Iran launched fresh attacks at American military bases across the Middle East on Friday after Donald Trump vowed “major punishment” over Tehran’s unwavering hold on shipping
The Iranian army said it had attacked US military equipment depots at Al-Adiri in northern Kuwait and damaged a surveillance tower used by the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain after US Central Command confirmed a 13th consecutive night of strikes on Iran
The Iranians also said they had attacked a US barracks and fighter jets in Jordan, and US barracks, a spy balloon and Patriot air defences in Erbil, Iraq
Both sides traded strikes after Donald Trump announced that he would hold Iran accountable for attacks by Iran and the allied Houthi rebels in Yemen for extending the war to a second major shipping chokepoint, the mouth of the Red Sea
Insiders close to the US president told the Wall Street Journal that Trump is losing patience with Iran and sees few options besides continuing strikes
The US military is now reportedly moving weapons, medics and special forces to the Middle East to broaden options as hopes of a diplomatic resolution wane
Experts warn the real pinch from the Iran war is about to strike
U.S. gas prices will continue climbing for weeks — and maybe months — due to the resumption of President Donald Trump’s war against Iran, experts warn
Patrick DeHaan, petroleum analyst for GasBuddy, said Friday on social media that while oil prices were “taking a breather for today” after recently surging by $20 a barrel, he’s still expecting the national average cost of a gallon of gas to soon reach $4.20 to $4.30
Shon Hiatt, director of the University of Southern California’s Zage Business of Energy Initiative, said oil markets apparently assumed that political pressure would force Trump to quickly end the war he launched without congressional authorization on February 28
Experts warn the real pinch from the Iran war is about to strike
‘Everyone had been making this bet that Trump would chicken out when things got bad,’ energy expert Shon Hiatt says
Holly Evans24 July 2026 23:30
Experts warn the real pinch from the Iran war is about to strike
U.S. gas prices will continue climbing for weeks — and maybe months — due to the resumption of President Donald Trump’s war against Iran, experts warn
Patrick DeHaan, petroleum analyst for GasBuddy, said Friday on social media that while oil prices were “taking a breather for today” after recently surging by $20 a barrel, he’s still expecting the national average cost of a gallon of gas to soon reach $4.20 to $4.30
Shon Hiatt, director of the University of Southern California’s Zage Business of Energy Initiative, said oil markets apparently assumed that political pressure would force Trump to quickly end the war he launched without congressional authorization on February 28
Experts warn the real pinch from the Iran war is about to strike
‘Everyone had been making this bet that Trump would chicken out when things got bad,’ energy expert Shon Hiatt says
James Reynolds24 July 2026 23:00
Saudi strikes target Yemen’s Hodeidah, says Houthi-run Al Masirah TV
Saudi strikes attacked Yemen’s Red Sea governorate of Hodeidah on Friday, Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported, after eyewitnesses earlier said several strikes had targeted Hodeidah’s port
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement said on Monday it would impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, opening a potential new front against the United States in its war with Iran. The Saudi-led coalition said it would respond “firmly”
Al Masirah said Saudi strikes hit facilities belonging to the state telecommunications corporation in Hodeidah city. The broadcaster also said Saudi forces targeted Kamaran island, off Yemen’s western coast
Saudi Arabia has sought to avoid a return to full-scale conflict in Yemen since a 2022 truce with the Houthis halted most major fighting in a war that killed hundreds of thousands of people through violence, hunger and disease
Holly Evans24 July 2026 22:30
Watch: Trump inflates Vietnam war dead number by 142,000 as he defends Iran deaths
‘I trust them’: Trump says he takes Russia’s Putin and China’s Xi at their word over aiding Iran
President Donald Trump on Friday said he does not believe the Russian or Chinese governments are providing military or intelligence assistance to Iran based solely on the say-so of their leaders, contradicting the assessment of his own defence secretary during a Senate hearing just days ago
Speaking in the Oval Office during an appearance focused on nuclear energy, Trump was asked to defend a Truth Social post in which he claimed Chinese president Xi Jinping had said “he would not, under any circumstances, give or sell Weapons to the Islamic Republic of Iran” and said Russia’s Vladimir Putin had promised “he would not sell Weapons to Iran.”
He also wrote that in his view, both countries were “not participating” in Iran’s ongoing conflict with the U.S. while warning that “it would be very bad for them” if they did
Read more below
‘I trust them’: Trump says he takes Putin and Xi at their word over aiding Iran
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has previously said Moscow and Beijing are both ‘enabling’ Tehran’s war effort
Dan Haygarth24 July 2026 21:03
Recap: UK ready to shoot down Iranian missiles after Tehran threatens RAF base
Britain’s armed forces are ready to protect the country from any attack from Iranian missiles, the government said on Thursday
It follows a warning from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards over the UK allowing US bombers to fly from its bases
“Our Armed Forces are ready to keep the United Kingdom safe from any kind of attacks, whether it’s on our soil or from abroad. The UK stands ready 24/7 to defend itself,” a government spokesperson said
In full:
UK ready to shoot down Iranian missiles after Tehran threatens RAF base
Iran warned that RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire is a ‘legitimate target’ after being used by US air forces
James Reynolds24 July 2026 21:00
Mozambique-flagged LPG tanker attacked in Iranian waters, Indian embassy says
A Mozambique-flagged LPG tanker carrying 28 Indian crew members was attacked in Iranian territorial waters on Friday, the Indian embassy in Tehran said
All Indian crew members are safe and the embassy is in contact with the authorities, it said in a statement posted on X
The vessel, named Disha, was attacked by an unknown missile near the Strait of Hormuz while en route to the Persian Gulf, the Forward Seamen’s Union of India, a trade union representing Indian maritime workers, said on X
The Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and Oman, was the main transit route for around a fifth of global energy supplies before the conflict erupted in Iran. Tensions have escalated since a fragile truce between Washington and Tehran collapsed in early July, reviving heavy exchanges of strikes and further disrupting shipping through the waterway
Dan Haygarth24 July 2026 20:41
Iran trolls ‘Little Marco’ with Lego clip after Rubio claims he’s never seen ‘their stupid videos’
Iran has trolled U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio after he hit out at the “stupid Lego videos” that have spoofed the war on social media
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Rubio acknowledged the viral clips – while he insisting he had never seen them – when he was asked about the current state of negotiations with Iran
“They’re probably not ready to do a deal yet, but they will be soon because the price they’re paying is very high despite their tough talk and their flowery language and their stupid Lego videos they put out – I’ve never seen them, but they put these things out on social media,” he said
In full:
Iran trolls Rubio with Lego clip after claiming he’s never seen the ‘stupid videos’
Secretary of State hit out at the satirical clips shared on social media – hours later he was starring in one
James Reynolds24 July 2026 20:00
US warns citizens in the Middle East to exercise caution
The US embassy in Baghdad said US citizens in the Middle East should exercise caution and remain on heightened alert
The Iranian army said it had attacked US military equipment depots at Al-Adiri, officially named Camp Buehring, in northern Kuwait, and the positions of U.S. troops at Camp Arifjan and at Camp Doha, near Kuwait City. In the early evening, Kuwait said its air defences were intercepting “hostile” targets launched from Iran
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had significantly damaged a surveillance tower used by the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain
They also said they had attacked a US barracks and fighter jets in Jordan, and a US barracks and spy balloon as well as Patriot air defences in Erbil in Iraq’s Kurdish region, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency
Jordan’s army said it had downed seven Iranian missiles and six drones, state TV reported, and that the attack had caused no material damage or casualties
Holly Evans24 July 2026 19:29
The latest: Trump is in ‘revenge mode’ and rushing weapons to the Middle East after losing patience with Tehran, allies say
Donald Trump is in “revenge mode” with Iran and believes the only way to get through to its leadership is with military force, allies have said as the US military carried out a 13th consecutive day of strikes
A senior administration official told the Wall Street Journal that the US president was losing patience and sees few good options in front of him besides continuing strikes
Officials and those close to the president said he is increasingly frustrated that a conflict he expected to be wrapped up within weeks is still dragging on with no end in sight
The US military is now reportedly moving weapons, medics and special forces to the Middle East to broaden options as hopes of a diplomatic resolution wane
In a bid to break Iran’s hold on the Strait of Hormuz, Trump also announced overnight that any damage sustained by ships as a result of Iranian strikes would be compensated with frozen Iranian assets held in the US
James Reynolds24 July 2026 19:00
