US secretary of state Marco Rubio has claimed Iran is “begging for a deal” amid escalating tensions across the Middle East, while warning that Tehran will face intensifying US strikes “every night until they come to their senses”
Speaking at the ASEAN conference in Manila, Rubio said: “Iran is begging for a deal. It looks like Iran is not ready to make a deal, they will pay the price.” He added: “Every time they make a deal they either break it or change it.”
The US military said it had carried out a 12th straight night of strikes against Iran in the early hours of Thursday, including the first use of B-1 long-range bombers in weeks
That came despite Iran’s foreign minister warning of an “eye for an eye” response if Donald Trump continues with his threat to bomb a bridge or power plant for every ship targeted in the Strait of Hormuz
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels bombed two Saudi oil tankers off the coast of Saudi Arabia, threatening to further disrupt oil supply in a sign that the war is spreading across the region
US uses B-1 long-range bomber for first time since fighting against Iran resumed
The US has escalated its military campaign against Iran by using a B-1 long-range bomber for the first time since fighting resumed 12 days ago
The bomber was used to strike IRGC targets in Iran, Axios reported. B-1 aircraft can carry large numbers of heavy bombs and cruise missiles
US Centcom said its strikes targeted Iranian military operations centres, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities and logistics infrastructure to weaken Tehran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz
However, it remains unclear what specific targets the B-1 hit
Maroosha Muzaffar23 July 2026 11:45
Rubio claims Iran ‘begging for a deal’ amid escalating US strikes
The US secretary of state has claimed that Iran is “begging for a deal” with the US and that the “price on Iran will get higher every night until they come to their senses”
Speaking at the ASEAN conference in Manila, Marco Rubio said: “Iran is begging for a deal. It looks like Iran is not ready to make a deal, they will pay the price.”
He added: “Every time they make a deal they either break it or change it.”
Rubio said he hoped the Iran-backed Houthis will de-escalate. “They got snookered by Iran.”
The secretary of state also commented on the nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, saying: “Even when the official announcement is made, it will have to go through a congressional notification process
“And then we can talk more in depth about it, but suffice it to say that the US is always looking for co-operation agreements with allies.”
He called Saudi Arabia “a strategic ally” of Washington
Maroosha Muzaffar23 July 2026 11:15
Iranian state media report two dead in latest US strikes
Iranian state media reported that two people were killed and 11 wounded in US strikes in southern Iran, near the country’s border with Iraq
The deaths were reported as part of the latest wave of American attacks, which the US military said targeted “maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites, and air defence assets”
Centcom said in a statement on X: “The strikes further degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial vessels.”
According to Al Jazeera, explosions were reported in cities including Bushehr, Ahvaz, Sirik and Shalamcheh
Centcom earlier today posted on X, saying it completed the 12th night of strikes on Iran
Maroosha Muzaffar23 July 2026 10:45
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard defends its strikes on Gulf states
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) defended its attacks on US military bases in Kuwait and Jordan, arguing that the strikes were aimed at American forces rather than the Gulf states themselves
Responding to accusations that Iran had violated the sovereignty of countries where US bases are located, the IRGC said such claims were “completely incorrect”
In a message to Kuwait, it said: “It is America that has violated your territorial integrity and sovereignty, not us.”
The IRGC argued that US military bases in Gulf countries were effectively under American control and claimed local officials could not access them without US permission
It said: “We are attacking lands occupied by the US army.”
The group added that the bases were being used to carry out “crimes” against Iran and said: “It is our legal, religious and logical right to target the invader of our country.”
In a separate statement directed at Jordan, the IRGC said: “In our opinion, the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of your government are completely respected.”
Maroosha Muzaffar23 July 2026 10:15
US carries out 12th straight night of strikes as Iran-backed Houthi rebels bomb two Saudi oil tankers
British government withdraws staff from Iran
The UK government has temporarily withdrawn embassy staff from Iran, citing “the ongoing security situation” in the region
The British embassy in Tehran will continue operating remotely, according to a brief update on the government’s website
The statement from the Foreign Office said that it “advises against all travel to Iran. If you are a British national already in Iran, either resident or visitor, carefully consider your presence there and the risks you take by staying”
The move comes after days of consecutive nights of US strikes on Iran and amid escalating tensions following Donald Trump’s threat to target Iranian infrastructure, including power plants and bridges in Tehran
Maroosha Muzaffar23 July 2026 09:15
Israelis warn Saudi-US nuclear deal will lead to ‘crazy arms race’
Senior Israeli politicians have warned a deal between the US and Saudi Arabia allowing the kingdom to build nuclear reactors using American technology and to enrich uranium could prompt the start of an arms race in the Middle East
The agreement, which still needs Congressional approval but was announced on Wednesday, is meant to allow the Saudis to develop a civilian nuclear programme
Netanyahu and his defence and foreign ministers have so far not commented on the deal, which critics say compromises Israel’s long-term security interests
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who is seeking to unseat Netanyahu in an October 27 election, said: “The nuclear agreement that is coming together with Saudi Arabia, over Israel’s head, is a serious strategic failure that endangers our security.”
“Nuclear enrichment on Saudi soil could lead to a regional nuclear race and a dangerous loss of control.”
Former defence minister Avigdor Lieberman said that “the civilian nuclear program in Saudi Arabia will end in nuclear weapons and will lead to a crazy arms race throughout the entire Middle East.”
Alex Croft23 July 2026 09:06
Major security gathering in Southeast Asia focusses on Middle East
Top diplomats from Asia, Europe and North America met at the security-focused ASEAN Regional Forum, where ministers were expected to call for a peaceful settlement of renewed and intensifying hostilities in the Middle East
The war in Iran and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz are set to dominate the Manila meetings attended by US secretary of state Marco Rubio, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and top officials from Australia, Britain, China, the European Union, India, Japan and others
The conflict is a key concern for the 11-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which has a combined gross domestic product of about $3.8 trillion (£2.8 trillion) heavily reliant on Middle East oil, exposing it to fallout that has stoked global inflation
“We convene against the backdrop of profound geopolitical and geoeconomic uncertainty,” Maria Theresa Lazaro, the foreign secretary of the Philippines, which is chairing the grouping, said in opening remarks
Alex Croft23 July 2026 08:42
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claims it carried out attacks on US assets in Jordan
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed it carried out attacks on US military assets in Jordan, saying it “destroyed a radar of the American THAAD missile defence system with lightning strikes”
It said a “Patriot system and a C-RAM radar were also targeted and destroyed, and the fuel tanks of the American base were set on fire”
It added that “a large helicopter equipment warehouse and a helicopter repair and maintenance shed were also set on fire and destroyed”
The IRGC said the strikes were aimed at US forces, not Jordan, and argued they were a response to American attacks on Iran
It claimed the operations did not violate Jordan’s sovereignty
Jordan had not immediately commented on the claims
The IRGC had earlier also claimed attacks on US military targets in Kuwait
Maroosha Muzaffar23 July 2026 08:20
US uses B-1 long-range bomber for first time since fighting against Iran resumed
The US has escalated its military campaign against Iran by using a B-1 long-range bomber for the first time since fighting resumed 12 days ago
The bomber was used to strike IRGC targets in Iran, Axios reported. B-1 aircraft can carry large numbers of heavy bombs and cruise missiles
US Centcom said its strikes targeted Iranian military operations centres, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities and logistics infrastructure to weaken Tehran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz
However, it remains unclear what specific targets the B-1 hit
Maroosha Muzaffar23 July 2026 08:00
