Ship attacked off coast of Saudi Arabia
A vessel has been attacked while travelling off the coast of Saudi Arabia, UK officials have said.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said it had received a report of an incident 70 nautical miles southwest of the portof Al Shuqaiq, adding no casualties or environmental impact have been reported.
“The master of a tanker reports being struck by an unknown projectile which has caused a fire onboard that the crew are currently fighting,” a spokesperson said.
The Houthis, an Iranian proxy group, have recently threatened to attack ships transiting through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Red Sea’s southern access point.
Such a move would further destabilise oil supply and the global economy after Iranian attacks on vessels travelling through the Strait of Hormuz.
Daniel Keane22 July 2026 22:45
US says it reaches nuclear power deal with Saudi Arabia
The US and Saudi Arabia have reached an agreement on civil nuclear power, the US Energy Department said on Wednesday.
The deal allows the kingdom to build nuclear reactors using American technology and to enrich uranium.
A civil nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia has been in the works for years during both Donald Trump’s first administration and that of former president Joe Biden.
Unlike the Biden plan, the current deal does not include a so-called Additional Protocol that allows the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency to carry out intrusive snap inspections.
The deal would also allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium and reprocess nuclear waste, both of which are potential pathways to making a nuclear weapon.
The UAE agreed to forgo both of those when it signed a similar deal with the U.S. in 2009.
Holly Evans22 July 2026 22:20
Houthi Red Sea threat would challenge a stretched US military
A Houthi threat to impose a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea could significantly widen the Iran war and strain a U.S. military already focused on stopping Tehran’s attacks across the region, current and former U.S. officials said. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Monday they would not allow ships to load or unload at Saudi ports, potentially blocking Saudi oil exports and choking off an additional 7 per cent of global oil supply.
Saudi Arabia, which hosts US forces, has not yet requested military assistance from Washington. But Trump suggested on Tuesday that a move by the group to obstruct shipping in the Red Sea — a vital corridor for global trade — could draw the United States in.
“If something like that happens, we’ll take care of it. We’ve done that with the Houthis before,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday.
For the US military, it may not be so simple. The Houthis have earned a reputation as hardened, nimble fighters who have successfully resisted earlier Saudi and US bombing campaigns. Taking them on would mean stretching American resources already focused on fighting Iran and maintaining the United States’ own blockade of Iranian ports in the Gulf.
“You’re bifurcating your admittedly fairly robust resources in the region between two active fronts,” said Jason Campbell, a former senior Pentagon official.
Holly Evans22 July 2026 21:37
MAGA support for Trump’s Iran war plummets, poll finds: ‘Maximum level of frustration’
MAGA support for President Donald Trump’s war against Iran has cratered over the past two months – with just 37 percent of his crumbling base now saying the conflict should continue even if it increases inflation, according to a new poll.
That’s down from 50 percent since May, Politico said in a Wednesday report that came a day after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sparred with Democrats during a fiery Senate hearing over the cost of the war.
A person close to the White House told Politico that it’s “at a maximum level of frustration right now,” with Trump “fully aware that the only way to the victory that he wants is completely politically impossible.”
Read the full article here:
Holly Evans22 July 2026 20:55
Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role
Iranian drone attacks on CIA facilities in the Gulf have prompted US intelligence analysts to investigate whether Russia assisted by providing targeting information or advanced drone technology, four people familiar with US intelligence told Reuters.
These people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss national security matters, said US intelligence officials have not yet reached firm conclusions about the possible Russian involvement in the attacks on CIA facilities.
But they cited the strikes’ effectiveness and apparent precision, as well as Russia’s broader technical support for Iran, as possible evidence.
Reuters and other media have reported — and US officials have acknowledged — that Russia has provided targeting and other support for Iran in its strikes on US targets in the Gulf region generally, but the intelligence community’s investigation of possible Russian involvement in supporting the CIA facility attacks has not been previously disclosed.
Holly Evans22 July 2026 20:30
Iran warns their defence strategy is ‘eye for an eye’
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has warned that Iran will issue a “powerful and decisive response” if strikes target their infrastructure.
He wrote on X: “Our defence doctrine is clear: eye for an eye. Any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response.
“Those who contribute to such aggression, whatever the kind of support, will also be considered as legitimate targets.”
Holly Evans22 July 2026 20:10
Watch: Trump attends dignified transfer for four US soldiers killed in Iran warTrump attends dignified transfer for four US soldiers killed in Iran war
Holly Evans22 July 2026 19:40
Israel’s spy chief held talks on Iran war in Washington, Axios reports
The head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency traveled to Washington two weeks ago to discuss the Iran war, in his first visit to the US capital since taking office, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing two unidentified sources with knowledge of the situation.
He met with CIA Director John Ratcliffe and White House officials, the report said.
Holly Evans22 July 2026 19:14
Trump salutes killed soldiers during solemn ceremony
Donald Trump attended a ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for four US service members who returned to American soil in flag-draped caskets on Wednesday after being killed in Iranian attacks in the Middle East.
The ceremony, known as a “dignified transfer” of the bodies, comes amid growing frustration with the US-Israeli war with Iran.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have raised questions about the war, which has boosted global oil prices and shows no signs of ending.
Trump, wearing a blue suit and red tie, stood at attention near the flight line and saluted as teams of seven service members solemnly carried each transfer case from the aircraft during the ceremony.
Donald Trump (C) salutes as members of a US Army carry team as they transfer the remains of the killed soldiers (Getty)
Family members, who arrived in a convoy of vans, watched from a short distance as the flag-draped transfer cases were carried off the aircraft one by one and placed in one of two vans.
Asked what he would tell the families of the fallen, Mr Trump said: “All I’m going to say is, we love you. We love your child, and that’s what they are to them. They’re their children. There’s no games, no nothing.”
US presidents, vice presidents and dignitaries regularly attend the solemn transfer ceremonies at Dover — home of the largest US military mortuary — during times of war or conflict.
The three U.S. service members killed when an Iranian missile hit their sleeping barracks at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on Friday were First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, 25, Sergeant Angel S. Rampersad, 28, and Private Isabella Gonzales, 19. All three were assigned to U.S. Army air defence brigades.
The fourth death, of Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, occurred on Sunday in a separate incident in Erbil, Iraq, during a controlled detonation of an attack drone.
Holly Evans22 July 2026 18:12
DP World to build two new terminals on UAE’s eastern coast, reducing Hormuz reliance
DP World will develop two new container terminals in Fujairah on the United Arab Emirates’ eastern coast, the global ports operator said on Wednesday as the Gulf state works to reduce its dependence on the Strait of Hormuz amid the Iran war.
“The development will expand DP World’s UAE capacity and gateway network, giving customers greater choice, flexibility, and connectivity across regional and global trade routes,” the Dubai-based firm said in a statement.
Once operational, the development will boost DP World’s total container handling capacity in the UAE to almost 22 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) from the current 19.4 million TEUs, while significantly expanding general cargo and Ro-Ro (Roll-on-Roll-off) capability.
The US-Iran conflict, which started on February 28, has killed thousands of people and Iran’s restrictions on energy shipments from Gulf states have contributed to inflation worldwide.
Vessel crossings via the Strait of Hormuz dropped further on Tuesday, shipping data showed, as Tehran’s near-total blockade of the key waterway continued and security concerns lingered amid ongoing attacks by the United States and Iran.
Holly Evans22 July 2026 17:48