#military #strikes #graham

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#hegseth #strikes #civilians

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When Will Teheran Fall?

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Four of Iran’s key ballistic missile manufacturing locations and at least 29 ballistic missile launch sites have been damaged in the first four weeks of the U.S.-Israeli offensive, undermining Iran’s central military strategy, according to a Washington Post review and analysis by experts.

Since the war began, the U.S. and Israel have conducted thousands of strikes across a range of military targets.

The Post’s examination provides a comprehensive accounting of the damage to ballistic missile sites, as well as what it means for the future of the overall program.

Strikes have destroyed aboveground launching facilities, temporarily blocked access to missiles stored underground and halted Iran’s ability to immediately build new missiles, according to satellite imagery, and Iranian military and defense experts who reviewed the findings. But the experts cautioned that Iran’s ballistic missile program has not been destroyed.

“They’re still shooting. That’s a key indicator,” said Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, referring to Iran’s continued use of missiles.

Some experts said they doubted the missile program could ever be completely destroyed, citing the regime’s record of rebuilding after prior attacks and access to foreign supply chains that can replenish destroyed manufacturing equipment. Mobile missile launchers are also being used, and the number of those is unknown.

“I don’t see Iran making a fundamental change to their missile strategy if the regime survives,” Nicole Grajewski, a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment, said. “Missiles are still going to be the ultimate deterrent against attackers and the foundational military strategy.”

The Trump administration has identified the destruction of Iran’s missile program as a central goal of the war.

At a press briefing on March 19, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said U.S. attacks destroyed “the factories, the production lines that feed their missile and drone programs.”

Separately, Netanyahu said the same day that Iran’s missile and drone arsenals have been “massively degraded” and that these attacks compared to the ones of June last year are destroying the factories that “produce the components to make these missiles.”

The U.S. and Israel have not publicly identified all the specific missile sites they have hit.

#iran #ballistic #missile #israel #strikes

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In his briefing, Hegseth said that Iranian retaliatory missile attacks against its neighbors had decreased by 90 percent since the beginning of the war on Feb. 28. Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has acknowledged that Iran still retains missile capabilities.

Israel claimed on March 21 that for the first time, Iran fired intermediate-range ballistic missiles at the joint U.K.-U.S. Diego Garcia military base in the Indian Ocean, almost 2,000 miles away.

Four of the most important sites, which make fuel for the ballistic missiles, the experts said, have suffered severe damage in attacks by the U.S. and Israel that is greater than what was inflicted during the 12-day war with Israel last June and in October 2024, when Israel attacked Iran.

The sites — Khojir, Parchin, Hakimiyeh and Shahroud military complexes — house the production of critical missile propellants and assemble the weapons for use.

Satellite imagery shows four main areas at the Khojir missile complex, just east of Tehran, were hit by the U.S. or Israel.

The strikes targeted complex production systems that make solid and liquid fuel necessary to power the ballistic missiles, according to Sam Lair, a research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.

Ballistic missiles are fired miles into the air before returning to the ground at extremely high speeds. Those in the Iranian arsenal are fueled by either solid or liquid propellants, according to experts. Solid fuel is the most common, typically used for shorter range munitions and more efficient during war.

Liquid propellants typically power the longest-range missiles, but have more time consuming fuel-loading processes, which makes them more vulnerable to attack.

In total, at least 88 structures were destroyed at Khojir, according to satellite imagery taken on March 24.

The IRGC’S Shahroud production complex in northeast Iran houses the research, development and mass production of solid fuel.

It was heavily attacked by the U.S. or Israel, satellite imagery shows, leaving at least 28 damaged or destroyed structures.

At least 29 missile launch bases have been hit by airstrikes, according to imagery, severely undermining Iran’s ability to fire ballistic missiles.

Experts said the exact number of ballistic missile launch sites in Iran is not known but estimated there to be about 30. Most of these bases include underground missile storage facilities that are accessed through tunnels cut into mountainsides, according to experts.

U.S. and Israeli strikes have hit many of these tunnel entrances, blocking access to where the missiles are kept, satellite imagery shows.

Bases in central and western Iran are mobilized for medium-range strikes on Israel, while those along the Persian Gulf have been used to fire short range missiles at the Gulf states, Lamson said.

#iran #ballistic #missile #israel #strikes

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Trump and the Risk of the Big Nuclear War

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Into the second month of the US-Iran war, the conflict in the Gulf continues to escalate—airstrikes widening, oil markets reacting, and pressure mounting around the Strait of Hormuz.

But beyond the immediate security and economic concerns, another question is quietly taking shape: What actually happens if a nuclear site is hit?

In most cases, even if a nuclear facility is hit, a large-scale radiological disaster is unlikely. Modern sites are designed with multiple safety systems that can shut down reactors and contain damage.

The risk isn’t defined by the strike itself, but by what the strike damages inside the facility. The risk becomes significantly higher, however, if those systems fail—or if an operational nuclear power plant is directly affected.

On February 28, when the US and Israel launched a coordinated military campaign against Iran’s leadership and military infrastructure, Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile sites were marked as potential targets. As the conflict deepened, Iranian officials reported strikes on the Natanz nuclear facility, a primary uranium enrichment complex, located around 140 miles from Tehran.

This was followed by strikes on the Ardakan facility as well as the Khondab heavy water reactor, which was left inoperable after the attack.

Earlier this week, additional heavy bunker-buster bombs were also launched in Isfahan, in close proximity to the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center.

So far, international watchdogs have reported no radiation leaks from the targeted facilities. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said there is no indication of off-site contamination, even after reported strikes on sites such as Natanz and near Isfahan.

But the concern isn’t limited to the impact site. Across the Gulf, the risks are shaped by geography and infrastructure. Much of the region depends on desalinated seawater—systems that pull directly from the sea.

If radioactive material were to enter marine environments, it wouldn’t just spread through ecosystems, but through the infrastructure that supplies drinking water to millions.

But the concern isn’t limited to the impact site. Across the Gulf, the risks are shaped by geography and infrastructure. Much of the region depends on desalinated seawater—systems that pull directly from the sea.

If radioactive material were to enter marine environments, it wouldn’t just spread through ecosystems, but through the infrastructure that supplies drinking water to millions.

The Bushehr nuclear power plant, located along Iran’s Gulf coastline, sits within close proximity to neighboring states. While it has not been directly affected, experts have repeatedly warned that any escalation involving coastal nuclear infrastructure could have cross-border consequences.

Not every strike on a nuclear site leads to a dramatic mushroom cloud explosion or an immediate radiation release. What matters is where the site is hit and how much damage is done to its safety systems.

Within minutes of impact, a reactor is designed to shut down automatically. This stops the nuclear reaction, acting as the first line of defense. But shutdown doesn’t eliminate the risk.

The reactor core continues to generate heat through radioactive decay, and that heat must be controlled. The extent of the damage—whether to buildings, control systems or backup infrastructure—determines how effectively those safety mechanisms can continue to function.

In past incidents, including the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan, the shutdown worked as intended. The crisis began only after a tsunami disabled critical systems in the hours that followed.

Without cooling, heat begins to build inside the reactor core. If cooling systems are damaged, whether through loss of power, failed pumps, or destroyed backup generators, the temperature continues to rise.

#war #iran #nuclear #trump #strikes #gulf

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US-Iran: Will We Face Armageddon 2.0 ?


The US has carried out new strikes inside Iran, targeting a military facility and downing Iranian attack drones, US officials said.

US Central Command forces shot down four Iranian one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the strait of Hormuz, according to US officials, who were not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The fresh strikes, combined with the latest strident remarks from Trump about Iran, Oman and the strait of Hormuz, underscored how far apart the US and Iran appear to be in talks aimed at ending the war.

Meanwhile, in Lebanon, Israel launched broad strikes and declared a huge swathe of the south a new combat zone.

After saying over the weekend that a deal was close, Trump on Wednesday threatened to “finish the job” if Tehran did not agree to deal.

At the cabinet meeting, Trump also appeared to direct a warning at Oman, a US ally, when asked about a possible short-term arrangement allowing Iran and Oman to control the strait of Hormuz, which remains choked off.

Trump said the strait would be “open to everybody” and “and Oman will behave just like everybody else or we’ll have to blow them up.” The White House did not immediately clarify whether Trump had misspoken.

Iranian state TV had earlier claimed it had obtained an unofficial draft of an agreement that would restore commercial shipping through the strait to prewar levels within a month, with Iran and Oman jointly managing traffic. The White House called the report a “complete fabrication”.

Another key issue unresolved is if a US-Iran ceasefire will cover Israel’s operations against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group in Lebanon. Iran has insisted Lebanon must be covered by any ceasefire agreement negotiated with the US.

On Tuesday the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said his military is “deepening its operation” in Lebanon; and overnight Israel’s military clashed with Hezbollah fighters along a strategic river in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops pushed farther north.

Hezbollah described “point-blank range” combat with Israeli forces in a strategic town just beyond an Israeli-declared “yellow line” in the country’s south.

Early on Thursday, Israel’s military issued further evacuation warnings for residents of Tyre in Lebanon’s south.

More than 1.2 million Lebanese have been displaced by Israeli strikes and evacuation orders since 2 March, when Hezbollah fired at Israel in support of Iran.

Since then, Israeli strikes have pummelled Lebanon’s south, east and its capital Beirut, killing more than 3,200 people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

The Israeli military said that 10 of its soldiers had been killed since the ceasefire, six by Hezbollah’s explosive drones.

#trump #iran #israel #hezbollah #oman #strikes

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Germany’s Budget: Hospitals on the Block, Arms on the Rise

Germany just put numbers on its real priorities. Under Merz’s government, hospital funding is being cut by roughly €6.9 billion over the coming years through the latest round of “hospital reform adjustments” and GKV savings, while the system is already under strain from years of closures, understaffing, and consolidation.

Doctors and hospital staff are striking or preparing warning strikes across the country over pay, overwork, and collapsing conditions, but Berlin’s answer is more restructuring jargon and less money in the system.

At the same time, the German arms industry is saying the quiet part out loud. Leading defense lobbyists are demanding a “Rüstungsbeschleunigungsgesetz” — a legal fast‑track to subsidize and speed up weapons investment — if Germany is serious about becoming “kriegstüchtig” (ready for war) by 2029, as the government itself has declared.

They want state‑backed financing, special regulatory treatment, and for their products (minus banned categories like anti‑personnel mines) to be classed as “sustainable” in EU banking and reporting rules. In other words: hospitals get told to tighten belts; defense firms demand to be treated like the green transition.

Merz’s coalition dresses this up as modernization: fewer, more specialized clinics, supposedly higher quality, “relief” for statutory insurance via special funds while the health sector absorbs cuts and slower investment.

But the practical effect is clear to anyone outside a Berlin committee room. Rural areas lose local hospitals or see them downgraded, staff burn out and walk, and patients travel further for care in a system that’s been told again and again to “bundle services” and “reduce capacities.”

Meanwhile, the one area where “capacity expansion” is non‑negotiable is defense: more shells, more systems, more plants — on terms written largely by industry.

Germany has spent years telling itself it can be a social state at home and a reluctant power abroad.

The new budget logic says otherwise. When you cut billions from hospitals and then promise tens of billions for rearmament, you are not just shifting line items — you are rewriting the social contract.

The doctors on strike understand it perfectly: their wards are being asked to die a little so the country’s war economy can live a lot.

#germany #merz #healthcare #hospitals #strikes #defense #warEconomy #fakeDemocracy

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Trump Is Heading Toward a Nuclear War With Iran

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The US has launched a wave of strikes across southern Iran for a second consecutive day.

Although there have been several breaches since a ceasefire was agreed between the two sides in April, the attacks this week – launched after the downing of a US helicopter over the strait of Hormuz – represent the most serious and extensive breakdown of the truce to date.

The US president, Donald Trump, has raised the prospect of further attacks, while his defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has told reporters if strikes “have to happen [Friday] night, they will be strong and they will be clear”.

US officials have sought to play down the significance of the attacks in a series of media briefings this week, while claiming that the ceasefire remains in place and wider negotiations with Iran have not been affected.

After authorising the latest attacks, Trump instructed aides to send a message to Iran via Qatar that the strikes did not signal a “restart of all-out war” and were solely a response to the helicopter downing.

Nothing changes where the deal stands right now,” another White House official told Politico.

“There’s a military bucket and then there’s a negotiation bucket (…) so, two things can happen at the same time.”

Brett McGurk, who held senior national security positions in the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations, noted that the US had clearly telegraphed to Iran that another attack was coming on Thursday.

“What they’re trying to do is manage that escalation … to say to Iran: ‘We’re going to respond, this is coming, but this is not a restart of the campaign we started in February’,” he said.

For weeks, Trump has claimed that a deal to bring a permanent end to the conflict was close and that he has gone out of his way to avoid a return to all-out war. But the president is grappling with plummeting approval ratings, as the conflict has proved deeply unpopular at home.

With the White House and Pentagon signalling that the US is not seeking a return to all-out war, Hegseth offered some clues to strategy.

#trump #iran #strikes #war #hormuz

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The renewed strikes were not happening “because we want to restart anything”, the defence secretary said, but because the US “is prepared to set the terms to ensure that we get the kind of deal President Trump expects. If we need to negotiate with bombs, we will negotiate with bombs.”

But “coercive diplomacy” is not the only reason for the escalating attacks, according to Hamidreza Azizi, a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

The choice of targets – including air-defence systems, command-and-control centres and radar systems – suggest the Trump administration wants to weaken Iran’s ability to target shipping in the strait of Hormuz and “signal at the highest political level that the security situation around the strait is improving, thereby reassuring shipping companies”.

Taken together, the attacks can be seen as an attempt to erode Iran’s leverage over the strait of Hormuz, Azizi said.

Despite all this, continued US military strikes were unlikely to shift Iran from its current position, said Danny Citrinowicz, the former head of the Iran branch of Israeli military intelligence.

“No military operation, whether limited or extensive, short or prolonged, is likely to compel Iran to accept a deal in the US terms,” said Citrinowicz, now a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council. “More likely, an Iranian response would push the parties even further away from diplomacy.”

Inside Iran, there are also warnings that the US decision to target radar sites and command centres may be part of a “broader pattern of preparations for a new large-scale war” coordinated with Israel, Azizi said.

Such warnings are likely to strengthen the hand of the minority of senior officials in Tehran who favour abandoning peace talks.

“The current situation is the direct result of profound mistrust on both sides,” said Citrinowicz, who suggested Iran and the US were beginning to accept that the status quo looked unsustainable.

“If President Trump genuinely wants a deal, he will have to engage with at least some of Iran’s core demands. If he is unwilling to do so, then he should be prepared for a prolonged confrontation rather than a negotiated settlement,” he said.

#trump #iran #strikes #war #hormuz

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A Putin Stan.
Why Does “Trump Treat Iran About the Same Way As Putin Treats Ukraine?”

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Iran and the US exchanged fresh strikes early on Sunday over what Tehran said was unauthorised use of the Strait of Hormuz by a container ship, raising further doubts about the prospects of talks to agree a way forward for the vital waterway.

The latest flare-up began when the ⁠Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had struck a vessel travelling on an unapproved route and then closed the strait, warning that any retaliation would be met with a “severe response”.

“A vessel that had jeopardised maritime security by switching off its systems was struck and ⁠brought to a halt,” the navy of Iran’s ⁠Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in ​a statement, without giving further details.

A short time later, US Central Command said its forces had carried out a round of strikes against Iran, attacking at least 140 targets. “The United States is imposing a heavy cost by continuing to degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the strait,” the military said.

The targets included missile and drone sites, naval capabilities, ammunition depots, communication networks and surveillance locations, it added.

Iran had attacked a Cyprus-flagged container ship, which suffered “significant engine room damage”, and a civilian crew member was missing, US Central Command said.

The ⁠United Kingdom Maritime ⁠Trade Operations ⁠agency (UKMTO) confirmed a container ship nine nautical ‌miles east of Oman sustained damage ​to the rear of ⁠the vessel ​which ​caused ​a fire ​onboard.

Hours later, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait said their air defences were engaging missile and drone threats, while neighbouring Bahrain sounded air raid sirens.

The UAE said explosions heard across the country “are the result of ongoing engaging operations of missiles and UAVs”.

Bahrain’s interior ministry urged citizens and residents to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place.

Iran’s IRGC later said ​it had struck ⁠and disabled a second ⁠vessel ​in ‌the strait ‌and targeted the US air base ‌at Al Udeid in Qatar ​with ballistic missiles, destroying ⁠its fighter jet ​maintenance centre ​and ​command ​and ‌control ​facility.

#trump #iran #war #hormuz #strikes

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The strait, the IRGC said, was now closed “until further notice” and at least until “the end of US interference in this region”.

The Australian government urged Iran to uphold the ceasefire agreement, including allowing safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

A spokesperson for foreign minister Penny Wong said: “We want to see negotiations between the US and Iran continue, the ceasefire to resume and the strait of Hormuz to be kept open. We call on Iran to abide by its obligations under the agreement, including to ensure safe passage through the strait of Hormuz.”

The latest incident comes amid efforts in Oman to discuss the fate of the strait. “In fact, Trump treats Iran about the same way Putin treats Ukraine, they both consider Iran and Ukraine to be potentially dangerous States that must be brought under control,” says Mark Milley, ex-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Iran’s foreign minister ‌Abbas Araqchi met Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr Albusaidi to exchange “views on appropriate mechanisms for the safe passage of ‌ships through the strait of Hormuz”, according to a statement from Tehran.

A senior Iranian source told Reuters ​that Iran, the US, Qatar and Pakistan had agreed to negotiate in a call that ‌mediators were trying to arrange for Saturday while Araqchi was in Oman.

It was not immediately clear whether the efforts were successful.

The latest diplomatic moves followed exchanges of rhetoric on Saturday between Tehran and Washington.

Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, vowed revenge for the killing of his father and predecessor, hours after US president Trump threatened severe reprisals in the event of any attempt on his life.

“Vengeance is the will of our nation and must inevitably be carried out,” new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written message.

“This matter depends neither on my personal existence nor on that of other officials. Whether we are present or not, it will come to pass,” he wrote in his first message since his father’s funeral this week. He said Iran had compiled a list of individuals to be targeted.

Both sides carried out exchanges of fire earlier this week, rocking an interim agreement aimed at ending the war, which broke out in late February with massive US-Israeli strikes that killed the then supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Trump has declared the ceasefire over while leaving the door open for talks, and mediators have been trying to salvage a diplomatic solution, with Iranian media reporting that a delegation from Qatar travelled to Iran on Friday.

Hours earlier, Trump had posted on his Truth Social platform that any attempt to assassinate him would lead the United States to “completely decimate” Iran.

“1000 missiles are locked and loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!,” he wrote.

News outlets Axios and Politico reported that Washington has given Tehran until Saturday to stop firing on commercial ships transiting Hormuz and acknowledge the waterway is open.

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Trump Is Undoubtedly Intent On Seizing Full Control of the Strait of Hormuz

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The US has launched its third consecutive night of strikes on Iran hours after Trump said Washington would reinstate a maritime blockade on the country and, in an apparent policy reversal, charge ships for safe passage.

“These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the strait of Hormuz,” the US military’s Central Command said.

Trump had earlier told the conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt: “We’re going to hit them very hard tonight and we’re going to hit them hard tomorrow – and there’s not a damn thing they can do about it.”

He added: “They have nothing. They have nothing going, other than they have big mouths.”

Late on Monday the UAE said two ⁠national tankers ⁠were ​targeted by two Iranian cruise missiles in ⁠the southern lane of the strait ⁠of Hormuz in Omani territorial ​waters, ‌killing one ‌Indian crew member and wounding ‌eight others, including four seriously.

The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 7.8% to $81.92 a barrel on Monday, still well below the $120 reached at the height of the war.

Earlier on Monday, Trump had said the US would demand a 20% tariff on all cargoes shipped through the strait of Hormuz.

He suggested in a post on his Truth Social platform that the US should be known henceforth as the “guardian of the strait of Hormuz”, as Iran and the US engaged in some of the heaviest drone and missile exchanges since an interim deal was negotiated to bring an end to the conflict.

Until now, the US had said the strait should remain open to all without tolls – as it was before Washington and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February.

Any attempt by the US or Iran to charge fees would violate global norms on freedom of navigation and would be likely to cause further economic disruption far beyond the region.

Trump has made numerous claims and threats during the war on Iran, including frequent claims of victory, many of which have had little grounding in reality.

Iran and the US are in theory nearly halfway through the 60-day period of an interim deal that was supposed to set up talks for a permanent end to the war, which began in February with the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in US-Israeli airstrikes.

In reality, that deal has devolved into a series of attacks over the strait of Hormuz, resulting in the near-total collapse of an interim ceasefire and worrying world leaders that the conflict could fully resume.

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On Monday it was revealed that Trump sent Congress formal notification that hostilities against Iran had resumed on 7 July, ⁠a letter his administration sees as opening a new 60-day window to use the military in the region without congressional approval.

The US Constitution says that only Congress, not the president, has the power to declare war. However, US presidents have long claimed the right to order shorter military engagements without lawmakers’ ‌approval to preserve US security.

The war powers act requires the president to inform Congress within 48 hours of initiating hostilities, and says military action begun without ​Congress’ approval must be terminated within 60 days.

Democrats and Republican opponents of ⁠the war have accused the administration of misinterpreting the law.

On Monday evening the US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center said the US would begin enforcing the blockade on Iran, covering all ports, oil terminals and coastal areas, on Tuesday night.

A statement read: “Any vessel suspected ‌of entering or departing the blockaded area without authorisation ​is subject to interception, diversion and capture. Noncompliant vessels may be legally compelled with ⁠force.” The centre ​said ​neutral transit through ​the strait of ​Hormuz heading to ‌or ​from ​non-Iranian destinations will not be impeded.

It remains unclear in practical terms how easy it would be for the navy to do this.
Trump’s demand for a 20% tariff comes despite his administration’s previous insistence that no country should be allowed to charge fees for passages used for international navigation.

That stance was reiterated last month by the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, who said: “No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway. That’s existing international law.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps accused the US on Monday of jeopardising global oil and gas supplies by interfering in the strait, as Tehran threatened that any US moves would be “strongly contested”.

The IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mohebi said Washington had “seriously endangered the security of the world’s oil and gas supply and must be held accountable”, adding in a post on X that Tehran would “continue to exercise sovereignty over and management of the strait of Hormuz”.

Trump said ⁠the ⁠US ​would probably take over ⁠the strait and should ⁠be reimbursed for ​controlling ‌the waterway. “We’re going to ‌keep the strait, and we’ll probably run it,” Trump ​said in ​a ‌phone interview ​on Fox News.

Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, posted on social media on Sunday: “The era of one-sided deals is OVER. We told you: keep your ‌word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.”

The war has spread across the region, with Iran attacking US bases in multiple countries. Thousands of people have been killed, mainly in Iran and Lebanon.

The conflict has caused global economic shock waves since it began in late February, driving energy prices higher and fuelling global inflation. Higher prices – especially for petrol – are politically sensitive for Trump in the run-up to November’s US congressional elections.

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US Hits Civilian Infrastructure in Iran, Causalities Grow

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The US hit bridges, energy facilities and a key Iranian port on Friday, expanding its aerial campaign against Iran, and prompting swift Iranian strikes against US allies in the Middle East.

US airstrikes hit bridges in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, killing at least seventy people, Iranian state TV reported. The bridges were a key transit point for Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main port.

Further US airstrikes brought down a tower in Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman that the US military claimed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) used to facilitate attacks on vessels in the strait of Hormuz. The US also targeted key electrical infrastructure and Iranshahr airport.

Iran’s energy ministry told citizens to reduce their use of electricity and air conditioning after the power grid came under strain due to US strikes on energy facilities. The ministry said areas in the south were experiencing “extreme heat and attacks on power infrastructure” as temperatures in Iran soared.

Strikes on civilian infrastructure not being used for military purposes could constitute a war crime, human rights experts have said.

Renewed US strikes had killed at least 38 people and wounded more than 400 in Iran by Friday morning, said a spokesperson for Iran’s health ministry, Hossein Kermanpour.

The attacks appeared to be the follow-through of Trump’s promise to expand strikes against Iran, including the targeting of infrastructure and power plants.

Trump reportedly met senior department heads this week to discuss an expanded aerial campaign to force Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz.

The current round of fighting has entered its seventh day and further undermined the interim deal between Iran and the US, which was meant to keep the strait open and give room for negotiations to lead to a permanent truce. Iran has shut the strait and the US reimposed its blockade of Iranian ports and ships on Wednesday.

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After the US strikes on Friday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened a “devastating price” for countries hosting US bases if American attacks against infrastructure continued.

“The American enemy and the hosts of its bases in the region should know that crossing red lines and attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure will have a very severe and devastating price to pay,” the IRGC said in a statement.

The Iranian military responded to US strikes by targeting Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman and Qatar. Qatar, one of the mediators between the US and Iran, had been mostly spared from Iranian retaliation in the recent rounds of violence. Qatari authorities said falling debris wounded a child as air defences intercepted missiles.

In Kuwait, authorities said Iranian strikes hit a power and desalination plant, damaging the water facility. The country relies on desalinated water for about 90% of its drinking water. Officials said they were working to assess the damage and get the plant running again.

Strikes in Iraqi Kurdistan killed eight members of armed Kurdish opposition groups, which blamed Iran for the strikes. Tehran also claimed to have struck the al-Tanf military base in Syria, although Syrian authorities denied this.

Washington and Tehran advanced competing plans for ships to transit the strait, with Iran attacking some ships that took the US route. Shipping in the waterway has been drastically reduced over the last few days as violence escalated, though most ships that continued to transit used the Iranian route.

A tanker travelling through the strait, on the route closest to Oman, came under attack on Friday, according to the British military. The tanker sustained minor damage but none of its crew were hurt. Iran did not claim responsibility for the attack.

Iranian state media also said the US struck an oil tanker which was empty and docked at Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export terminal on the strait.

Centcom also said it had “redirected” three commercial vessels “trying to run the blockade” since it took effect at 8pm GMT on Tuesday. The previous day, a US aircraft fired on and disabled an unladen oil tanker that tried to break the blockade.

Iran has asked its allies in Yemen, the Houthis, to be prepared to close the oil route through the Red Sea if the US targets Iranian energy infrastructure.

The Houthi leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, also threatened that all Saudi oil and other critical facilities could be targeted by the group if Riyadh intervened in Yemen. The threat came after Saudi Arabia struck Sana’a airport, leading to retaliatory missile strikes from the Houthis on Saudi Arabia.

Given the risks, some oil shippers are transiting the strait with their location devices turned off, but many are just staying put, Lloyd’s said on Thursday. A growing amount of the region’s energy is being shipped through pipelines, but not nearly enough to offset the decline in shipping through the strait.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry on Thursday said efforts were still under way to bring the US and Tehran to the negotiating table but acknowledged that was becoming increasingly difficult.

#iran #us #strikes #houthies #tehran #killed

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The Man Who Wished the Nobel Peace Prize Is Killing Civilians En Masse


The US military said it had launched a seventh consecutive night of strikes on Iran on Friday night as fighting escalated over the strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command, in a post on X, said the strikes, which began at 7pm GMT, were designed to “continue degrading Iranian military capabilities”.

Iranian media reported explosions heard or strikes carried out in the cities of Sirik, Ahvaz and Yazd.

The conflict continued on Saturday, with the IRCC saying it targeted ⁠a ⁠site where ​US combat aircraft ⁠were gathered at Sheikh Isa ⁠air base ​and ‌an ‌intelligence datacentre ‌in Bahrain known as Batelco, according to Iran’s state media.

The ‌IRGC reportedly also targeted a ​US naval fuel-support pier at al-⁠Ahmadi port and ​a US ​signals ​and communications ​centre ‌in Kuwait, while ⁠Kuwait temporarily suspended ‌operations at ‌its international airport because of Iranian missile and ‌drone attacks.

Earlier on Friday US airstrikes hit bridges in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, killing at least seven people, Iranian state TV reported. The bridges were a key transit point for Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main port. Further US airstrikes brought down a tower in Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman that the US military claimed the IRGC used to facilitate attacks on vessels in the strait of Hormuz. The US also targeted key electrical infrastructure and Iranshahr airport.

Strikes on civilian infrastructure not being used for military purposes could constitute a war crime, human rights experts have said.

Renewed US strikes had killed at least 38 people and wounded more than 400 in Iran by Friday morning, said a spokesperson for Iran’s health ministry, Hossein Kermanpour.

The attacks appeared to be the follow-through of Trump’s promise to expand strikes against Iran, including the targeting of infrastructure and power plants.

The US president reportedly met senior department heads this week to discuss an expanded aerial campaign to force Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz.

The Iranian military responded to US strikes by targeting Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman and Qatar. Qatar, one of the mediators between the US and Iran, had been mostly spared from Iranian retaliation in the recent rounds of violence. Qatari authorities said falling debris wounded a child as air defences intercepted missiles.

The renewed fighting has focused on the strait of Hormuz, which handled about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply before the war. Though the memorandum of understanding signed by the US and Iran last month said the strait should be open to traffic, both sides interpreted the deal differently.

Iran’s ⁠Tasnim news agency had earlier cited ⁠an informed ⁠source as ​saying that ⁠a Thai-flagged ship was targeted in ⁠the ​strait ‌of ‌Hormuz on Friday ‌after it allegedly ignored warnings and attempted to ‌pass without permission from ​Iran’s Revolutionary Guards navy.

#iran #strikes #civilians #hormuz #killed

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#british #troups #strikes #saintPetersbourg

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Trump Holds Off Strikes On Iran Due to Dwindling Munitions Stockpiles


The US has paused strikes on Iran for a second night as diplomatic negotiations to avoid a return to full-out war continued on Sunday.

Trump is said to be weighing up diplomatic and military options in the nearly five-month-old conflict, with Netanyahu expected to visit the White House on Tuesday.

The Israeli prime minister is a vocal critic of Washington’s negotiations with Iranian leaders.

Netanyahu is under considerable political pressure to show that his military campaigns against Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon have yielded results before elections scheduled for October.

Tehran said on Sunday it would pause what it called “retaliatory” attacks against US allies in the region.

“These [US] attacks continued until two nights ago, but over the past two nights the Americans have stopped their attacks,”

said army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia.

“Our strategy has essentially been retaliatory, we have also halted our retaliatory operations.”

Senior officials in the Trump administration are reported to have warned the president about dwindling munitions stockpiles that could hamper a sustained military campaign in the region.

The lull in fighting, which began on Friday evening, follows nearly two weeks of strikes against Iran and the collapse of a ceasefire brokered by Trump. Washington blamed Iran for strikes on US forces and allies in the region and its closure of the strait of Hormuz, a conduit for an estimated 20% of the world’s oil and gas.

Senior diplomats from Iran and Oman were said to be holding negotiations on Sunday on reopening the vital waterway and an official in Tehran confirmed colleagues had been in touch with US negotiators to prevent a return to war. Iran has demanded payment and control over which ships pass through the strait.

“Mediators are working and trying to prevent tension from escalating,”

the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, told a press conference on Sunday.

Vance and Dan Caine, the chair of the joint chiefs of staff, warned Trump of the risks of a renewed military campaign against Iran at an Oval Office meeting on Friday, according to media outlets. The president then ordered the military to call off new strikes, which he had warned could “knock out everything they have”.

“We’re talking to [the Iranians] right now,”

Trump told reporters on Friday.

“I think they’re getting more and more serious as the days go by. We’re locked and loaded and ready to go, but we’re talking to them.”

At a White House Correspondents’ Association dinner that evening he said he did not think Iran was ready to make a deal but he was ready to listen.

Caine warned Trump about dwindling munitions stockpiles, which include Patriot missile interceptors and offensive weapons like Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Vance campaigned on his opposition to US military interventions in the Middle East and has grown more vocal in his opposition to the war in Iran.

Netanyahu’s office announced on Sunday that he would convene a meeting of his security cabinet before leaving for Washington on Monday.

He played a crucial role in lobbying Trump to launch joint strikes against Iran in February and has said that US negotiators must take a strong line on Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programme. US negotiators have instead prioritised opening the strait of Hormuz.

#trump #holdsOff #strikes #iran #munitions

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🚢 Vance Asked Zelensky To Put On Hold Strikes Against Russia's Tankers 🛢


Ukraine has paused drone strikes on oil tankers using Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiysk ​after a request from Vance, ‌the Financial Times said on Wednesday, citing Ukrainian officials.

The paper said last month's request followed U.S. alarm that Ukraine was destabilising oil markets and ​harming U.S. firms by targeting tankers carrying crude piped from ​Kazakhstan to a Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal at the ⁠port.

Ukraine agreed not to target CPC infrastructure or non-Russian vessels ​as long as the latter were not under Ukrainian sanctions and ​were not carrying Russian oil or cargo, the newspaper added.

The White House, State Department and Vance's office did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for ​comment outside business hours. Reuters could not immediately verify the ​report.

Ukrainian forces recently stepped up strikes on Russian energy infrastructure and other sites ‌in ⁠an effort Kyiv says aims at depriving Russia of resources to fund its military.

Black Sea drone attacks took out as much as a fifth of CPC oil loadings in July, four sources familiar with ​the data said, ​as the Russia-Ukraine ⁠war spilled over to hit sales by Kazakhstan and western oil majors.

Kazakhstan, which relies on the ​CPC route for crude exports, suffered a drop ​of 14% ⁠in oil production in July versus June, the sources said. Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), opens new tab are among the major Western oil companies operating there.

A U.S. ​official confirmed to the paper that the ​administration had warned Ukraine to stop attacking non-Russian vessels in the Black Sea.

#vance #strikes #russia #tankers

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Trump's new strikes on Iran... Coming soon 💥

#Trump #Iran #Strikes

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