Latest war news. US: ‘A new series of attacks has been launched against Iran’. Houthis open a new front

Loud explosions were heard in the area around Sirik, but the authorities have not yet been able to pinpoint their exact source. Local reports from earlier in the day indicated that the sounds were coming from offshore. This is according to the Iranian news agency IRNA.

Three people have been killed and several injured in an Israeli air raid on the Jabalia refugee camp in the north of the Gaza Strip, according to Al Jazeera. Earlier, Wafa had reported three further casualties in Khan Yunis and one in Gaza City. The IDF had announced that it had killed “two Islamic Jihad terrorists” in two separate raids in the Strip.

“In accordance with directives from the political leadership, the ‘Safe Zone’ pilot programme began today in southern Lebanon, in collaboration with US Centcom forces and the Lebanese Armed Forces”. This was announced in a statement by the IDF spokesperson, who added that “as part of the pilot programme, teams from the IDF, the US Armed Forces and the Lebanese Armed Forces are coordinating and planning the ongoing implementation of the agreement”. “The IDF will respond firmly to any breach of the agreement,” the statement added.

Mohammad Reza Sabouri, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Rome, held talks today in Tehran with Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic. This was reported in a statement posted on X by the embassy. “During the meeting, the latest developments in bilateral relations between Iran and Italia, regional and international developments, and the main issues on the agenda were discussed,” the statement reads. On this occasion, Araghchi “stressed the importance of making the most of diplomatic capabilities to safeguard national interests, continue active consultations and responsibly address bilateral and multilateral issues with Italia”.

“If the electricity supply is cut off in the homes of our dear Iranian citizens, it is because we want to keep Iranian production running, prevent any workers from losing their jobs and ensure that the country’s production does not come to a standstill; we therefore ask you to accept our apologies.” These were the words of Mohammad Jafa Ghaem-Panah, Vice-President for Executive Affairs to the President of Iran, who today, on the instructions of Masoud Pezeshkian, travelled to the country’s southern provinces alongside the Minister for Energy. This was reported on the X account of Iran’s Government Information Council.
“We have lost 230 million cubic metres of gas as a result of the enemy attack,” added Ghaem-Panah. “It is best to start managing our consumption from now on and adjust the temperature in our homes.” “The capital is facing five difficult weeks in terms of electricity supply, and getting through this period requires the cooperation of citizens in managing their consumption,” explained the managing director of the Tehran Province electricity distribution company, as reported by Tasnim.

Air-raid sirens sounded shortly after 8 pm in the Kingdom of Jordan. This was reported by state television.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “will not be arrested, in any way, shape or form” in the United States. This was assured by US President Donald Trump in a post on the social media platform Truth, following statements by the Mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, who said he was considering the possibility of Netanyahu’s arrest, pursuant to the International Criminal Court’s warrant, should the Israeli Prime Minister travel to the city for the United Nations General Assembly. In his post, Trump defended Netanyahu, arguing that the Israeli head of government “is fighting against the Islamic Republic of Iran”, which the US president accused of having “killed 52,000 innocent protesters” and of having spent “the last 47 years killing American soldiers and others”. According to Trump, it is instead “those who have led Iran into this unprecedented spiral of death and destruction” who should be arrested, and he criticised previous US administrations for failing to tackle the threat posed by Tehran sooner.

A second ship has been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, this time off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. This has been reported by the UK’s UKMTO (United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations) centre. Previously, UKMTO had reported that a ship had caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz after being struck by a projectile near the coast of Oman; it added that the crew had abandoned the vessel, which was still adrift and ablaze several hours later. The route around Oman is the one that the US armed forces have encouraged ships to take in order to avoid Iranian surveillance.

“Every time Iran kills an American soldier, it will pay for that death many times over! I have passed this directive on to the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Daniel Caine, and all military leaders.” Donald Trump stated this on his social media platform Truth, indicating that Tehran will pay dearly.

Explosions were heard this evening in the southern provinces of Hormozgan and Fars in Iran, according to the semi-official Iranian news agency Mehr News.

The French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, has condemned an “extremely serious” act of intimidation against two officials at the French embassy in Iran and added that he had warned Tehran that there would be consequences. “On Sunday evening, two officials from the French embassy in Iran were subjected to an extremely serious act of intimidation by the Iranian security services, in flagrant violation of the diplomatic immunities they enjoy,” Barrot wrote in a lengthy post on X, explaining that the two were “detained without cause for several hours, interrogated and, in the case of one of them, mistreated” and then “finally managed to reach the embassy, where they are now safe whilst awaiting their return to France in the coming hours”. “This attack is all the more shocking given that these two officials are responsible for our programmes supporting civil society and, in particular, Iranian artists and scientists,” continued Barrot, adding that he had congratulated the two diplomats “on the courage they have shown in carrying out their mission, which places France at the forefront of support for the Iranian people, whom we will not abandon”.

“I expressed to them, as well as to our Ambassador, my full support and solidarity for the ordeal they have had to endure,” the French Foreign Minister added. “I made it clear to the Iranian Minister for Foreign Affairs that this extremely serious and unacceptable violation of our officials’ integrity cannot go unpunished,” Mr Barrot concluded.

Bahrain has stated that a number of Iranian drones targeted its air navigation systems, although air traffic remained unaffected. “Following a hostile act of aggression by Iran against the Kingdom of Bahrain, the civil air navigation systems... were targeted by hostile drones”, reads a statement from the country’s Civil Aviation Authority, which specifies that “air traffic operations remained unaffected”. This afternoon, air-raid sirens sounded once again in Bahrain, and AFP correspondents in the capital, Manama, reported hearing explosions. Earlier in the morning, the country’s army stated that it had “intercepted and destroyed numerous Iranian air attacks”, whilst the US embassy in Manama announced that it had “information suggesting that Iran may be seeking to strike unspecified locations in central Manama”. The Kuwaiti army also stated that it was responding to fresh waves of missiles and drones. “Kuwaiti air defences are currently countering hostile attacks involving missiles and drones,” read a statement from the armed forces, which attributed responsibility to Iran. An AFP journalist confirmed hearing explosions in Kuwait City, the capital. Both Kuwait and Bahrain host US military installations and have borne the brunt of Iranian attacks against their Gulf neighbours since hostilities resumed: Manama has accused Tehran of targeting civilians, whilst Kuwait City has reported Iranian attacks on water and electricity facilities, as well as oil infrastructure.

Iran’s Minister of the Interior, Eskandar Momeni, arrived in Islamabad today for two days of talks. In recent days, Pakistan has stepped up its diplomatic efforts to revive the provisional truce reached last month, which provided for the resolution of outstanding issues related to the war within 60 days. The truce collapsed after both sides resumed attacks on military installations and other infrastructure.

On Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that the United States is still willing to negotiate with Iran, but that “it must be a meaningful process”. “We will continue to respond. If a door opens to diplomacy, if those who want to do something constructive for Iran prevail and take control of that system, or take control of the negotiations, it will be a very positive development,” Rubio added. “Unfortunately, we are not at that point tonight,” he clarified.

Gadi Eisenkot, former Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defence Forces and former minister, is the candidate challenging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and, according to some polls reviewed by the Financial Times, could even overtake him in the polls.

Eisenkot’s new centrist party, Yashar (“Straight”), founded last year following his split with Benny Gantz and his resignation from the Knesset, has outperformed Netanyahu’s Likud in recent polls, establishing itself as a potential leading party in the next parliamentary term.

In the week leading up to Friday’s Iranian attack, which killed two US soldiers and left one serviceman missing in Jordan, Iran carried out three further attacks against US forces in the country: those attacks “injured dozens of US servicemen and damaged several helicopters”. This is reported by the New York Times, citing several US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity and emphasising that the Pentagon had not disclosed those previous attacks, nor the casualties and damage they caused. The incident highlights the tension between what the US Department of Defence describes as the need for operational security, and the government’s obligation to inform the public about the conduct of the war, the newspaper notes. Following those attacks, US Central Command stated that it was responding to Iranian attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, without ever mentioning the Iranian attacks on US bases in the region, including the one in Jordan. The department “is not obliged to disclose information about wounded service personnel, particularly when they return to duty quickly”, a US military official told the NYT, emphasising that disclosing information that could assist Iran could be counterproductive. Since the collapse of the truce between Tehran and Washington and nearly five months of war, the Pentagon has provided little information on US military strategy, the New York Times points out, noting that the last briefing on the war dates back to early May. Similarly, in recent months, the administration led by Donald Trump has not disclosed how the conflict has depleted US stocks of expensive and critical weapons, nor how Iran has maintained and rebuilt its missile capabilities. According to Central Command, over 400 US service personnel have been wounded since the start of hostilities: initially, the Pentagon regularly reported the total number of service personnel wounded and returned to duty since the start of the war, but in recent weeks it has stopped updating the overall figure.

The withdrawal of the Israel Defence Forces from the pilot zones in southern Lebanon will begin tomorrow. Journalist Barak Ravid writes this on his X account. “An Israeli official tells me that the withdrawal of the Israel Defence Forces from the pilot zones in southern Lebanon will begin on Tuesday” he writes, reposting a message he had posted two hours earlier, in which he had referred to the US State Department’s announcement that operations would begin today in the pilot zones of the villages of Froun, Srifa and Zawtar Al-Gharbiya, “in accordance with the Trilateral Agreement and under the auspices of the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon” and “a direct result of last week’s talks between Israel and Lebanon in Rome”.

More than 1,000 Palestinian children were forced to flee their homes due to the escalation of settler violence in the West Bank during the first six months of 2026, with serious consequences for their education, safety and psychological well-being. This is according to Save the Children, as stated by Ahmad Alhendawi, Save the Children’s regional director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe.

“The number of displaced children during this period represents around half the total number of children forced to leave their homes due to settler violence over the entire previous three-year period,” reads a statement. “Between January 2023 and December 2025, in fact, around 2,000 children were forced to flee as a result of the violence.”

“Kuwait’s air defences are currently under attack from missiles and drones, following Iran’s criminal aggression,” the Kuwaiti Army General Staff announced on X. “The General Staff wishes to clarify that the explosions heard are the result of hostile attacks being intercepted by air defence systems,” it added.

Oil prices are up slightly in New York, where they have risen by 0.08 per cent to $82.57 a barrel.

“Operations began today in the pilot areas of the villages of Froun, Srifa and Zawtar Al-Gharbiya in Lebanon, in accordance with the Trilateral Agreement and under the auspices of the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon.” This was announced by the US State Department spokesperson, Tommy Pigott, who explained that “this milestone is the direct result of last week’s talks between Israel and Lebanon in Rome”. The US State Department went on to explain that Israel has handed over to the government in Beirut part of the buffer zone occupied by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) in southern Lebanon, in accordance with the US-brokered agreement.

In a statement released today, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says that his country is engaged in a “total war” with the United States of America.

NAIROBI – The pro-Iranian Houthi rebels have once again threatened commercial shipping in the Red Sea, warning of new attacks against Israeli vessels travelling along the route. The warning comes alongside announcements from Iran, cited by local news agencies, regarding the possibility of ‘including’ the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb in their offensives: the 30-kilometre strait separating the coast of Djibouti from that of Yemen, which serves as the gateway to the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden.

In a statement issued yesterday morning (8 June 2026, Ed.), the Houthis declared a ‘complete and total’ ban on Israeli shipping in the Red Sea and announced that they would classify all ‘enemy’ movements in the area as ‘legitimate’ targets.

The risk is that, ultimately, international trade will have to contend not only with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic chokepoint for around a fifth of the world’s oil flows, but also with that of Bab el-Mandeb. Should this scenario come to pass, Europe – and therefore Italia as well – would find itself deprived of two strategic supply routes.

The Strait of Bab el-Mandeb is situated in a strategic geographical position between north-eastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It is one of the world’s most important commercial waterways (and an oil route), as it is the only passage for all vessels travelling between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal.

Mediators have proposed a 10-day truce to explore ways of reviving the interim agreement between Iran and the United States. This is according to Reuters, citing a high-level Iranian source, as reported by Sky News.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has convened a meeting of the inner security cabinet for this evening, in light of the escalation with Iran. This is according to Israeli media reports.

On 9 September last year, he survived an assassination attempt orchestrated by Israel against him in Doha, in which one of his sons was killed. And today Khalil al-Hayya has been chosen by Hamas as the new leader of its political bureau, winning the internal election in a run-off against the former political leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal. He thus becomes the successor to Yahya al-Sinwar, considered the mastermind behind the 7 October massacre. Since his killing in an Israeli raid on Gaza City, Hamas had been led by a steering committee chaired by Mohammed Darwish, a long-serving senior official. Deputy Chairman of Hamas’s Political Bureau until October 2024, al-Hayya served on Hamas’s Executive Committee and the Palestinian Legislative Council as a representative of Gaza City following Sinwar’s death. Al-Hayya also led indirect negotiations with Israel on a ceasefire and prisoner exchange, and emerged as one of the movement’s most influential figures following the killing of Sinwar and the former head of the Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh.

Hamas has announced the election of Khalil al-Hayya as the group’s new leader, succeeding Yahya Sinwar, who was killed in Gaza by the Israeli army in October 2024.

Two Palestinians, aged 26 and 52, were killed overnight by Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) fire during clashes that broke out in the village of Deir Jarir, near Ramallah, according to reports in the Palestinian media.

Several other residents were injured, according to the Times of Israel. The Palestinian Red Crescent reports that a man was seriously injured in the abdomen during an attack by settlers. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) say they sent troops to the Deir Jarir area following reports that Israeli civilians had entered the village to retrieve livestock belonging to them.

The Trump administration has released the names of the two soldiers who were killed in action last week during the conflict between the United States and Iran. The Department of Defence stated in a press release that First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, aged 25, from Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Private Isabella Gonzales, 19, from Carrollton, Texas, were killed in Jordan, where they were providing support for a US mission against IS. The US military has stated that the total number of casualties in the war with Iran stands at 17.

In the week leading up to Friday’s Iranian attack, which resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and the disappearance of another in Jordan, Iran carried out three further attacks against US forces in the country. According to reports from several US officials, these attacks injured dozens of US military personnel and damaged several helicopters, but the Pentagon has not disclosed details regarding the number of casualties or the extent of the damage caused. This is reported by the New York Times. A US military official stated that Centcom is not required to disclose information about wounded service personnel, particularly when they return to duty quickly. Another US military official questioned why the Pentagon should disclose information that could help Iran pinpoint its ballistic missiles and drone attacks in Jordan and at other bases in the Middle East, where thousands of American troops are stationed. Central Command has also stopped announcing how many sites in Iran are struck each day for the same reason, US officials say. (

If an agreement is reached and an international mission is established in the Strait of Hormuz, “the Italian Navy will be able to take part under the auspices of the European Union or the United Nations”. This was stated by the Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo. “Italia is an exporting nation and the security of maritime routes such as the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz is vital,” added the Foreign Minister.

Iran has called on the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), to condemn the US attacks which, according to Tehran, struck a nuclear power station under construction in Darkhovin, in the south-west of the country, yesterday.

“Iran (...) expects the Board of Governors and the Director General of the IAEA (Rafael Grossi, ed.), who regularly take a stance on the Iranian nuclear issue, to clearly state their position on this matter and condemn the crime committed by the United States”, said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei during a press conference in Tehran attended by Agence France-Presse.

The attacks launched by the United States in Iran “are reminiscent of the behaviour of terrorist groups such as ISIS”. This was stated by the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, at a press conference. “Targeting a watchtower in Chabahar and then boasting about this action, broadcasting footage of it, and openly threatening to blow up Iranian bridges and power stations, is absolutely incompatible with any of the standards of international law, nor with any of the standards of what they themselves define as civilian human beings”, he added. This was reported by the IRNA news agency.

“Tehran will not allow the Strait of Hormuz to be misused again by its enemies to threaten Iran’s national security and interests,” said Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry. “We are determined to take the necessary measures to protect Iran’s sovereignty,” he added.

Iran has stated that diplomatic efforts with the United States, through mediators, are continuing, despite US military air strikes on Iranian territory. “We have been informed by the mediators; we have received messages – without going into detail – but the main point is that the diplomatic process has been active in recent days and that certain ideas have been conveyed to us by some of the mediators,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai at a press conference in Tehran. Pakistan, Qatar and Oman are involved in the mediation efforts between Tehran and Washington.

An Iranian source had told the TASS news agency that Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s first international contact could be a telephone conversation or a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “No concrete arrangements have yet been made regarding this phone call. Therefore, we cannot say anything specific on the matter. But, of course, President Putin is open to such contacts,” commented Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

A Sunni religious leader and Friday prayer leader in Mirjaveh, in the province of Sistan-Baluchestan, Mawlavi Mohammadanvar Rigi, was shot dead in the early hours of today by unidentified assailants, according to the Tasnim news agency. According to reports, the attackers opened fire on Rigi inside the town’s Jameh Mosque and then managed to escape.

The crew of the ship on fire off the coast of Oman have been evacuated. The fire on board has not been extinguished and the vessel is adrift, according to the UK Maritime Security Agency (UKMTO). The ship was struck by an unidentified projectile approximately eight nautical miles north-west of Kumzar, in Oman.

According to an Iranian provincial official, a US attack has struck an area near the Silvaneh district, on the outskirts of Urmia, in north-western Iran. Several people have been injured. The director-general of crisis management in West Azerbaijan Province stated that the attack struck a town near Silvaneh in the early hours of today. This was reported by Iran International.

An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale struck the area near Kuzaran, an Iranian town in the western province of Kermanshah.

A spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Authority told the Mehr news agency that two earthquakes had struck the region within five minutes of one another.

Early this morning, a ship caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Oman. This was reported by the British Armed Forces. It is unclear what caused the fire along the route that the US military has advised ships to follow to avoid Iranian surveillance. The Pasdaran subsequently claimed to have targeted oil tankers in the Strait.

At least one person was killed and several others were injured during US attacks carried out overnight in north-western Iran, according to the IRNA news agency.

“One person was killed and several others were injured during a terrorist and aggressive attack by the United States in an area in the south-west of Tabriz,” said Majid Farshi, head of crisis management in East Azerbaijan Province, as quoted by the IRNA news agency.

The south-western port city of Bushehr, home to Iran’s only remaining operational civilian nuclear power station, was hit this morning by further US air strikes, according to state media reports. “A few minutes ago, several areas of the city of Bushehr were hit by projectiles fired by the American enemy,” said the city’s governor, Mohammad Mozaffari, as quoted by the official IRNA news agency.

Gas prices are surging once again amid the escalating tensions between the United States and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. In Amsterdam, TTF contracts have risen by 4.6 per cent to 60 euros per megawatt-hour, returning to the levels seen last March.

Explosions were heard in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, a country that has been targeted in recent days by Iran’s attacks on its US-allied neighbours.

Bahrain has sounded its air-raid sirens for the third time in eight hours due to the threat of possible Iranian attacks. The latest post from the Ministry of the Interior on X has once again urged people to head to the nearest safe place. The alarm was triggered as Iran continued to launch retaliatory strikes in the region following another series of US attacks.

The Kuwaiti armed forces have reported that they have “repelled hostile drone attacks” originating from Iran. “The Army General Staff notes that the explosions heard were the result of hostile attacks being intercepted by air defence systems,” the Kuwaiti Army stated in a post on its official X account. Earlier, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards had claimed to have struck US military targets in Kuwait.

US President Donald Trump stated on Sunday evening that the United States is striking Iran “very hard” in retaliation for the American soldiers killed in the Middle East in recent days.

“We’ve dealt them another heavy blow tonight, and we did so in honour of what I would say are three great patriots,” Trump told reporters on his return to Washington following the Football World Cup final, which Spain won against Argentina.

“The US Central Command (Centcom) has successfully carried out its ninth consecutive night of strikes against Iran.” The US Central Command posted this on X, stating that it had “targeted Iranian military command centres, air defence and coastal surveillance posts, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch bases, and communications networks, with the aim of further reducing Iran’s ability to attack commercial vessels and civilian seafarers transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The US armed forces – the statement reads – are holding Iran responsible for these actions, on the orders of the Commander-in-Chief. Centcom forces remain highly vigilant, focused, lethal and ready for action”.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have stated that two oil tankers were blown up by mines whilst attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz overnight, and have warned that the route will not be safe for oil and gas shipments as long as US actions continue. Iran’s claim that two oil tankers were destroyed by mines in the Strait of Hormuz marks a significant escalation, moving from attacks and a naval blockade to direct acts of sabotage against vessels attempting to transit the strait. These new developments risk being interpreted by the oil markets as confirmation that safe passage through the strait can no longer be taken for granted.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated that Iran is using the Strait of Hormuz as a lever in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, adding that other countries must step up pressure to protect global shipping. “It is clear that Iran, or at least a section of the Iranian population, wants to control the strait and use it as leverage against the rest of the world,” Rubio told reporters before travelling to the Philippines for a meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. “The United States will do, and will continue to do, whatever is necessary to protect global maritime transport, but other countries must start stepping up and providing – whether in terms of resources or financial support – to help shoulder this burden,” he added.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards claim to have struck US military targets in Kuwait, including an early-warning radar system that was “completely destroyed”. This was reported by the IRNA news agency. In a statement, the Pasdaran claim to have “completely destroyed a US early-warning radar system in a drone attack. In a separate attack, they struck a warehouse containing aircraft equipment and parts, as well as an MQ-9 drone hangar at Ali Al Salem Air Base, setting several drones alight”.

Further reading

Latest war news. Trump’s fury over soldiers killed: US raid on Qeshm. Mystery surrounding Khamenei: he is not in Iran

19 July 2026