War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Iran has pledged to launch retaliatory strikes on civilian infrastructure in the Middle East — including bridges and energy sites — linked to the United States if it strikes Iranian bridges or power plants, Al Jazeera reports.

“Iran has an iron will in exercising sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and will never allow [it] to become a threat to Iran again,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency reports, citing an unnamed military source as saying.

US President Donald Trump tells reporters that Iran is “going to pay a big price”, as he flies to a ceremony for American troops killed in fighting with Tehran.

“Iran can never have a nuclear weapon, they won’t have a nuclear weapon,” says Trump. “So we’re going to honour them — one of the hardest things to do. For me it’s one of the hardest things to do as a president.”

Oil prices have surpassed $95 per barrel as tensions intensified in the Middle East, Reuters reports.

Brent crude prices were last up around 3 per cent and touched their highest in six weeks on concerns about supply disruptions.

That came after four oil tankers carrying Saudi crude to Asia reversed course in the Red Sea following threats of attack from Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, dampening hopes that the end to the recent spike in tensions could be imminent.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed, while the S&P 500 fell 0.1pc and the Nasdaq Composite dropped about 0.4pc.

US President Donald Trump has reiterated that the Iran war is popular with the American public during a press talk with reporters.

“Americans aren’t against the war,” Trump says, citing a poll. “They don’t want high gasoline prices, but they’re not against the war.”

He has not specified which poll he is citing.

Italy’s foreign minister has told parliament that a new round of US-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon will take place in Italy on August 4, Al Jazeera reports.

Antonio Tajani’s announcement comes after talks between the two countries were held in Rome last week.

US President Donald Trump has threatened that for every ship struck by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, Washington wil destroy one Iranian bridge or power plant.

“From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by missile, rocket, drone or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy one bridge or power plant, including those located next to, or in, the capital city of Tehran,” he writes on Truth Social.

Sudan has expressed support for Saudi Arabia after Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced that a maritime blockade would be imposed on the kingdom’s ports, Anadolu reports.

In a statement, the Sudanese foreign ministry says it is “deeply concerned” by the Houthi announcement, warning that it endangers navigation in the Red Sea and the security and economic interests of countries bordering the waterway.

The ministry adds that the threat could also undermine stability in the Gulf and Red Sea regions and urges the Houthis to refrain from targeting Saudi ports or others along the Red Sea.

Sudan has also voiced full support for Saudi Arabia’s right to take all necessary measures to protect its ports and safeguard its national security.

Shipping monitor MarineTraffic’s data shows that only nine vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours, compared to 29 crossings in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea

“Over 20 to 21 July, Hormuz recorded 22 crossings, with 16 using the Iranian Unilateral Scheme, while Bab el Mandeb handled 73 crossings,” the monitor adds.

“Vessel behaviour is also shifting, with four verified U-turns near the Gulf of Aden following heightened security threats. Combined with 61 confirmed maritime incidents reported by the IMO, the data suggests that geopolitical risk is increasingly influencing routing decisions, even as commercial traffic continues.”

Pakistan has warned against “any hostile act” on its vessels or maritime interests, stating that it will be regarded as a “grave threat” to national security.

“Consistent with the Charter of the United Nations and international law, Pakistan reserves its right to take all necessary measures, including lawful use of force, in the exercise of self-defence to protect its maritime assets and national interests,” the Foreign Office has said in a statement.

Saudi Arabia’s civil defence agency issued a brief warning calling for residents of the eastern city of Dammam to take shelter, only to lift the order minutes later, according to AFP.

“An alert has been issued by the National Platform for Early Warning in Emergency Situations in the city of Dammam to warn of danger,” the agency said in a statement posted online.

The warning was called off just moments later, and came as air raid sirens were activated in nearby Bahrain.

Bahrain says it intercepted Iranian air attacks today, according to a statement from the military.

“Iran continues its systematic hostile approach through its criminal attacks targeting civilians in the Kingdom of Bahrain,” the statement, posted on X, reads.

“The General Command explains that, with firm resolve and a high state of combat readiness, the Bahrain Defence Force’s air defence systems successfully confronted, intercepted, and destroyed a number of treacherous Iranian aerial attacks today,” it adds

Bahrain’s military states that all of its branches and units are at the highest level of readiness and urges everyone to exercise caution and avoid approaching debris from intercepted Iranian projectiles.

The Iranian news agency Tasnim has reported a US missile strike on the island of Larak in the Strait of Hormuz, saying residents heard a loud explosion there, according to AFP.

“At 2:48 pm, the island of Larak was targeted by an American missile,” Tasnim says. “The competent authorities are currently carrying out an investigation to determine the scale of the attack, the exact point of impact and the extent of the potential damage.”

Air raid sirens have been activated in Bahrain and citizens have been urged to seek shelter, according to a social media post by the interior ministry.

Israel Airports Authority Director General Sharon Kedmi has warned against US refuelling aircraft landing at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, as their arrival will lead to flight cancellations and delays, Iran’s state IRNA news agency reports.

“We are doing everything to avoid cancelling flights,” Kedmi is quoted as saying, adding that the airport has reached its maximum operational capacity and cannot accommodate one more refuelling plane. “There are American refuelers here and in other places. We are in contact with the Air Force, and everyone is doing their job.”

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei says that US attacks on the country’s nuclear facilities not only violate the UN Charter and international law, but also “reveal the United States’ deep-rooted enmity toward Iran’s scientific progress and technological development”.

Noting that Iran’s nuclear activities have been fully declared to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Baqaei adds that Washington’s obsessive focus on the facility at Kolang Kouh “is nothing more than a fabricated pretext for aggression, destruction, and sabotage”, adding that there is no activity taking place there.

“By the way, where is the Director General of the IAEA, who is also a candidate for UN Secretary-General?” he asks in a post on X.

“The Iranian people stand resolute and united, ready to confront with full strength any act of US hostility or violation of their country’s sovereignty and national security,” he adds.

Ships with links to Israel, the United States or Saudi Arabia are at a higher risk of being attacked by Yemen’s Houthi militia and are advised to avoid voyages through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the European Union’s naval force (EUNAVFOR) Aspides says.

“EUNAVFOR Aspides recommends that merchant vessels linked to Israeli, US or Saudi interests avoid transiting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden until the threat level decreases, says an advisory from the force to the shipping industry, which has been seen by Reuters.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claims it struck US bases in Jordan, which resulted in “multiple casualties”.

“The IRGC Aerospace Force launched the 25th wave of Operation Nasr 2 as a direct counter to hostile provocations,” a statement carried by state news agency IRNA reads.

“In its first phase, a combined missile-and-drone assault on the Malik Faisal and Prince Hassan bases, an F-15 assembly hangar was successfully hit. In a separate strike on a drone preparation facility, eight factory-fresh MQ9 drones, still unopened in their original crates, were obliterated prior to deployment, while two additional units parked nearby suffered heavy damage,” it adds.

The IRGC claims an attack on a helicopter storage hangar caused major destruction to two large American helicopters aircraft, while a strike on a barracks “resulted in multiple casualties among enemy personnel”.

Speaking at the Asean meeting in the Philippines, Marco Rubio says Iran’s economy and military have been battered during the war on Iran, according to Al Jazeera.

When a reporter asked him about the rising number of US casualties during the heightened fighting, Rubio said, “All I would say is that, you know, any time you’re in a combat zone there’s danger associated with it.”

On Tehran’s ability to strike, he said, “I mean, at the end, this actually proves the point that this is what Iran has been investing its money in for the last 20 years.”

Oil prices have risen to a near six-week high, with Brent crude surpassing $95 a barrel, Reuters reports, on mounting concerns about disruptions to Middle Eastern supply routes because of escalating hostilities between the US and Iran and threats to shipping by the Houthis in Yemen.

Brent crude futures were up $3.82, or 4.2 per cent, at $94.83 a barrel at 09:38 GMT (2:38pm PKT) after hitting a session high of $95.24.

US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed $3.65, or 4.33pc, to $87.99.

Both benchmarks touched their highest levels since June 11.

Rubio says the US is in contact with Saudi officials over the threat by Yemen’s Houthis to attack commercial vessels in the Bab al-Mandeb waterway in the Red Sea, according to Al Jazeera.

“We’ve been engaged with the Saudis a number of times over the last week in regards to that threat. It’s not a new threat, but it’s one that’s manifested itself in the past,” he told reporters.

“At the gist of that issue is the fact Iran is in the middle of it. Talking about the troublemaker in the region, it’s Iran.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that the US would “love to reach a diplomatic settlement” with Iran.

“We’d love to reach an agreement if it were possible with Iran … where they say, ‘We will no longer sponsor terrorism, and we will not pursue a nuclear weapon or the things you need for a nuclear weapon,” he told reporters in Manila.

Addressing the media in Manila, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that “By and large, we think that a nuclear-armed Iran is an unacceptable thing. It can’t happen.”

He added that if it were allowed to happen, “within two years”, Iran could threaten to overwhelm the US with “tens of thousands” of drones and missiles that “they were on pace to build — they can’t do that now”.

He also said that the US will not accept Iran’s attempts to “control” global shipping.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday will attend a ceremony for four US service members killed in Iranian attacks in the Middle East, who will return to American soil in flag-draped caskets, Reuters reports.

The US president will travel to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for the ceremony, known as a “dignified transfer” of the bodies.

The war has cost US taxpayers at least $37.5 billion so far, has led to the deaths of 18 US service members and injured more than 450 troops. It has killed thousands of Iranians.