Day 146 | Iran warns regional security at risk as Trump threatens new strikes

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Read more: Day 147 | Trump weighs 'massive attack' Iran attack as Hormuz tensions escalate

The Kuwaiti military said its air defense systems are actively intercepting Iranian missile and drone attacks targeting the country.

In a statement, the military advised residents that any explosion sounds they hear are the result of air defense systems engaging incoming missiles and drones.

Kuwait is among several Gulf countries that have come under Iranian attacks since hostilities between the US and Iran resumed in the region about two weeks ago.

Senior Iranian military adviser Mohsen Rezaei has accused US President Donald Trump of making "fatal mistakes" in his confrontation with Iran, warning that any attack on the country's infrastructure would provoke a severe response.

Rezaei, a senior military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, said Trump had shifted "from playing the 'madman' to playing the 'desperate man'" through what he described as a series of strategic miscalculations.

Rezaei said an alleged attack on pilgrims in the Iranian border town of Shalamcheh, near Iraq, along with US threats to strike infrastructure, reflected what he called Washington's desperation.

"An attack on pilgrims in Shalamcheh and threats against infrastructure are nothing but signs of desperation and helplessness," Rezaei said.

He warned that Iran would respond forcefully to any strikes on critical infrastructure.

"Iran's response to attacks on its infrastructure will be severe and escalatory," he added.

Rezaei's remarks came a day after Trump warned Tehran that the United States would "bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT" every time Iran targets a vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

The exchange marks the latest escalation in the increasingly hostile rhetoric between Washington and Tehran as tensions continue to rise across the region.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it has redirected 12 commercial vessels and disabled one ship since resuming its naval blockade against Iran nine days ago.

In an operational update, CENTCOM said the actions were taken to prevent commercial vessels from entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas.

The US Senate has rejected a Democratic-led resolution that sought to prevent continued US military operations against Iran unless they are authorized by Congress.

The measure failed to advance in a 49–47 vote, blocking the war powers resolution from moving forward.

The vote came hours after four Republican lawmakers joined Democrats in the House of Representatives to pass a separate measure directing Donald Trump to withdraw US forces from hostilities with Iran.

The competing votes reflect growing concerns among lawmakers from both parties over a war that Trump initially described as a short campaign expected to pressure Iran into surrendering, but which has continued for months.

The US State Department has issued an advisory urging American citizens in West Asia to prepare for possible emergency travel situations due to potential flight cancellations and disruptions linked to the ongoing Iran war.

The advisory warned that changing security conditions could affect air travel and urged US citizens in the region to remain prepared for unexpected travel challenges.

The warning comes after US President Donald Trump said he was considering a "massive attack" on Iran, escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Trump said Iran "hasn't received enough pain yet" and claimed that US forces were prepared for a possible large-scale operation, though he stressed that no final decision had been made.

 

 

 

 

 

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US President Donald Trump said he is considering launching a major military operation against Iran, claiming Tehran has "not received enough pain yet."

In an interview with US outlet Axios, Trump was quoted as saying he is "close to making a decision" on what he described as a "massive attack," adding that US forces are prepared.

"I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it," Trump said, according to Axios.

Trump acknowledged that any new strikes would carry consequences and said he had not yet made a final decision. He added that ‘Israel’ would join the operation quickly if he requested its involvement.

The US president also warned that ‘Israel’ could face retaliation if it participated in attacks, while claiming Iran wants negotiations but is not yet ready to reach an agreement.

"They haven't received enough pain yet," Trump said.

Yemen's Houthis said they attacked two commercial vessels, claiming one was struck by a drone and the other by a cruise missile.

According to the group, one of the ships was hit on its top deck, causing a fire. British maritime authorities also confirmed that a vessel was struck and caught fire, but said the damage was limited to the deck rather than the hull. They added that a second tanker turned around and headed back toward the Suez Canal, contradicting the Houthis' claim that both vessels were hit.

The reported attacks have prompted at least 10 vessels attempting to transit the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to reroute via the Suez Canal and around Africa's Cape of Good Hope, significantly extending their journeys. The targeted ships were reportedly bound for India and China.

The Houthis described their campaign as "a blockade for a blockade," warning that Saudi Arabia must lift its blockade on Yemen or face further attacks. They also threatened to target Saudi oil tankers and vessels regardless of whether they pass through Bab el-Mandeb, saying ships rerouting through the Suez Canal could also be at risk.

Houthi officials further warned that Saudi Aramco oil facilities could become future targets if the blockade on Yemen is not lifted.

• Iran's Revolutionary Guard claimed it targeted a US military base and housing facilities for American forces in Kuwait.
• The IRGC warned that any base used to launch attacks on Iran would be considered a legitimate target.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) claimed it carried out an attack on Al-Udeiri Base and a residential compound housing US forces in Kuwait on Wednesday.

In a statement, the IRGC also claimed that the US military used bombers launched from RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom during attacks on Iran the previous day.

The IRGC warned that any military base used to launch attacks against Iranian territory would be considered a legitimate target for its forces.

The statement further accused Washington of using calls for negotiations to buy time to reorganize its military forces and restore its operational capabilities. It added that Iran would not allow the US to exploit what it described as a "deceptive ceasefire" to replenish its oil and ammunition stockpiles.

Two French diplomats who were assaulted in Tehran have returned to Paris and are receiving support after what France described as an "extremely serious and premeditated" attack, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Thursday.

Speaking to France Inter, Barrot said the diplomats arrived in Paris on Wednesday and remain "in shock" following the incident.

Barrot said the two diplomats do not wish to return to Tehran but will continue carrying out their mission remotely from Paris until the end of their assignment.

"They returned to Paris yesterday and are receiving all the necessary support after this extremely serious and premeditated attack," he said.

The foreign minister said the diplomats had been working in Tehran to develop programs supporting Iranian civil society, including students and artists seeking opportunities to study or participate in artist residency programs in France.

Barrot argued that the assault was aimed at France's efforts to support Iranian civil society.

He also accused the Iranian government of trying to discourage France from continuing that support, adding that Paris would maintain its assistance to the Iranian people despite the incident.

An Iranian Army captain was killed during overnight US airstrikes targeting the Shalamcheh border crossing with Iraq, according to Iran's Tasnim News Agency.

Tasnim reported that the officer, who held the rank of captain, was killed in the strikes, but did not provide further details about his identity or the circumstances surrounding his death.

The Shalamcheh border crossing, located in southwestern Iran near the Iraqi border, was among the locations targeted in the latest wave of US attacks.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened Yemen's Houthis with "major military punishment" after they launched missile and drone strikes on oil tankers in the Red Sea.

"The U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis themselves" should they launch further attacks, Trump said on his Truth Social network.

The Kuwaiti military said Thursday that the Al-Abdali border crossing (with Iraq) came under attack by what it said were "hostile drones”.

The statement did not specify the origin of the drones.

Early unverified reports suggest it was an Iranian retaliatory drone strike following a US attack on Iran's Shalamcheh crossing with Iraq earlier that day, which killed two and wounded 11.

The army said the attack caused material damage but no casualties.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that Yemen's Houthis have been "suckered" into attacking Red Sea shipping by Iran.

"The Houthis largely were smart and stayed out of all this throughout the conflict, but they now apparently have gotten themselves suckered into this, going after Saudi Arabia and their ships," Rubio said on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian summit in Manila.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that Iran is “begging” the US to make a deal, as the two continue trading blows over the Strait of Hormuz.

"Iran is begging us, okay? Both directly and indirectly. ‘Let's do a deal, let's talk.’ Iran is begging every day,” Rubio says on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian summit in Manila.

“The problem with Iran is that every time they make a deal, the people that are in charge there, they either break it, or they want to change it,” he adds.

The mayor of the central ‘Israeli’ city Ramat Gan announced that he is reopening the shelters amid fears that Iran could carry out a ballistic missile attack on ‘Israel’. 

“The assessment is that the threat of missiles from Iran over the weekend has grown and is no longer negligible,” the mayor, Carmel Shama-Hacohen, says on Facebook, quoted by Hebrew media.

The opening is being undertaken “out of an abundance of caution,” he adds, but says that the military has not issued a warning of any kind.

The ‘Israeli’ Home Front Command has not changed its guidelines yet.

Iran and the United States have been trading blows for almost 12 days, amid a dispute on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has targeted many Gulf countries, in what it says is “retaliation” for US strikes.

At least two people were killed and 11 others injured in a US strike targeting the Shalamcheh border crossing between Iran and Iraq before dawn on Thursday, according to the deputy governor of Iran's Khuzestan province.

User-generated videos shared on social media appeared to show people fleeing the area, while witnesses on the Iraqi side of the border documented the attack. 

Newly obtained user-generated footage from northern Tehran, filmed early on July 22, 2026, captures the sound of explosions in the background.

At the time, Iranian state media reported that air defense systems had been activated across Tehran and that strikes were reported in multiple locations across the country.

The price of main international oil contract, Brent North Sea, soared five percent Thursday after Houthis claimed to have struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.

Brent reached $98.80 a barrel while main US contract, West Texas Intermediate, rallied 3.8 percent to $90.11 a barrel, as the attacks potentially opened a new front in the Middle East war.