Day 152 | Netanyahu, Trump hold talks as Iran vows to retain Hormuz control

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Read more: Day 153 | Trump vows retaliation after Iran targets US bases; US-Saudi strikes hit Iraq

Four members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp were killed in US-Saudi airstrikes in Iraq on Wednesday, according to a provincial Iranian official.

Hasan Ghamari, deputy governor of Markazi province for political, security and social affairs, told Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency that the four were providing security for Arbaeen pilgrimage ceremonies when they were killed in Diyala province in eastern Iraq.

Arbaeen marks the end of a 40-day mourning period commemorating the seventh-century death of Imam Hussein, grandson of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed.

Ghamari released the names of the four people he identified as IRGC members.

Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) media office spokesman Kareem al-Kinani told CNN on Wednesday that six Iranian pilgrims were killed in the strikes.

“Regardless of their professions in Iran, these six entered Iraq as pilgrims and not as fighters or advisers, as some have claimed,” al-Kinani said.

At least 20 people were killed and 32 others injured by the US-Saudi strikes early Wednesday local time, according to the PMF, an umbrella group of Iranian-aligned militias.

US President Donald Trump pledged to forcefully respond to Iran’s attempted attack on US military positions, saying it was “our turn” in the ongoing attacks that briefly went quiet as he sought a diplomatic off-ramp.

“We’re going to be hitting them very hard because it’s our turn to hit them. They know it’s coming,” he told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday.

Iran fired missiles toward US forces in the region overnight, according to the US military. All were intercepted.

It was a departure from the usual pattern in the tit-for-tat attacks, which have seen Iran responding to US strikes, and appeared to demonstrate Iran’s willingness to restart the hostilities.

“They’re asking us not to do it,” Trump said of the US retaliation, adding all the incoming fire had been “knocked down to the ground.”

“But they nevertheless took a shot, so it’s our turn,” he went on, “and we’ll see if we get there with an agreement at some point. But we’re going to hit them very hard.”

'Israeli' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he will travel to New York for the United Nations General Assembly in September despite calls for his arrest if he enters the city.

In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Netanyahu said he has "special forces around" him during overseas trips, adding that he "served with them for five years."

 

 

 

 

 

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Local authorities responded quickly after an explosion was reported at a Mediterranean port in Egypt during cargo discharge operations, according to port services firm Inchcape.

Inchcape said the blast occurred at the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal while cargo was being unloaded. The company added that the vessels involved were safely moved outside the port area.

Earlier, maritime security firm Ambrey reported that a drone struck a US-owned gas storage tanker at the port.

Inchcape said port operations are expected to resume overnight at other berths and terminals while authorities continue to assess the incident.

• CENTCOM warns posts help Iran assess strikes.
• US troops may be ordered to surrender phones.
• Admiral cites social media as security risk.
• Open-source footage aids Iranian battle assessment.

The top US commander for the Middle East, Admiral Brad Cooper, has issued a stark warning to deployed service members that online cellphone videos and public posts provide critical targeting data to Iranian forces, according to a Reuters report.

In a previously unreported letter dated July 28 obtained by Reuters, the head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) stated that Iran benefits from monitoring news reports, online journalist posts, and first-person footage from troops' mobile devices to evaluate the success or failure of its military strikes.

Phone confiscation considered 

Sources told Reuters that some deployed service members in the region have already been told their mobile devices will be confiscated in the coming days.

A third source confirmed to Reuters that phone seizures are under consideration due to operational security concerns, though not yet presented as a certainty.

"The direct, unavoidable cost of this open-source intelligence could be measured in the lives of American service members and civilian residents in targeted Gulf countries," Cooper wrote in his letter, calling on personnel to "redouble our focus on operational security."

Addressing the memo, CENTCOM spokesperson Captain Timothy Hawkins told Reuters: "The message is a general reminder to our service members on the importance of maintaining operational security. This is one of many opportunities Admiral Cooper has used to convey operational priorities."

Smart glasses footage

Cooper's letter specifically referenced a recent incident where footage taken with Meta smart glasses during a deadly July 17 attack on a US Air Base was posted to Instagram, showing an evacuation to a shelter.

The admiral emphasized that US electronic jamming and defensive tactics usually leave Iranian forces unsure of their precision, according to Reuters.

"Iran knows the weapons were fired; however, their forces do not know if they missed by 50 meters, hit an empty tarmac, or successfully struck a crowded facility," Cooper wrote, warning that public descriptions and media analyses perform Iran's Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) "free of charge" and could serve as "an immediate green light for Iranian forces to launch a secondary, much more devastating wave of attacks."

Broader context, political pressure 

Any crackdown on personal devices adds a significant strain for the thousands of US personnel stationed across the Middle East who rely on phones to reassure family members at home.

The issue follows years of Pentagon warnings that mobile app location data can be harvested to track troop positions, Reuters reported.

Since the outbreak of hostilities on Feb. 28, 18 US troops have been killed and over 600 wounded, casualties that have deepened public skepticism in the US, where polling shows only one in three Americans support the conflict.

Meanwhile, Reuters noted that Democratic lawmakers continue to demand greater transparency from the administration, including data on base infrastructure damage and the status of an investigation into a US military strike on an Iranian girls' school on the war's opening day.

The Iraqi government has condemned the reported US and Saudi strikes on its territory, describing them as an assault on Iraq's sovereignty and warning against further escalation in the region.

In a statement, the government said the attack came as Iraqi authorities were verifying reports regarding the alleged targeting of Saudi territory. It added that the National Security Council had approved a comprehensive security plan to respond to any violation of Iraq's sovereignty.

Baghdad also instructed the Foreign Ministry to take action under international law to document the incident and preserve Iraq's legal rights.

The statement stressed that responding to such attacks is the exclusive responsibility of the Iraqi government and constitutional institutions. It added that the government has worked since taking office to strengthen the rule of law and consolidate security operations under state institutions.

The Iraqi government urged all parties to avoid actions that could further destabilize the region and undermine its efforts to enforce the law.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani held talks in Rome on the sidelines of the Global Alliance Meeting on the Two-State Solution, reaffirming their support for maintaining the Gaza ceasefire and advancing humanitarian efforts.

In a joint statement published by the Saudi Foreign Ministry, the ministers stressed the need to preserve the ceasefire, disarm Gaza, ensure unhindered humanitarian aid reaches civilians, support early recovery efforts, and back reform initiatives led by the Palestinian Authority.

The two sides also condemned the escalation of settler violence in the occupied West Bank, calling for urgent protection of the Palestinian population. They reiterated their opposition to any partial, total, or de facto annexation of the West Bank, as well as the forced displacement of Palestinians.

Despite the ceasefire that began in October 2025, near-daily Israeli violations have killed at least 1,207 Palestinians and wounded 3,914 others, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

The ministers also discussed maritime security, emphasizing the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz and opposing any unilateral actions that could restrict freedom of navigation through the waterway.

Global oil prices jumped over 6% to approach $90 per barrel as market concerns mounted following statements from US President Donald Trump expressing his intention to launch heavy military strikes against Iran.

Read more: Trump: We're going to beat the f***ing sh** out of them

US President Trump tells Fox News the US will respond after surprise attacks on US forces in the Middle East:

"We're going to beat the f***ing sh** out of them."

"We'll be hitting them hard."

"They're going to get a beating."

Trump concluded to Fox News.

• No injuries reported by 'Israeli' military.
• 'Israel' says attack breached ceasefire.
• Troops continue operations in Ali Taher hill.

The 'Israeli' military alleges that Hezbollah launched an explosive drone targeting an 'Israeli' military engineering vehicle in the Ali Taher hill area of southern Lebanon overnight Wednesday.

The 'Israeli' military confirmed that no personnel were injured as a result of the drone strike.

'Israeli' forces maintain presence despite strike

The 'Israeli' military described the attack by Hezbollah as a violation of the ceasefire agreement governing the border region between 'Israel' and Lebanon.

In its statement, the 'Israeli' military noted that its soldiers remain deployed in the Ali Taher Ridge area and will continue operating to block armed forces from advancing or conducting further operations in the sector.

Iran's foreign ministry on Wednesday condemned US-Saudi strikes in Iraq, saying such attacks were part of US-‘Israeli’ attempts to expand the war in the region.

"These attacks... are in line with the aspirations of the United States and the Zionist regime to expand the scope of war and conflict in the West Asian region," the ministry said in a statement, calling them a "gross violation" of the UN Charter and international law.

Iranian state television on Wednesday said the United States struck a city in the country's northwest on the border with Iraq.

"A few minutes ago, an area in the Piranshahr border area was attacked by American enemy airstrikes," state television reported, after Fars news agency quoted an official in West Azerbaijan province as saying a missile hit an uninhabited area, leaving no casualties.

Aftermath of US-Saudi strikes on a base belonging to Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces in Diyala province.

The PMF, an alliance of former paramilitary groups and factions integrated into Iraq's armed forces that includes pro-Iran groups, said the strikes killed at least 20 fighters and wounded 32 at bases across seven provinces.

The United States and Saudi Arabia said they had struck Iran-backed fighters in Iraq in response to attacks on US forces and Saudi oil facilities.

Iran is expected to receive within weeks the first shipment of up to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air-defense missile launchers, according to three sources familiar with the deal who spoke to Reuters.

The systems form part of Tehran’s effort to rebuild short-range defenses damaged during its ongoing conflict with the United States and ‘Israel’.

The contract, valued at $60-70 million, covers between 300 and 400 man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS), specifically Chinese QW-12 and FN-16 missiles.

It was signed with Zhongqing Baoshang International Investment, a Hong Kong-based firm acting as an intermediary between Iran and the Chinese supplier.

The sources, who requested anonymity by Reuters due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the purchase ranks among Tehran’s largest known moves to reinforce short-range air defenses since the war began.

China’s Foreign Ministry rejected the reports, stating: “The relevant reports are completely groundless. China has consistently played a role in promoting peace and ending the conflict.”

The conflict, which has lasted roughly five months and has been under a “theoretical” ceasefire since April, exposed significant gaps in Iran’s ability to protect military sites and strategic infrastructure against advanced aircraft and precision-guided munitions.

US and ‘Israeli’ strikes targeted facilities linked to Iran’s missile, drone, and air-defense programs, while Tehran responded with ballistic missiles and drones.

Washington recently suspended two weeks of bombardment, though US President Donald Trump has warned strikes could resume if negotiations fail.

Deliveries are planned to begin by air from Urumqi in western China before transiting through Pakistan to Iran, though sources did not specify to Reuters whether the final leg would occur by air or road.

Pakistan’s military public relations wing, ISPR, firmly denied any role, saying: “Speculations of Pakistan being involved in supply of Air Defence weapons to Iran from China are absolutely concocted and false.”

Military experts note that portable systems like the infrared-guided QW-12 and FN-16, designed to engage low-flying aircraft, helicopters, and drones, offer key advantages: they can be dispersed quickly, operated by small teams, and relocated frequently, making them harder to target than fixed batteries.

Analysts view the QW-12 as less advanced than newer Chinese variants such as the QW-18 or QW-19, but still capable of providing useful short-range protection.

A European security source confirmed awareness of multiple discussions involving QW-series systems for Iran.

US-Saudi strikes on Iraq on Wednesday killed at least 20 members of a former paramilitary alliance that includes pro-Iran groups, the alliance said.

The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an alliance of former paramilitary groups and factions now integrated into the Iraqi armed forces, said at least 20 fighters "were martyred and another 32 wounded according to a preliminary toll" following the US-Saudi strikes on its bases in seven provinces.

The strikes came in retaliation for what Saudi Arabia said were drone attacks on oil facilities carried out by "terrorist militias loyal to Iran", according to the Kingdom's defense ministry.

Iran considered launching a ballistic missile at a Ukrainian seaport in retaliation for a Ukrainian drone strike on an Iranian cargo vessel in the Caspian Sea, but a flurry of diplomacy has eased the immediate risk of escalation, according to Iranian and Western officials cited by The New York Times.

On Saturday, Ukrainian forces conducted long-range drone strikes in the Caspian Sea, targeting vessels that Kyiv said were involved in transporting military cargo linked to Iran and Russia.

Iranian officials identified the hit ship as the commercial cargo vessel Ana, which was traveling from Russia’s Astrakhan port toward Iran’s Bandar Anzali.

The attack killed one civilian sailor and injured another.

Tehran described the ship as carrying civilian goods such as iron ore or steel, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that forces had achieved “very good results” against vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the strike as a violation of international law and vowed that the attack “cannot go unanswered.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi linked the incident to broader Middle East tensions, calling it “a blatant UN Charter violation” and claiming it was “done at Israel’s behest to drag Europe into its war.”

He added that he had spoken with European and Russian counterparts to underscore that the attack would not go without response.

Intelligence assessments indicated that Tehran contemplated a limited retaliatory strike, likely involving a ballistic missile with a small warhead aimed at one of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.

Officials briefed on the matter said the intent would have been symbolic, to make a point while causing relatively limited damage, rather than a major military blow.

Any such launch from Iranian territory into Ukraine would have marked a sharp escalation, given the two countries’ opposing roles in the overlapping conflicts involving Russia and the Middle East.

Ukraine pushed back firmly. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told Iran it had “no standing to pretend to be a victim” in light of Tehran’s military support for Russia, including drones and other equipment used against Ukrainian targets.
Zelensky has repeatedly framed Iran and Russia as mutually aiding each other’s wars, and Ukrainian officials have pointed to past Caspian shipments of Iranian munitions and components to Russia.

By Tuesday evening, the two foreign ministers spoke by phone.

Sybiha described the Caspian action as aimed at Russian aggression rather than civilians and stressed there was no intent to escalate further.

Araghchi said Sybiha characterized the strike as unintentional.

Both sides signaled a desire to de-escalate, with reports that Ukraine expressed willingness to discuss compensation for the damaged Ana.

“Our position remains unchanged: Europe and the Middle East deserve stability, security, and peace,” Sybiha posted afterward.

Jordan's army on Wednesday said it intercepted and downed five Iranian missiles, as fighting between Tehran and Washington resumed following a brief pause.

"Air defences this morning dealt with five missiles coming from Iran targeting the kingdom's territory," the spokesman of the Jordanian army said in a statement, adding that the missiles were "intercepted and downed".

At least 10 members of an Iraqi former paramilitary alliance were killed in US-Saudi strikes on their bases in the country, two alliance sources told AFP.

The strikes hit positions belonging to the Hashed al-Shaabi, or the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), "across several provinces, with the deadliest attack in Nineveh province, where at least 10 members were killed," an official said, adding that the toll will likely rise.

Injuries were reported in other provinces, he added. Another official confirmed the initial toll.