War in the Middle East: latest news. The war is spreading: attacks in Jordan and Iraq. UK: drone strikes ship in the Egyptian port of Damietta

Empty oil tankers have been spotted in the Egyptian Mediterranean port of Sidi Kerir, ready to load Saudi oil arriving via the Sumed pipeline, which bypasses the Red Sea and the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb. This has been reported by several specialist publications, which highlight that this route avoids the threats posed by the Houthis near Yanbu, as well as the risks and high costs associated with the Red Sea.

Saudi Aramco has increased crude oil supplies from the Egyptian terminal on the Mediterranean due to rising regional tensions and threats of naval blockades. At least eight large oil tankers have reported their presence at Sidi Kerir and are expected to arrive in the coming weeks, up until mid-August. Aramco has increased oil shipments from the Egyptian port after the Iran-backed Houthis attacked a ship in the Red Sea last week.

Admiral Brad Cooper, head of the US Central Command for the Middle East (CENTCOM), stated in a letter that has not previously been made public that Iran benefits from being able to verify, almost in real time, the success or failure of its attacks by consulting online news reports or posts by journalists containing “reactions, photographs and footage from our military personnel’s mobile phones”. “The direct and inevitable cost of this open-source information could be measured in the lives of American military personnel and civilians residing in the targeted Gulf states,” Cooper wrote in the letter dated 28 July, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.

The Strait of Hormuz is “an international waterway. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has no authority to impose shipping routes; traffic must be able to flow freely and without restrictions. Commercial vessels continue to transit the strait with US military support”. This is according to US Central Command.

Pro-Iranian armed groups in Iraq have stated that a response to the US and Saudi attacks on the country is “inevitable”.

“Our response against the American enemy is inevitable and could target its assets in Saudi Arabia,” said the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of pro-Iranian armed groups that has claimed responsibility for hundreds of attacks on US targets in the region, in a statement.

The United States has added the Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company and the Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority – two Iranian companies backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – to the list of entities subject to sanctions, “for operating coercive insurance schemes that extort money from international commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz”.

This is reported by the US State Department in a statement.

“I don’t know whether Iran will win or lose this war against the United States, but the strategic mistake of attacking neighbouring countries is clear.” Luigi Di Maio, the European Union’s Special Representative for the Gulf Region, made these remarks during a hearing before the Chamber of Deputies’ Foreign Affairs Committee.

The Saudi broadcaster Al-Hadath reported that a “Israeli military source’ had stated that ‘the US Central Command (CENTCOM) is annoyed by the revelation made by Israel Katz (Israeli Defence Minister, ed.), according to which American aircraft had taken off from Israel to bomb Iran’. According to the source, “Katz disclosed confidential operational details about US fighter jets that took off from Israel to attack Iran. The Israeli Chief of the General Staff was forced to apologise to the commander of CENTCOM for Katz’s statements.”

“We will strike Iran hard” in response to their raids on American targets. Donald Trump made this statement in an interview with Fox, emphasising that the American and Saudi attacks were coordinated with the Iraqi government.

Il presidente Donald Trump interviene al funerale del senatore Lindsey Graham, repubblicano della Carolina del Sud, presso la Cattedrale Nazionale di Washington, martedì 28 luglio 2026, a Washington. Alex Brandon/Pool via REUTERS

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that he has no intention of cancelling his attendance at the UN General Assembly, scheduled to take place in New York in September, despite calls for his arrest made by Mayor Zohran Mamdani in light of the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague against the Prime Minister.

“I’m going to New York,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News following his meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House.

“An Israeli raid destroyed the Al-Taqwa mosque in Gaza City after the army had forcibly ordered residents to flee, forcing them to leave their belongings behind. The attack also damaged dozens of tents housing Palestinian refugees.” This was reported by the broadcaster Quds Net Network, which shared images of the raid that took place yesterday in Gaza City. In a statement, the IDF spokesperson confirmed that over the past week it had carried out “several attacks on Hamas weapons depots in the central and northern Gaza Strip, including one set up inside a mosque”.

The IDF has confirmed that the attack on the mosque took place yesterday ‘in the north of the Gaza Strip’, adding that “this is yet another example of how terrorist organisations in the Gaza Strip exploit civilian infrastructure for terrorist purposes, storing weapons amongst the civilian population, including within places of worship, to facilitate terrorist activities. Prior to the attacks, the civilian population had been given advance warning to minimise the risk of harm’.

Ahead of the next round of negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, due to take place in Rome between 4 and 6 August, Israel has informed the mediators that it does not intend to withdraw from any further areas within the ‘security zone’ in southern Lebanon at this stage.

This is reported by Channel 12, citing an Israeli source. According to the source, the main point of disagreement between the parties concerns Israel’s demand that, ‘following any temporary withdrawal, the IDF retain the option to re-enter the area to ensure that it is de facto free of Hezbollah infrastructure and operations, in order to officially declare it safe’. Lebanon, the Israeli broadcaster reports, opposes this demand, and Israel has made it clear that, without an agreement on this issue, there is no scope for discussing an expansion of the pilot zones.

‘We discussed the need for Italy to make progress on the EU–Israel Association Agreement, as measures can be taken. I know that Italia has already taken some steps and is considering taking others; however, much more decisive action is needed, not only on the part of Italia but of Europe as a whole, given that Israel only understands the language of concrete measures on the ground. To exert a deterrent effect on a state, we must move from traditional measures to non-traditional ones.” This was stated by the Foreign Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Varsen Aghabekian, at a press briefing following her bilateral meeting with Minister Antonio Tajani, on the sidelines of the Global Alliance for the Two-State Solution meeting at the Farnesina in Rome.

The Yemeni Houthi group is considering the possibility of imposing tolls on ships passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and, in turn, to the Indian Ocean. This was reported by the Reuters news agency, citing regional sources familiar with the matter, who stated that China would likely be exempt from such a measure.

Two officials stated that the plan had been discussed by the Houthis with their Iranian counterparts during their visit to Tehran for the funeral of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The visit by the Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to Saudi Arabia, scheduled for Thursday, has been postponed. This was reported by the Saudi-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya. Overnight, Riyadh, together with the US, carried out attacks against pro-Iranian militias on Iraqi territory.

Iranian state television claims that the United States has struck the north-west of the country, on the border with Iraq. “A few minutes ago, an area in the Piranshahr border region was attacked by American enemy air raids,” reported state television, after the Fars news agency quoted an official from West Azerbaijan Province as saying that a missile had struck an uninhabited area, causing no casualties.

The town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, in southern Lebanon, has come under heavy artillery fire. This was reported by Al-Jazeera, citing the Lebanese news agency NNA. The attacks originated from an Israeli military post in the Tel al-Nahas area, near the border village of Kfarkela. The shelling was ‘intense and concentrated’, the agency added.

On 17 February 2026, speaking from the podium at a gathering of American Jewish organisations in Jerusalem, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett described Turkey as ‘the new Iran’. In Rome, the Meloni government has taken a contrasting yet equally significant course of action: on 16 June 2026, the Council of Ministers exercised its ‘golden power’ to authorise a 50-50 joint venture between Leonardo and the Turkish firm Baykar Makina, aimed at producing next-generation remotely piloted aircraft systems, with political approval having already been granted on 29 April 2025 at Villa Pamphilj, when Giorgia Meloni received Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the two countries signed eleven bilateral cooperation agreements. Italia thus finds itself – almost by geographical necessity rather than diplomatic one – right at the heart of the most dangerous rift in the eastern Mediterranean: a growing industrial and military partner of Ankara, and at the same time a historic ally of Jerusalem, whose defence cooperation is currently suspended precisely because of that very same regional instability.

A week after the Lebanese army regained control of certain areas in the south of the country – designated as ‘pilot zones’ in the agreement with Israel – only around 15 families have returned to Zawtar al-Gharbieh, according to the mayor, Abed Ezzeldine. Almost half of the village’s 500 homes have been destroyed and many others damaged. Ezzeldine said that Zawtar al-Gharbieh is “devastated by the disaster”.

“You can see a few houses still standing, but they are uninhabitable and cannot be rebuilt,” he added. The local council is doing its best to supply water via tankers to residents returning to the village, and it is hoped that around 100 families will have returned by the end of the week. Lebanese army bulldozers are clearing rubble from the village’s streets. In the main square, lorries fitted with machine guns are parked near a partially destroyed mosque with a blue dome. About 100 metres away, an armoured personnel carrier blocks a road leading to the neighbouring village of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, which is completely occupied by Israeli troops. Ezzeldine pointed out that, so far, he would not describe the pilot zone as a success. Israeli troops are still stationed nearby and drones are constantly flying over the village. Only the presence of the Lebanese army reassures the residents.

A group of Israeli settlers has organised numerous incursions into Syrian territory, where they hope to establish Jewish settlements. The incidents, first reported last week by the Israeli public broadcaster, have been confirmed to the Associated Press by the Israeli army. These groups, comprising dozens of members, have attempted to cross the border from Israel into Syria several times in recent weeks, at intervals of just a few days. The most prominent of the groups responsible for the incursions into Syria is known as the ‘Pioneers of Bashan’, formed early last year by right-wing Israeli activists who chose to name themselves after the biblical region of Bashan, which encompasses parts of present-day Syria and neighbouring Jordan. Their target is an area of south-western Syria comprising the provinces of Quneitra, Daraa and Sweida. Part of this area, including the summit of Mount Hermon, constitutes a ‘buffer zone’ declared by Israel in December 2024, shortly after the ousting of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

“We are wholeheartedly in favour of recognising the Palestinian state, but first there must be a Palestinian state. We are working towards that. The two-day event yesterday and today is also intended to help achieve this objective. But as long as Hamas remains armed, what are we to recognise?” This was stated by Minister Antonio Tajani on the sidelines of the two-day event dedicated to the two-state solution. “We are working to ensure that there is not a fictitious, demagogic recognition, but that a genuine Palestinian state may emerge – one that can live in peace with Israel, that recognises Israel and its right to exist, a state that must also be recognised by Israel,” he added, admitting that “it is not an easy task, but we are also working through interfaith dialogue, because the day will conclude with a discussion between three leading authorities from the three monotheistic religions who will be able to help ease tensions – tensions that are often linked to or fuelled by religious motives.”

A group of 600 former senior Israeli security officials has issued a direct appeal to US President Donald Trump, urging him to use his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call for a decisive action against the escalating violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. According to the signatories, the escalation risks turning into a regional crisis with consequences not only for Israel’s security, but also for the United States’ strategic interests in the Middle East.

The letter was initiated by Commanders for Israel’s Security, an organisation comprising former officers of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), the Shin Bet, the Mossad, the police and the diplomatic corps. The document, signed by former Deputy Chief of Staff Matan Vilnai, was sent to the White House on the eve of the meeting between Trump and Netanyahu.

2025 was the deadliest year of the last 30 in terms of anti-Semitic attacks worldwide. This is the conclusion reached in a report published today by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an organisation combating anti-Semitism. The ADL notes that a total of 20 people were killed during the attacks in Sydney (Australia), Manchester (United Kingdom), Washington and Boulder (United States), “making 2025 the deadliest year for anti-Semitic violence against the Jewish diaspora” since the 1994 attack in Buenos Aires, in which 85 people died. Throughout the year, the New York-based organisation recorded more than 23,000 incidents of anti-Semitism in the seven countries (the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Argentina and Australia, or the J7) covered by the report. These countries are home to the largest Jewish communities outside Israel, accounting for over 90 per cent of the diaspora.

“The aim is to disarm Hamas on the one hand, and to disarm Hezbollah on the other. But here too Iran must play an important role in ensuring that its proxies do not become a source of tension, of war and of threats to peace in the Middle East.” This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on the sidelines of the second day of the Global Alliance for the Two-State Solution summit in Rome. The minister also reiterated that Iran must not be allowed to possess nuclear weapons.

The head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, reported on X that she had held a telephone conversation with the Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, during which she discussed the situation in the Gulf and Iran’s support for Russia.

“In the Gulf, a lull in the fighting may give mediators time to find a way back to diplomacy and prevent a return to full-scale war,” wrote Kallas.

US-Saudi Arabian air strikes in Iraq have killed at least 20 members of an alliance of former paramilitaries comprising pro-Iranian groups, according to the alliance itself. The Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a coalition of former paramilitary groups and factions now integrated into the Iraqi armed forces, have stated that at least 20 fighters “were martyred and a further 32 wounded, according to a preliminary toll” following the US-Saudi Arabian air strikes against its bases in seven provinces.

Four months of war in Iran have wiped out two years of pay rises in Italy. In January, the gap between prices and wages that had built up since 2021 had fallen to seven percentage points; by July, it had returned to the levels seen in May 2024: 9.7 points. Over five years, prices have risen by 22.7 per cent, whilst employees’ wages have risen by 13 per cent.

The analysis comes from the Findomestic Observatory, which compares price trends with employees’ wages (representing almost 80 per cent of the workforce).

China has held direct talks with the Yemeni Houthi movement to secure assurances regarding the safe passage of its oil tankers through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, in the southern part of the Red Sea. This is according to a report by the Reuters news agency, citing six sources familiar with the matter, including a senior Iranian official.

Sources have emphasised that China was among the first countries to make direct contact with the Houthis after the Yemeni group announced a naval blockade of Saudi ports.

According to Iranian and Western officials, Iran had considered attacking a Ukrainian port in response to a Ukrainian attack on an Iranian ship, but intensive diplomatic efforts have so far defused the situation. This is reported by the New York Times.

Ukraine, which has accused Iran and Russia of mutually supporting each other’s military operations, struck an Iranian merchant ship in the Caspian Sea on Saturday, killing a civilian sailor. The Iranian authorities have vowed retaliation.

Iran is expected to receive the first batch of up to 400 Chinese-made portable anti-aircraft missile launchers within a few weeks. This is according to the Reuters website, which cites three sources familiar with the deal. The purchase, worth between 60 and 70 million dollars, represents one of the largest known efforts by Tehran to strengthen its short-range air defences since the start of the war with the United States and Israel.

“I always hate to disappoint our critics who try to find cracks in our alliance. What they find is a granite wall.” This was stated by the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, during an interview with Fox News following his summit with US President Donald Trump at the White House. Netanyahu described the meeting as ‘one of the best’ he had ever had with the US President,

Regarding his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “we had an excellent meeting”. This was stated by US President Donald Trump in a post on Truth, where a photo of him alongside his ally was published.

“Obviously, many important topics were discussed,” he added.

“Tehran has rejected Oman’s proposal for the joint management of the Strait of Hormuz because it has no chance of success”. This was reported by Ynet News, citing an Iranian official who told Reuters that ‘a 50-50 joint control agreement with Oman would not serve Iran’s interests, although Tehran holds this neighbouring country in high regard. The United States and Saudi Arabia are trying to put pressure on Oman to push ahead with their unrealistic plans regarding the Strait of Hormuz. Southern routes through the strait could be dangerous for ships, and control by Muscat should be commensurate with its share of shipping traffic.”

The Jordanian army has stated that it intercepted and shot down five Iranian missiles, whilst hostilities between Tehran and Washington have resumed after a brief lull. “This morning air defences neutralised five missiles originating from Iran and heading towards the Kingdom’s territory,” said the Jordanian army spokesperson in a statement, adding that the missiles had been “intercepted and shot down”.

After a lull lasting just a few hours, the period between Tuesday 28 and Wednesday 29 July was yet another night of fighting in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf.

The US Central Command (Centcom) has confirmed an attack by Iran, stating that ‘forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched several ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempt to launch a surprise attack against US forces stationed in the Middle East’. All the Iranian missiles, Centcom stated in a post on X, “were successfully intercepted. US forces remain highly vigilant and maintain a high state of operational readiness”.

Further reading

A night of war: Iranian attacks in Jordan. The US and Saudi Arabia bomb Iraq. Three oil tankers hit

28 July 2026