Kuwait reports another Iranian attack on a power and water plant<\/p>\n
Kuwait\u2019s ministry of electricity, water and renewable energy said a power and water distillation plant was attacked by Iran<\/a> for the second time in two days, causing a fire in some of its facilities.<\/p>\n In a statement posted to social media<\/a>, the ministry said the attack impacted a \u201clarge number of electricity generation units\u201d, triggering emergency plans to mitigate the effects and \u201cmaintain the stability of the electricity grid\u201d.<\/p>\n It added that firefighters were working to extinguish the fire while the extent of the damage is being assessed.<\/p>\n As my colleague Donna Ferguson notes in this story<\/a>, Kuwait on Saturday accused Iran of targeting civilian sites and vital infrastructure in the country, such as a power and water desalination plant.<\/p>\n Kuwait, which is extremely arid, relies on desalinated water for about 90% of its drinking water, so is extremely vulnerable to attacks from Iran.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.02 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n More than 50 people have been killed in US attacks since the beginning of July, Iran\u2019s Fars news agency has cited the country\u2019s health ministry as saying.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed it is \u201clooking into reports\u201d of an overnight attack on an under-construction nuclear plant in Darkhovin, in Iran\u2019s southwestern Khuzestan province (see this post<\/a> for more details).<\/p>\n \u201cThe facility is in the very early stages of construction and contained no nuclear material when last visited by the IAEA,\u201d the UN agency said in a statement.<\/p>\n The IAEA said the reported attack is \u201cnot believed to pose any radiological risk\u201d but stressed that the agency\u2019s director general, Rafael Grossi, urges for \u201cmilitary restraint in the vicinity of all nuclear-related sites\u201d.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Atomic Energy Organization said earlier today that the US attacked an under-construction nuclear power plant site Khuzestan province with multiple projectiles.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.49 EDT<\/p>\n Trump urges Republicans to add Iran to Russian sanctions bill<\/p>\n The US president, Donald Trump, has said the Republican party should add Iran<\/a> to the Russian sanctions bill, arguing that this is what Lindsey Graham, the late Republican senator and his close political ally, wanted.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what Lindsey wanted to do, and it was going to happen. IMPORTANT!!!\u201d he wrote on the Truth Social platform in a brief post.<\/p>\n The bill would allow Trump to place 100% tariffs on goods coming from the top five buyers of Russian oil \u200band natural gas.<\/p>\n The legislation is meant to cut revenues from the sale of \u200bRussia\u2019s energy for its war on Ukraine. Republicans and Democrats have both indicated that the bill could become law over the summer.<\/p>\n The White House had previously suggested the scope of the bill could be widened to include Iran and Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group Tehran has supported and funded for decades.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, the US reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil sales in response to attacks on commercial ships near the strait of Hormuz. This was after the US agreed to a 60-day sanctions waiver and promised to unfreeze Iran\u2019s assets under the now collapsed memorandum of understanding. The waiver was welcomed in Iran, where US sanctions have long crippled the economy.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Workers clean up wreckage around a damaged bridge, following US airstrikes carried out in the southern Hormozgan Province, Iran. A damaged bridge lies in a riverbed, following US airstrikes. Photograph: Getty ImagesOfficials inspect a heavily-damaged bridge which was hit by a US strike along the road connecting Roudan and Bandar Abbas in southern Iran on July 18, 2026. Photograph: Amir Hossein Khorgooei\/ISNA\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.45 EDT<\/p>\n Sirens have sounded in the Jordanian capital Amman on Sunday, an AFP correspondent said, as the United States and Iran<\/a> exchanged drone and missile attacks.<\/p>\n Jordan\u2019s state-run Al-Mamlaka channel also reported that \u201csirens have been activated in different parts of the kingdom\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.34 EDT<\/p>\n IDF says missiles launched from Iran toward Jordan and spillover into Israeli territory possible<\/p>\n The Israeli military said Sunday it had identified missiles launched from Iran towards Aqaba in Jordan, after Jordan\u2019s government denied the city\u2019s airport and seaport were evacuated over a threat.<\/p>\n \u201cA short while ago, the IDF identified the launch of missiles from Iran<\/a> toward the city of Aqaba in Jordan, adjacent to Israeli territory,\u201d the military said. \u201cIt is possible that as a result of the fire, there will be spillover into Israeli territory.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.33 EDT<\/p>\n Kuwait reports another Iranian attack on a power and water plant<\/p>\n Kuwait\u2019s ministry of electricity, water and renewable energy said a power and water distillation plant was attacked by Iran<\/a> for the second time in two days, causing a fire in some of its facilities.<\/p>\n In a statement posted to social media<\/a>, the ministry said the attack impacted a \u201clarge number of electricity generation units\u201d, triggering emergency plans to mitigate the effects and \u201cmaintain the stability of the electricity grid\u201d.<\/p>\n It added that firefighters were working to extinguish the fire while the extent of the damage is being assessed.<\/p>\n As my colleague Donna Ferguson notes in this story<\/a>, Kuwait on Saturday accused Iran of targeting civilian sites and vital infrastructure in the country, such as a power and water desalination plant.<\/p>\n Kuwait, which is extremely arid, relies on desalinated water for about 90% of its drinking water, so is extremely vulnerable to attacks from Iran.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.02 EDT<\/p>\n Iran says US attacked under-construction nuclear power plant<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Atomic Energy Organization said earlier today that the US attacked an under-construction nuclear power plant site in Khuzestan province, in the country\u2019s southwest.<\/p>\n US forces \u201cin an aggressive and brutal act contrary to international law, attacked the under-construction Darkhovin nuclear power plant… with a number of projectiles on Sunday,\u201d the organisation said in a statement carried by state TV.<\/p>\n Construction \u2060of the nuclear power plant reportedly began four years ago. We have not been able to verify this report and the US has not commented on the reported attack.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Jordanian authorities \u2060have not issued any decision \u2060to \u200bevacuate the airport or \u2060seaport in the city of Aqaba, and have not detected \u2060any potential threats \u200bin \u200cthe past \u200chours, the state \u200cnews agency cited the government spokesperson as saying.<\/p>\n This denial comes in response to the US embassy in Jordan earlier saying the airport and seaport in Aqaba had been evacuated by Jordanian authorities because of a \u201cspecific and credible threat\u201d (see this post<\/a> for more details).<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.58 EDT<\/p>\n Bahrain\u2019s defence force has condemned Iran\u2019s \u201crepeated attacks targeting (its) civilians\u201d, as it confirmed the country\u2019s air defence systems intercepted and destroyed a number of Iranian missile and drone attacks launched this morning.<\/p>\n \u201cWith unwavering resolve and high combat readiness, the Bahrain defence force\u2019s air defence systems intercepted and destroyed several treacherous Iranian aerial attacks today,\u201d it said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cThe General Command also urges everyone to exercise caution, avoid approaching any strange or suspicious objects resulting from the remnants of the brutal Iranian aggression, and report them immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe General Command emphasizes that the deliberate use of missiles and drones to target civilians and private property constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Jordan evacuates airport and seaport in city of Aqaba after ‘credible threat’, US embassy says<\/p>\n The US embassy in Jordan has said authorities evacuated the international airport and seaport in the Jordanian city of Aqaba because of a \u201cspecific and credible threat\u201d.<\/p>\n In a statement<\/a>, the US embassy, based in the capital Amman, \u201cstrongly\u201d advises all Americans to avoid travelling to the airport and seaport, adding that they should follow Jordanian authorities\u2019 \u201csecurity directives\u201d and also avoid travel to military bases in Jordan.<\/p>\n It notes that on 2 March the US state department \u201cordered non-emergency US government employees and their family members to leave Jordan due to safety risks\u201d.<\/p>\n The statement also advises US citizens to avoid all protests, large gatherings or anywhere there is a large police presence, and to generally keep a \u201clow profile\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.17 EDT<\/p>\n Two ships involved in ‘accident’ after defying strait of Hormuz warnings, IRGC says<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards said that \u2060two \u2060ships were \u200binvolved in an \u201caccident\u201d after attempting \u2060to transit the strait of \u2060Hormuz via an \u201cunsafe route\u201d, \u200bwhile \u200ctwo other \u200cvessels abandoned that \u200croute, according to a report in the Tasnim news agency, which we have not yet been able to independently verify.<\/p>\n The IRGC said the four vessels \u200chad ignored Iranian warnings and acted \u200bwith US backing.<\/p>\n \u201cVessels that are influenced by \u2060the words of the \u200bAmericans and \u200benter unsafe \u200broutes will \u200bcertainly \u200cface accidents,\u201d \u200ban IRGC statement read.<\/p>\n The US has urged mariners to travel on the southern route through Oman\u2019s territorial waters to avoid Iran. But Iran has laid out a system of lanes through the north of the strait close to the Iranian coast, and has insisted that all vessels use this route (or face consequences).<\/p>\n Shipping routes. <\/a>Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.17 EDT<\/p>\n We reported in an earlier post<\/a> that sirens had been activated in Bahrain, which hosts a US naval base and has been targeted by Iran in recent days.<\/p>\n A journalist from the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency has confirmed sirens had rung out in Bahrain\u2019s capital Manama. We will bring you more details as they come in.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.31 EDT<\/p>\n The Guardian\u2019s defence and security editor, Dan Sabbagh<\/a>, has written an interesting analysis piece<\/a> about why Iran has more than enough capability to inflict damage despite the US being the superior military power. Here is an extract from his story, which was published last Friday:<\/p>\n double quotation markA frustrated US is exploring how to bend Iran to its will, after Trump described the country\u2019s leaders as \u201cscum\u201d and \u201csick people\u201d at this month\u2019s Nato summit, though it is not obvious how that can be done without a substantial ground campaign, for which the US is not prepared for, nor has the appetite for.<\/p>\n Military escalation was considered at a White House Situation Room meeting on Tuesday, followed by leaks that the options considered included bombing another deep-lying nuclear site at Pickaxe Mountain \u2013 which would have no effect on the now critical Hormuz dynamic \u2013 or a seizure of the strategic Kharg Island, through which 90% of Iran\u2019s oil exports would flow if there was no US blockade.<\/p>\n It is perfectly possible for the US to capture Kharg or any other small location on the ground, but the challenge would be holding on, as it would be inevitably targeted by Iranian missiles and drones. Meanwhile, continued US bombing will further reduce stockpiles of hard-to-make air defence interceptors, depleted by a half, and expensive missiles, down by a quarter to a third, based on estimates from the Center for Strategic and International Studies thinktank<\/a>.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Bahrain\u2019s interior ministry has urged residents to head to the nearest safe place of shelter as sirens sounded across the country. We\u2019ll bring you more as it comes in.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.50 EDT<\/p>\n The US president, Donald Trump, held a brief phone call with NewsNation<\/a> in which he talked about the Iranian attack on Jordan on Friday that killed two American service members.<\/p>\n Trump said the troops died \u201cin service of our country\u201d and stated again that the war on Iran<\/a> was launched in order to never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n Asked about Iran\u2019s assertion that it would no longer honour the memorandum of understanding if Washington failed to uphold its obligations, Trump replied: \u201cI couldn\u2019t care less.\u201d<\/p>\n Donald Trump ordered a resumption of strikes against Iranian military and infrastructure targets after concluding that the memorandum of understanding signed in June was over. Photograph: Jakub Porzycki\/NurPhoto\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Trump angrily declared the ceasefire \u201cover\u201d earlier this month<\/a> but in reality he has very little leverage over Tehran as it can still assert control over the strait of Hormuz and thereby effect global energy prices, a politically sensitive topic for the president ahead of the US midterms.<\/p>\n And Iran could expand the conflict further with help from its regional allies. Reuters reported on Thursday that Iran has asked Yemen\u2019s Houthis to stand ready to close the Red Sea oil route if the US strikes Iranian power infrastructure, which would wreak havoc on the world economy.<\/p>\n Iran could also inflict severe damage on US allied-Gulf countries if American forces decide to escalate the war, such as through sustained and widespread attacks on desalination plants across the region, which would have a devastating civilian cost.<\/p>\n Tehran has already retaliated to US attacks by hitting power and desalination plants in Kuwait, threatening daily life in the small country which relies on desalinated water for about 90% of its drinking water. But so far these attacks have been relatively limited in scope.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.06 EDT<\/p>\n Kuwait says it is responding to Iranian missile and drone attacks<\/p>\n In a post to X about an hour ago<\/a>, Kuwait\u2019s army said it was dealing with hostile missile and drone attacks, following what it described as \u201cIranian aggression\u201d.<\/p>\n The statement said that any explosions that are heard would likely be the sound of air defence systems intercepting the hostile attacks.<\/p>\n The Iranian army said earlier that it targeted two US bases in Kuwait with drones, hitting an ammunition depot at camp Buehring (formerly camp Udairi) and radar and air surveillance systems at the Ali Al Salem air base, in retaliation for US strikes on Iran<\/a> overnight. It was not immediately clear whether the Iranian attacks were successful or intercepted.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a004.07 EDT<\/p>\n US launches new round of strikes to ‘punish’ Iran after two US troops killed in Iranian attack<\/p>\n The US military said it launched new airstrikes against Iran to \u201cswiftly punish\u201d the country\u2019s Revolutionary Guard for an attack in Jordan that killed two American service members<\/a>, left one missing and four requiring hospitalisation.<\/p>\n Speaking to the New York Post<\/a>, the US president, Donald Trump, described the deaths as a \u201cshame\u201d. \u201cThey did it because they don\u2019t want to see Iran have a nuclear weapon,\u201d Trump said of the troops. \u201cAnd it just shows you how bad (the Iranians) are,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said before the strikes that Washington would pay for \u201cseeking to escalate the conflict\u201d.<\/p>\n The US military\u2019s Central Command said the \u2060airstrikes began at 6pm ET (10pm GMT) on Saturday at Trump\u2019s direction and were also designed to \u201cfurther degrade\u201d Iran\u2019s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n An area near Sirik \u2013 on the vital energy shipping route \u2013 was targeted about 1.30am local time, Iran\u2019s state-run Irna news agency said. A location near Hajiabad in the same southern province of Hormozgan was also targeted, and explosions were heard in the port city of Bandar Abbas, Irna said. An area near Qeshm Island in the strait was also targeted, state-run broadcaster Irib said.<\/p>\n In an update posted to social media a few hours ago, Centcom claimed it had struck \u201cIranian military coastal surveillance and air defense facilities, maritime capabilities, and missile and drone storage sites,\u201d completing its eighth consecutive night of strikes against Iran.<\/p>\n The US and Iran have intensified attacks<\/a> since their framework ceasefire deal signed a month ago fell apart last week, raising the possibility of a return to all-out war.<\/p>\n People drive past a banner showing a portrait of Mojtaba Khamenei in downtown Tehran. Photograph: Vahid Salemi\/AP<\/p>\n In other key developments:<\/p>\n The two US troop deaths on Friday were its first from direct Iranian fire since the opening days of the war. US defence secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X: \u201cTheir sacrifice only stiffens our resolve.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran appeared to target Saudi Arabia as \u200bwell as other US Gulf allies<\/a> and Jordan on Saturday after US attacks on Iranian bridges, power facilities \u200cand other infrastructure.<\/p>\n Mojtaba Khamenei said US actions had shown that Trump\u2019s signature was \u201cutterly worthless and devoid of credibility\u201d, warning of \u201ceven heavier costs and further humiliation\u201d for \u200cthe US, in a statement carried by the \u200cofficial social media accounts of Iran\u2019s supreme leader and state media.<\/p>\n The American deaths brought the number of US service members killed since the war began to 16, while more than 430 have been injured. Iran\u2019s health ministry said on \u200cSaturday that 50 people had been killed \u200band more than 500 injured in US strikes \u200bon the country over the past three weeks.<\/p>\n In Iraq, a base near Irbil of the Kurdistan Freedom party, an Iranian Kurdish dissident group, was struck by a drone early on Sunday, wounding eight of its members, according to a military official with the group.<\/p>\n The most significant damage from Iranian strikes on Saturday occurred in Kuwait, where a water desalination plant and an oil facility were hit, according to the Kuwait authorities and the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. It was the second attack against a desalination plant in two days in the tiny nation that depends on desalination for 90% of its drinking water.<\/p>\n This screen grab taken from UGC video footage posted on social media on 18 July shows a plume of black smoke billowing over the town of Mangaf in Kuwait. Photograph: UGC\/UNKNOWN\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kuwait reports another Iranian attack on a power and water plant Kuwait\u2019s ministry of electricity, water and renewable…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":549132,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-549131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=549131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549131\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/549132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}