Iran strikes Gulf, Jordan; Trump threatens to bomb nuclear site

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Iran's military command said Tuesday it will expand the war if the US attacks its nuclear facilities, according to Iranian media.

Trump earlier today said the US military would "heavily" attack Pickaxe Mountain, which is thought to contain an Iranian nuclear facility.

New UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham will continue to allow the US to use British military bases for some attacks against Iran, Bloomberg has reported.

The previous Starmer government had agreed to allow British bases to be used for what it called defensive strikes against Iran.

Starmer chaired a COBRA meeting last week to discuss UK policy after the US resumed its attacks against Iran. Ministers agreed to continue to allow bases at Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford to be used by US planes to bomb Iranian missile sites and counter its attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, sources told the business news outlet.

The sources said that Burnham, who became PM on Monday, agreed with the decision and will continue to approve UK bases to be used for so-called defensive strikes. 

Kuwait's armed forces says its air defences are currently intercepting Iranian drones.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Iran war has cost the United States $37.5 billion so far, up from a previous estimate of nearly $29 billion in mid-May.

"The estimate we have as of today is $37.5 billion," Hegseth testified during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing at which he defended a request for some $67 billion in supplemental funding for the Pentagon.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump's authorisation for airlines to resume direct flights to Beirut presented a major opportunity for Lebanon's economy and connectivity with Washington.

Welcoming the announcement that came after Trump's meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Salam said the move "represents a significant opportunity to enhance travel and connectivity between Lebanon and the United States, and to support the Lebanese economy".

Two Lebanese paramedics were wounded on Tuesday after an ambulance hit a landmine in Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Red Cross has said.

Zawtar al-Sharqiyah is one of the three "pilot zones" Israel has permitted the Lebanese army to deploy to this week under the US-mediated framework agreement.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun stressed the need for Israel to pull its troops from his country during his meeting on Tuesday with US counterpart Donald Trump, the presidency said in a statement.

"President Aoun stressed the urgent need for a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory, emphasising that this constitutes a fundamental step to consolidate stability, enable the Lebanese state to extend its full sovereignty, solely through its own forces, and move forward in implementing the joint tripartite framework," the statement said, referring to a US-brokered agreement between Lebanon and Israel last month.

The French foreign ministry summoned the Iranian charge d'affaires on Tuesday, two days after it said French embassy staff had been detained and physically intimidated by Iranian security services in Tehran.

"France expects the Iranian authorities to shed light on this incident, punish the perpetrators, and ensure the security of its premises and personnel, in accordance with their international obligations," the ministry said.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Monday he had raised the issue with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, warning that the incident would not go without consequences.

Araghchi posted on Tuesday on his Telegram account that he told Barrot the "unconventional and unprofessional" actions of the two French diplomats was "unacceptable", urging Paris to prevent similar incidents from recurring.

"Respecting the laws and regulations of the host country and adhering to recognised diplomatic principles and norms are necessary for the continuation of the activities of foreign missions," he said. "We expect the French government to prevent the repetition of such actions and take the necessary measures," Araghchi added

Israeli strikes killed 12 people, including a family of six, in Gaza on Tuesday, according to the territory's civil defence agency.

One airstrike hit a house belonging to the Al-Masri family in central Gaza City in the north. Witnesses said six members of the family were killed, including four children.

The civil defence agency said six other people were killed on Tuesday in another Israeli strike.

The United Nations condemned Israel's escalating attacks in Gaza, which it said had killed at least 57 Palestinians from July 13 to 20.

"The Israeli military has intensified its attacks in Gaza in recent days," UN rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters in Geneva.

"Nowhere is safe for Palestinians in Gaza."

US President Donald Trump vowed Tuesday to help Lebanon "a lot" as its president, Joseph Aoun, sought Washington's backing for a fragile effort to disarm Hezbollah and forge a path to peace with Israel.

Meeting Aoun at the White House, Trump said Lebanon had been "a very mistreated country" that had been "hit hard" for decades.

"It's probably a dangerous place in a lot of ways," Trump told reporters. "But they love the country... and we're going to help it. We're going to help it a lot."

Aoun, the first Lebanese president invited to Washington since 2009, asked Trump for political support and continued backing for the Lebanese army, which has begun deploying in southern areas under a US-backed framework agreement with Israel.

"We need to support the LAF," Aoun said, referring to the Lebanese Armed Forces. "Without the LAF, everything will collapse."

The Lebanese president, a former army commander, said the military was "the backbone of security and stability" and the country's most trusted institution.

His visit came as the Lebanese army moved into an area of the south under a deal with Israel aimed at proving Beirut can extend state authority and disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States was not finished attacking Iran, as Tehran stepped up its strikes across the Middle East.

The US leader projected that it would take the Islamic republic more than 20 years to rebuild from damage sustained in the Middle East war, two weeks after fighting between the decades-old foes resumed.

"If we left right now, it would take Iran 20, 25 years to rebuild," he said. "We're not finished at all... we're not leaving right now."

His comments came after Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain came under attack Tuesday.

Kuwait's foreign ministry said on Tuesday it had summoned Iran's ambassador over a strike the previous day that targeted a Kuwaiti tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and wounded several people.

The ministry said on X that it delivered "a protest note regarding Iran's targeting of the Kuwaiti tanker 'Kifan' on Monday evening, while it was passing through the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in injuries to several crew members".

UN chief Antonio Guterres will travel to Syria later this week to show his support for the political transition in the country - the first visit by a UN secretary-general since 2009.

"I'm pleased to inform the Security Council that the Secretary-General will travel to Syria later this week at the invitation of the government," the deputy UN special envoy to the country, Claudio Cordone, said during a council meeting.

During the visit, Guterres will meet with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who ousted longtime leader Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, as well as representatives of civil society and non-governmental organisations supporting women's issues.

Trump says the US would "take care of business" if Yemen's Houthi group attempts to blockade the Red Sea.

The Iran-backed group announced Monday it would impose a blockade on Saudi ports.

Two tankers turned back from the Bab al-Mandeb strait on Tuesday after receiving a warning from the group.

Donald Trump and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun are currently talking to reporters at the White House.

The US president claimed that Israel is in the process of "re-deploying" to other areas of southern Lebanon after being asked about the timetable for its full withdrawal.

Israeli forces reportedly fired close to Lebanese troops as they deployed inside the first "pilot zone" on Tuesday.

Trump said he will "look into it" when asked by a reporter about the incident.

The Pentagon on Tuesday identified the soldier killed in Iraq on Monday as Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton of Fayetteville.

The 30-year-old was killed at an air base in Erbil, northern Iraq, while trying to disarm an Iranian drone.

Swinton was the third US soldier to be reported killed in the Middle East over the past week after the US and Iran resumed the war.

Two soldiers were killed at a military base in Jordan on Friday in an Iranian ballistic missile attack.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for restraint from all warring sides during a meeting with Iran's interior minister on Tuesday.

Sharif "urged all sides to exercise restraint and refrain from actions that could further destabilise the region", a statement from the premier's office said, adding that he told Iran's Eskandar Momeni that Pakistan would continue to act as a mediator.

Two ⁠oil ⁠tankers transporting Saudi crude to Asia turned back from the Bab al-Mandeb strait in the Red Sea on Tuesday and headed toward ‌the Suez following a warning from Yemen’s Houthi group

The Iran-backed group on Monday announced a ⁠blockade Saudi Arabia's ports, raising the prospect of renewed conflict in Yemen and exacerbating the global energy crisis.

Shipping companies say they have received emails from the group threatening to target any vessels that continues to operate at Saudi ports.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun was to meet with his US counterpart Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday, as Beirut's military moved into an area of the south under a deal with Israel to disarm Hezbollah.

But in a sign of the fragility of the deal between the two countries, the Lebanese army reported that Israeli troops fired near its soldiers deploying in a so-called "pilot zone" Israel is to withdraw from.

Lebanon is under pressure to prove that it can and will disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah, which Israel has set as a precondition for ending its occupation in southern Lebanon.

The so-called "pilot zones" where the Lebanese army is deploying under the deal with Israel are primarily located just outside territory Israeli forces invaded after Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the Middle East war in March.

The Lebanese army said on Tuesday it had begun deploying to one of three pilot zones, the village of Zawtar al-Gharbiya. Israel's military said it would be "adjusting its force posture" in one pilot area.

Just hours later, however, the army said Israeli forces "opened fire in the vicinity of these units" deploying in Zawtar al-Gharbiya, adding that "the attack will hinder the implementation of deployment in the pilot zones".