President Donald Trump departs after speaking at the David Mack Center for Training and Intelligence on August 14, 2026, in New York.
| Photo Credit: AP

Iran called on the U.S. to accept defeat while President Donald Trump blasted Iran as “evil” and urged Americans ‌to brace for continued high fuel prices. The comments suggested the warring parties remained far apart, with progress toward peace talks and oil tanker traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz waterway both halted.

“This strait will be opened and ⁠closed only under Iran’s command, and so long as you do not accept the reality of defeat and stop indulging in fantasies, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said in a post on X early Saturday, showing little urgency toward restoring prewar trade.

“The Strait of Hormuz ‌cannot be seized by a tweet or an aircraft carrier, by issuing an order or by delivering an election speech,” he said. 

– Reuters

Military helicopters and personnel operate in a location given as the Arabian Sea in this screengrab obtained from a video released by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on July 25, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

The U.S. military has paused its airstrikes on Iran after nearly two weeks of intensifying bombing, while diplomatic efforts have pushed forward to try to avert a return to all-out war. Regional officials involved in the mediation efforts said that concerted diplomacy was under way and that a pause in U.S. strikes and Iranian counterstrikes on neighbouring countries hosting American forces was a “positive signal that helps their efforts to de-escalate.” 

The U.S. naval blockade against Iran remains in full effect, the U.S. Central Command said early Sunday (July 26, 2026).

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Despite the lull in fighting, tensions are high in the region. Yemen’s Houthi rebels said on Saturday (July 25, 2026) that they fired missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia in response to Saudi airstrikes on the strategic Red Sea city of Hodeida. The Iran-backed rebels say they have closed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which has become even more vital for Saudi oil exports since the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz.

Watch | Iran is prepared for U.S. ground invasion: Mohammad Marandi

U.S. President Donald Trump both has threatened more strikes and said talks are pressing on, all while brushing off concerns that rising gas prices tied to the fighting could hurt Republicans in November’s midterm elections. Adding to the uncertainty is the impact of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned visit with Mr. Trump next week in Washington. 

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Iran-backed Houthi rebels vowed to retaliate against Saudi Arabia on Saturday (July 25, 2026) after they accused the kingdom of targeting civilian infrastructure, as the West Asia war widens across the region.

Riyadh struck Houthi military targets in Hodeida on Friday (July 24), with rebel media reporting two wounded after the Yemeni group announced a maritime blockade of the top oil producer and hit its ships.

The flare-up marks a new front of the war that has engulfed the region following US-Israeli strikes on Tehran in February, and comes on top of Iran’s parallel blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Riyadh’s only other maritime route.

“The Saudi enemy’s targeting of civilian facilities in Hodeida and Kamaran island constitutes a dangerous escalation,” the Houthis’ Ansarollah media posted on Telegram.

“We affirm that these recent crimes will not go unanswered.”

AFP

The number of tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz fell to just one on Thursday (July 24, 2026), the lowest level since May 7, according ‌to shiptracking data, amid ongoing shipping risks in the West Asia and as ⁠oil prices surged back to $100 a barrel.

Only one tanker crossed the Strait of Hormuz on July 23, compared with ‌three the day earlier, data from analytics firm Kpler showed.

Very large crude carrier New ‌Giant, loaded with 2 million barrels of Iraqi ‌Basrah ⁠crude, exited the strait on Thursday ⁠and is due to arrive at China’s Rizhao port by mid-August.- Reuters

Smoke rises following a strike at an unknown location during what the U.S. military says is its latest wave of strikes on Iran, hitting “Iranian military targets such as coastal surveillance and air defence sites, military logistics infrastructure, and maritime capabilities,” in this still image taken from handout video released July 16, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
U.S. Central Command via Reuters

The United States expanded its airstrike campaign against Iran early on Friday (July 17, 2026) by increasingly hitting bridges, part of President Donald Trump’s threats to start striking infrastructure to pressure Tehran to ease its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.

Also read | Bahrain and Kuwait face Iranian fire as U.S. airstrikes expand to target more bridges

The U.S. military’s Central Command said it hit dozens of targets in its latest airstrikes, which concluded at dawn on Friday (July 17), the sixth night in a row of American attacks.

Also read | Iran slams ‘barbaric’ U.S. attack after hospital evacuated due to nearby strike

Iran also launched new missile attacks against U.S.-allied nations in the West Asia and warned that its attacks would escalate. Iranian state media said the U.S. strikes on Thursday (July 16) hit around Tehran and Semnan province, home to Iran’s ballistic missile production and space program.

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Explosions at an unknown location, during U.S. Central Command says are strikes on Iran.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Air defences were heard in parts of Tehran on Thursday morning (July 16, 2026), state media said, and explosions rang out in northern and western parts of the country.

“So far, no casualties have been reported in Tehran by official authorities,” state news agency IRNA reported. 

Explosions were heard in parts of the western Lorestan province and Semnan in the north, IRNA and the Mehr news agency reported.

– AFP

U.S. forces carried out strikes against Iran for a fourth day in a row and reimposed a naval blockade to prevent ships from sailing to or from the country’s ports.

While U.S. President Donald Trump backtracked on his threat to heavily tax ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, he warned he would expand U.S. strikes on Iran next week to target power plants and bridges if Tehran does not agree to a deal.

“Next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News. “We’re going to knock out all their power plants. We’re going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate.”

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the latest strikes were aimed at “degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping” in the strait, the key shipping channel for Gulf oil and gas where Tehran has repeatedly carried out attacks on civilian vessels.

– AFP

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi will meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington today, as the U.S. administration piles pressure on Baghdad to curb Iranian influence.

His visit comes against the backdrop of renewed military escalation between the United States and Iran, Iraq’s main allies.

Washington and Tehran’s enmity has long turned Iraq into a proxy battleground and left successive governments struggling to maintain a delicate balance between the two foes.

Mr. Zaidi arrived in Washington yesterday for his first international visit since assuming office — a week-long trip during which he will meet Mr. Trump, U.S. officials and representatives of oil companies.

– AFP