US Senator Lindsey Graham joked about Iranian threats days before his death
Lindsey Graham, the US senator who died suddenly on Saturday night, joked about the threats he had received from Iran in the days before his death.
In a July 6 post on X, the Republican lawmaker shared an image that appeared to show a man in Tehran holding a sign emblazoned with a bullseye over Graham’s face, alongside the message: “SOONER OR LATER YOUR HEADS WILL ROLL.”
“At least they used a good photo of me,” Graham wrote. “Judge me by my enemies.”
Five days later, emergency dispatch audio indicated that paramedics were called to the four-term senator’s Washington, D.C., home around 8:30 p.m. Saturday in response to a cardiac arrest.
Alex Croft13 July 2026 09:17
US pressure hindering Iran-Oman efforts for joint Hormuz mechanism, says Tehran
Iran is trying to agree a joint mechanism with Oman for the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday.
But he added that US pressure on Oman is hindering these efforts.
Tehran will not carry out its commitments in the memorandum of understanding as long as Washington is not fulfilling their own, he said.
Alex Croft13 July 2026 08:55
Oil prices jump after US and Iran escalate strikes in the Middle East
Share markets slipped in Asia on Monday as fighting intensified in the Gulf and Iran claimed to have closed the vital Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices surging and rekindling inflation risks globally.
Brent crude climbed 3.3 per cent in early trade to reach $78.50 a barrel, up from the recent trough of $70.14, while US crude added 3.4 per cent to $73.83 a barrel. US officials said around 20 vessels had been escorted through the strait in the previous 24 hours, though ship tracking sites showed little traffic moving.
Over the weekend, Tehran extended strikes on Qatar and the United Arab Emirates while the US launched further strikes on Iran, the latest in a cycle of attacks and counter-attacks over shipping through the strait.
Alex Croft13 July 2026 08:34
US uses sea drones against Iran for first time
The US military has said that it used one-way attack sea drones in Iran for the first time.
In an update on Monday morning, US Central Command said it had struck “dozens of targets at multiple locations with precision munitions” as they sought to degrade Tehran’s ability to attack shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
“CENTCOM forces struck Iranian military air-defense systems, coastal radar sites, missile and drone capabilities, and small boats using US fighter aircraft, naval vessels, one-way attack aerial drones, and one-way attack sea drones for the first time,” it added.
Alex Croft13 July 2026 08:16
Pictured: US military releases image of strike on Iran
A projectile approaches a target at an unknown location, during what U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) says are strikes on Iran, in this screen grab taken from a handout video released on July 12, 2026 (Reuters)
Alex Croft13 July 2026 07:44
Iran-US fighting flares up again with focuses on the status of the strait
The US military yesterday said it hit some 140 targets, including missile and drone launch sites, ammunition dumps, communication equipment and other sites — a far-heavier set of attacks than in two previous rounds of strikes in the last week.
“We bombed the hell out of them last night,” US president Donald Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Iran retaliated by attacking nations in the region hosting US military forces, while insisting it alone must control the strait and potentially charge vessels for traveling through it.
“The era of one-sided deals is OVER,” Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s Parliament and a main negotiator, wrote. “We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.”
Iran described the strait as being closed, while the US military and Trump asserted that the strait remained open.
Iran’s chokehold on the strait, however, has loosened as the US military provided support to vessels moving along a southern route hugging the coastline of Oman.
That new route has angered Iran, which launched repeated attacks on ships using it.
Iran’s grip on the strait led to a global energy crisis, though oil prices have sharply dropped since wartime highs of $120 a barrel.
Arpan Rai13 July 2026 07:11
Bahrain sounds missile alert siren for the third time
Bahrain sounds its missile alert siren for the third time as Iran retaliates over US strikes.
Earlier, Iran’s IRGC said it targeted US military facilities in Bahrain and destroyed radar systems in Oman in latest retaliatory attacks.
Arpan Rai13 July 2026 07:02
Trump claims US and Iran agreed deal before ‘they gave up everything’ in attack
Donald Trump has called Iran “evil and sick” after claiming it broke an agreed peace deal yesterday when it fired a drone at a ship.
Speaking to NBC’s Meet the Press, Trump said: “They agreed to a deal yesterday – a perfect deal for us, no nuclear, no this, no that, no nothing, they gave up everything – and then after that, they left the room, and then within an hour they launched a drone at a ship.”
“We bombed the hell out of them last night. They are very, very evil and sick people,” he added.
Arpan Rai13 July 2026 06:38
Hormuz traffic slows to multi-week low amid new strikes from US and Iran
The number of vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz fell to multi-week lows on Sunday, shipping data showed, as renewed strikes between the US and Iran and attacks on ships in the Middle East heightened safety concerns.
Six vessels transited the strait on Sunday, ship-tracking data from Kpler showed, the lowest number in five weeks.
Tankers that exited the strait included the Very Large Crude Carrier Humanity, laden with 2 million barrels of Iranian oil and another tanker, Capetan Andreas, carrying about 500,000 barrels of Kuwaiti oil products, the data showed, while three empty tankers entered the Gulf to load oil.
Most of the tankers switched off their transponders when crossing the strait. There were no liquefied natural gas tankers that entered the strait over the weekend that were visible on ship-tracking data.
One tanker controlled by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co exited the strait between 10 July and 12 July, Kpler data showed.
The vessel is heading for Dahej port in India.
US forces completed another wave of strikes against Iran on Sunday, hitting dozens of targets at multiple locations with precision munitions, the Central Command said.
US president Donald Trump said on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz is open to commercial traffic, although Iran declared earlier that it closed the strait after a vessel travelled on an unapproved route and was struck.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Monday that its navy stopped two ships in the Strait of Hormuz last night by shutting down their systems. It did not name the ships involved.
Arpan Rai13 July 2026 05:59
Watch: US releases video of forces carrying out another wave of strikes on IranUS releases video of forces carrying out another wave of strikes on Iran
Arpan Rai13 July 2026 05:44