President Donald Trump has insisted that Iran “cannot have a nuclear weapon” as strikes have spread across the Middle East.
The US leader appeared to backtrack from an earlier threat of massive strikes and said that discussions had been going “well”.
“They are talking to us right now. They'd love to make a deal. I don't think they're ready to. I don't think it's time yet, but I'm willing to listen,” he said in remarks at the White House on Friday.
"But they cannot have a nuclear weapon. We don't want to see Washington DC, or any of our cities, or Israel, or frankly the Middle East, destroyed with a nuclear weapons, because I know the power of nuclear weapons.”
Conflict has spread across the Middle East as Yemen’s Houthi rebel group and Saudi Arabia exchanged strikes overnight.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack on the southern Saudi city of Jizan after targets in the Yemeni port city of Hodeida and a nearby island were hit by Saudi on Friday.
Accusing Riyadh of a “dangerous escalation”, they had warned the attacks would not go “unanswered”.
The Houthis have threatened a maritime blockade in the Red Sea, impacting Saudi shipping.
Read MorePentagon reduced death count from Iran war to match Trump timeline: report
Trump says ‘I trust’ Putin and Xi — contradicting Hegseth about Iran war allies
US gradually expands the scope of its attacks on Iran
Key Points
- Houthis and Saudi Arabia exchange strikes as conflict spreads
- US surges forces and weapons to Middle East as Trump considers expanding Iran war
- UK 'ready to defend itself' after Iran criticises US using British bases
- Oil prices jump to $100 a barrel after Red Sea attacks
- Tanker crossings in Strait of Hormuz fall to lowest level in more than two months
- ICYMI: Iran 'flew IRGC commanders and missile gear to Yemen's Houthis'
Iran accuses EU of 'hypocrisy' over war
08:20 , Maira ButtIran’s foreign ministry spokesperson has hit out at the European Union’s Kaja Kallas after she expressed concerns about human rights in the country.
On Saturday, Esmail Baghaei, wrote in a post on X: “Kaja Kalals speaks of the European Union’s ‘human rights concerns’ regarding Iran.
“How can a professed commitment to human rights be so easily reconciled with providing logistical and technical support for lethal aggressions against the Iranian people — aggressions that deliberately target civilians and critical national infrastructure?
“All while refusing to condemn even the most blatant war crimes, and offering not a single word of sympathy for Iranian children slaughtered by American-Israeli bombs and missiles enabled by the EU’s own ‘logistical and technical support.’
“This is not merely a loss of credibility. It is the banality of evil — and the purest form of hypocrisy.”
The US and Israel deny committing war crimes.
Trump says Iran is 'most serious' yet in discussions
08:00 , Maira ButtPresident Donald Trump said that Iran is now far “more serious” in discussions than it has been in the conflict so far.
“I think they are being by far the most serious that we’ve seen,” he said on Friday. “But that doesn’t mean we get there.”
He added: “They are talking to us right now. They'd love to make a deal. I don't think they're ready to. I don't think it's time yet, but I'm willing to listen.”
Trump insists Iran 'cannot have a nuclear weapon' as he insists talks are going 'well'
07:40 , Maira ButtPresident Donald Trump has insisted that Iran “cannot have a nuclear weapon” in comments made during the White House Correspondents’ dinner on Friday.
He also said that talks between the countries had been going “well” as he seemingly backtracked from the “massive” strikes he had earlier threatened.
“They are talking to us right now. They'd love to make a deal. I don't think they're ready to. I don't think it's time yet, but I'm willing to listen.
"But they cannot have a nuclear weapon. We don't want to see Washington DC, or any of our cities, or Israel, or frankly the Middle East, destroyed with a nuclear weapons, because I know the power of nuclear weapons.
“I see it. I get to see it. We're not going to let that happen. So this is all about we will not let them have a nuclear weapon. And they would use it. They would use if they had it.”
Houthis and Saudi Arabia exchange strikes as conflict spreads
07:17 , Maira ButtSaudi Arabia has Yemen’s Houthi rebel group has claimed responsibility for an attack on Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
The missile attack on the southern Saudi city of Jizan came after days of escalating tensions, in which they vowed retaliation against the country for attacking its military targets on Friday.
Accusing Riyadh of a “dangerous escalation”, it said its attacks would not go “unanswered”.
The Houthis had been threatening a maritime blockade in the Red Sea, impacting Saudi shipping.
“The terrorist Houthi military … targeted commercial ships in the Red Sea,” Turki al-Maliki, the Saudi-led coalition’s spokesperson, said on X, adding that after carrying out attacks on the Houthi targets the “military response is now over”.
The attacks hit Houthi targets in the Yemeni port city of Hodeida and a nearby island on Friday.
US warns citizens in mideast to exercise caution
06:45 , Namita SinghThe Iranian army said it had attacked US military equipment depots at Al-Adiri, officially named Camp Buehring, in northern Kuwait, and the positions of US troops at Camp Arifjan and at Camp Doha, near Kuwait City.
In the early evening, Kuwait said its air defences were intercepting "hostile" targets launched from Iran. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had significantly damaged a surveillance tower used by the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.
Tankers rerouting, shipping insurance rises
06:30 , Namita SinghThe Houthi attacks forced several other tankers to turn around and head north through the Suez Canal, which would be a much longer route to Asia, by sailing around Africa.
Still, half of the 18 ships exiting Bab el-Mandeb on Thursday were carrying crude oil, including two Chinese supertankers, while the number of tankers crossing through the Strait of Hormuz fell to just one, the lowest since 7 May.
Pakistan exploring path for talks, sources say
06:15 , Namita SinghBrent futures stood down more than $4 at a little over $96 on Friday, after the previous day's attack on the Saudi tankers in the Red Sea's Bab el-Mandeb strait boosted oil prices 7 per cent to $100 per barrel for the first time since May.
Sources said Pakistan was exploring a path towards resuming stalled talks between the US and Iran to end the war, after China initiated a push.
Exploratory discussions took place during a visit by Iran's interior minister Eskandar Momeni to Islamabad this week — his second in the last 10 days, three Pakistani sources said.
WATCH: Trump says he takes Russia's Putin and China's Xi at their word over aiding Iran
06:03 , Rachel DobkinIran threatens US forces
05:45 , Namita SinghThe US military launched air strikes on Iran late on Thursday and early on Friday, racking up 13 consecutive nights of attacks.
In a statement on X, the Iranian health ministry said 59 people had been killed and 666 wounded since the resumption of clashes with US forces in late June. Iranian media cited the head of Iran's top joint military command as saying Iran would kill a member of the US forces for every Iranian killed.
The war has killed 18 US service members. The Pentagon has said 100 service members had been injured since 7 July. Officials have told Reuters that more than 500 US troops have been injured so far.
US missiles hit Iran as path towards de-escalation uncertain
05:30 , Namita SinghUS missiles struck targets across Iran on Friday and president Donald Trump vowed "major military punishment" for Tehran and its Houthi allies in Yemen, though he once again left open the door to a diplomatic deal with Iran.
Two weeks after the collapse of an interim truce meant to end the war, Iranian armed forces responded by firing at US bases in neighbouring Arab countries and warning that they could strike non-military buildings there used by US personnel.
Trump has threatened in recent days to widen targets to Iran's energy plants and bridges, send ground forces to seize its oil hub of Kharg Island, and bomb a deep-underground nuclear-linked site known as Pickaxe Mountain.
On Friday, he said he had not yet made a decision on new major strikes, however. "We are talking to them," Trump told reporters at the White House.
"I think they're being serious. I think ... they are being by far the most serious that we've seen them, but that doesn't mean we get there."
Asked what the exit strategy was for the Iran war, Trump said, "There's a military exit where we just keep going just the way we are, and we can even make it a heavier dose, and it's knocking out everything they have. Or there's a smarter strategy that you make a deal." But he added, "We're locked and loaded. We're ready to go."
Trump official’s announcement of nuclear deal with Saudi caused panic inside White House: report
05:06 , Brendan RasciusThe US Energy Department’s announcement of a civilian nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia triggered confusion and anger inside the White House, prompting a last-minute stipulation that has cast uncertainty over the deal’s future, according to a new report.
The agreement, years in the making, would allow Saudi Arabia to build nuclear reactors using US technology. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed it in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday alongside a bilateral safeguards agreement.
“Together, these two agreements lay the legal foundation for a decades-long, multi-billion-dollar partnership that advances several priority economic and strategic objectives, including nuclear nonproliferation”, the Energy Department said in a news release.
However, US President Donald Trump was unaware the deal was being announced, leading him and other staffers to become “livid”, according to CNN, which cited sources familiar with the matter.
Read on...
Saudi Arabia nuclear deal announcement caused panic in the White House: report
Trump White House had four killed soldiers taken off Pentagon’s list of Iran war dead, sparking backlash: report
04:34 , Josh MarcusIn the last two days, the Pentagon reportedly reduced the announced US service member death toll in the Iran war from 18 to 14.
Three military officials told The New York Times that the revision was in part because the most recent four deaths — three in Jordan and one in Iraq — came after US President Trump declared an initial ceasefire in April.
“The administration seems to have a real hard time being honest about what is going on — not just about casualties, but about the whole war in general”, retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, who served in the first Trump administration, told the newspaper.
In a post Thursday on X, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell called suggestions of an intentional reduction “one of the worst instances of the Fake News media manufacturing lies out of thin air for absolutely no reason at all but to cause distress among the American people”.
“The site errors on the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) were due to a temporary data disruption”, he added.
Read on...
Pentagon reduced death count from Iran war to match Trump timeline: report
Saudi civil defence issues emergency alert for Yanbu governorate
04:20 , Namita SinghSaudi Civil Defence said an alert had been issued through the National Early Warning Platform for Emergencies in Yanbu Governorate to warn residents of a potential danger.
The danger has passed in Yanbu governorate, Saudi Civil Defence added.The statement did not immediately provide further details on the nature of the threat.
Trump flew on old Air Force One after credible threat from Iranian proxies: report
04:01 , Rachel DobkinDonald Trump flew on the old Air Force One instead of the luxury Qatari-gifted jet while returning from the NATO summit in Turkey earlier this month after what was believed to be a credible threat to the US president from Iranian proxies, The New York Times reported, citing people briefed on the matter.
When asked at the time about a potential security concern that could have caused the switch, the US president denied there was a specific threat, but said, “I have a threat all the time”.
The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment.
Widow of soldier reportedly removed from Iran war casualty count speaks out
03:36 , Rachel DobkinThe widow of one of the four soldiers reportedly removed from the Pentagon’s official Iran war casualty count has spoken out.
Jamiah Gonzalez-Swinton, the wife of Sgt. Michael Swinton, who was killed in an attack at Erbil Air Base in Iraq on Sunday, was left almost speechless when asked about the incident that the Pentagon described as a glitch.
“Has anyone spoken to you about this?” CNN’s Erin Burnett asked Gonzalez-Swinton.
“Nobody has reached out yet. I kind of don't have words for that”, the widow replied.
Widow of US soldier says her husband just wanted to come home
03:02 , Rhian LubinThe widow of one of the four US soldiers killed in the Middle East amid the recent escalation in the Iran war has told how her husband longed to return home to be with his family as the Iraqi base where he was stationed came under heavy bombardment.
Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, was killed on July 19 at the Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq during a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone, the Defense Department said, leaving behind his wife Jamiah Swinton and their four-year-old daughter.
US President Donald Trump, whose bombing campaign began on February 28 and has so far claimed the lives of 18 US service members, said Wednesday that the fallen soldiers shared his view that Iran cannot be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.
But his heartbroken widow would not be drawn on that notion in an interview with The New York Times, and instead painted a picture of a devoted husband and father who just wanted to be reunited with his family in Spring Lake, North Carolina.
“There was no peace”, the 27-year-old said of the base where Sergeant Swinton was stationed. “And he would tell me he wanted to come home so bad”.
Read on...
Widow of US soldier killed in Iran says her husband just wanted to come home
WATCH: Rubio says Iran suffering in US strikes despite ‘stupid Lego videos’
02:32 , Rachel DobkinMaritime traffic in Strait of Hormuz remains diminished
02:04 , Rachel DobkinMaritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has remained diminished as fighting between the US and Iran continues.
Just 15 ships have transited the vital oil waterway in the Middle East in the past 24 hours, according to the Hormuz Strait Monitor.
The US has accused Iran of attacking ships in the strait as its own forces enforce a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Trump gave expletive-filled rant about Tehran during private meetings: report
01:33 , Rachel DobkinAs the Iran war drags on, a frustrated Donald Trump rallied against Tehran during a private meeting, according to a new report.
The US president went into an expletive-filled rant during a recent Oval Office meeting, calling Iranian leaders schumbags and lunatics, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person who heard the comments.
One senior administration official told the Journal Trump believes Iran only understands military force and that he was in “revenge mode” against Tehran.
But in recent public remarks, Trump has insisted Iran is ready to make a peace deal.
Saudi Arabia strikes Yemen in retaliation against Houthi attacks: report
01:02 , Rachel DobkinSaudi Arabia has struck the Yemeni port city of Hodeida in retaliation against attacks from the Iranian-backed Houthis, the Associated Press reported.
The Houthis had taken responsibility for striking two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.
US strikes another ship it says attempted to violate blockade: report
Saturday 25 July 2026 00:38 , Rachel DobkinThe US military said it has struck another ship trying to violate its blockade of Iranian ports, according to the Associated Press.
Before the latest attack, American forces said they redirected 12 ships and disabled another since resuming the naval blockade.
Experts warn the real pinch from the Iran war is about to strike
Friday 24 July 2026 23:30 , Holly EvansU.S. gas prices will continue climbing for weeks — and maybe months — due to the resumption of President Donald Trump’s war against Iran, experts warn.
Patrick DeHaan, petroleum analyst for GasBuddy, said Friday on social media that while oil prices were “taking a breather for today” after recently surging by $20 a barrel, he’s still expecting the national average cost of a gallon of gas to soon reach $4.20 to $4.30.
Shon Hiatt, director of the University of Southern California’s Zage Business of Energy Initiative, said oil markets apparently assumed that political pressure would force Trump to quickly end the war he launched without congressional authorization on February 28.
Read the full article here:
Experts warn the real pinch from the Iran war is about to strike
Saudi strikes target Yemen's Hodeidah, says Houthi-run Al Masirah TV
Friday 24 July 2026 22:30 , Holly EvansSaudi strikes attacked Yemen's Red Sea governorate of Hodeidah on Friday, Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported, after eyewitnesses earlier said several strikes had targeted Hodeidah's port.
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement said on Monday it would impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, opening a potential new front against the United States in its war with Iran. The Saudi-led coalition said it would respond "firmly".
Al Masirah said Saudi strikes hit facilities belonging to the state telecommunications corporation in Hodeidah city. The broadcaster also said Saudi forces targeted Kamaran island, off Yemen's western coast.
Saudi Arabia has sought to avoid a return to full-scale conflict in Yemen since a 2022 truce with the Houthis halted most major fighting in a war that killed hundreds of thousands of people through violence, hunger and disease.
Watch: Trump inflates Vietnam war dead number by 142,000 as he defends Iran deaths
Friday 24 July 2026 22:00 , James Reynolds‘I trust them’: Trump says he takes Russia’s Putin and China’s Xi at their word over aiding Iran
Friday 24 July 2026 21:03 , Dan HaygarthPresident Donald Trump on Friday said he does not believe the Russian or Chinese governments are providing military or intelligence assistance to Iran based solely on the say-so of their leaders, contradicting the assessment of his own defence secretary during a Senate hearing just days ago.
Speaking in the Oval Office during an appearance focused on nuclear energy, Trump was asked to defend a Truth Social post in which he claimed Chinese president Xi Jinping had said “he would not, under any circumstances, give or sell Weapons to the Islamic Republic of Iran” and said Russia’s Vladimir Putin had promised “he would not sell Weapons to Iran.”
He also wrote that in his view, both countries were “not participating” in Iran’s ongoing conflict with the U.S. while warning that “it would be very bad for them” if they did.
Read more below.
‘I trust them’: Trump says he takes Putin and Xi at their word over aiding Iran
Recap: UK ready to shoot down Iranian missiles after Tehran threatens RAF base
Friday 24 July 2026 21:00 , James ReynoldsBritain's armed forces are ready to protect the country from any attack from Iranian missiles, the government said on Thursday.
It follows a warning from Iran's Revolutionary Guards over the UK allowing US bombers to fly from its bases.
"Our Armed Forces are ready to keep the United Kingdom safe from any kind of attacks, whether it's on our soil or from abroad. The UK stands ready 24/7 to defend itself," a government spokesperson said.
In full:
UK ready to shoot down Iranian missiles after Tehran threatens RAF base
Mozambique-flagged LPG tanker attacked in Iranian waters, Indian embassy says
Friday 24 July 2026 20:41 , Dan HaygarthA Mozambique-flagged LPG tanker carrying 28 Indian crew members was attacked in Iranian territorial waters on Friday, the Indian embassy in Tehran said.
All Indian crew members are safe and the embassy is in contact with the authorities, it said in a statement posted on X.
The vessel, named Disha, was attacked by an unknown missile near the Strait of Hormuz while en route to the Persian Gulf, the Forward Seamen's Union of India, a trade union representing Indian maritime workers, said on X.
The Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and Oman, was the main transit route for around a fifth of global energy supplies before the conflict erupted in Iran. Tensions have escalated since a fragile truce between Washington and Tehran collapsed in early July, reviving heavy exchanges of strikes and further disrupting shipping through the waterway.
Iran trolls ‘Little Marco’ with Lego clip after Rubio claims he’s never seen ‘their stupid videos’
Friday 24 July 2026 20:00 , James ReynoldsIran has trolled U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio after he hit out at the “stupid Lego videos” that have spoofed the war on social media.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Rubio acknowledged the viral clips – while he insisting he had never seen them – when he was asked about the current state of negotiations with Iran.
“They’re probably not ready to do a deal yet, but they will be soon because the price they’re paying is very high despite their tough talk and their flowery language and their stupid Lego videos they put out – I’ve never seen them, but they put these things out on social media,” he said.
In full:
Iran trolls Rubio with Lego clip after claiming he’s never seen the ‘stupid videos’
US warns citizens in the Middle East to exercise caution
Friday 24 July 2026 19:29 , Holly EvansThe US embassy in Baghdad said US citizens in the Middle East should exercise caution and remain on heightened alert.
The Iranian army said it had attacked US military equipment depots at Al-Adiri, officially named Camp Buehring, in northern Kuwait, and the positions of U.S. troops at Camp Arifjan and at Camp Doha, near Kuwait City. In the early evening, Kuwait said its air defences were intercepting "hostile" targets launched from Iran.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had significantly damaged a surveillance tower used by the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.
They also said they had attacked a US barracks and fighter jets in Jordan, and a US barracks and spy balloon as well as Patriot air defences in Erbil in Iraq's Kurdish region, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Jordan's army said it had downed seven Iranian missiles and six drones, state TV reported, and that the attack had caused no material damage or casualties.
The latest: Trump is in ‘revenge mode’ and rushing weapons to the Middle East after losing patience with Tehran, allies say
Friday 24 July 2026 19:00 , James ReynoldsDonald Trump is in “revenge mode” with Iran and believes the only way to get through to its leadership is with military force, allies have said as the US military carried out a 13th consecutive day of strikes.
A senior administration official told the Wall Street Journal that the US president was losing patience and sees few good options in front of him besides continuing strikes.
Officials and those close to the president said he is increasingly frustrated that a conflict he expected to be wrapped up within weeks is still dragging on with no end in sight.
The US military is now reportedly moving weapons, medics and special forces to the Middle East to broaden options as hopes of a diplomatic resolution wane.
In a bid to break Iran’s hold on the Strait of Hormuz, Trump also announced overnight that any damage sustained by ships as a result of Iranian strikes would be compensated with frozen Iranian assets held in the US.
