Donald Trump threatened retribution against Iran in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday.
“From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran,” the US president posted on Truth Social.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have been recorded sending radio warnings to ships, the International Chamber of Shipping told AFP on Wednesday, after the rebels announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia.
“We can confirm that the Houthis were recorded transmitting a warning message to ships in the region,” the ICS said.
US president Donald Trump walks to board Air Force One as he departs for Dover, Delaware, to attend the dignified transfer of US Army service members killed in Jordan and Iraq, amid the Iran war at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.
Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York City, said in a video statement that he didn’t have the authority to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu but he urged the federal government to do so if the Israeli prime minister visits the city in September.
President Donald Trump is attending the dignified transfer today of four US service members killed in the Middle East.
Trump will be at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware when the remains of the troops killed in action are returned to their families, the White House said.
The ritual is one of the most somber duties of a commander-in-chief. It will be the third that Trump has attended since he launched the war in Iran in February.
Speaking to reporters on his way to Dover, Trump called it “one of the hardest things to do as a president.” His message to grieving families, he said, will simply be “we love you, we love your child.”
“There’s no games, there’s no nothing – that’s their child,” Trump said. “And all you can do is throw out your heart.”
Britain’s new prime minister has agreed to allow the US to continue to use UK airbases for bombing missions against Iran as the US steps up its attacks on the country.
Andy Burnham endorsed a decision taken by his predecessor Keir Starmer at a Cobra meeting on Friday to allow the US to resume strikes from UK bases against Iranian missile launchers and sites around the strait of Hormuz.
It is intended to be a continuation of a UK policy of permitting US ‘defensive strikes’ though it is unclear precisely how the distinction is drawn as Donald Trump threatens to bomb bridges and power plants in Iran.
US Air Force B-1 bombers were spotted at RAF Fairford on Tuesday. The Gloucestershire base is where US bombers are based in the UK, though the flight distance to Iran means they require refuelling support.
Burnham spoke to Trump on Monday, his first call with a foreign leader after becoming prime minister at lunchtime.
Trump said afterwards the two had “a very good conversation” while Downing Street said Burnham had told the US leader that “ensuring the security of the UK and its Allies was at the top of his agenda”.
A US missile struck the Iranian island of Larak on Wednesday, the Tasnim news agency reported, in the latest attack to target the Islamic republic’s islands in and around the strait of Hormuz.
The islands have been hit multiple times as the two sides fight over the strategic waterway, which Iran has sealed following the collapse of a preliminary deal aimed at ending the war.
The price of oil has breached the $95 a barrel mark for the first time in six weeks as the escalating Middle East conflict threatens further disruption to global supplies.
The benchmark oil price rose sharply on Wednesday as renewed US-Iran aggression over the strait of Hormuz was compounded by Houthi threats to target vessels carrying Saudi oil through the Bab el-Mandeb strait.
Brent crude peaked at $126 a barrel in April during the conflict, but had eased to as low as $71 at the start of July. However, the price has shot up since the war has reignited in recent days, and reached $95.24 on Wednesday, before easing to $94.40 by lunchtime, up more than 3% on the previous day.
The price increase followed an 11th night of strikes on Iran including onaircraft hangars and drone storage sites, despite diplomatic efforts to salvage an interim ceasefire deal. Donald Trump, warned strikes would intensify, in a war that has so far cost the US $37.5bn.
As US airstrikes hit port and inland cities in Iran, and Tehran strikes at the US’s Middle East allies, the escalating conflict has left many Iranians fearing that, amid war and a worsening human rights crisis, they remain trapped in a cycle of violence and repression with no way out.
Bandar Abbas, on the strait of Hormuz and the headquarters of the Iranian navy, has been hit by strikes every night since the latest escalation began nearly two weeks ago. Soroush*, a writer based in the city who secretly publishes a newsletter documenting human rights violations in Iran, described a “new normal” for its residents.
“We need to accept this could just be our new reality now and it’s worked because we are less afraid as each day goes on,” the 37-year-old said. “We are less afraid of the future because we are now forced to accept this is the new normal. There’s no one coming to save us from the bombs or the regime’s bullets. Our brains have tricked us into making peace with this new reality.”
Donald Trump threatened retribution against Iran in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday.
“From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran,” the US president posted on Truth Social.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency on Wednesday added Jordan to the no-fly list, asking airlines not to operate withint the airspace as “the security situation has deteriorated rapidly”, Reuters reports.
Iran has been targeting sites in Jordan and other US Gulf states amidst the renewed conflict. Last weekend, two US military personnel members were killed in an attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.
“Since the middle of July 2026, the security situation has deteriorated rapidly, with a sustained increase in kinetic military activity affecting Jordanian airspace,” EASA said in a statement.
The agency already recommends that airlines avoid the airspace of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Iraq and Lebanon.
