Mediator Pakistan insisted on Thursday (July 30) that negotiations between Iran and the United States were ongoing, even as Washington carried out a “heavy wave of strikes” on its foe in retaliation for fresh attacks targeting Jordan.

The last two days have seen Saudi Arabia join the U.S. in striking militant groups in Iraq, while Egypt has come under fire for the first time with a drone attack at a Mediterranean port, leading its President to warn that the conflict in West Asia is facing a serious escalation.- AFP

The United States military launched “powerful” strikes on Iran on Thursday, July 30, 2026 in retaliation for Tehran’s attacks targeting U.S. bases in Jordan as the war in West Asia reignited and again drew in the Islamic republic’s proxies.

The first strikes after a nearly week-long lull in fighting dashed hopes of a return to negotiations.

“The strikes are a powerful response to yesterday’s attempted Iranian attacks on U.S. forces based in the Middle East”, U.S. Central Command said.

Saudi Arabia and the United States also announced strikes on Wednesday on militant bases in Iraq, while U.S. ally Israel accused Iran-backed Hezbollah of a truce violation.- AFP

The U.S. military said today that it launched new airstrikes against Iran to “swiftly punish” the country’s Revolutionary Guard for an attack in Jordan that killed two American service members, left one missing and four requiring hospitalisation.

The strikes were designed to further degrade Iran’s ability to restrict the traffic of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command said.

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President Donald Trump issued a new warning to Iran on Sunday (May 17, 2026), saying the Islamic republic had to move quickly to end the conflict that has shaken West Asia and sent energy prices climbing. “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them,” Mr. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!”

An Israeli missile strike on an apartment in eastern Lebanon on Sunday (May 17, 2026) killed an Islamic Jihad commander and his 17-year-old daughter, Lebanese state media said. Emergency workers were searching the rubble for survivors of the blast on the outskirts of the city of Baalbek. The attack comes despite an extension of the truce between the two countries.

A drone strike triggered a fire near a nuclear power station in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, authorities said, reporting no injuries or impact on radiation levels.

President Donald Trump warned the ceasefire in the West Asia war was on “life support” Monday (May 11) after rejecting the latest counteroffer from Iran, which said its military stood ready to respond to any act of aggression.

The president’s angry reaction to Iran’s position – delivered in response to a U.S. proposal – sent oil prices soaring and dashed hopes that a deal could be quickly negotiated to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping.

After slamming the reply as “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE,” Mr. Trump insisted the United States would see a “complete victory” over Iran, adding that the truce, which has largely halted fighting in the Gulf for over a month, was on its last legs.

– AFP

Top U.S. diplomat Marco Rubio met Saturday with the leader of Mideast ally Qatar, the State Department said, highlighting the Gulf state’s role as a key intermediary for Washington as it awaited Tehran’s response on a peace proposal.

“The Secretary expressed appreciation for Qatar’s partnership on a range of issues,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement on the meeting between Rubio and Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who is also Qatar’s Moreign Minister.

“The Secretary and the Foreign Minister also discussed U.S. support for Qatar’s defense, and the importance of continued close coordination to deter threats and promote stability and security across the Middle East.”

-AFP

The U.S. Treasury on Friday announced sanctions against ‌10 individuals and companies, including several in China and ⁠Hong Kong, for aiding efforts by Iran’s military to secure weapons and raw ‌materials used to build Tehran’s Shahed drones.

The Treasury move, ‌first reported by Reuters, ‌comes ⁠days before U.S. President Donald Trump ⁠plans to travel to China for a meeting with President Xi Jinping and as efforts ‌to end the war with Iran have stalled.

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U.S. President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was still in place Thursday, despite exchanges of fire with Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz.

“They trifled with us today. We blew them away,” he told reporters in Washington, insisting that talks were “going very well.”

-AFP

U.S. President Donald Trump predicted on ‌Wednesday night that the war ⁠in Iran will be over quickly, as he ‌seeks a deal to ‌end the ‌stalemate ⁠over the Strait of ⁠Hormuz and Tehran’s nuclear program.

“When you look at ‌the kind of things that are happening, we are doing ‌that for one very important reason: We ⁠cannot allow them to have a ‌nuclear weapon. So I think most people understand that. They understand that what ‌we are doing is right, and it’ll be over quickly,” Mr. ⁠Trump told a ⁠tele-rally for Georgia Republican Governor candidate ‌Burt Jones. 

-Reuters