Tehran has warned the US it will “pay the price” following reports that a family of three, including a couple and a two-year-old child, were killed in a strike on Qeshm Island.
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the killing is a “continuation of the atrocities in Minab and Lamerd“, after Iran’s IRGC-linked Fars news agency earlier reported that at least three people were killed in the attack on a residential building.
The US has “grown accustomed to making up for the slaps they receive on the battlefield by spilling the blood of the innocent”, Ghalibaf said on X.
“They will pay the price,” he said.
Meanwhile, president Donald Trump’s top general is preparing for 14 days of strikes on Iran, according to new reports.
Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, is designing a devastating air campaign, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.
The thinking behind the escalation is to force Tehran to comply with its demands in the Strait of Hormuz after smaller attacks appear not to have deterred the IRGC.
Iran’s Araghchi presses European counterparts over use of bases in US operations
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged Bulgaria to reconsider its decision to allow the temporary deployment of U.S. military aircraft at the Bezmer air base, Iranian state media reported on Thursday.
During a phone call with his Bulgarian counterpart, Velislava Petrova-Chamova, Araghchi said Sofia’s approval of a U.S. request to station military aircraft at the base to support military operations amounted to facilitating aggression against Iran, adding the move was unacceptable and contrary to the traditionally friendly relations between the two countries.
Iran has repeatedly warned countries allowing their territory to be used for U.S. military operations against it that they could “face consequences”.
Araghchi held a separate phone call with Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, during which he stressed the importance of preventing foreign military bases in Cyprus from being used against Iran.
In focus: How the wars in Iran and Ukraine are colliding on the world’s largest lake
Fears have mounted over the world’s two major wars converging after Ukraine attacked an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea, with Tehran vowing to respond.
Iran claimed one sailor was killed and another injured in the Ukrainian attack, as the ministry summoned Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in Tehran to protest against what it described as a “hostile and criminal” act.
Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday the reported strike on a commercial vessel “cannot go unanswered” in a call with the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.
How the wars in Iran and Ukraine are colliding on the world’s largest lake
Kyiv’s attack on an Iranian vessel is a move to bolster US support at a crucial juncture, experts tell Maryam Zakir-HussainMaira Butt30 July 2026 23:00
US issues Iran-related sanctions against Iranian air carrier
The US on Thursday issued new Iran-related sanctions that target global networks supporting Mahan Air, the Iranian carrier Washington says transports Iran’s Revolutionary Guards personnel, as well as weapons and drones.
The US Treasury designated six entities and individuals in China, India, Russia and Iran for acting as sales agents and support networks for the US- and EU-sanctioned airline, the department said in a statement.
The four Iranian nuclear plants in Trump’s sights after president’s threat to hit Pickaxe Mountain
With the US-Iran ceasefire in tatters, Donald Trump has issued new threats against Tehran’s nuclear facilities in what would represent a significant escalation in the conflict.
The president’s latest target is Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, or “Pickaxe Mountain,” a suspected underground facility that lies on the south side of Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment site, one of those bombed by the US and Israel in June 2025.
Named Operation Midnight Hammer, the countries launched a series of attacks on several nuclear and military facilities more than one year ago. as part of a long-running ambition to thwart Tehran’s nuclear weapons programme.
The Iranian nuclear plants in Trump’s sights after threat to Pickaxe Mountain
Trump has threatened strikes on the suspected underground nuclear facility previously attacked in June 2025Maira Butt30 July 2026 21:00
Watch: American forces resume strikes after attempted Iranian attacks
US denies its aircraft were struck in Iranian attacks
The US military said on Thursday that no US aircraft were destroyed or damaged in recent attempted Iranian attacks, denying a claim it said was made by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards that three US F-35 jets and three other aircraft were destroyed.
In a statement, US Central Command also said the commercial vessel M/T Nora had not broken through America’s blockade of Iranian ports, denying a claim it said was made on Iranian state media.
‘Exasperated’ Trump battles with White House officials ‘over Iran strategy’
President Donald Trump is “exasperated” by the lack of progress in ending the Iran conflict and the lack of consensus on strategy among his top military advisers, according to a report.
An unnamed ally of the president has told NBC News: “The president is exasperated. I don’t think he believed it was going to be this difficult to get the Iranians to agree to a deal.
“There was not a real strategy for how long or what they should do to get to the endpoint… He did not intend this to be a long, drawn-out war.”
‘Exasperated’ Trump battles with White House officials ‘over Iran strategy’
President Donald Trump accused of blowing up at national security advisers last week, although his spokesperson denies ‘eruption’ took place and insists his team remains unitedMaira Butt30 July 2026 19:30
Beyond the Strait of Hormuz: How Gulf countries are preparing for life without the waterway
Port operator DP World is in talks to develop new facilities in the coastal area of Fujairah to take pressure off its flagship Jebel Ali port, according to the Financial Times.
Jebel Ali, built in 1977, has made the UAE a hub of finance and trade, but weeks ago it was set alight by a piece of fallen debris from an Iranian missile. Since then, Dubai International Airport, US military bases and other facilities have come under direct attack.
How Gulf countries are preparing for life without the Strait of Hormuz
The US and Iran continue tit-for-tat strikes over the vital shipping route while a fifth of the world’s oil supply remains at a standstill. But Gulf countries have been looking towards alternatives for a more independent future, Maira Butt reports Maira Butt30 July 2026 19:00
Watch: Netanyahu denies persuading Trump on Iran war, asserts ‘it’s his decision’
Mapped: All of the countries dragged into Trump’s war in Iran
War has spread across the Middle East, threatening to become a regional conflict as fighting between the US and Iran enters its sixth month.
Ever since US-Israeli strikes took out supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on 28 February, several countries have been affected by Iranian retaliatory strikes across the Gulf. Meanwhile, a US and Iranian blockade in the Strait of Hormuz has led to disruptions in supply chains that have impacted the global economy.
After an intense period of fighting in March and April, the war entered a stalemate with a tenuous ceasefire agreed that collapsed earlier this month following disagreement over the Strait of Hormuz.
Mapped: All of the countries dragged into Trump’s war in Iran
The war has spread across the Middle East, with unprecedented disruption to global oil supplies and Gulf states being targeted by Tehran. Maira Butt looks at how the war has dragged in countries on several continentsMaira Butt30 July 2026 18:00NewerOlder