Latest Updates on West Asia Conflict

Mojtaba Khamenei warns of 'unforgettable lessons' if US continues attacks

Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, in a new statement warned of "unforgettable lessons" if US continues attacks. The statement attributed to Khamenei, still unseen since the war began, was read out on state television. He also called US President Donald Trump's signature "worthless and invalid," after an Iranian negotiator earlier Saturday said Tehran was suspending its commitments to the interim deal signed by both countries about a month ago. The deal was aimed at permanently ending the war.

US, Iran trade strikes over Hormuz; Kuwait suffers infrastructure damage

The United States and Iran exchanged strikes aimed at infrastructure and military targets on Saturday as their battle over the Strait of Hormuz intensified. The region has endured days of back-and-forth attacks in a conflict increasingly focused on control of the strait, an essential waterway that used to carry a fifth of the world's crude oil. The collapse of an interim ceasefire leaves no clear end in sight for the war that the US and Israel began more than four months ago. The US Central Command said early Saturday that its seventh straight night of strikes had hit "surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities." The most significant damage on Saturday occurred in Kuwait after Iran struck a water desalination plant and an oil facility, according to the Kuwait authorities and the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. Both declined to provide locations. The strikes injured several people at the oil facility and caused a fire

Iran targets Kuwait's water desalination facility for second straight day

Kuwait's Ministry of Water and Electricity said on Saturday a water desalination and power generation plant was struck by Iran, sparking a blaze. It was the second time in two days that Iran targeted a water desalination infrastructure in the Gulf Arab country. Kuwait said Iran had targeted a different power and desalination plant on Friday, sparking a fire and causing damage. Kuwaiti authorities said several generating units were shut down as a precaution. About 90 per cent of Kuwait's drinking water comes from desalination, and the plants are a critical part of the desert nation's infrastructure.

'Prepare for corresponding response': Iran warns nations hosting US troops

Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned countries hosting US troops to prepare for a 'corresponding response' and claimed attacks on American military facilities in Kuwait amid escalating regional tensions

US may send more refuelling aircraft to Israel amid rising tensions: Report

Trump admin is reportedly planning to deploy dozens of additional military refuelling aircraft to Israel as it weighs expanding strikes on Iran's energy, nuclear and other strategic infrastructure

US naval units under surveillance, says Iran's IRGC, warns of 'zero hour'

IRGC claimed it was monitoring US naval movements in the region and warned Washington of a possible 'zero hour' for operations, as tensions between the two countries continued to escalate

US oil firms sign $60 bn deals with Iraq to reduce reliance on Hormuz route

US companies signed roughly USD 60 billion in agreements and partnerships with the Iraqi government Friday, including deals intended to create alternative routes for shipping oil out of the Persian Gulf. The deals, signed at the US Chamber of Commerce, also involved other industries, including healthcare, communications and infrastructure. It's not clear when the oil deals will be able to create viable alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil flows. Goldman Sachs estimates that pipelines in just one country take at least two and a half years to build, and these pipelines would travel through two or more nations. Iran has sought to close the Strait repeatedly since the U.S.-Iran war began Feb. 28, causing sharp gyrations in oil and gas prices. On Friday afternoon, the price of West Texas crude rose nearly 5 per cent to USD 88 a barrel, up from about USD 67 before the war began. It had topped USD 110 in early April before falling back after

Iran targets US military bases, drone depots in Jordan, Kuwait, and Bahrain

Tehran said it carried out drone strikes on US military base in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain under 'Operation Lightning', hours after Washington's seventh consecutive night of attacks on Iranian targets

46 killed, 400 injured in Iran as US widens attacks on Tehran's civil infra

The United States and Iran escalated their attacks across the Middle East on Friday, trading strikes aimed at infrastructure and military targets as their battle over the Strait of Hormuz intensified. The US expanded its attacks against Iran by hitting more bridges and energy sites and collapsing a tower at a key Iranian port, following through on President Donald Trump's threats to pressure Tehran to ease its chokehold on the waterway vital to world energy supplies. In response, Iran launched missiles into US-allied nations in the Mideast, including Qatar, a mediator in the war, and Kuwait, where one of the desert nation's water desalination plants was damaged. The region has endured days of back-and-forth attacks in a conflict increasingly focused on control of the strait, and the collapse of an interim ceasefire leaves no clear end in sight for the war that began more than four months ago. The US Central Command said late Friday it had launched its seventh straight night of attac

Kuwait reports Iranian attack on key power, water desalination plant

Kuwait said Friday that Iran attacked a power and water desalination plant, causing widespread damage to the station. In Kuwait, about 90% of drinking water comes from desalination -- and any disruption can threaten life in the small, desert nation. Kuwait's Electricity Water and Renewable Energy Ministry announced the attack, saying it sparked a fire and "damage to a large number of electricity generation units." Kuwait said it extinguished the blaze and was working to assess the damage and get the station working again.

Iran confirms attacks on power infra, urges people to use less electricity

Iran acknowledged "attacks on power infrastructure" during the US airstrike campaign for the first time Friday, showing the escalation in the American campaign. Iran's Energy Ministry issued a call for people to use less power in southern provinces. It said those areas "are currently experiencing extreme heat and attacks on power infrastructure". The ministry did not elaborate on whether it was power plants, transmission lines or other equipment that had been attacked. US President Donald Trump had threatened to go after bridges and power plants as America vies with Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

British military reports attack on tanker in Strait of Hormuz near Oman

A tanker came under attack travelling through the Strait of Hormuz taking the route closest to Oman, the British military said Friday. The report from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre described the strike as happening early Friday and involving a projectile hitting the vessel. The UKMTO said the ship sustained minor damage to its port side. "All crew are safe and accounted for, no environmental impact has been reported and the vessel is continuing to its next port of call," the UKMTO said. Iran has been attacking tankers travelling on the route near Oman but did not immediately acknowledge any attack.

US airstrikes appear to have damaged tower at Iran's Chabahar port

US airstrikes on Friday appeared to have collapsed a tower at Iran's Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman, a key trade route for Afghanistan. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth shared the image of the surveillance tower appearing to collapse. That image had circulated social media via activists prior to Hegseth sharing it. Chabahar port has been a repeated target of American airstrikes. Iranian state media acknowledged a third round of strikes on the facility without immediately acknowledging the tower's collapse. Iran described the tower as overseeing commercial traffic into the port. However, Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard also operates at ports across the country.

Hormuz open for ships not travelling to or from Iranian ports: White House

The White House said the Strait of Hormuz remains open for commercial vessels not travelling to or from Iranian ports, with the US Navy deployed to secure maritime traffic

US targets bridges in Iran as Tehran fires missiles at Gulf nations

The United States expanded its airstrike campaign against Iran early Friday by increasingly hitting bridges, part of President Donald Trump's threats to start striking infrastructure to pressure Tehran to ease its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz. Iran launched new missile attacks against US-allied nations in the Middle East and warned that its attacks would escalate. In Qatar, authorities warned the public to take shelter as a barrage of Iranian missiles targeted the nation. People heard explosions overhead as air defenses fired to intercept the missiles. Qatar is a key mediator with Pakistan in trying to reach an end to the Iran war. But talks have broken down over Iran's chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz. Iran earlier targeted Bahrain and Kuwait over US airstrikes hitting bridges in the Islamic Republic overnight. The interim ceasefire agreed to last month has collapsed, and the region has endured days of back-and-forth attacks by the US and Iran as they battle for control of t

Iran strikes US military assets in Bahrain with drones amid rising tensions

Iran said it launched Arash drone attacks on US military assets at Bahrain's Sakhir base in response to US strikes on civilian infrastructure, according to state media

Oil prices rise on growing US-Iran hostilities, threat of Red Sea closure

Oil prices edged higher, with Brent crude above $85 a barrel, as escalating US-Iran attacks raised concerns over disruptions to supplies through the Strait of Hormuz

Iran threatens to destroy 'all infra in region' as US strikes intensify

Iran's joint military command stepped up its threats on Thursday as intensifying US airstrikes target the country, saying it would destroy "all the infrastructure in the region". The threat from the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters referenced US President Donald Trump's repeated warning that he could launch attacks against power plants and bridges in Iran. Col Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesperson for the Iranian military's Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, issued the warning. "All the infrastructure in the region will be crushed under the steel blows of the powerful armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran" should Trump's threat be carried out, Zolfaghari said. "Under no circumstances and in no way will we allow America, as a foreign and extra-regional country, to interfere in the Strait of Hormuz," he added. "This is Iran's invincible red line.

Asian shares decline as AI stocks tumble; South Korea's Kospi down 6.6%

Asian shares were mostly lower Thursday and oil prices slipped despite a flurry of strikes between the US and Iran. US futures edged higher. Selling of AI-related shares weighed on benchmarks in South Korea and Japan. An interest rate hike by the Bank of Korea also contributed to a 6.6% tumble for the Kospi, to 6,816.70. It was the first rate hike by the BOK since 2023 and was aimed at helping curb inflationary pressures due to the Iran war. Memory chipmaker SK Hynix dropped 11.2%, while Samsung Electronics fell 8.2%. Taiwan's Taiex lost 0.3% ahead of the release of an earnings report by Taiwan computer chipmaker TSMC, which is often seen as a barometer for the global industry and for the boom in artificial intelligence. US futures edged higher. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 2.9% to 66,767.64. Shares of Japanese memory chipmaker Kioxia plummeted 13.5%. Chipmaking equipment company Tokyo Electron dropped 5.2%, while chip testing equipment maker Advantest gave up 5.6%. SoftBank Group s

More than half of House Democrats vote to cut Israel aid in growing split

More than half the House Democrats have voted to strip USD 3.3 billion in US aid from Israel, the most substantial signal yet that once rock-solid bipartisan support for the country is disintegrating in the aftermath of its war in Gaza that has killed thousands of Palestinians. Wednesday's vote tally, 104-314, was not enough to attach the amendment to a broader national security spending bill, but stands as a stark accounting of the shifting attitudes that are dividing the Democratic Party and the nation over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war strategy, now approaching its third year. The House's Democratic leadership split over the issue in what was largely seen as a test vote ahead of the US midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. More than 100 Democrats voted for the amendment to strip the foreign military aid money, and almost as many voted against. Most Republicans voted to preserve the Israel aid. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who ...