Iraq says it neither approved nor had prior knowledge of US-Saudi strikes

Iraqi ⁠government ​spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi ​said on Thursday that Baghdad neither ​approved ‌nor ⁠had prior knowledge ‌of US-Saudi strikes ⁠on Iraqi territory, the state news ​agency reported.

Saudi ‌Arabia and the US ‌Central Command (CENTCOM) ​carried out strikes against Iran-backed groups in Iraq ​that they ​said were ​responsible for drone ​attacks on the kingdom’s oil facilities.

Iranian hackers suspected in cyberattack on Minnesota water systems

Cyberattacks on several local water systems in the US state of Minnesota carry telltale signs of a hacker group affiliated with Iran, US media reports say. 

Around 30 water systems were attacked Sunday and Monday using methods that have pointed investigators to a Tehran-backed group, according to the reports, which cite a security firm and US investigators.

The operation disrupted the water supply in the small town of Braham, in the greater Minneapolis area, for about two hours before service was restored.

According to cybersecurity firm Tenable, the method used in the attack “is consistent with” the CyberAv3ngers cybercriminal group, which the US government accuses of operating under Tehran’s control.

US authorities also suspect Iranian hackers, although they have not formally established responsibility at this stage.

US expands sanctions targeting Iran’s Mahan Air

The US Treasury on Thursday imposed sanctions on six individuals and companies it said were aiding Mahan Air, an Iranian airline that is accused of facilitating Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). 

The new sanctions include a China-based individual, as well as companies in China, Russia, Iran and Indian-administered Kashmir. 

“Those who provide financial services, logistics, or commercial support to the IRGC or Mahan Air are helping sustain a terrorist enterprise,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a statement. 

“Treasury will continue to identify them, expose them, and cut them off from the US financial system.”

Mahan Air operates as a civilian airline offering domestic and international flights, but Washington says it also provides travel services to IRGC personnel and helps move weapons for the force.

Renewed Iran war raises US missile supply concerns

Tehran’s forces have carried out frequent missile and drone attacks in the Middle East since the breakdown of the US-Iran ceasefire, raising renewed concerns about Washington’s supply of the weapons needed to intercept them.

Highlighting the issue, the US military said it shot down multiple ballistic missiles fired by Tehran in an “attempted surprise attack” this week, following a deadly Iranian strike on American troops in Jordan earlier this month.

Some lawmakers have raised questions about whether the United States has sufficient munitions since early in the war, which began with US-Israeli strikes in late February before the fighting largely halted under an April ceasefire, only to resume in recent weeks.

“We have depleted our interceptors… which are, obviously, necessary to protect American troops,” US Senator Chris Van Hollen said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

US forces claim redirected 24 vessels amid Iranian port blockade

Egypt president warns of regional ‘escalation’ after drone strike on port

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned on Thursday that the Middle East conflict was facing a serious escalation, after a drone struck a US-owned gas tanker in an Egyptian port. 

According to his spokesman, during a call to Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Sisi “stressed the need for Egypt, Spain, Europe and the international community to work together to halt this escalation”.

Saudi Arabia unveils plans for multinational maritime defence coalition

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.

The Saudi defence ministry said representatives from 43 countries and ⁠the European Union attended an international meeting that discussed the proposed coalition, including Saudi Arabia serving as its founding and ‌leading state and hosting its headquarters.

The ministry said the coalition would strengthen maritime security, ⁠safeguard freedom of navigation, secure international trade routes and energy supply lines, and protect shared maritime interests in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf ​of Aden.

It said 14 countries, including Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan and Djibouti, ‌issued a joint statement supporting the proposed coalition. Among the six Gulf Arab states, Oman and the United Arab Emirates were not listed among the countries backing the statement.

US military says no US aircraft hit in attempted Iranian attacks

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.

Kuwait’s chief of staff meets in Saudi Arabia with defence coalition for Bab el-Mandeb strait

Kuwait’s ⁠chief ​of ​staff, General Khaled Al-Shuraian, met ​in ‌Saudi ⁠Arabia ‌with a “maritime ⁠defence coalition” for preserving ​freedom ‌of navigation in ‌Bab ​el-Mandeb strait, Kuwait’s state news agency ​reported ​on ​Thursday.

Iran’s Araqchi presses European counterparts over use of bases in US operations

Iran’s Foreign ⁠Minister Abbas Araqchi 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, Araqchi ​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.

Iran has repeatedly warned countries allowing their territory to be used for US military ​operations against it that they could “face consequences”.

Araqchi held a ‌separate phone call with Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, during which he stressed the importance of preventing foreign military bases in Cyprus from being ‌used against Iran.

Refinery attacks keep European fuel prices around record highs

European refiners continued to reap bumper profits for producing fuels such as gasoline and diesel this week, as a wave of attacks on oil refineries in the Middle East and Russia further ​tightened supply ‌and lifted prices globally.

Soaring fuel prices ripple through the global economy, raising costs for ⁠consumers and businesses. Fuel prices are continuing to rise even though crude oil has fallen back to around $90 a barrel – well below 2008’s record of $147 – ‌as attacks on refineries due to the wars in Iran and Ukraine have taken out a ⁠growing number of major plants that make usable fuels out of crude.

Houthis say they were not behind drone strike on Egypt port, affiliated media report

Yemen’s Houthi rebels declared on Thursday that they were not behind a drone strike the day before that hit a US-owned-and-operated gas storage ship in the Egyptian port of Damietta.

According to the Houthi-affiliated news agency Saba, an official in the movement’s foreign affairs office said “rumours claiming Yemen targeted a ship in Damietta Port in the Arab Republic of Egypt are unfounded”.

Egypt drone attack message that US interests ‘vulnerable’ anywhere, analysts say

A drone strike on the Egyptian port of Damietta, the first attack on the country since the US-Iran war broke out, could be a high-risk message for American interests everywhere in the Middle East, analysts say.

No party has claimed the strike on the Mediterranean port and Egypt has not assigned blame for the attack, which struck an American-owned and operated floating gas storage vessel.

According to analysts, the goal of the attack – regardless of who launched it – could be to drag Egypt into the conflict, after months of Cairo acting as one of few diplomatic channels between Iran and the US.

The port strike, the furthest afield from the Gulf since the war broke out, also marks a new milestone by crossing the Red Sea into the Mediterranean, threatening shipping lanes that had been so far considered safe.

Saudi Arabia cornered by Iran’s proxy attacks, blockade

Months into the Middle East war, Saudi Arabia is being increasingly hemmed in by Iranian proxies targeting oil infrastructure from the north and south, and maritime blockades threatening crude exports in the east and west.

The emerging picture is a nightmare scenario for the world’s biggest oil exporter — muddying its plans to diversify its economy, attract investment and lure tourists.

Despite calls for a diplomatic solution, Saudi forces have faced attacks from both Yemen’s Tehran-backed Houthi rebels as they impose a Red Sea blockade on Saudi ships, and from pro-Iran militias in Iraq targeting its energy facilities.

Early on Wednesday, the kingdom struck back. Joint US-Saudi strikes in Iraq killed 20, according to the alliance of former paramilitary groups and factions whose bases were targeted.

Qatar condemns Iranian attacks on Jordan, Kuwait

Gaza civil defence says Israeli strikes kill four

Gaza’s civil defence agency and two hospitals said Israeli attacks on Thursday killed four people across the Palestinian territory, including two children.

A ceasefire remains in place between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, but it has not halted the violence in Gaza, and efforts to secure a lasting agreement to end the war have stalled.

Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal told AFP that “four martyrs, including two children, and a number of wounded were transported following Israeli air strikes” across the Gaza Strip.

Jordan’s army says shot down 5 Iranian missiles

Jordan’s military said Thursday that its air defences shot down five Iranian missiles targeting its territory, adding the attack caused no casualties.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards later confirmed launching an attack on Jordan’s Al Azraq air base, saying they targeted US aircraft there. 

The military’s official spokesperson said “air defences engaged five missiles launched from Iran targeting the Kingdom’s territory early this morning, Thursday. The missiles were detected, intercepted, and shot down according to established defence plans,” the military’s statement said.

US launches wave of strikes on Iran in response to Tehran missile attack in Jordan

The US military completed a “heavy wave of strikes” against Iran on Thursday in retaliation against Tehran targeting American bases in Jordan, as fighting intensified in the Middle East war after a nearly week-long pause.

US President Donald Trump had vowed to hit Iran “hard” after Tehran launched missiles at Jordan, its first regional strike in days. FRANCE 24’s Fraser Jackson reports from Washington.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say they attacked Azraq base in Jordan, state media reports

Iran’s Guards say three members killed in US attack

Revolutionary Guards said that three of its members were killed in an attack by the United States on the northwestern province of Zanjan. 

“In the brutal attack carried out by the terrorist regime of the criminal United States on 30 July 2026, three brave and devoted members of the Ansar al-Mahdi IRGC in Zanjan province … attained martyrdom,” the Guards’ provincial branch said in a statement, according to Tasnim news agency.