Iran halts ‘retaliatory strikes’ after lull in U.S. attacks

admin — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 17:46:00 +0000

A protester stands near a police vehicle while attending an anti-war demonstration outside the main gate of RAF Fairford airbase, which hosts U.S. Air Force (USAF) personnel, after the British government said on July 23, 2026, that Britain’s armed forces stand ready to defend the country and its military bases against any attack, in Fairford, Gloucestershire, Britain, on July 25, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Extending the weekend lull in fighting in West Asia, with the United States having halted operations after 13 days of strikes, Iran announced on Sunday (July 26, 2026) that it too was halting its operations.

Iran’s army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia was reported as saying: “Since our strategy has essentially been retaliatory, we have also halted our retaliatory operations.”

Mine risks in Hormuz

On Sunday (July 26, 2026), the Tasnim news agency affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that a tanker exploded after it hit a mine while transiting the Strait of Hormuz through a route Iran had not approved. The news agency had made a similar claim about another tanker on July 23, adding that two other tankers had refrained from crossing the Strait after that incident.

While bodies that assess maritime threats, such as the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, did not confirm these mine attacks, they have nevertheless warned of heightened risks from mines in the Strait. Soon after the war started, Iran said it had laid mines along the central part of the Strait traditionally used for merchant ship navigation and designated a “safe” route along its coast, an effective way to extend its control over the Strait.

Iran said on Sunday (July 26, 2026) that it had made progress in talks with neighbouring Oman, which holds the opposite coast of the Strait, on “common principles and operational mechanisms” for ships in the Strait. While the two nations had come up with a proposal in June to jointly administer the Strait and monetise it, the U.S. had refused to accept any Iranian control. Oman had also gone ahead and announced a route along its coast for ships to use that was endorsed by the International Maritime Organization, but angered Iran.

Mixed signals

Meanwhile, the U.S. media has reported that the country’s plans to escalate the war have been shelved, in part because of shrinking armament supplies. On Friday (July 26, 2026), however, U.S. President Donald Trump said that Iran had a choice between a deal and strikes at a “much higher level”, adding, “We’re talking to them right now. I think they’re getting more and more serious.”

The second phase of the war, sparked largely by disagreements over the future of the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on ships there, soon spread to attacks on U.S. bases and its allies in the Persian Gulf.

Fighting reportedly continued between the Iran-backed Houthi militia and Saudi Arabia, with the Houthis claiming to have downed a Saudi drone, a day after claiming to have attacked Saudi oil facilities. The Houthis had announced they would block Saudi tankers loading at Yanbu from crossing the Bab al-Mandab Strait on the Red Sea.

Published – July 26, 2026 11:12 pm IST

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Iran vows ‘crushing’ attacks on U.S. and Israel after Trump’s threats

admin — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 10:48:00 +0000

Iran on Thursday (April 2, 2026) threatened “crushing” attacks on the U.S. and Israel, firing missiles at Tel Aviv after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to bomb the Islamic republic “back to the Stone Ages”.

The war, which erupted more than a month ago with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, has spread throughout the Middle East and roiled the global economy, impacting hundreds of millions of people worldwide.

In a prime-time White House address, Mr. Trump said the U.S. was “very close” to achieving its objectives but warned attacks would intensify if Iran did not reach a negotiated settlement.

“Over the next two to three weeks, we are going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong,” said Mr. Trump in a 19-minute speech.

Iran’s response was immediate, with Israeli air defences pressed into action and police responding to “several” impact sites, as four people were reportedly injured in the Tel Aviv area.

The Iranian military command centre Khatam Al-Anbiya put out a statement carried on state TV warning the U.S. and Israel to expect “more crushing, broader, and more destructive actions”.

“With trust in Almighty God, this war will continue until your humiliation, disgrace, permanent and certain regret, and surrender,” said the statement.

The latest attacks came as Jewish Israelis were celebrating Passover, which some were forced to do underground.

“This is not my first choice,” said a writer who gave his name as Jeffrey, at a meal organised in a bunker in Tel Aviv. “But at least in the shelter, we can sit here and just ride it out,” he added.

‘Resist until the end’

Mr. Trump has recently raised the possibility of a deal to end the war, which has pushed up fuel prices in the U.S. and around the world, and pushed down his approval ratings.

He said talks could be possible with Iran’s new leadership, which he described as “less radical and much more reasonable” than their predecessors.

But Tehran has dismissed Washington’s ceasefire overtures, describing U.S. demands to end the conflict as “maximalist and irrational”.

“Messages have been received through intermediaries, including Pakistan, but there is no direct negotiation with the U.S.,” said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, quoted by the ISNA news agency on Thursday.

Mr. Trump warned that if no agreement with Tehran was struck, Washington had “our eyes on key targets including the country’s electric generating plants”.

Pro-government Iranians voiced defiance as they marched in Tehran at the funeral of a Revolutionary Guards naval commander killed in an Israeli strike.

“This war has lasted a month. However long it takes, we will continue,” said Moussa Nowruzi, a 57-year-old pensioner. “We will resist until the end.”

The country’s Health Ministry said the Pasteur Institute of Iran, a century-old medical centre in Tehran, had been extensively damaged in a strike.

In Lebanon, militant group Hezbollah said its fighters launched drones and rockets at northern Israel on Thursday, with the Israeli military’s Home Front Command saying air raid sirens were activated.

A day earlier, Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander, two sources told AFP, in a Beirut strike that the Lebanese Health Ministry said killed seven people.

Authorities in Lebanon say Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,300 people in the country since war erupted between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah on March 2.

‘Oxygen for volatility’

The conflict has drawn in Gulf countries once seen as a safe haven in a volatile region, with air defences in the United Arab Emirates responding to missile and drone threats on Thursday.

Mr. Trump vowed the U.S. would not allow allies in the region – Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain – to “get hurt or fail in any way, shape or form”.

The war has highlighted the importance of the Strait of Hormuz, a shipping lane through which one-fifth of the world’s oil usually passes.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have vowed to keep it shut to the country’s “enemies” while Mr. Trump has made reopening it a condition for a ceasefire.

China is a major importer of oil through the vital waterway and the Foreign Ministry in Beijing blamed the U.S. and Israel for being the “root cause” of disruption.

Britain will lead a summit of 35 countries later on Thursday to discuss how to restore freedom of navigation in the strait.

Mr. Trump’s speech did nothing to reassure markets, as oil prices spiked and stocks tumbled.

The World Bank’s Managing Director Paschal Donohoe told AFP his institution was “extremely concerned” about the war’s impact on inflation, jobs and food security.

Published – April 02, 2026 04:18 pm IST