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Live updates: Trump threatens Iran with heavy retribution if any more US soldiers are killed
Follow the latest news on President Donald Trump and his administration | July 20, 2026
This undated image provided by the U.S. Army shows Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas. (U.S. Army
Edited By
LUENA RODRIGUEZ-FEO VILEIRA, MICHAEL WARREN and CARLEY PETESCH
Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year]
Here’s what we’re following:
- President Donald Trump took to social media on Monday to warn that “every time Iran kills an American Soldier” going forward “they will pay for that killing many times over.”Trump offered no further details but said his directive has been relayed to U.S. military leaders.
- The threat comes after the U.S., early Monday, launched itsninth night of airstrikes on Iranafter announcing the death of another American service member, killed in Iraq during the “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone. The U.S. military also identifiedtwo soldiers who were killed in Jordan on Friday while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. Seventeen U.S. troopshave been killed since the start of the war.
- The renewed exchanges of fire, now in their second week,have seen the U.S. target Iranian bridges, electrical facilitiesand, as of Monday, the city believed to host its underground missile bases, as the countries inch closer to a return to full-scale war.Iran on Monday retaliated with attacks on American alliesKuwait and Bahrain, home of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.
Trump will visit Delaware to honor service members killed in Iran war
By COLLIN BINKLEY
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will be at Dover Air Force Base on Tuesday evening for the dignified transfer of U.S. service members
“The President and the entire White House are praying for their families,” Leavitt said on social media Monday
Two service members were killed Friday in Jordan while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks, the U.S. military said. A third service member was missing after the attack
Another American service member was killed Saturday in northern Iraq in what was described as a controlled detonation of an Iranian ordnance
Trump, in apparent pushback on Mamdani, says Netanyahu won’t be arrested in US
By AAMER MADHANI
The president offered the assurance to Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told the New York Times that the Israeli prime minister “belongs in The Hague” and that he was in “active conversation” with the city’s legal department about potentially arresting him if he comes to New York City for the U.N. General Assembly in September
“Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” Trump said in a social media post in which he made no direct mention of Mamdani
During his mayoral campaign last year, Mamdani said he would order the city’s police to arrest Netanyahu under a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over Netanyahu’s role in the war in Gaza
Trump threatens harsh response against Iran for targeting of US troops going forward
By AAMER MADHANI
The president took to social media on Monday to warn that “every time Iran kills an American Soldier” going forward “they will pay for that killing many times over.”
Trump offered no further details but said his directive has been relayed to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff, and other U.S. military leaders
Trump’s warning came after the U.S. earlier Monday launched its ninth night of airstrikes on Iran after announcing the death of a U.S. service member, killed in Iraq during the “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone. Seventeen American troops have been killed since the start of the war
British military says a second ship was attacked off the coast of UAE
By JON GAMBRELL
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said Monday evening that a second ship had been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, this one off the coast of the United Arab Emirates
Earlier, a vessel caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz after being hit by a projectile near the coastline of Oman. The crew abandoned the vessel, which was adrift and still ablaze hours later, the UKMTO said
The route around Oman has been the one the U.S. military has encouraged ships to travel to avoid Iran’s control. The Guard later claimed it was targeting tankers in the strait
Tehran also hit U.S.-allied countries throughout the Middle East. Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens Monday morning, while Kuwait said its air defenses were firing at an incoming Iranian barrage
Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry condemned Iranian drone strikes targeting the country’s air traffic systems, saying they endanger travel for civilians
JUST IN: British military says a second ship attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, this one off the coast of the United Arab Emirates
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ontario’s premier says he’s frustrated with Trump’s wildfire comments
By JIM MORRIS
Ontario Premier Doug Ford told a news conference Monday he is frustrated with Trump’s threats to place tariffs on Canada over wildfire smoke
Ford said Ontario has contributed to fighting fires in the U.S. and offered assistance when Georgia was struck with a hurricane in 2024
“Rather than criticize and threaten Canada, your closest friend, maybe one day you’re going to need our help,” Ford said. “I get frustrated just listening (to) that bunch of rubbish.”
Ford noted one of the largest fires started in Minnesota
“Maybe President Trump would offer his closest allies and friends some support rather than sit there and threaten tariffs.”
Nearly 200 wildfires are currently burning across Northern Ontario, with 57 out of control
Trump talked about wildfires with Carney at World Cup
By JIM MORRIS
Trump said he told Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney he needs to do more to stop wildfires when they talked during Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final in New Jersey
“I told them you got to stop these fires from coming in and poisoning our air. Our air has been poisoned,” Trump told reporters on Sunday when he returned from the game
“If we can help them, we’ll help them. But maybe they should pay us some damages or something, or we should do some tariffs.”
Trump last week accused Canada of neglecting forest management. It is unclear under what authority Trump would rely on to impose new tariffs on Canada
Sen. Jon Ossoff fuels reelection campaign with attacks on Trump
By BILL BARROW
The Democrat from Georgia is making full-throated broadsides against Trump as he runs for reelection, calling the president a “national disgrace” leading a “Mar-a-Lago mafia” and “the most corrupt administration of all time.”
The 39-year-old senator’s approach is being noticed across the Democratic spectrum, from activists hungry for the right message in the 2026 midterms to those pining for
And now he has a 20-1 fundraising advantage against Rep. Mike Collins, who won a Republican primary runoff after Trump’s last-minute endorsement. Collins argues that Ossoff is “weak” and “woke,” just another “out-of-touch, far-left liberal.”
“The senator is definitely having a moment,” Democratic strategist Lis Smith said, adding that tying Trump’s personal financial gain to his performance on the economy is a strategy “more Democrats should adopt.”
Justice Department activates untested court for ‘alien terrorist’ deportations
By ERIC TUCKER
The Justice Department has filed a first-ever petition to a secretive and dormant court created 30 years ago to weigh government requests to deport so-called “alien terrorists” from the United States
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court was established in 1996 but had never received a petition until the Justice Department filed an application last week seeking the removal of an individual whose name is withheld from the single-page document posted on the court’s website
A written response from the chief judge of the the five-member court — all appointed by Chief Justice John Roberts — indicates that a hearing was held and that the Justice Department was directed to provide more information on Wednesday
The chief judge of wrote that “the Government could benefit from the opportunity for more thoughtful consideration.”
Trump urges review of climate change report used by judges
By MATTHEW DALY
Trump complained that a report on climate change by the National Academy of Sciences included “discredited” information that created “huge losses” across the country. The report is used by the Federal Judicial Center as a re
Trump ordered “federal suspension and debarment officials” to review the research organization’s conduct, adding that taxpayers should not be funding ”climate fraud” and judges should not rely on the report
It was not clear what officials Trump was referring to and what, exactly, he wants them to investigate
Earlier this year, the judicial center withdrew a chapter on climate change from the newest reference manual on scientific evidence after Republican state attorneys general complained it was biased against fossil fuel companies
The Vances are doing their part to reverse declining birth rates
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE
Vice President JD Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, are celebrating the birth of their fourth child
Born Sunday, Alec Neel Vance joins older siblings Ewan, 9; Vivek, 6; and Mirabel, 4. The Vances said Usha and the baby are happy and healthy. They also thanked the doctors and staff at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and the White House medical team
The Republican vice president has passionately advocated for Americans to have more children. He repeatedly expressed alarm about declining birth rates as he launched his political career in 2021, and told the 2025 March for Life anti-abortion rally, “I want more babies in the United States of America.”
The story behind the Freedom Fuel Trump loves to promote
By BRIAN SLODYSKO, MICHAEL BIESECKER, JOSH BOAK
Trump and his White House have enthusiastically promoted the Freedom Fuel Network, a chain of star-spangled convenience stores selling gas at $3.47 per gallon to honor the 47th president
Untangling exactly who is behind the Philadelphia-area venture has proven difficult. Records indicate the chain was launched last month by a collection of businessmen including an NFL kicking coach, a GOP fundraiser and a New Jersey entrepreneur who was ordered along with his brother to pay civil damages for unlawfully taking more than 200,000 gallons of fuel
None of them want to talk about it. How the stations got Trump’s attention remains a mystery. Experts say they’re likely selling the gas for a loss
What is clear: Trump has loved the idea of cheaper gas with average costs per gallon rising above $4 again as the war with Iran continues
Ex-Olympian charged with damaging Reflecting Pool gets a Sept. 28 trial date
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
David Hearn, 67, has pleaded not guilty to deliberately damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool amid a troubled multimillion-dollar renovation project championed by Trump
D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman set the date Monday during Hearn’s second court appearance since a grand jury indicted him on a single felony count of property destruction
Trump has claimed without providing evidence that damage to the pool’s lining was caused by vandals
David Hearn, 67, a canoeist who competed in three Summer Olympics,told The Associated Press that he reached into the pool to see what the peeling new coating felt like — “very rubbery” — and let go of it when a park worker told him to. At least three other people have been charged in the same court with misdemeanors for allegedly removing pieces of the paint
How the Tate brothers’ extradition process could play out
By SYLVIA HUI
The avid Trump supporters are currently being held in federal detention, where bail is rarely granted in international extradition cases. Their lawyer said he expects they’ll remain jailed for now
A U.S. district judge will consider whether they meet conditions for extradition, but the ultimate decision falls to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The State Department has some discretion to deny, but it has granted nearly every British request since ratifying a strengthened extradition treaty in 2007
The Tates flew to Florida on a private jet last year despite a U.K. extradition request from Romania, where they also face charges. Romania’s foreign minister said at the time that a Trump administration official had expressed interest in the brothers’ legal case
Trump said he knew “nothing about” the case when asked if his administration had pressured Romania to release the Tates
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Houthi spokesman says why Yemen seeks to close Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea access
By FATMA KHALED
There were few details, but the deputy head of the Houthi media office, Nasruddin Amer, said on X that the Bab al-Mandeb strait will be closed to Saudi vessels in response to what he called Saudi Arabia’s “unjust blockade on Yemenis for over 10 years.”
The Houthis are key to Iran’s regional influence and they have a large stockpile of drones, but several Houthi members previously told the AP that the group’s weapons stockpile is running low after its attacks during the Israel-Hamas war. The Iran war has further impeded the flow of weapons, said the officials, who at the time spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk to the media
Tate brothers to appear in Miami court. UK wants them extradited
By DAVID FISCHER, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
Influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate are scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate in Miami on Monday after they were arrested to face rape and sex trafficking charges in the United Kingdom
Their attorney Joseph McBride said the charges are “filth and slander” and that he’s confident the extradition request would be denied
He also said he believed the arrests were “greenlighted by a low-level functionary” at the Justice Department, without input from leadership. But the Justice Department told The Associated Press that the arrests were approved by leadership of its Criminal Division
The Tates’ social media empire promoting wealth, male dominance and misogyny has made them among the world’s most polarizing internet personalities
Gulf nations warn of incoming Iranian fire
By TOQA EZZIDIN
Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens Monday afternoon to warn of a possible Iranian fire, while Kuwait said its air defenses were responding to incoming Iranian missiles and drones. No damage was immediately reported in either country
Senators want answers on ICE policies
By REBECCA SANTANA
Dozens of Democratic senators and Maine’s Independent Sen. Angus King want more details on Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s vetting practices and vehicle pursuit policies following more deaths in ICE shootings
In a letter spearheaded by King and sent to the Department of Homeland Security, the senators listed new measures to increase accountability at the agency tasked with carrying out immigration enforcement
They said ICE should immediately start wearing uniforms or vests that clearly identify them as “ICE” instead of the more generic “POLICE” or “POLICE ICE.”
The senators also want to know whether ICE considers records of domestic violence or abuse when vetting new recruits. In Maine, the AP reported that the ICE officer who opened fire and killed a man from Colombia had a history of violent behavior detailed in family court records
As student loan defaults surge, the Trump administration is making borrowers pay more
By NICKY FORSTER, HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH
Defaults are reaching record levels as borrowers struggle to pay
The numbers have spiked since payments came due again following a lengthy pause intended to provide relief during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, around 9.5 million people — 1 in 5 federal student loan borrowers — are in default, meaning their wages or Social Security payments could be garnished. The Trump administration has held off on such involuntary collections for now
And still another wave of defaults could be coming. The Trump administration eliminated the most generous income-driven repayment plan, Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, as part of its overhaul of the federal student loan system. Millions who had been enrolled in SAVE now must pay more each month
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Yemen’s Houthis announce a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
A Houthi military spokesperson described the embargo on Monday, effective immediately, as an “eye for an eye” response
Attacks by the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen last week damaged Sanaa International Airport and Abha airport in Saudi Arabia, threatening a truce that began in 2022
Imposing an embargo could put new pressure on Saudi Arabia, which is sending oil through pipes to the Red Sea as a way of avoiding the chokehold in the Strait of Hormuz
Houthis attacked more than 100 ships over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. It’s unclear whether the Houthis will keep up that level of attack now against Saudi Arabia
US launches ninth night of Iran strikes
By JON GAMBRELL
The U.S. military’s Central Command said Monday’s strikes targeted “Iranian military command centers, air defense and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and communications networks.”
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
The U.S. military said the latest service member was killed in Iraq on Saturday during the “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone
“We hit them very hard again tonight,” Trump said. “And we did that in honor” of the soldiers killed
Another vessel is ablaze in the strait as Iran targets tankers
By JON GAMBRELL
As the strikes began, a vessel caught fire early Monday in the Strait of Hormuz after being hit by a projectile near the coastline of Oman, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. The crew abandoned the vessel, which was adrift and still ablaze hours later, the UKMTO said
The route around Oman has been the one the U.S. military has encouraged ships to travel to avoid Iran’s control. The Guard later claimed it was targeting tankers in the strait
US bombing of Iran expands as American troops killed and Tehran retaliates
By JON GAMBRELL
The United States targeted Iran with a new round of airstrikes early Monday after announcing the death of another American service member, hitting around a northwestern city believed to be home to underground missile bases. Iran responded by attacking Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, and Kuwait
Step by step, the U.S. and Iran have inched closer to all-out war. Last month’s interim deal meant to permanently end the fighting has crumbled. Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has largely stalled. Both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people
Meanwhile, benchmark Brent crude rose Monday above $90 a barrel, further fueling a global energy crisis sparked by the conflict. An average gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. rose to $4, putting more pressure on American wallets ahead of midterm elections this fall
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