President Donald Trump on Friday said he would not go forward with a civil nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia unless the Saudis agreed to normalisation of relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords.
- Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump warned China and Russia on Friday against selling weapons to Iran -- while saying he believed assurances from Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin that they were not yet doing so.
“Therefore, two major Countries that people speak of often in terms of Iran are, in my opinion, not participating,” Mr. Trump said on his Truth Social network. “If they did, it would be very bad for them -- Certainly not in their best interests.”
Mr. Trump’s comment on Truth Social comes amid reports that Washington is investigating whether Moscow and Beijing are giving Iran targeting information, following a series of strikes on U.S. bases.
- AFP
Drones carrying explosives targeted a city in northern Iraq where U.S. forces are stationed, and sirens rang out in Bahrain on Friday (July 24), hours after the American military said it finished its 13th night of strikes against Iran.
The conflict has flared again over the past week, as the US pounded Iran while Tehran attacked ships in the Strait of Hormuz and targeted U.S. assets and allies in the region.
The strait, which is a crucial passage for the world’s energy supplies, is at the centre of the latest fighting since Iranian attacks can effectively shut the waterway, sending fuel prices soaring worldwide and causing widespread economic turmoil. The Iranian-allied Houthis added further pressure this week by targeting two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, making good on a threat to cut off an alternative route for the region’s oil.
- AP
Pakistan on Friday (July 24, 2026) expressed concern over the recent West Asia tensions and called for dialogue, restraint and de-escalation by all sides to achieve peace in the region.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said this in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Seyyed Abbas Araghchi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan, the Foreign Office said.
Mr. Dar, who is also Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister, expressed “deep concern over recent regional tensions and underscored the importance of dialogue, restraint, de-escalation by all sides, and sustained diplomatic engagement to achieve lasting peace and stability”, it said.
- PTI
U.S. President Donald Trump warned China and Russia on Friday (July 24, 2026) against selling weapons to Iran, saying he believed assurances from Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin that they were not yet doing so.
“Therefore, two major Countries that people speak of often in terms of Iran are, in my opinion, not participating,” Mr. Trump said on his Truth Social network. “If they did, it would be very bad for them -- Certainly not in their best interests.”
- AFP
A Houthi spokesman said Friday (July 24, 2026) that the rebels were not blocking traffic through the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait after they declared a maritime embargo this week on their foe, Saudi Arabia.
“There is no closure of Bab al-Mandab as some are suggesting,” said Mohammed Abdusalam, who is also a top Houthi negotiator, adding that the rebel position was “limited to a maritime blockade that only affects the Saudi side”.
The rebels warned in a radio message to ships on Monday that they would target ships “belonging to (the) Saudi enemy” that do not comply with their blockade.
- AFP
The United Nations chief is “deeply alarmed” after Yemen’s Houthi rebels struck oil tankers in the Red Sea, his spokesman said Friday (July 24, 2026), as fears rise of a new front in the war in West Asia.
“The attack on commercial vessels, claimed by the Houthis, risks further heightening regional tensions and widening the current cycle of escalation,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s spokesman said in a statement.
“Further hostilities in Yemen will undermine prospects for peace, and cause serious economic, humanitarian and environmental consequences across and beyond the region.”
- AFP
The Israeli military shot and killed four Palestinians in the village of Tell in the northern West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Friday (July 24, 2026), raising tensions in the occupied territory after an Israeli settler was killed in a confrontation with local residents.
Two other Israelis and four more Palestinians were wounded, health officials said, and the Israeli military announced it was preparing for an “extensive” counterterror operation in the West Bank, with troops surrounding the town of Nablus.
“The security forces must be allowed to act freely and with full force against terrorism,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a joint statement with Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz. They called Friday (July 24, 2026) for more troops to the West Bank and the razing of the homes of the accused in Tell as well as collecting weapons and revoking work permits in the village.
- AFP
The Israeli military said on Friday (July 24, 2026) that a second Israeli had been killed during a violent confrontation between Israelis and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Major Yuval Ezra, 27, “fell during operational activity in the area of the village of Tell,” the military said. Earlier, Israel’s emergency service had reported the death of another Israeli in the incident.
- AFP
Jordan’s military intercepted seven missiles and six drones launched by Iran on Friday (July 24, 2026), it said, as Tehran pressed its attacks on U.S. allies in West Asia.
The military said the interceptions, performed by air defence systems and air force planes, “resulted in no casualties or material damage”.
- AFP
Kurdish forces said the U.S.-led coalition shot down five drones on Friday (July 24, 2026) over Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, which has been repeatedly attacked since hostilities resumed in West Asia.
An AFP journalist reported earlier seeing drones hovering over Erbil before air defences were activated, resulting in explosions and visible smoke near the city’s airport, which hosts U.S.-led coalition troops.
Since hostilities resumed in the region, drone attacks, which Kurdish authorities blamed on Iran, have repeatedly been intercepted over Erbil, also home to a major U.S. consulate complex.
- AFP
Iran’s military said on Friday (July 24, 2026) it carried out drone strikes against several American military facilities and bases in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait in retaliation for the latest US attacks against the Islamic republic.
“This morning, the fuel tanks, large equipment warehouses and silos, and the barracks of the US terrorist army forces at the Isa Air Base in Bahrain were targeted by Arash kamikaze drones,” the Army said in a statement carried by state TV.
- AFP
The United Nations on Friday (July 24, 2026) urged countries involved in the Middle East war to help evacuate and repatriate some 6,000 sailors stranded in the Strait of Hormuz.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk called for urgent action to remedy the plight of thousands of stranded seafarers, who are facing “a dire humanitarian and human rights crisis” in the waterway, his spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo said.
The International Maritime Organization has said there are at least 6,000 seafarers on hundreds of vessels who are stranded in the strait, unable to evacuate during the ceasefire.
- AFP
Bahrain activated its sirens early Friday (July 24, 2026), warning residents to shelter from detected fire hours after the U.S. military said it had wrapped up its 13th night of strikes against Iran.
The Gulf States have come under frequent fire over the past week as the U.S. and Iran exchange escalating strikes in fighting that began with a struggle over control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Iranian State media reported that four people had been killed and nine injured in the bombardment. The previous day, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, potentially widening the Iran war as international oil topped $100 a barrel.
U.S. strikes against Iran escalate tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, prompting warnings and casualties in Gulf states.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that they targeted a data centre in Bahrain belonging to U.S. tech giant Amazon, state media reported.
The forces “targeted and destroyed the intelligence data centre building of the American company Amazon, which plays a major role in completing information for the American child-killing army”, they said in a statement aired by state TV. Neither Amazon nor Bahraini authorities have commented so far on Iran’s claims.
The Guards - the ideological arm of the military - had also said on Wednesday that they targeted the data centre.
Tehran maintains that any facility or base in the West Asia that the U.S. military uses for strikes on Iran is considered a legitimate target for retaliatory attacks. - AFP
The European Union’s (EU) oil coordination group said it does not see any supply problems for crude oil and refined products at this stage, despite market tensions caused by the conflict in Iran.
The oil coordination group includes representatives from EU governments. It monitors oil storage and security of supply and coordinates response measures during crises. The group met on Thursday (July 23, 2026) to discuss the situation.
“The Group confirmed that there is no supply problem at this stage. Demand for crude oil and oil products in Europe can continue to be met through commercial stocks and alternative supplies from global markets,” it said in a statement. - Reuters
A series of explosions were heard near a military base hosting U.S. forces in northern Iraq, hours after the U.S. military said it had wrapped up its 13th night of strikes against Iran.
A journalist heard at least seven blasts at around 9:30 a.m. local time in the city of Irbil, the capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, and observed at least four plumes of black smoke rising into the sky from areas near or inside a base at the city’s airport.
The U.S. and Iran have exchanged escalating strikes in fighting that began with a struggle over control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media reported that four people had been killed and nine injured in the U.S. bombardment.
U.S. Central Command said the latest barrage was designed to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters” as the Americans push to regain control over the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas transited in peacetime. It said the strikes ended shortly before 5 a.m. local time on Friday. - AP
Iranian authorities said on Friday that the United States struck a Revolutionary Guards’ base in the northern province of Gilan, state media reported.
“This morning, an IRGC naval forces headquarters in Zibakenar was targeted by American enemy projectiles, which damaged some of the equipment in the complex,” said Ali Bagheri, Deputy Governor for the province, quoted by the official IRNA news agency. - AFP
Iran’s Army said it carried out drone strikes against several American military facilities and bases in Bahrain and Jordan in retaliation for the latest U.S. attacks against the Islamic republic.
“This morning, the fuel tanks, large equipment warehouses and silos and the barracks of the U.S. terrorist Army forces at the Isa Air Base in Bahrain were targeted by Arash kamikaze drones,” the Army said in a statement carried by state TV.
A journalist in Bahrain reported an explosion and the sounding of warning sirens in the country on Friday morning, though it was not immediately clear if the two events were linked.
The Iranian Army also claimed drone attacks against Jordan, targeting “aircraft hangars, aviation maintenance hangars and a barracks” at Al-Azraq base. Jordan has not reported any strikes in the last few hours.
Tehran argues that any facility or base in the West Asia that the U.S. military uses for strikes on Iran is considered a legitimate target for retaliation. - AFP
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday (July 24, 2026) that Iran would hold accountable any country assisting the United States in an attack on the Islamic republic.
“Any participation, cooperation or assistance in committing aggression against Iran will create international responsibility for the relevant parties,” Mr. Araghchi said at a meeting in Kyrgyzstan, adding that Iran “reserves its right to take all necessary measures within the framework of self-defence”. - AFP
“Sirens sounded in Bahrain on Friday (July 24, 2026),” the Interior Ministry said, with a media correspondent hearing an explosion two weeks into renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities that have seen near daily Iranian attacks on the island kingdom.
“The siren has been sounded. Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place,” the Ministry said on X. - AFP
An overnight U.S. attack on Iran’s southwestern province of Khuzestan killed at least four people and injured several others, Iranian state media reported on Friday (July 24, 2026).
“Following the missile attack by the terrorist U.S. enemy on areas around the city of Ahvaz, four of our compatriots were martyred and five others were injured,” Valiollah Hayati, deputy governor of the province, was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.- AFP
The number of tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz fell to just one on Thursday (July 24, 2026), the lowest level since May 7, according to shiptracking data, amid ongoing shipping risks in the West Asia and as oil prices surged back to $100 a barrel.
Only one tanker crossed the Strait of Hormuz on July 23, compared with three the day earlier, data from analytics firm Kpler showed.
Very large crude carrier New Giant, loaded with 2 million barrels of Iraqi Basrah crude, exited the strait on Thursday and is due to arrive at China’s Rizhao port by mid-August.- Reuters
Tehran said Friday (July 24, 2026) that U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to pay for shipping damage with Iranian assets was an “incendiary precedent”.
“Seizing another nation’s assets to pay for unrelated future claims is an incendiary precedent,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X.- AFP
Published - July 24, 2026 08:58 am IST