Iraqis inspect damaged structures at the site of an airstrike on a Popular Mobilization Forces base in Mosul, Iraq. (AP Photo)Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Thursday claimed responsibility for an attack on the US military base in Kuwait, Iran’s Press TV reported. The report added that the IRGC attack was part of Operation Nasr-2 targeting the Ali Al-Salem US base in Kuwait, destroying two drone hangars and one fuel depot. The IRGC further added that three of its members were killed in a US attack on the north-western Zanjan province.
Earlier, the US Central Command in a statement said it struck dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran, including military command centres, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defence sites, and maritime capabilities.
The latest barrage comes after the US partnered with Saudi Arabia to strike Iran-backed militias in neighboring Iraq, killing at least 20 fighters and six Iranian advisers. Explosions were heard in Qeshm, Kish, Bandar Abbas, Abadan and Bushehr. The latest strikes came hours after US President Donald Trump vowed to hit Iran “very hard” after it targeted a base in Jordan that hosts American troops.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it fired missiles Tuesday at Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, a key US military hub for the region. Meanwhile, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported damage in Qeshm Island, where the maximum damage was inflicted by the US strikes.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday his so-called "Board of Peace" reached an agreement for the complete disarmament of Palestinian Hamas militants and other armed groups in Gaza.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump cast it as a "major milestone in the implementation of the Trump 20-Point Plan" to end Israel's war in Gaza.
Iraqi media is reporting a series of explosions in Erbil in northern Iraq.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged Bulgaria to reconsider its decision to allow the temporary deployment of US military aircraft at the Bezmer air base, Iranian state media reported on Thursday.
During a phone call with his Bulgarian counterpart, Velislava Petrova-Chamova, Araghchi said Sofia's approval of a US request to station military aircraft at the base to support military operations amounted to facilitating aggression against Iran, adding the move was unacceptable and contrary to the traditionally friendly relations between the two countries.
- Reuters
Saudi Arabia on Thursday unveiled plans for a multinational maritime defence coalition aimed at protecting international shipping and energy supply routes in the Red Sea region after attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis disrupted one of the world's busiest trade corridors.
- Reuters
The United States on Thursday issued new sanctions on Thursday targeting global networks supporting Mahan Air, the Iranian carrier Washington says transports Iran's Revolutionary Guards personnel, as well as weapons and drones.
The US military said on Thursday that no US aircraft were destroyed or damaged in recent attempted Iranian attacks, denying a claim it said was made by Iran's Revolutionary Guards that three US F-35 jets and three other aircraft were destroyed.
In a statement, US Central Command also said the commercial vessel M/T Nora had not broken through America's blockade of Iranian ports, denying a claim it said was made on Iranian state media.
Oil prices fell sharply after reports stated that Iran and Oman held discussions related to the strategic waterway, the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reported.
At least three members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were killed in the latest spree of US attacks on the north-western Zanjan province on Thursday, state media reported.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Thursday claimed responsibility for an attack on the US military base in Kuwait, Iran's Press TV reported.
The report added that the IRGC attack was part of Operation Nasr-2 targeting the Ali Al-Salem US base in Kuwait, destroying two drone hangars and one fuel depot.
A drone strike on gas vessels in Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta signalled a potential new front in the US-Iran war, raising the prospect of threats to navigation through the Suez Canal, a last remaining safe export route for Saudi oil.
The Egyptian cabinet said on Thursday that an initial investigation showed that an unidentified drone caused a fire on Wednesday on two vessels at Damietta port, near the Suez Canal, which links the Mediterranean with the Red Sea.
- Reuters
Pakistan on Thursday said it was "doing its utmost" to bring the US and Iran back to the negotiating table under the Islamabad memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed last month, amid escalating tensions in the region.
"We support dialogue and diplomacy as they are the only viable path forward," Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said at his weekly press briefing here.
- PTI
The Iranian crude oil tanker Humanity passed through the Strait of Malacca and sailed past Singapore last Saturday before changing course towards Malaysia's coast, where it switched off its Automatic Identification System (AIS).
Satellite tracking data showed the 330-metre-long tanker reached Malaysia's Eastern Outer Port Limits (EOPL), a 1,200-square-kilometre area in the South China Sea located around 70 kilometres offshore, before its tracking signal went offline.
The British marine insurance market has expanded the area in the Red Sea classified as high risk following recent attacks on commercial vessels by Yemen's Houthi rebels, according to a July 29 advisory reported by Al Jazeera.
The updated guidance excludes Egyptian waters from the designated high-risk zone. The advisory, issued by the Joint War Committee—comprising members of the Lloyd's Market Association and representatives of the London insurance market—is closely monitored by insurers and plays a key role in determining war risk insurance premiums.
At least 15 Palestinians have been detained by Israeli forces during overnight raids across the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera reported. Violent attacks by Israeli settlers have also intensified with the UN warning they are at an all-time high, the outlet said.
The U.S. and Iran each fired barrages of missiles Thursday, as the pattern of back-and-forth strikes took hold again and hope dimmed for any quick resolution.
After a brief respite, the risk of a return to all-out war emerged once more, with the fighting threatening to engulf even more countries: Jordan said Thursday it intercepted Iranian missiles for the second consecutive day, while Kuwait said a strike in the northern part of the country killed one person.
Also this week, drones caused fires on ships at an Egyptian port, and Saudi Arabia said it came under fire from Iran-backed militias in Iraq.
The spiraling violence underscored the difficulty of winding down a five-month conflict that has sent the price of fuel and other basics soaring, jolted the world economy, and added to concerns about American stockpiles of weapons needed to defend its bases and allies. After an earlier hiatus had given hope that diplomatic efforts were moving forward, there was no public sign of progress. AP
Israeli strikes killed at least three people, including two children, in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, health officials said, as mediators held new talks with Hamas leaders to work towards full implementation of a U.S.-brokered Gaza peace plan.
Medics said an Israeli airstrike on a tent encampment in Khan Younis, south of the enclave, killed a man and an eight-year-old girl.
In the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, an Israeli airstrike hit a house killing an 18-month-old child and wounding at least eight people, medics said.
The Israeli military said both strikes targeted Hamas militants.
The latest deaths add to a toll of more than 1,200 Palestinians, mostly civilians, killed by Israeli attacks since the ceasefire took effect, according to Gaza health officials.
Hamas does not usually disclose its losses. The truce halted full-scale fighting but has not ended near-daily Israeli strikes. Four Israeli soldiers have been killed by militants in Gaza over the same period. Reuters
An Iranian strike hit a Chinese firm's building in northern Kuwait on Thursday morning, severely damaging the structure and killing a worker, Kuwait's military said, according to Associated Press. The fresh attack comes hours after Jordan's air defences shot down five missiles launched from Iran.
This comes came after the US military said it had completed "a heavy wave of strikes against Iran," conducted in response to an earlier Iranian missile attack on a US base in Jordan.
The Egyptian cabinet on Thursday said that the initial investigation revealed that the fire on the two ships at Damietta port was caused by a drone.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards said two oil tankers attempting to use the “unsafe route” south of the Strait of Hormuz turned back overnight after a "severe fire" broke out in one of the vessels. In a statement on Telegram, the IRGC said the vessels had been directed onto the route by US aircraft, Al Jazeera reported.
Jordan's air defences shot down five missiles launched from Iran Thursday morning, the country's state-run news agency said. The response comes hours after the US military announced it had completed "a heavy wave of strikes against Iran" in response to an earlier Iranian missile attack on a US base in Jordan.
There were no casualties reported from Jordan's interception of the missiles.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated his call for peace and return to diplomacy in the ongoing war in the Middle East. “The Secretary-General has been worried for some time that if the parties do not return to negotiations, you could have a widening of the conflict, and that seems to be what has been happening in recent hours,” Deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq told reporters, according to Al Jazeera. Guterres called for the two parties to return to the diplomatic efforts, including the mediation efforts being pressed by Pakistan, Qatar and other countries.
The United States and Iran have exchanged fire in recent days, escalating tensions in the wider region and putting any talk of peace on hold. The war, that began on February 28, is no longer restrained between the US and Israel on one side, and Iran on the other.
The recent attacks have engulfed the wider (Middle East and North Africa) MENA region, with the latest expansion on the Egypt and Jordan front.
Here's the recap of recent events:
- Last week, the conflict expanded to the Red Sea, where the Houthis militias in Yemen have threatened to cut off another key waterway in the region, Bab el-Mandeb, to Saudi vessels. The Houthis blamed Saudi for the attack on Sana Airport.
- Iran on Wednesday fired ballistic missiles at United States military installations in Jordan in a surprise attack. The US confirmed that it intercepted the IRGC attack.
- A drone hit a US-owned gas storage tanker at Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta, British maritime security firm Ambrey said. This is the first time when the conflict reached Egypt.
- Saudi Arabia, which was not directly involved in the conflict, conducted a joint strike with the US on Iran-backed militia in neighbouring Iraq, killing at least 20 fighters and six Iranian advisers, according to Associated Press.
Iran's Tasnim news on Thursday shared photos showing damage to cars after the US attack on Qeshm Island. (Image credits: Telegram/Tasnim)
Two ships, including a US-owned gas storage tanker, caught fire after an explosion at an Egyptian port on Wednesday, escalating the risk of a wider conflict amid the US-Iran war. A drone hit the American gas storage tanker at Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta, Reuters cited British maritime security firm Ambrey as saying.
There is no confirmation on who was behind the drone attack. Three marine tracking companies reported the incident, with one firm saying that the explosion had been caused by a drone attack, though there was no official confirmation from Egyptian authorities or the ships’ owners, The New York Times reported.
The US Central Command said it successfully completed a heavy wave of strikes against Iran to retaliate Wednesday's missile attack on US forces in Jordan. The attack was launched at 10 pm ET on Wednesday, where the Centcom struck IRGC targets, including
At 10 p.m. ET on July 29, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces successfully completed a heavy wave of strikes against Iran in military command centers, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defense sites, and maritime capabilities.
"The strikes aimed to further diminish threats posed by Iran and its proxies to American forces, commercial shipping, and neighboring Gulf countries. On July 28, IRGC forces launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on U.S. forces based in the Middle East," the Centcom statement said.
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