Day 186 | Trump threatens to ‘smack’ Iran ‘to see what happens’

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tuesday that his country would “immediately” reciprocate if the US returns to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding signed on June 18, after the pair recently traded blows.

"It is obvious that the violation of US commitments was met with a proportionate response from Iran,” Pezeshkian said in statements cited by state media.

“But I am saying frankly that if the US returns to its commitments in the aforementioned memorandum of understanding, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately reciprocate,” he added.

US Senator Bernie Sanders has condemned ‘Israeli’ military policies and settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, sharing a New York Times report featuring testimony from retired ‘Israeli’ military officials.

“Listen to the words of retired Israeli generals speaking out against Israeli settlers terrorizing Palestinians in the West Bank,” Sanders wrote on X.

Among those cited was retired Brigadier General Ephraim Sneh, a former health minister, who described the situation as “ethnic cleansing.” Retired Air Force General Asaf Agmon warned that “once a society behaves this way, that society is doomed.”

Sanders reiterated his opposition to US support for the Netanyahu government, writing: “Not another nickel for the extremist Netanyahu government.”

His comments come amid growing criticism in Washington over settler violence in the West Bank. Last week, 45 Democratic senators urged Netanyahu to address escalating settler attacks and mass arrests of Palestinians.

Iraq’s State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) said it has no contractual or commercial relationship with the Binary Star, a US- and EU-sanctioned oil and chemical tanker linked to the transport of Iranian petroleum products.

SOMO said vessels nominated for Iraqi oil exports must undergo compliance checks and cannot appear on relevant international sanctions lists.

The company added that it monitors tanker movements in Iraqi waters, including possible manipulation of location data and identification signals.

SOMO stressed that a vessel’s presence in Iraqi territorial waters or its appearance on tracking systems does not indicate any commercial relationship with the Iraqi oil marketer.

US President Donald Trump and senior advisers are considering limited, periodic strikes against Iranian military positions near the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported Monday, citing three US officials.

The proposed plan, developed by US Central Command and backed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, would seek to prevent Iran from rebuilding radar and missile capabilities that could be used to attack oil tankers and other vessels.

According to Axios, the plan had not been approved before the latest escalation between Washington and Tehran. Its objective would be to periodically degrade Iranian military capabilities rather than launch a broader military campaign.

Iran has urged the UN Security Council to intervene after it said a US attack on Larak Island in the Gulf killed and wounded soldiers and civilians.

According to Iran’s IRNA news agency, the request was made in a letter sent Monday to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres by Gholamhossein Darzi, Iran’s deputy permanent representative and ambassador to the UN.

Darzi said US forces struck Larak Island on Sunday evening, damaging public and private property in what he described as “a clear violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Iran.

He also said the war on Iran amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity, for which he held the US responsible, along with those who ordered or carried out the attacks, IRNA reported.

Darzi said Iran had exercised restraint throughout the war but warned that Iranian forces “would not hesitate” to respond to any further attacks.

He defended Iran’s strikes on US bases in Jordan as an act of self-defense.

Darzi called on the Security Council to demand that the US halt its attacks on Iran.

He also requested that the letter be circulated as an official UN document, according to IRNA.

US Vice President JD Vance said Washington is focused on ensuring the free flow of commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran continues.

Speaking to Fox News, Vance said the US strike on Larak Island on Sunday was aimed at preventing Iran from deploying sea mines in the strategic waterway. US officials have said Iranian forces were preparing to launch rockets carrying mines into the strait.

Vance accused Iran’s leadership of acting “not with a whole lot of strategic wisdom” by seeking to disrupt oil and gas exports.

“What’s odd to me is that they will sometimes fire at their own allies just to prevent the free flow of oil and gas,” he said, describing Iran’s leaders as “really crazy.”

Vance added that Washington had anticipated Tehran would take such measures. The renewed tensions have centered on the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global energy shipments.

Yemen’s military said it carried out drone attacks against Houthi targets across several fronts, according to the army’s media center.

Footage released by the media center showed drones dropping bombs on Houthi positions in the Baqam district of Saada governorate.

The attacks came as Yemen’s navy said four Houthi drone boats were destroyed near Hanish and Zaqar islands in the Red Sea. A recent report also documented Yemeni forces destroying a Houthi unmanned attack boat at a naval outpost on Yemen’s Red Sea coast.

The US State Department has approved a potential $800 million military sale of helicopters and related equipment to Iraq, according to a statement issued Monday.

Bell-Textron of Fort Worth, Texas, will serve as the principal contractor, the department said.

The State Department said the proposed sale would support US foreign policy and national security by strengthening the security capabilities of a strategic partner.

It added that the helicopters would improve Iraq’s rotary-wing transport, reconnaissance and air-to-surface targeting capabilities, helping Baghdad address current and future security threats.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has called on Europe to choose between acting as an independent power or continuing to follow US policies.

In a post on X, Baghaei cited French political philosopher Étienne de La Boétie’s Discourse of Voluntary Servitude, arguing that domination can persist through the acquiescence of those capable of acting independently.

“Europe can no longer speak of ‘strategic autonomy’ while merely executing Washington’s orders,” Baghaei wrote, adding that genuine autonomy requires the ability to make independent decisions, even when they diverge from the position of a major power.

“Europe must choose: to behave like an independent actor, or to grow so accustomed to echoing another’s policies that it mistakes that echo for autonomy,” he said.

A tanker reported being struck by three unknown projectiles while completing an outbound transit of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).

The incident occurred about 17 nautical miles (31 kilometers) east of Khasab, Oman, the maritime agency said.

US President Donald Trump’s approval rating remains at a record low of 33%, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, as public dissatisfaction grows over his handling of the war in Iran and the economy.

The latest poll marks the third consecutive survey in which Trump’s approval rating has remained at 33%. The figure is below his early-term peak of 47% and is also lower than Joe Biden’s lowest approval rating.

Public concerns over inflation and high gasoline prices, alongside opposition to the Iran war, have increasingly weighed on Trump’s political standing ahead of the November midterm elections.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received a report of an incident involving an oil tanker and military forces in the Indian Ocean.

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi has expressed the bloc’s “full solidarity” with Jordan as the country confronts what he described as threats to its security and stability.

In a statement posted on X, Albudaiwi said the GCC stands with Jordan in confronting “all threats to its security and stability.”

He also warned that the attacks constitute a “direct threat to the security and stability of the region,” stressing the wider regional implications of the escalation.

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Read more: Day 185 | US and Iran trade attacks, marking first escalation in a month