President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo)US President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned that the American military will “bomb and destroy” Iran’s one bridge or power plant as and when Tehran attacks a ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz. In retaliation, a senior Iranian official said Tehran will consider “striking infrastructure and bridges across the region” if the US military strikes its infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Tehran has launched more retaliatory attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan after the US military carried out an eleventh consecutive night of strikes on Iran, hitting targets in the south and west of the country. Trump said Iran was “desperate” for talks and threatened to strike a suspected new Iranian nuclear site “very heavily”. The exchange has widened well beyond Iran and the US: a desalination plant and power stations caught fire in Kuwait after fresh Iranian strikes, while Bahrain and Jordan also came under attack. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said two tankers that “took an unsafe route” through the Strait of Hormuz caught fire. Yemen’s Houthi rebels declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia, adding further strain to global energy supplies, while two tankers carrying Saudi crude reversed course in the Red Sea on Tuesday after Houthi threats.
Trump said the US would likely soon strike the area of Pickaxe Mountain, a fortified underground site believed to be tied to Iran’s nuclear programme. Tehran said any attack on its nuclear facilities would count as an expansion of the war. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress the war has cost $37.5 billion so far, though AP reported experts believe the real bill is likely far higher, as he and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine sought more funding from lawmakers.
Follow The Indian Express Global Desk live coverage for the latest updates on the conflict from West Asia and the US.
US President Donald Trump's administration is investigating whether Russia assisted Iran's drone attacks on CIA sites in the Gulf region, Reuters reported, citing sources.
Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Wednesday that no one will be able to sell oil in a region where Iran is not able to do so, adding that if Tehran's security is not ensured, no infrastructure will be safe.
"The equation of this war is clear: either all or none," Ghalibaf said in a post on X, adding that the security of the Strait of Hormuz lies in the absence of American forces.
معادلهٔ این جنگ مشخص است: یا همه یا هیچکس!
— محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) <a href="https://twitter.com/mb_ghalibaf/status/2079980825672651246?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
در منطقهای که ما نفت نفروشیم، کسی نفت نخواهد فروخت. اگر امنیت ما تأمین نشود، هیچ زیرساختی ایمن نخواهد بود و امنیت تنگه در نبود نیروهای آمریکایی است. بارها گفتهایم که وضعیت تنگه به قبل از جنگ باز نمیگردد.
US President 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.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Asian leaders Wednesday that Iran's demand to control and collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz would threaten the world’s economy and set a precedent that could be repeated elsewhere in the world.
- AP
Pakistan has asked the United States for a $10 billion exchange stabilisation facility, according to two sources briefed on the matter, which, if approved, could provide a lifeline for the cash-strapped South Asian economy.
The request, which is being reported for the first time, follows Pakistan's role in brokering talks over the Iran war, which raised its diplomatic profile and stirred hopes that it could seek economic gains from Washington and other partners.
- Reuters
US President Donald Trump will attend a ceremony 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 United States and Pakistan on Wednesday condemned Yemen's Houthi rebels for threatening commercial shipping in the Red Sea after the group announced a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia earlier this week.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio blamed Iran for the Houthi rebel group's naval blockade against Saudi Arabia but hoped it could be de-escalated. (AP)
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned that the American military will "bomb and destroy" Iran's one bridge or power plant as and when Tehran attacks a ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, "From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran."
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 22, 2026
Bulgaria's Parliament on Wednesday backed a government proposal to allow the US military to use an air base in the Balkan country to support US operations in the Middle East, while some expressed concern about becoming involved in the Iran war.
The Trump administration has faced pushback from certain other countries in the European Union over the use of air bases in support of its war with Iran. (AP)
A satellite image, shared by Iran's Tasnim News Agency, purportedly shows a destroyed early warning radar of the US Army at the Ahmad al-Jaber base in Kuwait.
Israeli media say explosions were heard in the Eilat region following an Iranian missile attack on areas near the Jordanian city of Aqaba, Al Jazeera reported. The reports emerged shortly after the alleged strike near Jordan's southern border.
World Bank official Indermit Gill said the United States, China and India are largely insulated from the economic impact of the Iran conflict. However, he warned that developing countries with high debt levels face greater risks from the ongoing geopolitical tensions. Reuters
Lebanon's prime minister Wednesday visited a battered southern village as a Lebanese-Israeli agreement brokered by Washington appears to have started following a monthslong war.Nawaf Salam's appearance in Zawtar Al Gharbieh comes a day after President Joseph Aoun's landmark White House meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, who promised to back the Lebanese government in its bid to claim state control across the country. Lebanon and Israel in late June signed the agreement, which calls for the Lebanese military to deploy in areas in southern Lebanon where Hezbollah had a military presence and influence, and from where Israeli troops that have occupied dozens of villages would withdraw. AP
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said China has made it clear that it does not support any disruption to navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, an international waterway. He added that while China has been cooperative with the United States on Iran in some instances, its actions have not altered the trajectory of the ongoing conflict with Iran. Reuters
Bulgaria played down on Wednesday Iran's warning that its plan to host U.S. tanker aircraft would constitute complicity in "aggression and war crimes" in the Middle East, arguing that the planes would only serve logistical purposes. Prime Minister Rumen Radev said it was "categorically out of the question for military operations in the Middle East to be conducted from Bulgarian territory". "These tanker aircraft are intended solely for logistical missions, and they will be refuelled outside Bulgarian airspace," Bulgarian media quoted Radev as telling ministers. The government said on Monday it would seek parliamentary approval to station up to eight U.S. tanker aircraft at an air base in the Balkan country, which is a member of NATO and the European Union. Parliament is expected to greenlight the move at a session later on Wednesday. The plan prompted a warning from Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, on Tuesday against allowing the U.S. to use Bulgaria's territory for military operations against Iran, which he said would make Sofia "an accomplice of aggressors and lawbreakers". The Bulgarian government has said it aims to station the U.S. aircraft at the Bezmer military facility, about 260 km (160 miles) southeast of Sofia. The U.S. and Iran have intensified strikes since an interim ceasefire deal signed a month ago unravelled, raising the possibility of a return to all-out war. Reuters
Iran’s military, in a statement, said they launched drone attacks on Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Azraq and Bahrain’s Isa Air Base.
“The army targeted the ‘housing and welfare buildings’ and ‘equipment warehouses’ of the terrorist US army at the Azraq base in Jordan with drones in the morning,” the Mehr News Agency quoted the Iranian military as saying in a statement.
Iran executed a man for charges linked to protests in the January, the judiciary's Mizan news agency reported on Wednesday.
Mizan identified the man as Mehdi Khaneki and said he was executed for "operational actions" that benefited Israel, the United States and hostile groups. It said he also produced and possessed weapons.
A third US soldier is believed to have been killed in action during an Iranian strike on Muwaffaq Salti airbase in Jordan on July 17, the US Defense Department says in a statement.
The department said the 28-year-old had previously been reported missing, but that the soldier’s status has now been updated to “Duty Status–Whereabouts Unknown, believed deceased”.
Two other soldiers were killed in the attack on the Jordan base. The latest death brings the total number of US soldiers killed since the war on Iran began on February 28 to 18.
United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has put the latest official price tag on the US-Israel war on Iran at $37.5bn.
Hegseth confirmed the figure during a hearing before the Senate appropriations committee on Tuesday, in which he and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine were questioned about their request for a $1.5 trillion US defence budget, including nearly $70bn for the war with Iran. Read more
Iran’s army said on Wednesday that launched a large drone attack on what it described as US ammunition storage and logistics facilities in Al-Dawha, Kuwait.
The army said the attack was in response to renewed strikes on parts of Iran.
Oil prices are continuing their upward trajectory, with Brent crude futures gaining $1 as of 03:30 GMT or 1.1 percent to reach $92.01 a barrel.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude went up 82 cents, or 1.0 percent, to trade at $85.16.
The gains came after oil settled at a five-week high on Tuesday, according to the Reuters news agency, in the wake of US forces attacking targets in southern and western Iran, while Iran struck US facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.
Air attacks have hit Iran’s western Ilam province, on the border with Iraq, the IRIB state broadcaster says.
It said the attacks struck the Chavar and Abdanan regions of Ilam province, and that the governor of Abdanan confirmed an air strike on the Dinarkoh region.
The Pentagon has identified a US soldier believed to have been killed in action in Jordan, naming her as Sergeant Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, New York, who is thought to have died on 17 July 2026 during an attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, according to a Defense Department news release; she had previously been listed as missing by US Central Command, and was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 10th Army Air & Missile Defense Command in Ansbach, Germany, the Pentagon said, adding that the incident remains under investigation after the military located unidentified remains of a missing service member in Jordan over the weekend that have yet to be conclusively confirmed.
Iran restored parts of its missile capabilities after US and Israeli strikes targeted its weapons infrastructure earlier in the war, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing military analysts and satellite imagery.
The report said Iran resumed operations at some underground missile facilities and continued launching missiles and drones at US forces and regional allies despite claims by President Donald Trump and US officials that Tehran’s missile capabilities had been severely degraded.
The IRIB state broadcaster IRIB says there have been air attacks on Iran’s western Ilam province, on the border with Iraq.
It said the Chavar and Abdanan regions of Ilam province were attacked, and reported that the governor of Abdanan confirmed an airstrike on the Dinarkoh region.
The Fars news agency reports that US forces have attacked a military site on the outskirts of Tabriz in northwestern Iran.
Citing local crisis management officials, Fars said the strike occurred at about 2:40am local time (23:00 GMT) and hit a military zone near the city.
It said there have been no attacks inside the city.
The IRIB state broadcaster says the deputy governor of Sistan and Baluchestan has confirmed attacks on the southeastern cities.
“The attacks occurred this morning in the Chabahar and Konarak areas and the situation is under control,” it cited the official as saying.
The US military completed its 11th consecutive the day of strikes on Iran, say the CENTCOM.
US Central Command said they have hit Iranian military operations centres, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, military logistics infrastructure and drone storage facilities.
The US military has confirmed that a third service member is believed to be dead in Friday's attack on a base in Jordan and identified them as Sgt Angel S Rampersad, 28, of New York.
The confirmation brings the death toll to 18 US service members killed since the war began.
On Monday, the Pentagon identified 1st Lt Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, as the two other soldiers who were killed in Jordan in Friday's attacks. The soldiers were killed by Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks in the first troop deaths from direct Iranian fire since the opening days of the war.
Oil prices inched higher in early trading on Wednesday as fears of further supply disruptions intensified after US forces said it began striking Iranian military targets for the 11th straight night and Kuwait reported attacks by Iranian drones.
Brent crude futures rose 0.55%, or 50 cents, to $91.51 after markets opened on Wednesday, while US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 0.36%, or 30 cents, to $84.64 in low volume trading. This comes after oil settled at a five-week high on Tuesday after US forces struck targets in southern and western Iran, while Iran attacked US facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.
The US military said it began its latest strikes on Iran late on Tuesday in the United States, or early Wednesday in Iran. The US attacks came a short while after the Kuwaiti army said its air defences were intercepting Iranian drones on Wednesday.
A congressional rules panel has refused to allow a floor vote on an amendment targeting deeper US-Israeli military cooperation, according to representatives Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna. Massie said on X that no debate or vote had been permitted on the section covering integration of US military technology and supply chains with Israel's.
Khanna said in a video that lawmakers weren't even given a chance to vote on stopping the two countries from co-producing weapons, adding that the next step would be pushing to remove the provision during House-Senate conference negotiations.
.@RepThomasMassie and I are leading the fight against military integration with Israel.
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) July 21, 2026
Congress was denied a vote on an amendment to stop it. Now we will fight to strip this provision in the conference between the House and Senate. pic.twitter.com/N32ItVgBlm
Several explosions have been reported near the southern part of Tabriz in northwestern Iran, according to the Fars news agency.
Residents have reported hearing air defence activity in northeastern Tehran, according to the Fars news agency.
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