strikeApr 1, 2026

Will Iran war start a nuclear arms race in Middle East?

Summary

Will Iran war start a nuclear arms race in Middle East? There is little doubt that the nuclear threat in the Middle East has risen during the current conflict. During the war, which started in late February when the US and Israel attacked Iran, nuclear sites in both Iran and Israel have been targeted. IAEA informed by Iran of a new strike in the area of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, the third such incident in 10 days. No damage to operating reactor nor any radiation release reported, and condition of plant is normal, Iran says. DG @rafaelmgrossi again expresses deep… pic.twitter.com/cGIUSZJMyV — IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency ⚛️ (@iaeaorg) March 27, 2026 US President Donald Trump has said that thewar on Iran was launched in order to prevent Iran getting a nuclear weapon. But, experts suggest, this may well backfire. READ: Iran was not rebuilding nuclear enrichment, US intelligence finds Possessing nuclear arms is supposed to be a deterrent. The theory is that they prevent your enemies from acting against you. Observers often cite the case of North Korea. It has developed nuclear weapons which, some argue, make the dictatorship untouchable. Ukraine provides an example of the opposite. In 1994, Ukraine agreed to give up what was then the third-largest nuclear arsenal in the world in exchange for security guarantees from Russia, the US and the UK. The argument now is that, had Ukraine kept those weapons, Russia would not have been able to invade. ‘Nuclear latency’ not enough Iran was considered to be in a state known as “nuclear weapons latency.” Nuclear weapons latency is when a country has all of the tools to produce a nuclear weapon but has yet to do so. READ: US, Israel hit Iran’s nuclear sites as Rubio trails end to war “For years, Iran maintained strategic ambiguity, staying just below the threshold of a bomb to avoid the very strikes that have now occurred,” Rupal Mehta, a professor of political science based in the US wrote in a commentary for the London School of Economics earlier in March. “Tehran’s new leadership faces a grim calculation: while the pursuit of nuclear weapons was dangerous, having an unfinished bomb was the fatal mistake.” This week, Iranian politicians said the country might withdraw from the landmark treaty that is meant to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. The 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, or NPT, has 191 member states. The changes in security relationships in the region that the Iran war has brought, could also see other countries wanting a nuclear weapon. “There are a number of factors that will push states in the Gulf closer to nuclear weapons,” confirms Kelsey Davenport, director for non-proliferation policy at the Washington-based Arms Control Association. The Gulf states are caught between the hegemonic desires of Iran and Israel and have at least partially lost faith in their security alliances with the US. “Although,” Davenport continues, “it’s unlikely any of the states are going to immediately dash for a bomb. There are significant technical and political hurdles that any state in the region would need to overcome if they wanted to weaponize.” READ: Netanyahu says Iran war goals achieved ‘beyond halfway point’ Gulf state leaders will also be waiting for the conflict to end to see where Iran’s regime and its nuclear program end up, Davenport noted. “But certainly this the conflict is going to drive thinking about the necessity of nuclear weapons for security.” Who wants nukes? Saudi Arabia took the first steps toward possible nuclear latency last year. In the past Saudi Arabian ruler Mohammed bin Salman has said that if Iran produces a nuclear bomb, then Saudi Arabia would need to have one too. After he visited the US in November, bin Salman reportedly returned with an agreement on nuclear cooperation that would allow his country to enrich uranium. Any such agreemend with Saudi Arabia would have to pass through the US Congress first, explains Nour Eid, an independent researcher based in Paris who has published papers on nuclear ambitions in the Middle East for a number of think tanks. In my latest piece for The Stimson Center, I argue that Saudi Arabia’s nuclear trajectory should not be understood as a simple reaction to whether Iran acquires the bomb. https://t.co/NocSQVyG1l — Nour EID (@_Nour_Eid) March 23, 2026 Almost all of the 26 nuclear cooperation agreements the US has, which cover around 155 countries including in Europe, have included what’s known as an “additional protocol” signed with the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA. This gives the IAEA better oversight over a country’s nuclear activities. While it has yet to be officially confirmed, it seems that the 123 agreement will only require a bilateral safeguards agreement between the US and the Saudis, Eid told DW. “It bucks all precedent,” Robert Kelley, a former director at IAEA, told media outlet Bloomberg this week. “The idea the administration is prepared to give Saudi Arabia the ability to do the very things they are bombing Iran for looks hypocritical.” Still, as Eid points out, it will take the Saudis somewhere between 10 and 20 years to develop nuclear power, let alone weapons. There are also other problems such as the lack of a capable workforce. Right now, she believes the Saudis see nuclear projects mostly as a source of domestic energy. The United Arab Emirates already has a nuclear power plant, Barakah. When they entered their agreement with the US back in 2009, they agreed to the additional protocol and to forgo uranium enrichment and reprocessing. READ: UN watchdog says projectile struck Iran nuclear power plant For the UAE, it was always more about the prestige of being the first Arab nation to develop nuclear power rather than about military ambitions, Eid says. “But there is a clause in their agreement, an oral clause that isn’t written into the final text, that says something along the lines of ‘if a neighboring country has a more flexible agreement then they [the UAE] reserve the right to renegotiate their terms’,” she explains. Eid notes that part of the reason for the more relaxed Saudi nuclear cooperation deal in 2025 is likely due to American competition with China and Russia, the main nuclear suppliers globally. Trump promised to revitalize the US nuclear sector and up until now nuclear deals with Russia or China have tended to have less stringent conditions, and interesting financial packages, Eid explains. Other countries in the Middle East that might be in line for nuclear latency include Egypt and Turkey, Davenport of the Arms Control Association said. In cooperation with Russia, Egypt is building a nuclear reactor on the Mediterranean coast. But, observers say, Egypt, which has officially advocated for a nuclear-weapons-free Middle East, is in financial difficulties and unlikely to be able to parlay nuclear power into an arms program. Turkey is currently developing a nuclear energy program with Russia and may soon start cooperating with China too, Eid noted. “But I don’t see why they would put the international community at odds with them just to acquire nuclear weapons,” Eid pointed out. “Their defense industry is developing well and getting a lot of recognition.” Turkey is a member of NATO and unless they were planning to leave that alliance, they also have that defense umbrella, Eid told DW. How to stop nuclear proliferation? It’s also important to look at the bigger picture on non-proliferation, Davenport added. “It’s not in Chinese or Russian interests to allow the non-proliferation regime to collapse completely,” she told DW. “If you zoom out from the Middle East, some of the states that are most likely to weaponize are in China’s backyard — such as South Korea, Japan.” While Russia and China might provide materials and technologies to help make nuclear weapons, and under less stringent rules than the US has had in the past, they wouldn’t actively assist, she argues. “What is more likely is that states in the Gulf could try to exploit the divisions between the US and Europe on one side, and Russia and China on the other, to minimize the consequences of moving to the threshold of nuclear weapons,” Davenport continued. To prevent more nuclear weapons, regional dialogue is the answer, she stresses. “I am under no illusion that, post conflict, regional security dialogue will be easy or straightforward,” Davenport concluded. “But it is the best option to prevent states from deciding that nuclear deterrents are necessary.” /dl

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Cathrin SchaerBy Cathrin Schaer
Will Iran war start a nuclear arms race in Middle East? There is little doubt that the nuclear threat in the Middle East has risen during the current conflict. During the war, which started in late February when the US and Israel attacked Iran, nuclear sites in both Iran and Isra…

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Jul 21, 2026strikeUnverifiedUSIsraelIranProxy

US strikes Iran for 10th consecutive night as Tehran strikes tanker in the Strait of Hormuz

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran attacked a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz early Tuesday, forcing its crew to abandon the ship, while the United States conducted yet another round of airstrikes targeting the Islamic Republic as they struggle over control of the key waterway.

The 10 consecutive nights of U.S. airstrikes haven’t compelled Tehran to loosen its grip on the strait, through which about a fifth of all crude oil and natural gas traded once passed in peacetime. Even as the U.S. and Iran inch closer to all-out war again, Iran’s interior minister traveled to Pakistan, a key mediator in the conflict, for talks.

However, it remains unclear just what new deal could be reached to end the fighting. The interim deal signed last month that was meant to end the fighting has crumbled. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has largely stalled. And as fighting intensifies, both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people.

“Iran and groups supportive of Iran may target other U.S. interests overseas or at locations associated with the United States and Americans throughout the world,” the U.S. State Department said in a new warning to Americans. The escalation has pushed oil prices higher in recent weeks.

Benchmark Brent crude traded Tuesday above $88 a barrel and regular gasoline in the U.S. climbed to an average of $4 a gallon, keeping pressure on Americans’ wallets ahead of midterm elections this fall. Meanwhile, the U.S. military identified two soldiers who were killed in Jordan in attacks that left a third person missing.

Separately, the military confirmed another death in Iraq on Saturday during the “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone. President Donald Trump took to social media on Monday to warn that “Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!

” Trump was planning to attend a ceremony on Tuesday evening at Dover Air Force Base, where at least one service member’s remains were due to arrive. US strikes come as ships attacked The U.S. military’s Central Command said Tuesday it targeted “Iranian military command centers, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and air defense systems.

” It released more footage of bombings that targeted sites in Iran. “American forces remain postured and prepared to hold Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression toward civilian mariners seeking to freely and openly transit the strait,” the command said.

Iranian state media reported that explosions were heard in Fars, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman and Sistan and Baluchistan provinces. However, traffic through the strait has slowed to a crawl during the latest violence. Lloyd's List Intelligence said only three ships transited the strait on Sunday.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said a tanker came under attack early Tuesday in the strait off Oman, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed the attack, as well as two other attacks on ships Monday in the waterway.

The route around Oman has been the one the U.S. military has encouraged ships to travel to avoid Iran’s control. The UKMTO separately reported Tuesday that another previously unknown attack on a ship took place early the previous day. Tehran also hit U.

S.-allied countries throughout the Middle East. Jordan military's said Tuesday that Iran targeted it with five drones and three missiles, all of which were shot down. Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens Tuesday afternoon as another Iranian barrage targeted the island kingdom, which is home to the U.

S. Navy's 5th Fleet. Nearly 100 US injuries since early July The Pentagon’s chief spokesperson said nearly 100 U.S. service members have been injured since the U.S. restarted strikes on July 7, and 96% of them have returned to duty.

“The vast majority of injuries experienced were minor concussions,” Sean Parnell posted Monday on X in response to a New York Times report that the Pentagon has withheld information about troop injuries from Iranian strikes. He denied that the Pentagon was hiding data about injuries.

However, the Defense Casualty Analysis System, the military’s clearinghouse for reporting deaths and injuries in conflict, has not been updated as of Monday night with the latest attacks. Yemen rebels threaten attacks on other Mideast waterway Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on Monday.

The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, said they would block shipping between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden by targeting the Bab el-Mandeb, a maritime chokepoint like the Strait of Hormuz, in response to an attack on Sanaa International Airport last week that they blamed on Saudi Arabia.

With the Strait of Hormuz blocked, Saudi Arabia has been relying on a pipeline to the Red Sea to get millions of barrels of oil out to market. The Houthis earlier demonstrated their ability to disrupt shipping there when they targeted ships for months over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, with over 100 vessels attacked.

Saudi Arabia’s military said it would keep the waterway 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 spokesman. A glimmer of hope for diplomacy Pakistan has intensified diplomatic efforts in recent days to resuscitate the interim deal. Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni arrived in Islamabad on Monday for two days of talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and others.

On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that the U.S. is still open to negotiating with Iran but that “it has to be real.” “If the door opens to diplomacy — if the guys that want to do something productive for Iran win and take control of that system, or take control of the negotiations — that’ll be a very positive development,” Rubio said.

“That’s not where we are tonight, unfortunately.” Iranian authorities on Sunday said at least 50 people have been killed and 517 wounded in the latest rounds of U.S. strikes. Since the war began on Feb. 28, 17 U.S. service members have been killed.

JON GAMBRELL, Associated Press

Jul 21, 2026strikeUnverifiedUSIranRussiaChina

How the US-Iran conflict has thrown India’s Chabahar plans into doubt

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US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth posted social media images showing damage to a maritime control tower at Iran’s Chabahar port following reported US military strikes, accompanied by the caption “Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz.” India’s Ministry of External Affairs stated that the Shahid Beheshti terminal operated by India at the port sustained no damage.

The ministry reiterated its position that civilian infrastructure should not be targeted during conflicts.

Location: Iran

Divya A

Jul 21, 2026strikeUnverifiedUSIranProxy

U.S. strikes Iran and Houthis threaten Saudi Arabia shipping as mediators push 10-day ceasefire

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U.S. strikes Iran and Houthis threaten Saudi Arabia shipping as mediators push 10-day ceasefire - The U.S. has carried out its tenth consecutive evening of attacks against Iran. - Iran attacked a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz early Tuesday, while Houthi militants in Yemen declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia.

- Rystad Energy has warned about the risk of a significant rebound in oil prices. The U.S. completed a fresh round of strikes against Iran on Monday evening as Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis threatened to impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, potentially opening a new front in the Middle East conflict.

The latest cycle of tit-for-tat strikes comes amid reports that regional mediators have presented Washington and Tehran with a proposal for a 10-day ceasefire, a pitch that could put last month's Memorandum of Understanding back on track. The U.S. Central Command said overnight that it had carried out another round of strikes on Iran at 9 p.

m. ET on Monday. "U.S. forces struck Iranian military command centers, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and air defense systems to degrade Iran's ability to continue attacking commercial vessels flowing through the Strait of Hormuz," Centcom said in a statement.

It added that commercial vessel transits through the strategically vital waterway were continuing. Centcom forces, the statement said, had facilitated the transit of around 900 commercial vessels and 450 million barrels of crude oil through the strait since early May.

Iran, meanwhile, attacked a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz early Tuesday, forcing its crew to abandon the vessel as it seeks to tighten its control over the waterway, one that typically handles around 20% of the world's oil traffic. Houthi militants in Yemen on Monday declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia effective immediately, a move that could substantially threaten Middle East oil supplies.

The Houthis have repeatedly threatened to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait during the U.S.-Iran war. The strait is a choke point for commercial ship traffic that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and global markets. The militants, in a statement carried by state news, accused the Saudis of laying an "aggressive siege" against them.

Tensions escalated last week after they claimed that Riyadh had bombed Sanaa International Airport. The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said that it would respond to the Houthis naval blockade with force, reportedly describing such threats as "a blatant violation of international law.

" 10-day ceasefire 'won't be an easy task' Oil prices rose briefly on news of the Houthi statement but later pared gains as energy market participants closely monitored the prospect of a diplomatic breakthrough. International benchmark Brent crude futures with September delivery were last seen trading 0.

5% lower at $88.77 per barrel, having surpassed $90 in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures with August delivery, meanwhile, stood 0.4% lower at $82.88. Strategists at ING said there's some hope of de-escalation between the U.S.

and Iran given the reports that mediators are proposing a 10-day ceasefire. "This won't be an easy task," ING's Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey said in a research note published Tuesday. "Large divisions remain between the US and Iran. And President Trump said the US would retaliate following the deaths of several American troops," they added.

In a post on Truth Social on Monday, President Donald Trump said: "Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!" He added that this directive had been passed on to every leader in the military. Saudi Arabia oil risk Jorge León, senior vice president and head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy, said the Houthis' threat puts approximately 2.

5 million barrels per day of Saudi Arabian oil at risk at a time when traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is at a standstill. "With the Gulf's primary maritime outlet largely closed, the market is increasingly dependent on Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline and Red Sea terminals to maintain export flows," León said Monday in a research note.

Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline network, or Petroline, is a roughly 750-mile system that transports crude across Saudi Arabia, connecting Abqaiq on the oil-rich kingdom's eastern Gulf coast to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea. "Any disruption at Bab el-Mandeb would therefore threaten not only Saudi shipments but one of the few remaining routes capable of compensating for the severe reduction in Hormuz traffic," León said.

"If a ceasefire does not materialize and Hormuz remains largely closed while the Houthi threat to Red Sea shipping intensifies, the risk of a significant rebound in oil prices would be substantial," he added. — CNBC's Chloe Taylor and Spencer Kimball both contributed to this report.

Sam Meredith

Jul 21, 2026strikeUnverifiedIsraelIranProxy

How Houthi Red Sea blockade tightens Iran's grip on energy supplies

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Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis announced Monday they would impose a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia, further throttling a global energy market already greatly restricted by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz. This is why it matters and what it means for the Iran war and the global energy crisis.

It is not clear how the Houthis would carry out a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia, its northern neighbor along the Red Sea coast, or whether it would include a return to attacks on shipping. Yemen sits on the Bab el-Mandeb strait – the southern gateway to the Red Sea – and closing that would open up a new front in the energy crisis and Iran's overarching conflict with the U.

S. With the Strait of Hormuz already disrupted, the Red Sea has become a critical alternative outlet for Gulf oil and other products. A serious disruption would mean both of the Middle East's major oil export routes are shut simultaneously. Iran's partial blockade of the Strait of Hormuz after Israel and the U.

S. attacked it on Feb. 28 disrupted most oil and other exports from the Gulf, raising prices and delivering a global energy shock. Saudi Arabia responded by diverting more than 70% of its normal daily crude exports to the Red Sea port of Yanbu. Ships from Yanbu bound for Europe go north through the Suez Canal.

Those heading to Asia go south through Bab el-Mandeb. Shipments from Yanbu averaged 4 million barrels per day in recent weeks according to data from Kpler and Signal Ocean, up from around 973,000 bpd a year earlier. Total petroleum volumes transiting Bab el-Mandeb amounted to 7.

4 million bpd in June, or about 7% of global oil output, according to Kpler data, up from 4.2 million bpd last year. That has provided a lifeline for the energy market, helping to keep down global oil prices. Saudi Arabia is considering an expansion of its crude oil pipeline to the Red Sea coast, Reuters reported last week.

When the Houthis launched attacks on Red Sea shipping in November 2023, Gulf oil exports were flowing freely. The Houthis have been in a civil war against the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government for more than a decade and have attacked Gulf neighbors with missiles and drones.

However, a 2022 truce between the country's warring sides largely held until last week, when Yemen's internationally recognized government said it had struck Sanaa airport to stop an Iranian plane landing. The Houthis said Saudi Arabia was responsible and, in response, fired missiles at Abha airport in the kingdom's mountainous southwest.

A senior Houthi official, politburo member Mohammad al-Farah, then warned in an interview on Iran's Press TV website that if the situation kept escalating, Bab el-Mandeb would be closed. The U.S. says Iran has armed, funded and trained the Houthis with help from Hezbollah.

The Houthis deny being an Iranian proxy and say they develop their own weapons. It is not clear how far the group's stance on Bab el-Mandeb and the Red Sea stems from its own strategic priorities or is being made on Iran's behalf. After Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza, the Houthis began firing at Israel and on shipping in the Red Sea, saying they were doing so in support of Palestinians.

The attacks severely disrupted global shipping, prompting Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and other major companies to divert around Africa – a far longer, more expensive route. Red Sea traffic has not recovered since, with traffic through the Suez Canal down 52% in 2025 versus 2023 levels and at its lowest in at least 50 years, Suez Canal Authority data shows.

A U.S.-led mission to restore free navigation in the Red Sea involved repeated strikes on Houthi targets and a campaign that shot down hundreds of drones and missiles. But some Houthi attacks continued until last summer, only ending completely with the Gaza cease-fire in October.

Last month, the Houthis said they would ban ships linked to Israel from the Red Sea after Israel renewed military attacks on Iran. However, that threat was never acted on and shipping groups Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are resuming some Red Sea routes that they had abandoned during the Houthi attacks last year, Maersk said this month.

While Hezbollah and the Iraqi groups joined the war early with rocket and drone fire after the first U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, the Houthis had been comparatively quiet. The group's leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said on March 5: "Our fingers are on the trigger at any moment should developments warrant it.

" Iranian commanders have repeatedly warned that the Houthis could join the war. The Houthis launched a few missile and drone attacks on Israel in late March and early April. Revolutionary Guards Quds Force commander Esmaeil Qaani said on June 1 they could choke off the Red Sea.

That may now have changed with their announcement of the blockade on Monday against Saudi Arabia in retaliation for what they called the kingdom's siege of its ports and airports, including last week's strike.

Reuters