Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attacked a U.S. military base in Kuwait.Citing a source familiar with the details, The Jerusalem Post reported that the attack was carried out using at least three drones.

Heavy blasts were also heard in Iraq’s Basra province, which lies adjacent to both Kuwait and Iran, The Jerusalem Post reported, citing reports from Iranian and local Arab media.

Meanwhile, Iranian state broadcaster IRIB cited regional outlets noting that a major blaze erupted in Kuwait this morning.

ANI

The United States and Iran exchanged strikes aimed at infrastructure and military targets on Saturday (July 18, 2026) as their battle over the Strait of Hormuz intensified.

The region has endured days of back-and-forth attacks in a conflict increasingly focused on control of the strait. The collapse of an interim ceasefire leaves no clear end in sight for the war that the U.S. and Israel began more than four months ago.

The U.S. Central Command said late Friday (July 17, 2026) it had launched its seventh straight night of attacks aimed at degrading Iran’s military. Early Saturday (July 18, 2026), it said the strikes had hit “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities.” Kuwait said on Saturday (July 18, 2026) it was intercepting Iranian missiles and drones, and air sirens sounded in Bahrain, according to the government there.

Iranian officials say recent U.S. strikes have killed dozens of people and wounded hundreds, with new casualties reported Friday, when the US military also acknowledged more injured service members.

Iran effectively closed the strait to shipping traffic after the war started on February 28. That sent the price of oil soaring and gave Iran significant leverage in negotiations. The price of oil rose on Friday (July 18, 2026) above $86 a barrel, close to its highest level in a month, as crossings through the strait fell to a three-week low, according to an international shipping tracker.

In an address to the American public on Thursday (July 16, 2026) evening, Mr. Trump insisted the war was going well. “We are likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labour very, very shortly,” he said.

Before the war began, the U.S. had been in talks with Iran over its nuclear program. Mr. Trump now faces political pressure to bring the war to a close and avoid the kind of prolonged West Asian conflict he had campaigned against.

Bridges and ‘electrical infrastructure’ were hit in Iran

The U.S. airstrikes had hit bridges in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, Iranian state television reported. The attacks hit Bandar Khamir, a city on Iran’s coast on the Strait of Hormuz.

The highway and railway bridge strikes appeared aimed at cutting off Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main port, from roads leading into the Islamic Republic’s central region onward to Tehran, the capital.

Iran acknowledged “attacks on power infrastructure” during the U.S. airstrike campaign for the first time on Friday (July 17, 2026) when its Energy Ministry issued a call for people to use less power in southern provinces “experiencing extreme heat.” The ministry did not specify what was hit.

Iranian authorities said at least 46 people have been killed and more than 400 wounded in recent U.S. strikes, including eight killed in a strike on a bridge on Friday (July 17, 2026).

U.S. officials acknowledged 13 additional U.S. service members — 10 Army soldiers and three Navy sailors — had been injured since Monday (July 13, 2026), but offered no further details. Since the war began, 14 U.S. service members have been killed and 427 wounded.

The tower at a key port collapses in a U.S. strike

U.S. strikes conducted overnight into Friday (July 17, 2026) collapsed a tower at Iran’s Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman, a key trade route for landlocked, neighbouring Afghanistan, the state-run IRNA news agency reported, and the U.S. military later confirmed.

Chabahar port, which Iran has been running with support from India, has been a repeated target of American airstrikes.

Iran said the tower oversees commercial traffic into the port. But Central Command said it was part of a maritime surveillance network used by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard to “track and target” commercial vessels in the strait.

On Friday (July 17, 2026) evening, Iranian state media reported explosions around Iran, including in the central and southern parts of the country. Local authorities said the U.S. attacked around Ahvaz city without elaborating. IRNA also reported the sound of explosions in Lar, Yazd and Sirik.

Iran retaliates by targeting Qatar, a mediator in the war

On Friday (July 17, 2026), Qatar warned the public to take shelter as a barrage of Iranian missiles targeted the nation. People heard explosions overhead as air defences fired to intercept the missiles. Qatar’s Interior Ministry said falling debris wounded a child.

Iran also targeted Bahrain and Kuwait early Friday (July 17, 2026).

In Kuwait, authorities said Iran attacked a power and water desalination plant, causing widespread damage to the station. Kuwait said it extinguished the blaze and was working to assess the damage and get the station working again. About 90 per cent of the country’s drinking water comes from desalination.

A spokesman for Kuwait’s defence ministry said Iranian drone attacks on its army’s “facilities and camps” injured an unspecified number of personnel.

Jordan’s military said it intercepted three incoming missiles Friday morning, launched by Iran.

Explosions also could be heard on Friday (July 17, 2026) morning in Irbil and Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region as air defences targeted incoming fire. The attack apparently targeted the Iranian Kurdish dissident group Komala, killing at least nine people and wounding others, said an official who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

Iran did not immediately claim the attack, but it has targeted Komala in the past.

Also on Friday (July 17, 2026), a tanker came under attack while travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, taking the route closest to Oman, the British military said. The report from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said the ship sustained minor damage without any of its crew being injured.

Iran did not immediately acknowledge any attack. In recent days, it has openly targeted ships using the route, which is overseen by the U.S. military and intended to be outside of Tehran’s control.

Strikes come as Iran and the U.S. vie for the Strait of Hormuz

Iran has said the strait must be under its sole control and that vessels should pay fees to Tehran — even though the world for decades has considered it an international waterway.

Mr. Trump has returned in recent days to his threats to target Iranian power stations and bridges to try to compel Iran to loosen its hold on the strait, through which about a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded once passed in peacetime. The US also reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports to halt its shipments of crude oil.

Crossings through the strait fell to a three-week low of just eight vessels on Thursday (July 16, 2026), according to MarineTraffic.com.

A growing amount of the region’s energy is being shipped through pipelines, but not nearly enough to offset the decline in shipping through the strait.

Published – July 18, 2026 10:54 am IST

The U.S. military said on Saturday (June 27, 2026) it had struck 10 targets in Iran at President Donald Trump’s direction, continuing a string of attacks that have shaken the war’s uneasy ceasefire.

U.S. Central Command, in a post to social media, said that U.S. military aircraft targeted Iranian military “surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defence sites, drone storage facilities, and minelayer capabilities” following an attack on a merchant vessel early on Saturday morning (June 27, 2026). 

It later specified the strikes involved 10 Iranian military targets at multiple locations in and near the Strait of Hormuz.

– AP

The story so far:

After 40 days of war and more than 60 days of intense negotiations, the U.S. and Iran, on June 15, agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to end the war and start more substantive negotiations on contentious issues. The deal has kicked off a geopolitical storm, with Israel opposing it firmly, causing an unlikely rift between Washington and Tel Aviv. U.S. President Donald Trump, who ripped up the 2015 Iran deal, which was signed by the Obama administration, calling it the “worst deal” in America’s history, is facing backlash at home for the concessions Washington has made to Tehran. Iran’s leadership claims that they defeated the U.S. and Israel in the war and that the terms of the MoU underscored their victory. While the agreement has brought lingering post-ceasefire skirmishes between the U.S. and Iran to an end, this is not a final settlement.

What does the deal say?

The opening article of the MoU calls for a ceasefire on all fronts, “including Lebanon”. It calls on both sides to respect each other’s sovereignty and to refrain from interfering in each other’s internal affairs. The U.S. has lifted its naval blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran has taken steps to remove its restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz. The text calls on Iran to remove all impediments, including mines, within 30 days of the signing of the deal.

One of the contentious issues during the talks was Iran’s demand for access to its frozen funds and for war reparations. The text says Iran will have its funds unfrozen contingent on progress in the second phase of the talks, without specifying the amount or timeline. Iranian state media have reported that Iran has demanded that $24 billion be unfrozen. Mr. Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance have said that no American money will be paid to Iran. That could be technically correct as the frozen funds are Iranian assets held in different banks across the world under U.S. sanctions. If the U.S. lifts the sanctions, countries and banks could make the transfer.

The U.S. would also work with other regional countries to draw up a plan for Iran’s reconstruction and redevelopment, which would involve $300 billion in financing. Iran will have access to these funds if a final settlement is reached.

What commitments has Iran made?

Iran, on its part, has pledged never to make a nuclear weapon. This has been the official Iranian position for years. The Iranians had made the same pledge in the 2015 Obama-Iran deal as well. While more contentious issues such as Iran’s possession of 60% enriched uranium (which is a step away from weapons-grade purity) and Iran’s enrichment capabilities are to be discussed in the second phase, according to the text released by the White House, both sides have mutually agreed to “downblend” (dilute) Iran’s enriched material under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Other issues such as enrichment in Iran and the country’s nuclear needs will be discussed as part of the final deal.

Both sides also agreed to maintain the status quo until they reach the final deal — Iran will not expand its nuclear programme and the U.S. will not impose additional sanctions and deploy more troops to the region. Upon signing the MoU, the U.S. will issue waivers for the export of Iran’s crude oil, petroleum products, and other derivatives, and all associated services, including banking, transactions, insurances, and transportation.

Where does Israel stand?

For Israel, the U.S.-Iran deal appears to be a major strategic setback. Israel launched this war with the U.S. on February 28 to bring about regime change in Iran, destroy its nuclear and missile capabilities, and stop the country from supporting its non-state allies such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthis. Israel had been a big proponent of a war on Iran — officials of former U.S. administrations had said Israel had pushed previous Presidents to launch strikes on Iran. After the attacks by Hamas in Israel on October 7, 2023, the Zionist state fought a multi-front war against Hamas, Hezbollah, and the then Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad — all Iranian allies. The fall of the Assad regime in December 2024 weakened Iran’s regional standing further, as Syria was a key link between Hezbollah and Tehran. In June 2025, Israel bombed Iran aimed at destroying its nuclear facilities. The U.S. joined in, but after a single strike, Mr. Trump enforced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. But the 12-day war, as it is called, was only a trial run.

What Tel Aviv wanted was regime change in Tehran, which it thought would reshape West Asia with Israel being at the centre of a new unipolar regional order. But this project collapsed as Iran survived the 40 days of bombing. Iran’s stranglehold of the Strait of Hormuz and its refusal to make concessions on the nuclear issue forced the U.S. to diverge from Israel’s maximalist demands and take a more narrowed-down approach to end the war and address the nuclear question diplomatically. But to address these issues diplomatically after the war’s failure, the U.S. would have to give substantial economic concessions to Tehran. As the U.S. is doing just that, Israel, increasingly isolated and frustrated, fears that the deal would render Iran conventionally stronger, altering the regional balance of power.

Why does Lebanon matter?

Despite being cut off from the Iran-U.S. diplomatic process, Israel still possesses a key card — Lebanon. Israeli troops have occupied parts of Southern Lebanon, a Hezbollah stronghold. Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia militia-cum-political party, is a close ally of Iran. To have a ceasefire in Lebanon, which has been mentioned in the MoU, Mr. Trump should get Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on board. Since Israeli troops are present in South Lebanon, Hezbollah, which is far from defeated, is targeting the occupying force. And in the name of striking Hezbollah, Israel is bombing Lebanon.

Both Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz have said that the Israeli troops will not pull back from Southern Lebanon. This keeps Lebanon as a flashpoint with a potential for escalation. An Iranian delegation was supposed to travel to Geneva to start direct negotiations for the second phase on June 19, but Iran called off talks, citing Israel’s attacks on Lebanon. Mr. Netanyahu seems determined to use the Lebanon card, making the U.S.-Iran peace process complicated. Israel’s continued attacks in Lebanon and its public criticism of the Iran MoU have triggered rare public criticism of Israel from top American officials, including Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance.

Will the agreement hold?

Both Mr. Trump and the Iranians seem determined to take the peace process to the next step. Mr. Trump, who bombed Iran for 40 days, and kept a blockade on Iran for roughly 60 days, realises the massive economic costs of the war. The war was also unpopular at home and cost the U.S. billions of dollars, depleting its stockpile of weapons.

Iran, on the other hand, has emerged regionally stronger. It will restart negotiations with the U.S. without the fear of a U.S. strike. But at the same time, Iran wants long-term economic relief and security guarantees to rebuild the country and address internal resentment. While there are incentives for both sides to reach a final settlement, there are three key sticking points. The first is Lebanon. As long as Israeli troops continue occupation of Southern Lebanon, the country will remain a tinderbox. And given that Israel is critical of the U.S.-Iran deal, Mr. Netanyahu could escalate the war aimed at torpedoing the detente. The war in Lebanon posed the first test to the deal on Saturday when Iran announced that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, citing Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

The second is Iran’s highly enriched uranium (HEU). The U.S., until recently, argued that Iran’s HEU should be taken out of the country and destroyed, whereas Iran has always opposed such a move. Mr. Trump said last week that the HEU would be diluted “either in America or in Iran”, which was a concession. A final agreement should draw up the modalities for downblending under the IAEA’s supervision, which also means that Iran should restore IAEA access to its nuclear sites.

The third issue is Iran’s ‘enrichment right’. The U.S., until the war began, opposed any enrichment on Iranian soil, which had been the Israeli position as well. Iran says it will continue to enrich uranium for civilian purposes. The final agreement should narrow the gap between these two positions as well.

Published – June 21, 2026 02:46 am IST

Iran still has “21, 22%” of its missiles left, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday (June 5, 2026), in a week in which Tehran fired dozens of them toward regional neighbours, despite a sputtering ceasefire.

“They still have capacity. They have some missiles; they have some drones. I would say, percentage-wise, maybe 21, 22% of their missiles,” Mr. Trump told NBC News in an interview.

Read the full story below

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