The U.S. military said it completed its latest wave of strikes on Iran, a two-hour operation that hit dozens of targets. Washington described the strikes as a "powerful response" to Iranian missile attacks targeting U.S. forces in the Middle East a day earlier.
U.S. President Donald Trump says his Board of Peace has reached what he described as a "historic agreement" for the complete disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups in the Gaza Strip.
The announcement marks a significant claimed breakthrough in efforts to end the conflict, though no further details on the agreement or its implementation have yet been released.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has accused the United States of targeting civilians after a strike on Qeshm island killed a couple and a child, warning Washington "will pay the price."
He described the attack as a continuation of earlier strikes on Minab and Lamerd, which Iranian authorities say killed scores of civilians during the opening day of the conflict.
Two Yemeni soldiers were killed in clashes with Houthi fighters, pro-government forces said Thursday, amid a continuing military escalation in the war-torn country.
The December 2 news portal, affiliated with the National Resistance Forces, said Ali Saleh Abdullah al-Shahtri and Amr Mohammed Mohammed al-Riyashi were laid to rest in the Red Sea port city of Mokha in the Taiz province after being killed in clashes with Houthis.
The outlet did not specify where or under what circumstances the two soldiers were killed, and there was no immediate comment from the Houthis.
According to the website, the two were given official public funeral ceremonies, with their coffins draped in the Yemeni flag and carried by an honor guard in recognition of what it described as their role in the country’s battle against the Houthis.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has described Egypt as an important friend and regional partner, saying Cairo's security is "of utmost importance" to Tehran.
His remarks come amid heightened regional tensions, as Iran seeks to reinforce ties with key Middle Eastern states while diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation continue.
Iraqi government spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi said on Thursday that Baghdad neither approved nor had prior knowledge of U.S.-Saudi strikes on Iraqi territory, the state news agency reported.
Saudi Arabia and the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) carried out strikes against Iran-backed groups in Iraq that they said were responsible for drone attacks on the kingdom's oil facilities.
U.S. President Donald Trump's Board of Peace believes Hamas could sign an agreement in the coming days to begin disarming and demilitarising the Gaza Strip, according to Axios.
The reported breakthrough comes as mediators push forward with a broader U.S.-backed plan for post-war governance, though key differences between Hamas and Israel remain unresolved over the scope and timing of disarmament.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has urged Bulgaria to reconsider its decision to allow the temporary deployment of U.S. military aircraft at Bezmer air base, calling the move a form of support for what he described as aggression against Iran.
During a phone call with Bulgarian Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova-Chamova, Araghchi said the decision was incompatible with the traditionally friendly ties between the two countries and reiterated Tehran's warning that states facilitating U.S. military operations could face consequences.
Araghchi also spoke with Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, urging Cyprus to ensure foreign military bases on the island are not used against Iran. Bulgaria approved the temporary deployment of up to eight U.S. KC-135 tanker aircraft and 250 personnel last week, while insisting no offensive weapons would be stationed there and that it is not a party to the conflict.
U.S. Central Command says it has redirected 22 commercial vessels, while disabling two and boarding two others as part of its maritime operations linked to the Iran blockade.
The latest figures, updated as of July 30, reflect an increase from the 20 vessels previously reported as tensions continue in the Gulf.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Thursday that no American aircraft were destroyed or damaged during recent Iranian attacks, rejecting claims attributed to Iran's Revolutionary Guards that three U.S. F-35 fighter jets and three other aircraft had been destroyed.
In a statement, CENTCOM said the reports were false and that all U.S. aircraft remained accounted for.
The U.S. military also denied Iranian media claims that the commercial vessel M/T Nora had successfully breached the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. CENTCOM said the tanker did not break through the blockade, contradicting reports carried by Iranian state media.
Saudi Arabia said 14 countries, including Türkiye, Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan and Djibouti, have endorsed a joint statement supporting the creation of a proposed multinational maritime defence coalition.
According to the Saudi Defence Ministry, the initiative is aimed at strengthening security cooperation in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, key waterways for global trade and energy shipments.
The ministry said participants also discussed Saudi Arabia serving as the coalition's founding and leading member, as well as hosting its headquarters.
A total of 43 countries and a European Union delegation took part in an international meeting hosted by Saudi Arabia to discuss the proposed maritime alliance.
The Strait of Hormuz will remain closed so long as the U.S. tries to "interfere" in the region, Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) has said in a statement, reported by the semi-official Fars News Agency.
"The Strait of Hormuz is our territory, and the brave men of the IRGC Navy firmly control it. No outsider who has come from thousands of kilometres away will be allowed to interfere," the IRGC said, according to Fars.
"The Strait of Hormuz is not reopenable as long as the excessive rhetoric and threats by U.S. officials and their interference in maritime movements in the region continue, and threats and interventions will make the situation more difficult and more complicated," the statement continued.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it attacked Azraq air base in Jordan, according to Iranian state media.
The IRGC did not immediately provide details on the scale of the attack, the weapons used or any damage caused. There was no immediate confirmation from Jordanian authorities.
London's marine insurance market has widened the area in the Red Sea it deems as high risk after attacks on ships by Yemen's Houthi movement, according to a 29 July advisory.
Guidance from the Joint War Committee, which comprises syndicate members from the Lloyd's Market Association and representatives from the London insurance company market, is watched closely and influences underwriters' considerations over insurance premiums.
Iran's Foreign Ministry has condemned U.S.-Saudi strikes on Iraq, in a statement on X.
Tehran's Foreign Ministry said the strikes were a "clear attack on the national sovereignty of Iraq and a clear violation" of international law.
On Wednesday, U.S. Central Command said it had carried out attacks on Iran-aligned groups in Iraq.
Hundreds of Jordanian political and legal officials have signed an open letter calling for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the country, the New York Times reports.
Over the last few weeks, Iranian missiles and drones have increasingly targeted Washington's forces and installations in the Arab kingdom, setting off sirens across the country.
Initial investigations have found that a fire on two ships at Damietta Port on the Eastern Mediterranean was caused by a drone, Egypt's cabinet has said. It added that no party had claimed responsibility for the strike yet.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called on the United States and Iran to end hostilities and return to diplomacy, a spokesperson said.
“The Secretary-General has been worried for some time that if the parties do not return to negotiations, you could have a widening of the conflict, and that seems to be what has been happening in recent hours,” Deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said.
Haq said the UN chief wants both sides to stop fighting and return to diplomatic efforts, including mediation initiatives led by Pakistan, Qatar and others.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that the Strait of Hormuz cannot be reopened as long as U.S. threats and interference in regional maritime traffic continue.
It warned that continued “threats and interference” would make the situation “more difficult and complicated.”
The IRGC claimed that two oil tankers, “at the instigation of U.S. aircraft,” attempted overnight to transit through what it described as an “unsafe route” south of the Strait of Hormuz
The Jordanian army said that it intercepted and downed five missiles launched from Iran toward the Kingdom, marking the fourth consecutive day of such incidents.
In a statement, the army said its air defences detected and intercepted the five missiles early Thursday.
No casualties were reported, it added.
Oil prices eased after earlier gains, with Brent crude futures falling $1.29, or 1.42 per cent, to $89.45 a barrel at 01:10 GMT, as tankers continued leaving the Middle East despite the widening U.S.-Iran conflict.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude declined 56 cents, or 0.66 per cent, to $83.90 a barrel.
The drop followed a sharp rally in the previous session, when Brent jumped 7.91 per cent and WTI gained 6.56 per cent in one of the biggest price surges of the conflict.
A QatarEnergy-controlled liquefied natural gas tanker exited the Strait of Hormuz overnight, the first such vessel visible on ship-tracking data to leave the waterway since 11 July, data from analytics firms showed on Thursday.
The Al Areesh tanker, which loaded a cargo at Qatar's Ras Laffan terminal around 4-6 July, sailed out of the strait overnight on 29 July, according to Kpler and LSEG data.
LSEG data shows it is currently heading to Port Qasim, Pakistan, with an estimated arrival date of 31 July.
U.S. President Donald Trump's approval rating has fallen to an all-time low in a new Quinnipiac University national poll released Wednesday, with voters expressing growing opposition to the U.S. military action against Iran.
A majority of voters, 60 per cent, said they oppose the U.S. military action against Iran, while 34 per cent support it.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said that American forces completed a “heavy wave” of strikes against Iran in response to what it called attempted missile attacks targeting U.S. forces in the Middle East.
The command said U.S. forces struck dozens of targets belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including military command centres, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defence sites, and maritime capabilities.
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Iran said it was nearing a final pact with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz but repeated that the U.S. must meet other conditions.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called for Iran to pay compensation for decades of deaths and damage, adding a new demand to peace talks as Tehran seeks compensation and sanctions relief before reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
A criminal court in Damascus has sentenced former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for premeditated murder, torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity, according to Syria’s state news agency SANA.
Disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has increased the strategic importance of Bab al-Mandab, raising fears that instability in both waterways could trigger a wider global energy and trade crisis.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
Iran said it was nearing a final pact with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz but repeated that the U.S. must meet other conditions.
A deal on a new route for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is "very close," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said, while warning that the reopening of the waterway depends on the U.S. meeting other conditions, including paying compensation to Iran.
An agreement between Iran and the U.S. to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is expected "soon," a U.S. official has said. The deal would result in the resumption of commercial shipping through the sea passage and the lifting of an American naval blockade on Iranian ports.
U.S. President Donald Trump said negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz are progressing and suggested an agreement with Iran could be reached “soon”.
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