Latest war news. Tehran suspends commitments to the US set out in the memorandum. Khamenei: Trump is unreliable

The Israeli Minister for Environmental Protection, Idit Silman, has reclassified crocodiles from wild animals to ‘wildlife bred in captivity’, a move that paves the way for the use of the reptiles for security purposes, including deterring prison breaks. The decision has been welcomed by the Minister for National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, who in December had proposed surrounding a prison for Palestinian detainees with crocodiles, along the lines of the Trump-style immigration detention centre ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ in Florida.

“Are you thinking of trying to escape? Think again,” Ben Gvir wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday, alongside an AI-generated image showing him with a crocodile on a lead.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has issued a written statement in which he asserts that “the Great Satan’s repeated violations of the memorandum of understanding signed between the presidents of Iran and the United States have once again demonstrated to everyone just how useless and worthless the US president’s signature is, and that bullying, hegemonic ambitions and barbarism are inseparable elements of American behaviour and doctrine”.

Iran’s air strikes on Kuwait have caused fires at two different sites in the country – a power station and a water supply facility – according to local authorities, who added that several rescue workers and one worker were injured.

At least 12 people have been killed in Iran over the past 24 hours as a result of US attacks, bringing the total death toll to 50 since the start of this latest phase of the war, according to the Iranian Ministry of Health. This is reported by CNN. Hossein Kermanpour, a spokesperson for the Iranian ministry, adds that at least 500 people have been injured in US attacks since 27 June, the date on which the fragile ceasefire in the region began to falter. The same source states that the victims over the past month include five women and two children.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke on the telephone with the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. According to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry, government officials from the two countries “coordinated their positions” on the situation in the Persian Gulf and emphasised “the importance of ceasing hostilities”.

The Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has condemned the Iranian attacks on civilian infrastructure in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait, describing them as “war crimes”. “Iran’s actions represent an extremely dangerous escalation, a serious violation of international law and the United Nations Charter, as well as war crimes… given the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure and facilities,” said Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi in a statement.

An Iranian security official has warned that, in the event of a US attack on infrastructure in the Islamic Republic, airports and ports in the United Arab Emirates would have to be evacuated immediately due to the risk of possible retaliation. Speaking to the Iranian news agency Fars, the official – described as a well-informed source within the armed forces – stated that “if the United States were to attack the country’s civilian infrastructure tonight”, in order to protect the lives of citizens from any Iranian counter-attacks, “the airports in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as well as the ports of Fujairah and Jebel Ali, would have to be evacuated immediately”.

- Iran has launched a ballistic missile at a US military base in Saudi Arabia. A senior US official told Axios as much. If the report is confirmed, this would be the first direct Iranian attack on Saudi territory in almost four months.

- The Mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, has stated that his administration is considering whether to arrest the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, should he travel to New York, as planned, for the United Nations General Assembly in September. “I believe Prime Minister Netanyahu should be tried in The Hague,” said Mamdani, referring to the seat of the International Court of Justice. “He is a war criminal indicted by the International Criminal Court,” he added.

The Iranian government has announced the suspension of its commitments under the memorandum of understanding with the United States, whilst tensions in the Middle East remain extremely high amid US attacks and the Islamic Republic’s response against US bases in the region. “The United States has violated and suspended all its commitments under the Islamabad memorandum,” said Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi. According to Tehran, it has decided to halt the implementation of the commitments set out in the agreement whilst the country is “committed to defending itself”.

The death toll from the US attacks on Iran has risen to 50, whilst the number of injured has exceeded 500, according to the Iranian Ministry of Health.

The previous toll, released by the ministry on 17 July, put the number of deaths at 38 and the number of injured at at least 400.

The spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hamid Reza Moghaddamfar, has stated that the consequences of the pressure exerted by the United States on Tehran through military, maritime and economic means would affect not only the United States, but also the energy sector and the economies of European countries. This was reported by the Iranian news agency Tasnim, which added that Moghaddamfar went on to describe the Strait of Hormuz and the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb as “two important and strategic chokepoints in regional and global balances”, stressing that they can influence the global balance of energy, trade and security.

Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, may make his first international contact via a telephone call or a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This was reported by TASS, citing an Iranian source. “Russia is a country close to us; His Excellency Vladimir Putin is a dear friend of the Islamic Republic. It is possible that the first phone call or meeting will be with President Putin,” the source told the Russian news agency. According to the same source, however, “due to the military situation and for security reasons”, Mojtaba Khamenei is not currently appearing in public. Mojtaba Khamenei became Iran’s Supreme Leader following the death of his father, Ali Khamenei, which occurred in the wake of missile strikes carried out by the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic.

Iraq has signed “a total of 48 agreements, memoranda of understanding, cooperation agreements and partnership declarations” with US companies, mainly in the oil sector, during Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s visit to the United States. This was announced by his office. Partnerships were specifically mentioned between the Iraqi Ministries of Energy and Oil and the companies ExxonMobil, KBR, GE Vernova, Shell and Halliburton. Iraq needs to revive its economy, which has been severely affected by the war in the Middle East and Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which the vast majority of its crude oil exports previously passed. The Prime Minister’s office has also confirmed the signing – previously announced by the United States – of an agreement aimed at restoring an oil pipeline between Iraq and Syria, thereby opening up a new strategic route for the transport of oil, amidst the resumption of hostilities between Tehran and Washington.

An oil facility in Kuwait has been hit by an Iranian attack. The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation announced this, explaining that “one of the oil sector’s vital sites has been the target of repeated and brutal Iranian attacks, which have resulted in numerous injuries and extensive material damage”. The Kuwaiti news agency Kuna reports that “medical assistance has been provided to the injured and the site has been evacuated, whilst emergency management following the attack is being coordinated with the relevant state authorities”.

Iran has attacked at least two Jordanian bases this week, resulting in several American service personnel being injured after their facility was struck. This was reported by several US officials to CBS News. At present, there are no reports of fatalities among American or Jordanian service personnel, and the severity of the injuries is unclear. Furthermore, The Hill adds, it is unclear when the clashes took place, given that neither the United States nor Jordan has reported any casualties and the Pentagon has not responded to requests for comment.

US forces are reported to have struck an area in Dashti County, Bushehr. This was stated by Ehsan Jahanian, deputy governor for political and social affairs in Bushehr, to the IRNA news agency. “The explosion caused by this attack did not result in any casualties,” he said, referring to another attack that took place in the town of Choghadak, also in the Bushehr area.

Recent US attacks in Hormozgan province, in southern Iran, have resulted in the deaths of “around seven or eight people”, all of whom were civilians. This was stated by Ahmad Moradi, a provincial representative, to the Iranian news agency Tasnim, as reported by Al Jazeera. The attacks reportedly took place over the last two nights; in one instance, a US strike targeted a bridge in the province, hitting two family cars and killing six people. The Tappeh Allah Akbar neighbourhood of Bandar Abbas was also hit, resulting in the death of a woman and the amputation of a limb of a one-year-old child. A driver responsible for refuelling petrol stations was killed in a fire.

A second power station and water desalination plant in Kuwait has been attacked by Iran, causing a fire and the shutdown of several generating units, following a similar attack on another facility which had also caused damage. This was announced by the Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy, which stated that the attack, carried out “as part of Iran’s heinous aggression”, caused “a fire in one of the plant’s components, making it necessary to implement preventive operational measures”.

Iran has launched a ballistic missile at a US military base in Saudi Arabia. A senior US official told Axios as much. If the report is confirmed, it would be the first direct Iranian attack on Saudi territory in almost four months.

The Pasdaran claim to have struck US military and technological targets in Bahrain, stopped four vessels attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and declared the strategic waterway “completely closed”, according to a report by IRNA. In a statement, the Pasdaran emphasise that “all countries hosting US bases in the region are complicit in these war crimes.”

The Director-General of the Hormozgan Province Water and Wastewater Organisation, Abdolhamid Hamzehpour, stated that the US attack on the pumps at the desalination plant in the coastal village of Bunji had completely cut off the supply of drinking water to 20 villages, serving a total population of around 10,000 people. Meanwhile, the Hormozgan Governorate has reported that, during the US attacks on infrastructure in four different areas of the province, a tunnel and three bridges located on various main roads were damaged.

“Countries hosting US military forces – which have made their territory available to criminals to attack Iran – should be prepared to face an appropriate response and to mobilise their own civil defence units to safeguard the lives of civilians.” This was stated by the Revolutionary Guards following the Iranian attacks against countries in the Gulf region that host US bases, as reported by Ynet.

Bahrain has stated that its defence forces have intercepted and destroyed several drones and missiles launched from Iran. “The General Command confirms that all its weapon systems and units are at the highest level of operational readiness and remain fully prepared to defend the Kingdom,” the defence forces said in a statement. “The deliberate use of missiles and drones to target civilians and private property constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law,” the statement of condemnation continued.

CENTCOM has announced that it launched a series of strikes against Iran today at 3 pm (9 pm in Italia), for the seventh consecutive night. “These attacks are intended to continue to degrade Iran’s military capabilities, on the orders of the Commander-in-Chief,” reads a post on the US Central Command’s X account.

The US State Department is urging increased vigilance across the Middle East, in light of the intensifying hostilities. In a statement shared on X, the department warned that “due to high tensions in the Middle East, the security situation remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation”, strongly advising citizens to review their travel plans and emphasising that “Americans should reconsider travel to and through the Middle East”.

Several US military personnel are reported to have been injured in the Iranian air strikes that hit the Muwaffaq Salti airbase and the King Faisal airbase in Jordan. This was reported by CBS, citing US officials and stating that no fatalities have been reported so far.

The US Central Command (Centcom) has announced that the US armed forces have completed their seventh consecutive night of strikes against Iran, targeting “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons depots and maritime capabilities”.

Israeli fighter jets carried out two further waves of air strikes against southern Lebanon at dawn today. This was reported by the Lebanese news agency NNA, which explained that the strikes targeted the Masha’ al-Mansouri area.

Kuwait Airways has informed passengers that take-off and landing operations at Kuwait International Airport have been temporarily suspended following the latest Iranian attacks. The airline had previously announced that most of its flights had been rescheduled as a result of the attacks.

The United States launched a simultaneous missile strike on electrical infrastructure and desalination plants located on the quay in the village of Bunji, near the town of Jask in the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan, at 4.44 am, the Tasnim news agency reported.

Kuwait’s air defences are engaged in repelling missile and drone attacks launched from Iran. This was stated by the General Staff of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces in a message posted on X. “Kuwaiti air defences are currently countering hostile missile and drone attacks following Iran’s criminal aggression,” the post reads. The General Staff also clarifies that “any sounds of explosions” heard by the public are the result of the air defence systems intercepting the attacks.

The Revolutionary Guards have stated that they attacked the US base at Arifjan in Kuwait today.

The Iranian army stated today in a press release that it had launched a drone attack this morning against a US base in Bahrain. “During the operation, the US jets’ parking area and hangar, the US military’s fuel depot at the Sheikh Isa base in southern Bahrain, as well as a number of bridges, were targeted,” added the statement, as reported by the Fars news agency. (ANSA).

Iranian media have reported explosions in the city of Khorramabad, in Lorestan province. According to reports, the explosions were caused by US missile strikes launched from Kuwait. This is according to Al Jazeera, which reports that, for the third time in the space of a few hours, emergency sirens are sounding across Bahrain. The authorities have urgently urged residents to take shelter immediately. Meanwhile, the Jordanian army claims to have shot down 10 Iranian missiles.

“US forces have concluded their seventh consecutive night of strikes against Iran”. This was announced by the US Central Command (Centcom) on its social media profile on X. Centcom stated that it had “targeted surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons depots and naval assets”. US forces deployed fighter aircraft, drones and warships, as well as other assets. Over 50,000 US military personnel are deployed across the Middle East, Centcom concluded, “and remain vigilant, lethal and ready for action”.

The report that two oil tankers caught fire whilst attempting to cross a minefield in the Strait of Hormuz “is false”. This was stated by Centcom on X, via the official account of the United States Central Command.

The Iranian deputy governor of Hormozgan province has stated that US air strikes on certain areas of the region have resulted in the deaths of three people, according to the Tasnim news agency, as reported by Al Jazeera. The official added that a further eight people were injured in the strikes.

The semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim reports that two oil tankers caught fire following explosions that occurred whilst they were attempting to cross a minefield in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz. According to Tasnim, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy is reported to have stated that the strait is “extremely dangerous and completely closed” due to US aggression. This is reported by Al Jazeera.

News on the war in the Middle East on 17 July