Donald Trump said the Houthis had not yet shut the Bab el-Mandeb, the \u201cGate of Tears\u201d strait leading \u2060into the Red Sea, and threatened to act against them if they did. \u201cSo far it hasn\u2019t happened,\u201d Trump said. \u201cIf something like that happens, we take care of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump renewed his threats to again attack Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities at Natanz \u201cpretty soon\u201c, which he said in June 2025 had been \u201ctotally obliterated\u201d after the US military bombed the facility.<\/p>\n
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth faced questions over the war with Iran, which he estimated has cost $37.5bn so far, as Republicans prepare a $95bn budget package to fund the military, along with other White House priorities.<\/p>\n
Trump pledged to help Lebanon \u201ca lot\u201d during a White House meeting with the country\u2019s leader, Joseph Aoun. Trump made the surprise announcement that he\u2019d allow American carriers to resume direct flights to Lebanon<\/a> for the first time in 40-plus years after the US suspended the route.<\/p>\n Oil prices gained more than 2% on Tuesday, with Brent crude hovering above $91 a barrel.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.32 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Prior to today\u2019s round of strikes, Iranian authorities say US attacks in just the past three weeks have killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 500 others.<\/p>\n Both the US and Iran have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people. Workers on ships, as well as foreign workers and others in Gulf nations, Israel and Lebanon<\/a> have also been killed during the conflict.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Fars news agency is reporting a US strike has hit a military site near Tabriz, the capital city of East Azerbaijan Province, in north-western Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n A little more detail on those US strikes: Iranian state media says air defence activity has been heard in western, eastern and north-eastern Tehran. The time in Tehran is 3.40am.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n To recap some news from earlier today, Donald Trump said the US \u2060will \u2060be hitting \u200bthe Pickaxe Mountain area, \u2060located near Iran\u2019s heavily damaged \u2060Natanz uranium enrichment \u200bfacility, \u201cpretty \u200csoon\u201d.<\/p>\n It is unclear if today\u2019s US strikes are targeting Pickaxe Mountain.<\/p>\n Pickaxe \u200cMountain is a \u200cheavily fortified site that hosts two deeply buried tunnel complexes \u200cthat experts assess as beyond \u200bthe reach of the most powerful bunker \u2060buster bombs in \u200bthe US arsenal. \u200bThe \u200bsite is \u200blinked \u200cto Iran\u2019s \u200bnuclear \u200bprogram.<\/p>\n A satellite image from 2 March, 2026 shows a closer view of the Natanz nuclear storage facility with new building damage Photograph: VANTOR\/Reuters<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s military leaders said any attack on nuclear or \u201cother sensitive facilities\u201d would be considered a major escalation, according to a statement reported by Iranian state media.<\/p>\n \u201cWe declare that if the invading and terrorist military of that country enters such a phase, we will regard it as an expansion of the war across the region, and all interests of the United States, its allies, and its supporters will become targets of powerful attacks by the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran,\u201d said the statement from the armed forces\u2019 Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>US launches new strikes on Iran for 11th consecutive night<\/p>\n US Central Command has announced it has begun striking military targets in Iran<\/a> for the 11th consecutive night.<\/p>\n The strikes are designed to continue degrading Iran\u2019s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the strait of Hormuz, it said.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll bring you more details on these strikes as we learn more.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.40 EDT<\/p>\n The number of wounded US personnel in the Iran<\/a> war has grown to well over 500 troops, a US official told the Associated Press.<\/p>\n The total is higher than the Pentagon\u2019s official tally on the Defense Casualty Analysis System, which currently shows 482 wounded.<\/p>\n The US official, who was not authorised to discuss the matter with the media and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the system has a significant lag in reporting injuries. The official said that was a function of its design and not intentional.<\/p>\n US forces launch more strikes on Iranian targets. Photograph: US Central Command (CENTCOM)\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Pakistan\u2019s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif called for restraint from all warring sides during a meeting with Iran\u2019s interior minister on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Sharif \u201curged all sides to exercise restraint and refrain from actions that could further destabilise the region\u201d, a statement from his office said, adding that he told Iran\u2019s Eskandar Momeni that Pakistan would continue to act as a mediator.<\/p>\n Speaking from the Oval Office, Donald Trump gave a dim view on possible talks, saying the US had \u201cno interest in meeting\u201d.<\/p>\n Pakistan\u2019s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif (right) meets with Iranian interior minister Eskandar Momeni (left) in Islamabad. Photograph: Pakistan\u2019s Prime Minister Office\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a>Houthi blockade ‘likely to increase disruption’ to Saudi oil exports<\/p>\n To recap, the Houthis<\/a>, who control northern and western Yemen including the coast at the mouth of the Red Sea, announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia on \u2060Monday.<\/p>\n The announcement already appears to be having an impact. Two tankers which had just loaded Saudi crude bound for China and India at Saudi Arabia\u2019s Red Sea port of Yanbu made U-turns on Tuesday, heading towards the Suez Canal rather \u200cthan out through the Bab el-Mandeb into the Indian Ocean.<\/p>\n Assessing the situation, British maritime risk management group Vanguard said:<\/p>\n double quotation markThe developments represent the first confirmed changes to commercial tanker routing following the (Houthi) embargo and are likely to increase disruption to Saudi crude exports and regional shipping patterns.\u201d<\/p>\n With the war shutting the strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea has served as the main alternate route out for millions of barrels of Saudi oil per day, diverted by pipeline through Yanbu.<\/p>\n A vessel in the strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman. Photograph: ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.57 EDT<\/p>\n Interim summary<\/p>\n In case you\u2019re just joining us, here\u2019s the main developments to know:<\/p>\n US forces bombed targets in the south and west of Iran overnight, while Iran targeted US sites in Bahrain, Kuwait \u2060and Jordan and a tanker was hit in \u2060the strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the \u200bGulf.<\/p>\n Two oil tankers carrying Saudi crude to Asia reversed course in the Red Sea on Tuesday after threats from Yemen\u2019s Iran-aligned Houthis<\/a>.<\/p>\n Donald Trump said the Houthis had not yet shut the Bab el-Mandeb, the \u201cGate of Tears\u201d strait leading \u2060into the Red Sea, and threatened to act against them if they did. \u201cSo far it hasn\u2019t happened,\u201d Trump said. \u201cIf something like that happens, we take care of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump renewed his threats to again attack Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities at Natanz \u201cpretty soon\u201c, which he said in June 2025 had been \u201ctotally obliterated\u201d after the US military bombed the facility.<\/p>\n Defense secretary Pete Hegseth faced questions over the war with Iran, which he estimated has cost $37.5bn so far, as Republicans prepare a $95bn budget package to fund the military, along with other White House priorities.<\/p>\n Trump pledged to help Lebanon \u201ca lot\u201d during a White House meeting with the country\u2019s leader, Joseph Aoun. Trump made the surprise announcement that he\u2019d allow American carriers to resume direct flights to Lebanon<\/a> for the first time in 40-plus years after the US suspended the route.<\/p>\n Oil prices gained more than 2% on Tuesday, with Brent crude hovering above $91 a barrel.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.32 EDT<\/p>\n Joseph Gedeon<\/p>\n The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth<\/a>, walked into the Senate<\/a> on Tuesday to defend the Trump administration\u2019s $87.6bn supplemental funding request, facing lawmakers furious that the US-Israel war on Iran<\/a> is costing far more than the White House has admitted.<\/p>\n Hegseth and the chair of the joint chiefs, Gen Dan Caine, faced the Senate appropriations committee, chaired by Susan Collins of Maine, as the Pentagon said it was running low on cash to keep the fight going. Of the total request, $67.1bn of the request is earmarked specifically to keep the war effort funded.<\/p>\n It was the pair\u2019s first sustained public questioning since a brief ceasefire collapsed and the war roared back to life. At least two US soldiers were killed in an Iranian attack on Friday, and another died in Iraq destroying an Iranian drone, pushing the American death toll since February to 17. Nearly 100 troops have been wounded in the conflict, officials confirm, though most injuries were minor.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Iran\u2019s top joint military command said it would target the interests of the US and its allies if the American military targeted Iranian nuclear sites, Iran\u2019s state media reported.<\/p>\n The statement by Iran\u2019s Khatem al-Anbiya Central Headquarters comes after Donald Trump said the US will be hitting the Pickaxe Mountain area \u201cpretty soon\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.23 EDT<\/p>\n Lebanese president Joseph Aoun told Donald Trump a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory was essential to consolidating stability and enabling the state to extend its authority, the Lebanese presidency said.<\/p>\n In their first meeting, the two leaders discussed plans to disarm the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and secure Israel\u2019s withdrawal from Lebanon<\/a>. The Lebanese presidency said they also discussed US support for Lebanon\u2019s army, reconstruction, economic recovery and American investment.<\/p>\n In a statement after the talks, the Lebanese presidency said Aoun stressed to Trump the \u201curgent need for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory,\u201d calling it \u201can essential step to consolidate stability and enable the Lebanese state to extend its full sovereignty exclusively through its own forces.\u201d<\/p>\n Donald Trump greets Joseph Aoun at the White House. Photograph: Kevin Dietsch\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.23 EDT<\/p>\n Yemen\u2019s Iranian-aligned Houthis<\/a> have warned shipping companies that their tankers risk being attacked if they use Saudi Arabian ports, as the militia moved quickly to enforce a blockade announced the previous day.<\/p>\n The Houthi warning for the Red Sea, coming on top of Iran\u2019s threat to shipping on the other side of the Arabian peninsular in the Gulf, could affect the substantial Saudi oil exports that have so far been unscathed by the months-long conflict and deepen the rapidly escalating crisis in the region.<\/p>\n Underlining how seriously the Houthi threat is being taken, two oil tankers that had loaded Saudi crude \u2060this week for China and India made U-turns on Tuesday away from Houthi-controlled coast at the mouth of the Red Sea and headed towards the Suez canal. The Houthis<\/a> claimed six ships had changed course.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a017.23 EDT<\/p>\n The US\u2019s war in Iran has cost $37.5bn so far, defense secretary Pete Hegseth said<\/a>, an increase of nearly $8bn since the last public estimate.<\/p>\n Hegseth told lawmakers the figure also included anticipated costs through 30 September.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.21 EDT<\/p>\n Trump to allow US airline carriers to resume flying directly to Lebanon<\/p>\n Donald Trump said he will be directing his administration to \u201callow all US airline carriers to fly directly to Lebanon<\/a> so that Americans can easily visit this beautiful land.\u201d <\/p>\n Trump\u2019s announcement, which he made on Truth Social, came after his meeting with Lebanese president Joseph Aoun earlier on Tuesday at the White House.<\/p>\n Since 1985, there have been no direct flights between the US and Lebanon after then US president Ronald Reagan suspended air service following the hijacking of TWA Flight 847.<\/p>\n During the meeting, Trump said he plans to help Lebanon \u201ca lot,\u201d describing it as a \u201ca very badly treated place and country and we\u2019re going to have it properly treated and treated with the respect it deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Peter](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Peter_Beaumont,_L.png\")
Peter Beaumont<\/p>\n