Lebanese President Joseph Aoun left Beirut on Saturday (July 18) for Washington, where he is expected to meet Donald Trump, his office said, after the latest round of Lebanon-Israel talks wrapped up in Italy.
It will be the first trip to Washington by a Lebanese head of state since Michel Sleiman was received by Barack Obama in 2009.
Aoun will hold discussions “with several American officials on the situation in Lebanon and ways to strengthen the ceasefire”, particularly in the south, as well as on “the withdrawal of Israel from the Lebanese regions it occupies”, the Presidency said.
- AFP
Iran’s supreme leader vowed to teach the United States “unforgettable lessons” on Saturday (July 18), as Washington reported its first military deaths since renewing its hostilities with the Islamic Republic.
A month after the foes signed a now-abandoned preliminary deal aimed at ending their war, Tehran struck infrastructure around the Gulf in retaliation for a week of intensifying U.S. attacks, which Iran said had hit an airport, a railway station and bridges.
Iran hit an oil facility in Kuwait as well as a power and water plant, authorities in the Gulf state said, while in Bahrain the army said air defences repelled a wave of Iranian attacks.
- AFP
Two U.S. military personnel in Jordan were killed yesterday as they defended against an attack by Iranian missiles and drones, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement today.
- Reuters
A merchant vessel and military forces have been involved in an incident about 100 nautical miles east of Duqm, Oman, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
“Reports indicate that the tanker was subject to interaction as part of ongoing military activity in the region,” UKMTO said in a note today, without giving further details.
- Reuters
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei says U.S. attacks prove Mr. Trump’s signature on deal ‘worthless’.
- AFP
Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, in a new statement warns of ‘unforgettable lessons’ if the U.S. continues attacks.
- AP
Iran suspends interim deal with the U.S. amid escalating strikes, intensifying tensions over the Strait of Hormuz and regional security.
A message from Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is to be released shortly, according to reports by Iran’s state media.
- Reuters
Iran’s southern province of Hormozgan was hit by three U.S. Airstrikes today.
- Reuters
Pakistan and Kuwait today urged the U.S. and Iran to uphold the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed last month and avoid any steps that could further escalate tensions amid renewed fighting over the Strait of Hormuz.
The appeal came during a telephone conversation between Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, according to Pakistan’s Foreign Office.
The call came as the U.S. and Iran exchanged fresh strikes today, with attacks targeting military and infrastructure sites as fighting over the Strait of Hormuz intensified.
- PTI
Hezbollah held a mass funeral for dozens of people, most of them fighters killed in the most recent fighting with Israel, in southern Lebanon’s Majdal Selm today.
The Iran-backed Shia group, which drew Lebanon into the Middle East war by attacking Israel on March 2, does not reveal the number of fighters it has lost.
But it has organised several funerals during the current lull in fighting, which followed the June 17 signing of a U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding.
- AFP
Kuwait said today that Iran struck a power and water plant as well as an oil facility, accusing it of targeting civilian infrastructure as the West Asia war escalates.
It followed a seventh night of strikes by the United States on Iranian targets, which prompted attacks by Tehran on U.S.-allied countries in the Gulf.
“Another electricity and water distillation plant was targeted by a hostile attack that led to a fire erupting in one of the plant’s components,” Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity and Water said in a statement.
- AFP
The secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council condemned recent Iranian attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan on Saturday, saying strikes on civilian infrastructure amounted to “war crimes”.
“Iran’s actions constitute a highly dangerous escalation, a grave violation of international law and the United Nations (UN) Charter, as well as war crimes requiring international accountability and prosecution, given the deliberate targeting of infrastructure and civilian facilities,” Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said in a statement.
- AFP
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun today left Beirut for Washington, where he is expected to meet Donald Trump, the Lebanese presidency said, after talks between Lebanon and Israel wrapped up in Italy.
It will be the first trip to Washington by a Lebanese head of State since Michel Sleiman was received by Barack Obama in 2009.
Aoun will hold discussions “with several American officials on the situation in Lebanon and ways to strengthen the ceasefire”, particularly in Lebanon’s south, as well as on “the withdrawal of Israel from the Lebanese regions it occupies”, the presidency said.
Israel and Lebanon began U.S.-sponsored negotiations in April aimed at reaching a peace deal and permanently ending the Israel-Hezbollah war.
- AFP
Iran today struck infrastructure in the Gulf and threatened a “full-scale offensive” in retaliation for the seventh consecutive night of U.S. strikes on the Islamic Republic.
A month after they agreed a preliminary deal aimed at ending their war, fighting has intensified, with Tehran accusing Washington of hitting an airport, a railway station and bridges.
Iran retaliated today with strikes on an oil facility in Kuwait as well as a power and water plant, authorities in the Gulf state said, while in Bahrain the army said air defences repelled a wave of Iranian attacks.
- AFP
Kuwait’s state oil firm on Saturday (July 18, 2026) reported injuries and damage after an Iranian attack targeting an oil facility, according to the state news agency.
“A vital location in the oil industry was struck by repeated brutal Iranian attacks that resulted in a number of injuries and significant material losses,” news agency KUNA cited the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation as saying, adding that the site was evacuated and the injured received medical care.
- AFP
Kuwait accused Iran on Saturday (July 18, 2026) of targeting civilian sites and vital infrastructure in the country, after reporting attacks on an oil facility and a power and water plant.
“The repeated targeting of these vital facilities reveals a systematic hostile approach targeting civilian sites and vital infrastructure that endangers the lives and safety of civilians,” the Foreign Ministry said.
- AFP
Bahrain activated its air sirens for a second time on Saturday (July 18), warning residents to shelter after it detected possible incoming drones or missiles.
The Gulf states have come under frequent fire from Iran over the past week as tensions continue to ramp up between the U.S. and Iran. - AP
Kuwait on Saturday (July 18) said Iran struck another of its power and water plants, leading to the deactivation of several power generation units, a day after a similar attack.
“Another electricity and water distillation plant was targeted by a hostile attack that led to a fire erupting in one of the plant’s components,” which resulted in the deactivation of some power generation units, the Ministry of Electricity and water said in a statement. - AFP
Tehran threatened to resume “full-scale offensive operations” if U.S. strikes continue over the coming days, Major General Mohsen Rezaei said, according to state-controlled news agency IRIB.
“Iran will no longer limit itself to retaliatory, like-for-like responses... and no political border will be safe,” he said.- AFP
Iranian state-controlled IRNA news agency said on Saturday (July 18) that U.S. strikes had killed three and wounded eight people in Hormozgan, a province in the country’s south. Five explosions were heard in the central Iranian city of Yazd shortly after U.S. strikes were announced, according to the IRNA state news agency.
Mehr, another state-controlled agency, reported explosions “in several provinces in the south” of the country. - AFP
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that they targeted a site where U.S. combat aircraft were gathered at Sheikh Isa Air Base and an intelligence data centre in Bahrain known as Batelco, Iran’s state media reported.
The guards also targeted a U.S. naval fuel-support pier at Al Ahmadi Port and a U.S. signals and communications centre in Kuwait, state media reported- Reuters
The Iranian army said on Saturday (July 18) that it had targeted an air base in Bahrain used by the United States in response to American strikes, according to Iran’s state broadcaster.
Attack drones targeted “aircraft shelters and parking areas, fuel storage tanks of the U.S. military at Sheikh Isa Air Base, as well as several connecting bridges in Bahrain,” the army said, adding that the base in southern Bahrain is “one of the most important operational and logistical centres” for the U.S. military in the region.- AFP
Iran’s army said it struck U.S. military targets in Kuwait and Jordan in response to American attacks, according to a statement carried by the Iranian state broadcaster on Saturday (July 18).
In Kuwait, Iranian forces targeted an ammunition depot at the Al-Adiri camp, the headquarters buildings and ammunition depots at the Ali Al-Salem base and several communication bridges.
In Jordan, fuel tanks at the Al-Azraq base were also targeted, the state broadcaster said on Telegram.
Kuwait’s army wrote on X on Saturday (July 18) that explosions may be heard as a result of “air defence systems intercepting hostile targets”.
Air raid sirens were also sounded in Bahrain, which hosts a major U.S. naval base, according to the country’s interior ministry.- AFP
Published - July 18, 2026 08:57 am IST