it hasn’t happened,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday. “I think that if there is something like that, we’ll just have to take care of business.

” The Houthis also run the risk of reigniting the war with Saudi Arabia and its allies in Yemen, where major fighting ended with a truce in 2022. Saudi Arabia’s military says it will keep Bab el-Mandeb open. “All Houthi threats against transiting vessels will be dealt with swiftly and firmly, as such threats are a blatant violation of international law and fall under acts of maritime piracy,” said Maj.

Gen. Turki al-Malki, a Saudi military spokesperson. Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when the rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen, forcing the government into exile. Saudi Arabia has led an international coalition fighting the rebels and also imposed an air and sea blockade on Houthi-held parts of Yemen, which had eased in recent years.

The Houthis say Saudi Arabia struck the airport in Sanaa earlier this month in an attempt to stop a flight carrying Houthi leaders back from Iran, where they had attended the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The plane landed safely at another airport.

The Houthis then launched missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport in the most significant confrontation in years. The Houthis say closing Bab el-Mandeb to Saudi traffic aims to break the coalition’s blockade. Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group, said the blockade also benefits the Houthis’ ally, Iran, at a time when the U.

S. has resumed daily airstrikes. ″From Iran’s perspective, opening additional pressure points across the region gives it more leverage,” Nagi said. “The Houthis provide Tehran with influence over one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints.

Iran warns Bulgaria against hosting US warplanes Published July 22, 2026, 11:20 a.m. ET See more of our coverage in your search results.Add The New York Post on Google Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman warned Bulgaria on Tuesday not to allow the US to use the European country’s territory for military operations against Iran.

Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said any activity that facilitates US attacks on Iran would amount to complicity in what he described as “aggression and war crimes”, according to Iranian state media quoted by Reuters. The warning follows word from the Bulgarian government that it would seek parliamentary approval to station up to eight U.

S. tanker aircraft at an air base in Bulgaria, a member of NATO and the European Union. Baghaei urged Bulgaria not to become “an accomplice of aggressors and lawbreakers”, they said. The tanker aircraft are mainly used for airborne refuelling of other aircraft, including during strikes.

Follow The Post’s coverage of the war in Iran: - Trump vows to destroy one Iranian bridge or power plant for every shot Tehran takes at Strait of Hormuz shipping - Rubio says US remains open to Iran talks but warns there ‘will be consequences’ - Fourth soldier believed to be killed in Iran attack ID’d as New Yorker – as US launches latest rounds of strikes - Trump warns Iran of much greater destruction if war continues: ‘They haven’t seen anything yet’ Bulgaria’s government aims to station the U.

S. aircraft at the Bezmer military facility, about 260 km (160 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. The U.S. and Iran have intensified strikes since an interim ceasefire deal signed a month ago unraveled, raising the possibility of a return to all-out war.

Bulgaria’s government has called for hostilities involving Iran to end. It has not announced a decision to host U.S. military aircraft amid an internal debate on the issue.