Khollan Vafa : اخوان صفا

LIVE UPDATES

Egypt struck for first time as US-Iran conflict pulls in more countries

Updated 8:35 AM EDT, Thu July 30, 2026

US launches new strikes on Iran after Trump said it's 'our turn'
4:23

Here's the latest

• Conflict widens: A fire that broke out on two vessels, included one US-owned, at an Egyptian port on Wednesday was caused by a drone, Cairo confirmed, marking first time Egyptian infrastructure has been struck. It comes as Saudi Arabia also carried out joint strikes with the US on Iranian proxies in Iraq, after months of Riyadh resisting being pulled into the conflict.

• US renews Iran strikes: The US military launched a “heavy wave of strikes” against Iran in retaliation to Iran’s attempted attack on US military positions on Tuesday. The latest strikes were the first in several days to directly target the country. Explosions were heard in southern Iran, including Bandar Abbas, Kish and Qeshm Island, Iranian state media reported.

• Vow of retribution: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed and that the “aggressor will be punished today.” It follows US President Donald Trump’s earlier promise of retribution, telling reporters “it’s our turn to hit them.”
AllCatch Up
17 Posts

1 HR 4 MIN AGO

“You almost don’t want to wake up:” Key Iranian island again comes under attack

By Leila Gharagozlou

US overnight strikes on Iran killed a couple and their two-year-old child in their home in the village of Chah Tangu on the southern Qeshm Island, according to Iranian state media.

Two other children, aged 11 and 7, were pulled out of the rubble after being trapped and now are receiving medical treatment.

Chah Tangu is populated mostly by streetsweepers and laborers and found on Qeshm Island, the largest in the Persian Gulf and close to the vital Strait of Hormuz

Footage of the home released on Iranian media showed the clock in the house stopped at 3:36a local time when the US strikes hit.

The US has resumed striking targets across southern and coastal Iran after a brief lull in fighting.

A sports center in the town of Farashband was also damaged but no casualties were reported.

One resident of Qeshm Island, a woman aged 50, told CNN that the unpredictability of the conflict has made it difficult to maintain normal life.

“There’s anxiety every time I go to sleep. Will you make it through the night, will your friends and family, will there be strikes, will we get a break. You almost don’t want to wake up in the morning and see what has happened.”

Qeshm Island has been a target throughout the war. In March Iranian state media accused the US of attacking a desalination plant on the island.

US Central Command said American forces had carried out a “heavy wave” of strikes against Iran in response to what it described as attempted missile attacks targeting its forces in the Middle East.
Read more
1 HR 57 MIN AGO

Iraq says no evidence its territory was used to launch strikes on Saudi Arabia

By Mustafa Qadri and Aqeel Najim

The Ministerial Council for National Security meets for an emergency meeting, chaired by Iraqi Prime Minister and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Ali al-Zaidi, in Baghdad, Iraq, on Wednesday. Media Office of the Prime Minister/Reuters

There’s no evidence that Iraqi territory was used to launch strikes on Saudi Arabia earlier this week, a spokesperson for the country’s prime minister told state-run media today.

The Saudi Defense ministry said this week that drone strikes launched from Iraq had targeted its critical infrastructure and the capital Riyadh on Monday and Tuesday.

“No party has provided any evidence to substantiate these claims so far,” the Iraqi prime minister’s spokesperson Sabah Al-Numan told the Iraqi News Agency.

“The government will not tolerate any unilateral actions originating from within Iraq, while at the same time it will not accept any violation coming from outside its borders,” Al-Numan added.

On Wednesday, US-Saudi strikes on Iraq killed at least 20 people and wounded 32, according to the Popular Mobilization Forces, an Iran-aligned Iraqi militia.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi pledged in a meeting with US President Donald Trump this month that his country would confront Iranian-backed militias on its soil, a goal that has eluded previous Iraqi governments.
Read more

18 MIN AGO

What to know: Iran says Strait of Hormuz will remain closed after US launches new strikes

By CNN staff

The US military said it struck “dozens” of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets early Thursday morning local time, with Iranian state media later sharing images purportedly showing some of the damage caused.

The conflict is expanding, with Egypt and Saudi Arabia becoming increasingly drawn in to regional hostilities.

If you’re just joining us, catch up here:
US attacks: The US military said it completed a “heavy wave of strikes” against Iran, with Iranian state media reporting explosions heard across southern Iran, including Bandar Abbas and the Persian Gulf island of Kish. The latest strikes were a retaliatory response to Iran’s attempted attack on US military positions a day prior and were the first in several days to directly target the country.
Qeshm Island: Iranian state broadcaster IRIB has published photos and videos purportedly showing damage after US strikes on Qeshm Island, where it said search and rescue operations were ongoing after missiles struck a residential home in the Chah Tangu neighborhood.
Strait of Hormuz: The IRGC said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed as long as US “threats” and “interference” with shipping in the region continue.
Conflict expanding: Egypt has now been directly impacted by the conflict after its infrastructure was struck for the first time, causing a fire to break out on two vessels at one of its ports. It comes as Saudi Arabia has also been pulled further in to the war, carrying out joint strikes with the US on Iranian proxies in Iraq.
Stalled negotiations: Pakistan is “doing the utmost” to revive US-Iran negotiations, a spokesperson for Islamabad’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday.
Shell profits: Shell reported Thursday that its latest quarterly profits soared to their second-highest levels in the company’s history, as the US-Iran war caused a surge in global oil prices. The price of Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, has soared by nearly a third since the start of the war in February.

Read more
2 HR 28 MIN AGO

Pakistan "doing the utmost" to revive US-Iran negotiations, foreign ministry says

By Sophia Saifi and Sophie Tanno

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, left, shakes hands with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the Lake Lucerne Summit in Switzerland on June 21. Nathan Howard/Pool/Getty Images

Pakistan is “doing the utmost” to revive US-Iran negotiations, a spokesperson for Islamabad’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday as he reiterated the importance of dialogue in ending the conflict.

Pakistan has played a key mediating role between Washington and Tehran since the start of the recent hostilities, hosting peace negotiations in Islamabad and helping to broker a temporary ceasefire.

“Amid the prevailing tensions and hostilities, Pakistan reiterates that dialogue and diplomacy remain the only viable path forward,” the foreign ministry’s spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said during a weekly briefing on Thursday.

He added Pakistan is “doing the utmost” to bring the US and Iran back to the negotiating table and welcomes “all efforts aimed at sustaining the cessation of hostilities and resumption of dialogue.”
Read more

3 HR 41 MIN AGO

Shell profits hit second-highest level ever as US-Iran war sparks oil prices

By Anna Cooban

Gas prices are displayed at a Shell station across from the Marathon Petroleum Corp's Los Angeles Refinery in Carson, California, on April 2. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Shell’s latest quarterly profits soared to their second-highest levels in the company’s history as the US-Iran war caused a surge in global oil prices.

Profits climbed to $9.8 billion during the three months to the end of June, more than double the $4.3 billion it made over the same period in 2025, the company reported on Thursday. Over the first half of the year, the British energy major saw its profits balloon 70% compared with the year before.

The price of Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, has soared by nearly a third since the start of the war in February.

On Thursday, Brent was up 1.4% shortly before 6 a.m. ET while WTI, the US benchmark, was trading up 0.6% after the US launched a heavy round of strikes on Iran — the first in several days to directly target the country.

Shell’s results were the highest since the second quarter of 2022, weeks after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The US-Iran war has also generated wild swings in oil prices, which oil traders have taken advantage of.

Shell’s chief executive Wael Sawan said the firm’s “operational performance enabled very strong results during another quarter of severe disruption in global energy markets.”
Read more
4 HR 54 MIN AGO

Iran strikes building belonging to Chinese company in Kuwait, Kuwaiti army says

By Ibrahim Dahman and Karina Tsui

The Kuwaiti army said Iran conducted a deadly strike on a building belonging to a Chinese company in the northern part of the country, killing one employee and causing “extensive material damage” to the structure.

On X, army officials said they would take “all necessary measures to protect the nation’s sovereignty and preserve its security and stability.”

4 HR 15 MIN AGO

Egypt says fire at Damietta Port was caused by drone

By Salma Arafa, Ibrahim Dahman and Karina Tsui

Smoke rises after a drone strike at Damietta port, Egypt, on Wednesday. Social Media/Reuters

A fire that broke out on two vessels at Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Damietta on Wednesday was caused by a drone, according to the Egyptian cabinet.

No party has claimed responsibility for the incident, officials added, which took place during cargo operations at a liquefied natural gas terminal. No injuries or deaths were reported.

Maritime risk-management company Marisks on Wednesday said the affected vessels were moved outside the port. On Thursday, port authorities said operations continued “at full efficiency.”

“The port continues to provide its maritime and logistics services around the clock without interruption, meeting the needs of shipping lines and all port users,” Damietta Port Authority said in a statement.

If confirmed as a deliberate attack, Marisks said it would represent a significant expansion of regional hostilities into Mediterranean energy infrastructure.

This is the first time Egyptian infrastructure has been struck in the widening war.
Read more
4 HR 52 MIN AGO

Iran's Revolutionary Guards say Hormuz to stay closed, "aggressor will be punished today"

By Aida Karimi and Karina Tsui

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran, on July 27. Razieh Poudat/ISNA/Wana News Agency/Reuters

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed as long as US “threats” and “interference” with shipping in the region continue, hours after the US military said it had struck dozens of IRGC targets in Iran.

“The Strait of Hormuz will not be reopened as long as the excessive rhetoric, threats by American officials, and their interference with maritime movements in the region continue,” the IRGC said in a statement on Telegram.

Iran claims the Strait of Hormuz is under its control and has frequently attacked vessels that do not adhere to its instructions.

“The Strait of Hormuz is our territory, and the courageous sailors of the IRGC Navy firmly control it. No outsider who has come from thousands of kilometres away will be permitted to interfere,” the force said, adding that “the aggressor will be punished today.”

“Countries that are assisting the aggressor, if they do not change their behaviour, will receive a harsh response.”
Read more

5 HR 6 MIN AGO

"This is a war in search of a rationale," congressman says

By Monica Haider

“We’re $37 billion into this,” Rep. Kevin Mullin (D-CA) told CNN’s Elex Michaelson about the financial involvement of the United States in the war with Iran.

“This is a war in search of a rationale,” Mullin said. “I’m concerned that at the end of the day we’re going to lose treasure, we’re losing lives and we’re not going to be any closer to real peace in the Middle East.”

President Donald Trump’s “domestic politics are eroding even as we speak,” Mullin said, referencing rising gas and household prices, and American opposition to the war.

Mullin said a priority must be to “end this war,” but expressed concern about the US ending up in a worse position than before it started, one in which there may be no deal and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.

“This president may wind up with something much weaker” than former President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, he said.
5 HR 51 MIN AGO

Trump is stuck in Iran. Here’s one idea that could offer a way out

Analysis by Stephen Collinson

Smoke rises following explosion at an unknown location, during what U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) says are strikes on Iran, in this screengrab taken from a handout video released on July 29, 2026. U.S. Central Command/Handout/Reuters

The US war in Iran is in desperate need of new thinking.

Despite new US strikes Wednesday following President Donald Trump’s f-bomb warning that Iran is due another “beating,” he has yet to show he can blast Tehran back to talks.

But diplomacy that he hailed as bringing historic peace to the Middle East also failed when a vaguely worded memorandum of understanding collapsed.

And his options for changing the equation — risking the lives of hundreds of US troops in a ground war or recognizing Tehran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz — are so unpalatable that the phrase “no good options” has become a cliche.

“We are really in a fix,” said Lyle Goldstein, director of Asia Engagement at the US-based Defense Priorities think tank.

Endgame in the strait: As with many conflict situations, the eventual framework needed to quell fighting and open the way for talks on the most fundamental issues, like Iran’s nuclear program, is possible to visualize.

Here, it might involve a compromise wherein the United States could avoid admitting it suffered a strategic defeat through Iran’s effective control of the strait, and Iran could argue it preserved its main takeaway from a war that ravaged its leaders and military.

Read the full story here.
Read more
Load more Live Updates

Up next