Symbolic imageTehran says its Hormuz blockade holds until Washington concedes defeat, dismissing Trump's claim to the strait, while attacks on shipping multiply. Treasury Secretary Bessent has promised unprecedented economic measures next week, almost six months into the war.
Iran has been at war with the United States and Israel since roughly the start of 2026, in a campaign that Trump had publicly cast as brief and that has instead continued for more than four months. Early in the war Iran's supreme leader was killed; he had renounced nuclear weapons, and that renunciation shaped how Washington judged Iranian intentions. He was succeeded by his son, whom US spy agencies now assess to be more open to building a weapon, according to the New York Times. Reporting on both the war's possible widening and the intelligence picture rests on that paper's accounts of internal US deliberations, which the administration has not confirmed publicly. What is at issue is intent as read by intelligence agencies, not a verified Iranian weapons programme.
Washington is preparing new economic measures to force Tehran to capitulate after almost six months of war. Iran says its ports and oil output are holding up.
South China Morning PostThe NationalThe NationalTehran Times
Iran has rejected Trump's threat to declare the Strait of Hormuz US territory, saying its blockade holds until Washington concedes defeat. Attacks on shipping are multiplying.
Crude closed Friday with a weekly gain of about 6 percent, with the Strait of Hormuz shut since February. Economists warn Iran's economy is nearing collapse.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday he would soon declare the Strait of Hormuz a territory of the United States. Tehran rejected the claim.
Washington will unveil measures next week amounting to economic isolation 'like the world has never seen' against Iran, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says. Crude held its decline as a Hormuz deal stayed elusive.
The UAE accuses Iran of attacking two ADNOC ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday evening. Tehran says no ship may pass without its permission.
Le MondeFAZSouth China Morning PostJerusalem PostThe American Conservative
Trump said on Wednesday the United States has "total control" of the closed Strait of Hormuz. Tehran denied the same day that talks on extending the ceasefire are under way.
US officials deemed an Iranian threat against President Donald Trump credible during his visit to Turkey last month and flew him out aboard a military jet after he had boarded another aircraft, Daily Sabah reported on Tuesday. Trump said he slipped away from Air Force One because of the threat, and the plane swap has triggered questions and confusion, according to The Hindu.
Iran plans to join the BRICS development bank while wartime layoffs mount. Oil rose again on Wednesday, according to the Wall Street Journal.
A US helicopter fired on a Panama-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday to enforce Washington's blockade of Iranian ports. Trump claimed full control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Crude held its gains on Tuesday, a day after prices surged as hopes of reopening the Strait of Hormuz faded again. Stock markets in New York and Mumbai lost ground.
Donald Trump wants Iran to pay compensation for people killed over five decades. Tehran keeps the Strait of Hormuz shut until its terms are met.
Crude extended its gains on Monday and equities slipped after the weekend brought no breakthrough on the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has tempered hopes of a swift reopening.
Iran's supreme leader has put two Revolutionary Guard veterans into top security posts while the Strait of Hormuz stays shut. Washington is betting on pressure, not new strikes.
The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve has fallen to 304.81 million barrels, its lowest since March 1983, leaving about 43 days of cover on Energy Department and Bank of America figures.
Tehran says a deal with Oman on the Strait of Hormuz is close but will not itself reopen the waterway. The UAE blames an Iranian missile for Saturday's strike on an Adnoc tanker.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian pushed back on Friday against criticism of Tehran's June memorandum with Washington and against claims that he should resign, Daily Sabah reported. The New York Times reports that Trump's promises to protesters in Iran have fallen by the wayside as the war drags on, while Breitbart cites sources describing concern among senior officials over the health of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
Key US stockpiles of long-range offensive missiles, including ATACMS and PrSM, have run extremely low during the war against Iran, TASS reported citing television coverage, while Trump rejected the reports and vowed to jail those suspected of leaking them. The Pentagon removed the general who coordinated military aid to Ukraine without giving reasons, and Trump answered Volodymyr Zelensky's appeals for more Patriot interceptors by saying, "We want missiles, too."
The conflict may have slowed but not stopped Iran's nuclear programme, officials and experts told the New York Times in an assessment of the country's three key nuclear sites. The judgement bears directly on the stated aim of the US campaign against Iran.
Oil futures moved lower on expectations of a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the Wall Street Journal reported, while The National said prices stayed volatile as Houthi attacks renewed fears of a supply crunch. Comex gold ended the week 7.20% higher at $4,340.70, and Handelsblatt reports that the war with Iran is also cutting oil demand with long-term consequences.
Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Dan Caine has privately told other senior advisers to President Donald Trump that airstrikes alone will not achieve Washington's goals against Iran, CNN reported. The US military assesses that continued strikes could trigger Iranian retaliation against allies in the Gulf, while the Wall Street Journal reports that Tehran sees an opening to push American forces out of the region.
The US Senate passed the "Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026" on Friday by 86 votes to 11. It would let the president impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on major buyers of Russian oil and gas.
Iranian drone and missile attacks on US bases across West Asia have wounded close to 700 American service members, according to an Associated Press count. Traumatic brain injury is the most common wound.
A US official said on Friday that Washington expects an Iran-Oman agreement to reopen commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz within days. Whether Iran may charge passing ships remains unresolved.
Abu Dhabi's Adnoc said on Friday that missile and drone attacks have hit 15 of its vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, killing one crew member and wounding 20. Iranian crude exports from Kharg Island have been at a standstill under the renewed US blockade.
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a trilateral defence pact in Mecca on Friday. It declares an armed attack on any one of the three an attack on all.
Iraq's leadership told Iran-backed armed groups to give up their weapons by 30 September or face terrorism charges. Al Hadath reported that at a special meeting with Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi the same groups warned they intend to attack neighbouring countries within 48 hours.
Trump dismissed reports of depleted US munitions stocks as treasonous, writing on Truth Social on Wednesday that the country has massive amounts of munitions, and said he is happy with Defense Secretary Hegseth after reports of a dispute over stockpiles. He also said the army needs to replenish its weapons stockpiles, explaining the administration's request to Congress for $87.6 billion in additional funding, of which $21 billion is for munitions.
Iran has told Gulf states it would hit their energy infrastructure if the United States attacks Iranian territory again. A Saudi official said on Thursday that Riyadh expects coordinated attacks by Yemen's Houthis and Iraqi militias.
Brent swung back above $80 a barrel on Thursday and gold reached a seven-week high as traders priced in a possible reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. US stocks fell on doubts the deal would land.
US Central Command says the US military has rerouted 49 merchant ships since it resumed the blockade of Iran's seaports in mid-July. The running tally was posted on Thursday.
Iran said on Wednesday its talks with Oman on reopening the Strait of Hormuz had reached their final stages. Reports on Friday say the draft would bar US and Israeli vessels and charge hostile states for passage.
Thousands joined the funeral procession for a family of three killed in a US strike on Iran's Qeshm Island, the Tehran Times reported on Wednesday. Health Minister Mohammad-Reza Zafarqandi visited the southern county of Lamerd and called a joint US-Israeli strike on the local stadium a clear crime, while Tehran's chief attorney set out plans to document alleged war crimes and take both countries to court.
Water supply systems in twelve US states have been hit by cyberattacks, TASS reported on Wednesday, citing a television report. Sources quoted in that report consider Iran the main suspect; the claim is unconfirmed.
New reporting by Reuters, CBS and CNN sets out how far US missile and interceptor stocks have fallen after 159 days of the campaign against Iran. Talks between Iran and Oman on reopening the Strait of Hormuz are running in parallel.
Trump said at a Nevada rally on Wednesday that he would rather reach a deal with Iran than kill people. Mediators are redrafting the June memorandum on the Strait of Hormuz; CNN puts the chance of an agreement by Friday at 50 percent.
Iran announced on Wednesday that it had agreed with Oman on the coordinates of a new shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz. Bloomberg reports oil held a three-day drop on Thursday.
Federal authorities warned late last week that malicious cyber actors had targeted US municipal water facilities, the Guardian reported on Tuesday. Officials suspect Iran is behind the attacks, while President Trump has sought to put the blame on Minnesota and its governor Tim Walz.
Wall Street closed at record highs on Tuesday after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be close. Brent crude fell below $80 for the first time in nearly a month.
El País reported on Tuesday that Iran has stepped up attacks on Jordan, which hosts 4,000 US military personnel. The strikes have prompted rare public criticism in Jordan of its security alliance with Washington.
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Wednesday rejected reporting that key US munitions stocks have fallen to dangerously low levels. Reuters had reported a day earlier that the army used "virtually all" its long-range precision missiles in the five-month war with Iran.
US, Qatari and Omani officials say a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could come within days, with draft language circulating. The waterway was still shut to shipping on Tuesday, day 158 of the US-Iran war.
The FBI issued an urgent warning after hackers targeted municipal water systems in at least seven states over the past week, Breitbart reported on Monday. FAZ reported that the attacks have raised the question of whether the war in Iran has reached the United States, which President Donald Trump denies.
Crude prices dropped and stock markets rallied on Monday after US President Donald Trump cancelled planned strikes on Iran and said talks would resume. Tehran denied his account of a Monday start.
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that negotiations with Iran are under way and are Tehran's "last chance" before what he called a "decapitation". Iran's foreign ministry denies any contact with Washington and says it is talking only to Oman.
Cyberattacks on water supply systems in the United States have reached at least seven states and may be wider still, authorities and experts told Folha de S.Paulo. The paper reported on Monday that Iran is the prime suspect.
US President Donald Trump says he cancelled a planned wave of strikes on Iran and that talks with Tehran open on Monday afternoon. Iranian agencies deny any deal on the Strait of Hormuz was reached.
A New York Times analysis found that a US bomb, one of the largest in the American arsenal, struck a house in a heavily populated area on Iran's Qeshm island, killing three civilians. TASS, citing the Times, said the crater diameter and munition fragments pointed to a heavy MK-84 bomb weighing almost a tonne; Politika reported that the US military is investigating the civilian casualty allegations.
The Tehran Times said a joint US-Saudi air attack on Popular Mobilisation Forces positions in Iraq, launched in the early hours of Wednesday, was a strategic miscalculation rather than a display of strength. The National reported separately that Iraq's Al Zaidi faces an "impossible" task in disarming Iran-backed militias.
Iran's foreign ministry warned Gulf countries not to let the United States or Israel use their territory and said Tehran would invoke its right to legitimate self-defence, Politika reported. Senior Iranian political, military and security officials said any renewed US military action or continued interference in the Strait of Hormuz would trigger retaliation, according to the Tehran Times, and the New York Times reported that Iranians used a brief truce to devise plans with proxies to raise the war's costs for Trump.
US embassies in capitals across the Middle East warned on Saturday of a possible "unforeseen escalation" in the regional conflict and urged American citizens to be ready to leave, the South China Morning Post reported. Al Jazeera linked the alerts to President Trump's vow to hit Iran "hard", while Israeli officials told the Jerusalem Post that Israel had raised its alert level, estimating that Trump is close to ordering new strikes on Iran.
Kuwait's army says Iranian drones attacked a government facility in the country's north on Saturday and that air defences intercepted them. No casualties were reported.
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he had cancelled a planned major attack on Iran, saying Tehran and other Middle Eastern states had agreed the "outlines of a deal". He named two conditions: the complete opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran's nuclear threat.
The Pentagon requested $18.2 billion in Iran war funds to replenish its stocks of interceptors, Bloomberg reported. The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran's workhorse ballistic missile is becoming more dangerous for US troops in the region.
The New York Times reported that a Ukrainian strike on an Iranian vessel, after Iran sent military aid to Russia for its war against Ukraine, raised the question of whether that conflict and the US-Israeli war against Iran are converging. Politika, citing American media, reported that Russia is passing Iran intelligence on US forces that could help Iranian defence and more precise strikes.
Iran said it targeted American military positions in Kuwait with drones, and the Kuwaiti military said it had detected and destroyed multiple drones in its airspace since dawn; a US Defense Department official said there had been no major impact on its bases. China's foreign ministry confirmed that no Chinese national was harmed in an airstrike on a Chinese firm's building in Kuwait and called attacks on civilians and non-military targets unacceptable.
Trump said on Friday that his envoys will continue negotiations with Tehran while US strikes go on, and gave no date for ending the war. An Iranian official says Tehran has plans ready for any further American attack.
Iran said on Friday it struck two oil tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz under US military escort and declared the waterway closed. CENTCOM says the strait remains open and that Iran does not control it.
US and Israeli forces could open a bombing campaign against Iranian power plants and refineries as early as this weekend, CBS News reported on Friday. Both governments are also weighing a land blockade of Iran involving its neighbours.
Islamabad said on Thursday it is making its 'utmost' effort to bring Washington and Tehran back to talks under the Islamabad memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war. Pakistani officials say negotiations to normalise the situation are ongoing.
A war-powers resolution to stop military action against Iran failed by 49 votes to 50, with Republicans Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Rand Paul siding with Democrats. Barbara Leaf, a former US ambassador to the UAE, called the escalation 'fairly pointless', while Le Monde reads Trump's war rhetoric as a reflection of an American campaign stuck since February.
A drone strike set two vessels alight at Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta on Wednesday, the first such attack on Egyptian soil since the US-Iran war began in February. Cairo said an initial investigation pointed to an unidentified drone and that no group had claimed responsibility. The port sits near the Suez Canal, and the strike has focused attention on how exposed the waterway's shipping is as the war pulls in Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
US and Saudi aircraft bombed bases of Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces on Wednesday, killing at least 20 fighters by the PMF's own count and marking the first joint Saudi-American operation of the five-month war with Iran. Hours later US Central Command opened what it called a heavy wave of strikes on dozens of IRGC targets inside Iran, retaliating for Iranian missile fire on US bases in Jordan. Baghdad has since postponed a planned prime ministerial visit to Riyadh.
US Central Command says it struck dozens of Revolutionary Guard targets across Iran in a two-hour wave overnight into Thursday, the first American strikes in more than five days. Iran answered with missile attacks on US bases in Jordan and Kuwait, where one person was killed. Mediators in Islamabad say talks to end the five-month war are still running.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards attacked US military facilities in Jordan and Kuwait, while the Iranian army struck a base in Bahrain, in the early hours of Thursday, after US strikes on Iranian territory the night before. Jordan's army said it shot down five missiles without casualties, while Kuwait reported one worker killed. Tehran claims it destroyed three F-35 fighter jets and killed US personnel in Jordan; the US Central Command says no American aircraft were hit.
The United States on Wednesday sanctioned mainland Chinese and Hong Kong shipping companies that it accuses of operating vessels carrying Iranian oil to China, the South China Morning Post reports. The step extends Washington's economic pressure in the Iran war into China's energy supply chain.
In talks with Trump and Vance at the White House, Netanyahu proposed gradually ending direct US military aid to Israel over the next decade and showed maps supporting Israel's presence in Syria, according to Axios and a source cited by the Jerusalem Post. Netanyahu voiced scepticism about a deal with Tehran, said Israel will not withdraw its troops from the buffer zone in southern Syria, and a source told the Jerusalem Post that Iran is hiding centrifuges at "Pickaxe Mountain" and that its nuclear programme was not destroyed.
A fire at the Mediterranean port of Damietta set two gas processing and storage vessels alight, one of them a US-owned tanker. Egypt's petroleum ministry confirmed the blaze but named no cause, while maritime security firms and security sources described a drone strike. Washington threatened Iran with immediate retaliation, pulling Egyptian territory into the exchange of strikes for the first time.
The Pentagon has committed more than $120 billion in contracts for missile systems and submarines, including a $59 billion award to Lockheed Martin for Patriot missiles. The awards come as a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies puts remaining US Patriot and THAAD interceptors at fewer than 1,000, down from more than 2,700 before the war with Iran. The Pentagon says its stocks are sufficient and that procurement of new missiles continues.
Tehran has turned down Oman's proposal for joint regional management of the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian official told Reuters, ending hopes of a quick diplomatic exit from a war that has disrupted Gulf shipping for months. CENTCOM says it has redirected 20 commercial vessels, disabled two and boarded two since resuming its naval blockade of Iranian ports on 14 July, while Washington sanctioned what it calls Iran's Hormuz 'extortion network'. The Revolutionary Guards say they stopped three oil tankers in the strait and retain full control of the waterway.
US and Saudi fighter aircraft struck bases of Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces across several provinces on Wednesday, killing at least 20 fighters according to the PMF. Washington and Riyadh said the strikes answered drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities launched from Iraqi territory; the Iraqi groups deny involvement. Baghdad called the raids a violation of its sovereignty, cancelled a planned visit to Saudi Arabia and convened its National Security Council.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard fired ballistic missiles at US positions in Jordan on Wednesday, the 152nd day of the war, ending a short pause in hostilities. Jordan's military said it shot down five missiles and reported no casualties or damage. Hours later the Pentagon said it had completed a heavy series of strikes on dozens of IRGC targets inside Iran, while US and Saudi aircraft also hit Iran-aligned militia sites in Iraq.
Five months after the United States and Israel began striking Iran, the Financial Times reports that Iran's missile force remains operational and is still hitting targets across the Gulf region. At the same time, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff has told President Trump that American munitions stocks make further escalation questionable. President Pezeshkian toured ports, railways and border terminals that US airstrikes damaged, while US public support for the war stays below 40 percent.
US President Donald Trump received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday, 28 July, in a meeting closed to reporters that both governments called positive and productive. Iran dominated the talks, and both sides said they reaffirmed that Tehran must not obtain a nuclear weapon. Hours earlier, Israel's defence minister said Washington is not approving Israeli strikes on Iranian energy facilities.
Oman has put a Gulf-backed proposal to Tehran to manage and reopen the Strait of Hormuz jointly, modelled on the Strait of Malacca with voluntary fees for passing ships. Iran's deputy foreign minister rejected an equal split of the transit routes, demanded one lane entirely under Iranian control plus part of the second, and said the waterway stays closed unless Muscat accepts. US Central Command said it has redirected 18 commercial vessels since resuming its naval blockade of Iran on 14 July.
The exchange of strikes between the United States and Iran has been suspended since 24 July, and both sides confirm that messages are being passed, mostly through Oman and Pakistan. Iran's deputy foreign minister says Washington asked for talks first and promised to stop attacking; Trump calls the contacts good but says he will hit the Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site if there is no deal.
Iran fired ballistic missiles at a US military base in Jordan on Tuesday, breaking a pause of several days in the exchange with Washington; CENTCOM says its forces intercepted them. A day later US and Saudi fighter aircraft struck Iran-aligned logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq, after Saudi air defences shot down drones aimed at oil facilities. The Iraqi Popular Mobilisation Forces say eight of their members were killed.
A Wall Street Journal investigation addresses what it calls Washington's very sensitive secret: how many US missiles are left. The question bears on how long the United States can sustain its military commitments.
The Pentagon designated four service members killed during the Iran ceasefire period as "Overseas Operations Casualties", listing them separately from 14 additional Epic Fury casualties recorded since 28 February, the Jerusalem Post reported. According to the New York Times, cited by TASS, more than 600 US service members have been injured since the operation began in February, and the Pentagon started publishing casualty statistics on a dedicated webpage on 7 July.
Israel's prime minister flew to Washington on Monday for a White House meeting with Donald Trump on Tuesday, his first since the war against Iran began on 28 February. Israeli broadcaster Channel 13 reported that he told his cabinet the United States wants Israeli troops withdrawn from Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, and that he intends to refuse. Trump is receiving Volodymyr Zelensky separately the same day, casting himself as a mediator in both wars.
The pause in US and Iranian attacks held for a third day on Monday while mediators led by Qatar and Pakistan worked to restart ceasefire negotiations. President Donald Trump described the contacts as "very deep talks" but warned he would return to "very strong military action" if they fail quickly. Tehran denied it is negotiating directly with Washington and said the United States will not decide the timing of war or peace for Iran.
The Pentagon updated its official casualty database over the weekend, reporting more than 600 casualties from the war with Iran, days after it had reduced its record of troops killed and wounded, according to The Guardian; the South China Morning Post reports that four troops killed in the recent fighting are no longer listed in the Iran war death toll. The changes have renewed disputes, noted by Politika and Handelsblatt, over whether the public has had a complete picture of US losses, while Iran published what Tehran Times calls its most comprehensive account so far of damage inflicted on US
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to press President Donald Trump to maintain vigilance over Iran's nuclear ambitions, Bloomberg reports. The appeal is expected during Netanyahu's upcoming visit to the White House.
Iran's supreme leader tied a peace agreement with Washington to what Al Jazeera reported as the absolute and unconditional termination of Israel's attacks on Lebanon. Tehran Times reported that Mojtaba Khamenei called full preservation of Lebanon's territorial integrity a strategic policy, and the Jerusalem Post reported statements attributed to him praising Hezbollah and calling for continued resistance against the United States and Israel.
Iran's military warned that it would expand the Middle East war if Washington resumed attacks on the Islamic Republic, according to The National and Daily Sabah, with the threat issued ahead of a planned appearance by Israel's prime minister. President Masoud Pezeshkian said US air strikes on Iranian civilian infrastructure violate international law and amount to war crimes, and called for international legal action.
American intelligence has concluded that Mojtaba Khamenei, who became Iran's supreme leader after his father was killed in the opening strikes of the current war, is far more inclined than his predecessor to pursue a nuclear weapon. The assessment, first reported by the New York Times and drawn largely from intelligence gathered before the war, comes as Washington focuses on the fortified Pickaxe Mountain site near Natanz. US officials say they have seen no evidence that Iran has resumed enrichment or weaponization since the fighting began.
For the first time since 13 July, US Central Command reported no new airstrikes on Iran, and Tehran also appeared to hold fire as the war reached its 148th day. The pause rests on no agreed framework: the New York Times reports that nearly all 14 points of the US-Iran ceasefire agreement have been violated. Along the Red Sea, the parallel conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis intensified, with attacks reported on two Saudi oil sites.
According to the New York Times, President Trump met his most senior advisers on 24 July 2026 to consider a major escalation of the US-Israeli war against Iran, which has now run for nearly five months. In parallel, US intelligence agencies assess that Iran's new supreme leader, the son of the leader killed early in the war, is more open to pursuing a nuclear weapon than his father, who had renounced such weapons. The reporting available for this event comes from a single US outlet; there are no Iranian or Israeli statements in the material.