Hegseth and the whole Trump regime are garbage. Incidentally, why does this regime give preferential treatment to Sunnis over Shiites? How come Saudi Arabia can have a nuclear program which will in all likelihood lead to them having nuclear weapons, but Iran cannot? That, to me, sounds highly hypocritical and it certainly isn’t even-handed. — © Mark Alexander
Showing posts with label Iran War. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iran War. Show all posts
Thursday, July 23, 2026
'Americans Can't Buy Food & You Want Money for Iran War?': Gillibrand Drops Truth Bomb on Hegseth
Hegseth and the whole Trump regime are garbage. Incidentally, why does this regime give preferential treatment to Sunnis over Shiites? How come Saudi Arabia can have a nuclear program which will in all likelihood lead to them having nuclear weapons, but Iran cannot? That, to me, sounds highly hypocritical and it certainly isn’t even-handed. — © Mark Alexander
Wednesday, July 22, 2026
US Renews Strikes on Iran as Trump Threatens to Attack Nuclear Site | BBC News
July 22, 2026 | US Central Command (Centcom) said the wave of strikes were "designed to continue degrading Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping" in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian state media reported that air defences were activated in the capital Tehran. Explosions were also reported in Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, and in Bushehr, home to Iran's only nuclear power plant.
Iran, which has retaliated against the US and its Middle East allies, warned of reprisals after Donald Trump said the US would soon hit an underground nuclear site near Natanz.
All that money p****d against the wall! Just imagine what a president with sound judgment could have done to improve Americans’ lives with all that money!
As far as I can see, it doesn’t matter how many billions Americans throw at this war, it is hard to see how the Iranians will let America win. And God only knows what is going to happen to the world economy with the Strait of Hormuz and now also the Bab el-Mandeb blocked by the Houthis, too.
Mr Trump needs to learn that his transactional approach will not work with a people so married to their religion and ideology. Belief trumps profit each and every time. — © Mark Alexander
Iranian state media reported that air defences were activated in the capital Tehran. Explosions were also reported in Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, and in Bushehr, home to Iran's only nuclear power plant.
Iran, which has retaliated against the US and its Middle East allies, warned of reprisals after Donald Trump said the US would soon hit an underground nuclear site near Natanz.
All that money p****d against the wall! Just imagine what a president with sound judgment could have done to improve Americans’ lives with all that money!
As far as I can see, it doesn’t matter how many billions Americans throw at this war, it is hard to see how the Iranians will let America win. And God only knows what is going to happen to the world economy with the Strait of Hormuz and now also the Bab el-Mandeb blocked by the Houthis, too.
Mr Trump needs to learn that his transactional approach will not work with a people so married to their religion and ideology. Belief trumps profit each and every time. — © Mark Alexander
With His Latest Threats, Trump Signals to Iran That He Is Willing to Escalate
THE NEW YORK TIMES: President Trump is facing a critical moment in the war, which has failed to bring about the “unconditional surrender” he once demanded.
This screenshot is from this NYT article. | “We’ll be hitting that area probably pretty soon,” President Trump said of Pickaxe Mountain on Tuesday. “And there’s not a thing they can do about it.” Credit: Kenny Holston/The New York Times
President Trump threatened on Tuesday to accelerate the war with Iran by returning the conflict to where it began, with a bunker-busting attack on one of the country’s nuclear facilities.
But the target he has in mind, known among Western intelligence agencies as Pickaxe Mountain, is not complete. No nuclear experts believe it houses the kind of working equipment to enrich uranium, and convert that material to bomb fuel, like the three major nuclear sites Mr. Trump ordered bombed in June 2025, in what the Pentagon called “Operation Midnight Hammer.”
At most, experts say, Pickaxe Mountain for now is a deep underground storage site.
But for Mr. Trump, facing a turning point in the war, it may make little difference whether Pickaxe Mountain is empty or giving cover to the surviving remnants of Iran’s stockpile of nuclear centrifuges, the machinery critical to churning out bomb fuel. In his own statements on Tuesday and those of his military advisers, who spent much of the afternoon dodging questions from Senate Democrats, Mr. Trump seemed mostly fixated on sending a message to Iran that his willingness to escalate knows no limits.
“We’ll be hitting that area probably pretty soon,” Mr. Trump said, not for the first time. “And there’s not a thing they can do about it,” the president said during a visit from Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun. » | David E. Sanger | David E. Sanger has reported on the efforts to counter Iran’s nuclear capabilities for more than two decades. | Tuesday, July 21, 2026
Trump is in a bind. He’s got himself into a war he probably cannot and will not win, and he doesn’t know how to get out of and at the same time save his face, either. What a predicament to be in. The Iranians are outsmarting him all the time. — © Mark Alexander
ALSO READ:
Hegseth Estimates Iran War Has Cost $37.5 Billion: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is requesting as much as $70 billion in emergency military spending after nearly five months of war. »
President Trump threatened on Tuesday to accelerate the war with Iran by returning the conflict to where it began, with a bunker-busting attack on one of the country’s nuclear facilities.
But the target he has in mind, known among Western intelligence agencies as Pickaxe Mountain, is not complete. No nuclear experts believe it houses the kind of working equipment to enrich uranium, and convert that material to bomb fuel, like the three major nuclear sites Mr. Trump ordered bombed in June 2025, in what the Pentagon called “Operation Midnight Hammer.”
At most, experts say, Pickaxe Mountain for now is a deep underground storage site.
But for Mr. Trump, facing a turning point in the war, it may make little difference whether Pickaxe Mountain is empty or giving cover to the surviving remnants of Iran’s stockpile of nuclear centrifuges, the machinery critical to churning out bomb fuel. In his own statements on Tuesday and those of his military advisers, who spent much of the afternoon dodging questions from Senate Democrats, Mr. Trump seemed mostly fixated on sending a message to Iran that his willingness to escalate knows no limits.
“We’ll be hitting that area probably pretty soon,” Mr. Trump said, not for the first time. “And there’s not a thing they can do about it,” the president said during a visit from Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun. » | David E. Sanger | David E. Sanger has reported on the efforts to counter Iran’s nuclear capabilities for more than two decades. | Tuesday, July 21, 2026
Trump is in a bind. He’s got himself into a war he probably cannot and will not win, and he doesn’t know how to get out of and at the same time save his face, either. What a predicament to be in. The Iranians are outsmarting him all the time. — © Mark Alexander
ALSO READ:
Hegseth Estimates Iran War Has Cost $37.5 Billion: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is requesting as much as $70 billion in emergency military spending after nearly five months of war. »
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
US Military Launches Strikes against Iran to "Further Degrade" Capabilities | BBC News
July 21, 2026 | The US military says it launched another round of strikes against Iran to "further degrade" its capabilities to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The strikes - the 10th consecutive night of attacks - come after US President Donald Trump vowed to punish Iran for the deaths of US soldiers. In response, Iran said it struck two oil tankers in the waterway, as well as US military assets in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, state news agency IRNA reported.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran was now fighting a "full-scale war" with the US. Trump earlier said Iran had been hit "very hard" the previous night "in honour" of three US soldiers killed recently - two in Jordan and one in Iraq.
US Central Command (Centcom) said its latest strikes had hit Iranian "military command centres, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and air defence systems".
The strikes - the 10th consecutive night of attacks - come after US President Donald Trump vowed to punish Iran for the deaths of US soldiers. In response, Iran said it struck two oil tankers in the waterway, as well as US military assets in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, state news agency IRNA reported.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran was now fighting a "full-scale war" with the US. Trump earlier said Iran had been hit "very hard" the previous night "in honour" of three US soldiers killed recently - two in Jordan and one in Iraq.
US Central Command (Centcom) said its latest strikes had hit Iranian "military command centres, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and air defence systems".
Monday, July 20, 2026
Iran-Backed Houthis Expand Conflict With Red Sea Blockade
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The move against Saudi ships will add new pressure on energy markets. Tehran said it had received new proposals from mediators.
The Houthis, the Iran-backed armed faction in Yemen, said they would impose a blockade on Saudi ships, threatening to open a new front in the Middle East conflict and raising the pressure on volatile global energy markets.
The announcement was made as many in the region were tensely watching to see if the rounds of bombardment between U.S. and Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf would continue to escalate. The two countries traded new attacks on Monday, with Iran targeting countries that host U.S. military bases, despite efforts by mediators to calm tensions.
The latest hostilities initially focused on the Strait of Hormuz, but they have expanded into a cycle of attacks and counterattacks that have killed at least three American service members since Friday, hit Arab states across the Persian Gulf and damaged critical infrastructure in Iran and U.S.-allied Kuwait.
Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz has reduced global fuel supplies, pushing prices upward, but Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally, has been able to reroute some of its exports through the Red Sea. If the Houthis follow through on their statement that they will not allow Saudi vessels to pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the southern portal to the Red Sea, it would worsen the global fuel crisis. Iran War Live Updates » | Aaron Boxerman, Ismaeel Naar, Sanam Mahoozi and Yan Zhuang | Monday, July 20, 2026
The master of the 'Art of the Deal' has got himself into a real fix with this illegitimate and unnecessary Iran War, hasn't he? He's in a fix, and so is the global economy. — © Mark Alexander
The Houthis, the Iran-backed armed faction in Yemen, said they would impose a blockade on Saudi ships, threatening to open a new front in the Middle East conflict and raising the pressure on volatile global energy markets.
The announcement was made as many in the region were tensely watching to see if the rounds of bombardment between U.S. and Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf would continue to escalate. The two countries traded new attacks on Monday, with Iran targeting countries that host U.S. military bases, despite efforts by mediators to calm tensions.
The latest hostilities initially focused on the Strait of Hormuz, but they have expanded into a cycle of attacks and counterattacks that have killed at least three American service members since Friday, hit Arab states across the Persian Gulf and damaged critical infrastructure in Iran and U.S.-allied Kuwait.
Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz has reduced global fuel supplies, pushing prices upward, but Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally, has been able to reroute some of its exports through the Red Sea. If the Houthis follow through on their statement that they will not allow Saudi vessels to pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the southern portal to the Red Sea, it would worsen the global fuel crisis. Iran War Live Updates » | Aaron Boxerman, Ismaeel Naar, Sanam Mahoozi and Yan Zhuang | Monday, July 20, 2026
The master of the 'Art of the Deal' has got himself into a real fix with this illegitimate and unnecessary Iran War, hasn't he? He's in a fix, and so is the global economy. — © Mark Alexander
Saturday, July 18, 2026
Trump, Not Iran, Is the World’s Greatest Danger. He’s a One-man Weapon of Mass Destruction
THE GUARDIAN: As the bombing starts again, it’s clear the president has dragged the US into a limitless fiasco – and the world into an economic quagmire
Screenshot taken from this Guardian op-ed. | Donald Trump at Nato’s summit in Ankara, 8 July 2026, where he criticised alliance members for not supporting the US campaign against Iran. Photograph: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Feckless and clueless, Donald Trump is lost in Iran, unable to find a way out of the disastrous war he started. Once again, the US military is pummelling the country and, increasingly, its civilian infrastructure. As before, this unlawful bludgeoning strengthens the resistance of a hardline regime that cares little for its people’s suffering. How often have Trump and Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon’s wildling lord of bones, hailed a bogus victory? The president claimed this week to be “winning big”. No one believes him. Even as it counts the vast human and economic cost of his Persian folly, a watching world scoffs at US impotence.
Control of the strait of Hormuz, closed due to Trump’s belligerence, is now the White House’s limited, elusive objective. The grander US and Israeli war aims – eliminating Iran’s nuclear programme, degrading its regional militias, regime change – are less attainable than ever. It’s Trump’s craven leadership that renders US forces ineffective, not the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. If Iran really is the existential menace he claims, the logical course would be all-out conquest. When George W Bush decided Iraq posed unacceptable dangers, he invaded with 170,000 ground troops. It was a catastrophe. But at least Bush had balls. » | Simon Tisdall | Saturday, July 18, 2026
I am no military man. Far from it. But it seems to me that Trump hasn’t got a snowball’s chance in hell of winning this war against Iran. Why? Because Trump doesn’t know his enemy! That he doesn’t know his enemy is as clear as crystal. And I would say that if one is going to embark on a war, knowing one’s enemy is the starting point. If you don’t know your enemy, you have no idea what motivates them. If you don’t know what motivates them, you haven’t got a hope of winning the war!
More than this, this war is complicated even further by the fact that, when all is said and done, this is a war with religious undertones. Islam is the backdrop. And in the case of Iran, we are talking about Shia Islam, which America has far less experience with than even Sunni Islam. Going to war against an Islamic country without knowing anything meaningful about Islam and Muslims is asking for trouble. As the old wise saying instructs us: Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
Without wanting to put too much of a damper on things, it seems to me that victory is Iran’s for the taking! — © Mark Alexander
Feckless and clueless, Donald Trump is lost in Iran, unable to find a way out of the disastrous war he started. Once again, the US military is pummelling the country and, increasingly, its civilian infrastructure. As before, this unlawful bludgeoning strengthens the resistance of a hardline regime that cares little for its people’s suffering. How often have Trump and Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon’s wildling lord of bones, hailed a bogus victory? The president claimed this week to be “winning big”. No one believes him. Even as it counts the vast human and economic cost of his Persian folly, a watching world scoffs at US impotence.
Control of the strait of Hormuz, closed due to Trump’s belligerence, is now the White House’s limited, elusive objective. The grander US and Israeli war aims – eliminating Iran’s nuclear programme, degrading its regional militias, regime change – are less attainable than ever. It’s Trump’s craven leadership that renders US forces ineffective, not the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. If Iran really is the existential menace he claims, the logical course would be all-out conquest. When George W Bush decided Iraq posed unacceptable dangers, he invaded with 170,000 ground troops. It was a catastrophe. But at least Bush had balls. » | Simon Tisdall | Saturday, July 18, 2026
I am no military man. Far from it. But it seems to me that Trump hasn’t got a snowball’s chance in hell of winning this war against Iran. Why? Because Trump doesn’t know his enemy! That he doesn’t know his enemy is as clear as crystal. And I would say that if one is going to embark on a war, knowing one’s enemy is the starting point. If you don’t know your enemy, you have no idea what motivates them. If you don’t know what motivates them, you haven’t got a hope of winning the war!
More than this, this war is complicated even further by the fact that, when all is said and done, this is a war with religious undertones. Islam is the backdrop. And in the case of Iran, we are talking about Shia Islam, which America has far less experience with than even Sunni Islam. Going to war against an Islamic country without knowing anything meaningful about Islam and Muslims is asking for trouble. As the old wise saying instructs us: Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
Without wanting to put too much of a damper on things, it seems to me that victory is Iran’s for the taking! — © Mark Alexander
Thursday, July 16, 2026
Trump Is ‘Trapped’ as Americans Become Disillusioned with His War on Iran | Harriet Alexander
Jul 16, 2026 | “People are pretty fed up with it. They want it to be over, and Trump has boxed himself in.”
Americans are growing “weary” of how long Trump’s war on Iran is taking, but the president just wants to “ratchet it up more and more”, says US reporter Harriet Alexander.
Americans are growing “weary” of how long Trump’s war on Iran is taking, but the president just wants to “ratchet it up more and more”, says US reporter Harriet Alexander.
Iran Expects Trump to ‘Blink’ as US Attacks Intensify | Alia Awadallah
Jul 16, 2026 | “At some point, one of the parties is likely to back down, and Iran just doesn’t seem like the one to do it.”
Trump is threatening to escalate attacks once again in an attempt to force Iran to back down. But the regime has demonstrated that it is willing “to go to whatever lengths are necessary to maintain the upper hand”, says former Pentagon official Alia Awadallah.
Trump is threatening to escalate attacks once again in an attempt to force Iran to back down. But the regime has demonstrated that it is willing “to go to whatever lengths are necessary to maintain the upper hand”, says former Pentagon official Alia Awadallah.
In Iran, Trump Risks Another American ‘Forever War’
THE NEW YORK TIMES: President Trump, who promised to “end wars,” not start them, may have fallen into a familiar presidential trap.
No one starts a war expecting it to last forever.
Yet, since Vietnam, American presidents have repeatedly gotten into conflicts that seem like they could last forever, at least until the next president — or the one after that — decides that the expense and political pain are not worth it, declares victory and goes home.
On Iran, President Trump may have fallen into the same trap.
He campaigned for office vowing to end wars, not start them, and to never get involved in a forever war, let alone one in the Middle East. And yet he risks doing so in Iran, his critics say.
The war that Israel and the United States began with such force has alternated between moments of negotiation and military strikes. They have failed so far to reach Mr. Trump’s stated goals of regime change or ending Iran’s nuclear program, while the war has created a new, seemingly intractable problem, bottling up the Strait of Hormuz.
With diplomacy at a dead end, at least for now, a frustrated Mr. Trump finds himself back at war, the cease-fire broken, the strait blocked. The memorandum of understanding he said “achieves everything we set out to accomplish” — despite wildly divergent interpretations of it — is in tatters after less than a month. » | Steven Erlanger | Steven Erlanger, based in Berlin, writes about European and Middle Eastern security and diplomacy. | Thursday, July 16, 2026
ALSO READ:
Iran War Live Updates: U.S. and Iran Exchange Strikes for 5th Straight Day: Though both sides appeared to be digging in, a top Iranian official seemed to leave the door open for a deal, saying, “We must fear neither war nor negotiations.” »
No one starts a war expecting it to last forever.
Yet, since Vietnam, American presidents have repeatedly gotten into conflicts that seem like they could last forever, at least until the next president — or the one after that — decides that the expense and political pain are not worth it, declares victory and goes home.
On Iran, President Trump may have fallen into the same trap.
He campaigned for office vowing to end wars, not start them, and to never get involved in a forever war, let alone one in the Middle East. And yet he risks doing so in Iran, his critics say.
The war that Israel and the United States began with such force has alternated between moments of negotiation and military strikes. They have failed so far to reach Mr. Trump’s stated goals of regime change or ending Iran’s nuclear program, while the war has created a new, seemingly intractable problem, bottling up the Strait of Hormuz.
With diplomacy at a dead end, at least for now, a frustrated Mr. Trump finds himself back at war, the cease-fire broken, the strait blocked. The memorandum of understanding he said “achieves everything we set out to accomplish” — despite wildly divergent interpretations of it — is in tatters after less than a month. » | Steven Erlanger | Steven Erlanger, based in Berlin, writes about European and Middle Eastern security and diplomacy. | Thursday, July 16, 2026
ALSO READ:
Iran War Live Updates: U.S. and Iran Exchange Strikes for 5th Straight Day: Though both sides appeared to be digging in, a top Iranian official seemed to leave the door open for a deal, saying, “We must fear neither war nor negotiations.” »
Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Iran War Oil Shock: How World Economy on Brink of Something ‘Even Worse’
July 14, 2026 | President Donald Trump has U-turned on his threat to charge cargo ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz as much as 20% - but the US and Iran have continued trading strikes as Trump has told the US Congress that war has resumed.
So, can the US gain the upper hand? Will more US bombs and bullets really help? And has this whole episode proven that the memorandum of understanding, which was meant to end the conflict, was destined to fail.
In this episode of The Fourcast Indicators, presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Defence and Intelligence Analyst, Mark Urban are joined by former US Navy Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, who is now a senior fellow at The Foundation for Defence of Democracies.
So, can the US gain the upper hand? Will more US bombs and bullets really help? And has this whole episode proven that the memorandum of understanding, which was meant to end the conflict, was destined to fail.
In this episode of The Fourcast Indicators, presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Defence and Intelligence Analyst, Mark Urban are joined by former US Navy Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, who is now a senior fellow at The Foundation for Defence of Democracies.
Iran Threatens to Block More Trade Routes as US Launches Fresh Strikes
BBC: Iran has threatened to block further trading routes in the region, as the US launched a fresh wave of strikes on military targets.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the Strait of Hormuz would remain shut until the US ends its "acts of aggression" and said other regional oil and gas export channels could also be closed.
The warning came as the US military's Central Command (Centcom) said it had carried out drone, air and navy strikes on Iran on Wednesday morning, in addition to a seven-hour operation overnight.
US President Donald Trump vowed to strike Iran's bridges and power plants next week if the country does not return to talks. » | Ella Kipling | Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the Strait of Hormuz would remain shut until the US ends its "acts of aggression" and said other regional oil and gas export channels could also be closed.
The warning came as the US military's Central Command (Centcom) said it had carried out drone, air and navy strikes on Iran on Wednesday morning, in addition to a seven-hour operation overnight.
US President Donald Trump vowed to strike Iran's bridges and power plants next week if the country does not return to talks. » | Ella Kipling | Wednesday, July 15, 2026
In Iran, Trump Has Found an Opponent He Cannot Easily Dominate
THE GUARDIAN: The president is accustomed to forcing other countries to bend to his will. But he is struggling to come up with a strategy to extract Iranian concessions as the cease-fire he brokered collapses.
On the 136th day of his war against Iran, President Trump came up with a new plan. He would impose tolls on ships traversing the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for protecting them from Iranian forces.
But that was then. On Day 137, he had another new plan. No tolls after all.
Mr. Trump’s 180-degree reversal on Tuesday in the face of protests from his Arab allies who were not so excited about paying tolls reflected how adrift he seems to be in prosecuting his war against Iran. What was supposed to be a clean four-to-six-week operation is now in its messy 20th week. Improvisation and impulse are not working.
A president who has made flexing his power on the world stage a hallmark of his second term has found in Iran an opponent that so far will not bend to his will and a geopolitical conflict that cannot be won through nasty social media posts or tariff threats. The memorandum of understanding that he brokered with Tehran last month to halt the fighting turns out to have been a memorandum of misunderstanding, and Mr. Trump now seems to have neither a clear military nor diplomatic strategy.
“He’s encountered a country that is not willing to play by his set of rules, which is you bend and kiss the ring and tell him how great he is and try to get whatever concession he’s willing to give,” said Vali Nasr, a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies who has advised presidents and secretaries of state on the Middle East. » | Peter Baker | Peter Baker is the chief White House correspondent and reported from Washington. | Tuesday, July 14, 2026
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Americans love their apple pie. The way things are going with this Iran war, it seems that they will soon be eating humble pie instead. Trump has got Americans into a war they cannot win. — © Mark Alexander
On the 136th day of his war against Iran, President Trump came up with a new plan. He would impose tolls on ships traversing the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for protecting them from Iranian forces.
But that was then. On Day 137, he had another new plan. No tolls after all.
Mr. Trump’s 180-degree reversal on Tuesday in the face of protests from his Arab allies who were not so excited about paying tolls reflected how adrift he seems to be in prosecuting his war against Iran. What was supposed to be a clean four-to-six-week operation is now in its messy 20th week. Improvisation and impulse are not working.
A president who has made flexing his power on the world stage a hallmark of his second term has found in Iran an opponent that so far will not bend to his will and a geopolitical conflict that cannot be won through nasty social media posts or tariff threats. The memorandum of understanding that he brokered with Tehran last month to halt the fighting turns out to have been a memorandum of misunderstanding, and Mr. Trump now seems to have neither a clear military nor diplomatic strategy.
“He’s encountered a country that is not willing to play by his set of rules, which is you bend and kiss the ring and tell him how great he is and try to get whatever concession he’s willing to give,” said Vali Nasr, a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies who has advised presidents and secretaries of state on the Middle East. » | Peter Baker | Peter Baker is the chief White House correspondent and reported from Washington. | Tuesday, July 14, 2026
阅读简体中文版 »
閱讀繁體中文版 »
Americans love their apple pie. The way things are going with this Iran war, it seems that they will soon be eating humble pie instead. Trump has got Americans into a war they cannot win. — © Mark Alexander
Trump Threatens to Expand Strikes on Iran’s Civilian Infrastructure
THE GUARDIAN: US president says he will knock out all power plants and bridges in effort to force Tehran to agree to deal amid impasse over strait
Donald Trump has threatened to expand US strikes on Iran next week to target power plants and bridges if Tehran does not agree to a deal amid a continuing dispute over the strait of Hormuz.
“Next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges,” the US president said in a Fox News interview on Tuesday. “We’re going to knock out all their power plants. We’re going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate.”
Trump made similar comments in March, when he threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power stations and fresh water plants if Tehran did not agree to peace terms “shortly”. Destroying civilian infrastructure such as power and water facilities would be illegal under international humanitarian law and would probably constitute a war crime.
Trump’s comments came as US forces carried out strikes against Iran for a fourth day straight and reimposed a naval blockade on the country’s ports in the strait of Hormuz. » | Staff and agencies | Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Donald Trump has threatened to expand US strikes on Iran next week to target power plants and bridges if Tehran does not agree to a deal amid a continuing dispute over the strait of Hormuz.
“Next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges,” the US president said in a Fox News interview on Tuesday. “We’re going to knock out all their power plants. We’re going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate.”
Trump made similar comments in March, when he threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power stations and fresh water plants if Tehran did not agree to peace terms “shortly”. Destroying civilian infrastructure such as power and water facilities would be illegal under international humanitarian law and would probably constitute a war crime.
Trump’s comments came as US forces carried out strikes against Iran for a fourth day straight and reimposed a naval blockade on the country’s ports in the strait of Hormuz. » | Staff and agencies | Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Monday, July 13, 2026
Why Trump Is Scared: This Is Iran's Massive Leverage over the US
Iran Insists It Controls Strait of Hormuz as It Launches New Strikes
THE NEW YORK TIMES: The Iranian military said it had fired at U.S. targets across the Persian Gulf as the two sides engaged in another day of hostilities. President Trump on Sunday denied Iran’s claim to have closed the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran insisted on Monday that it controlled the Strait of Hormuz — an assertion the United States has denied — as it launched a fresh barrage of strikes aimed at American military assets throughout the Middle East. The new attacks, following dozens more American strikes overnight, extended a cycle of attacks that is unraveling the U.S.-Iran cease-fire.
Shipping through the strait plummeted over the weekend after Iran attacked a Cypriot-flagged container ship on Saturday, setting off an exchange of hostilities that spilled into Monday. Just 14 ships passed through the waterway on Sunday, the lowest level in a month, according to Kpler, a maritime data firm.
The latest Iranian salvos on Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman were aimed at U.S. targets including ammunition depots and radar facilities, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said in a statement carried by state media. Authorities in Jordan and Kuwait said they were intercepting incoming fire, and air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain, hours after U.S. forces said they had struck dozens of military targets in Iran.
The Guards Corps added in its statement that the Strait of Hormuz would be open to vessel traffic only if the United States ceased its military operations and respected “the sovereignty of states over their own coastal waters.” » | Hari Raj, Eric Schmitt and Jenny Gross | Monday, July 13, 2026
Is this evidence of Trump putting his theories as propounded in The Art of the Deal into operation? — © Mark Alexander
ALSO READ:
How Trump Failed to Secure the Strait of Hormuz in His Iran Deal: President Trump signed an agreement that Iran said gave it control of the waterway — and global energy supplies. Now, Iran’s military is violently asserting authority. »
Iran insisted on Monday that it controlled the Strait of Hormuz — an assertion the United States has denied — as it launched a fresh barrage of strikes aimed at American military assets throughout the Middle East. The new attacks, following dozens more American strikes overnight, extended a cycle of attacks that is unraveling the U.S.-Iran cease-fire.
Shipping through the strait plummeted over the weekend after Iran attacked a Cypriot-flagged container ship on Saturday, setting off an exchange of hostilities that spilled into Monday. Just 14 ships passed through the waterway on Sunday, the lowest level in a month, according to Kpler, a maritime data firm.
The latest Iranian salvos on Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman were aimed at U.S. targets including ammunition depots and radar facilities, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said in a statement carried by state media. Authorities in Jordan and Kuwait said they were intercepting incoming fire, and air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain, hours after U.S. forces said they had struck dozens of military targets in Iran.
The Guards Corps added in its statement that the Strait of Hormuz would be open to vessel traffic only if the United States ceased its military operations and respected “the sovereignty of states over their own coastal waters.” » | Hari Raj, Eric Schmitt and Jenny Gross | Monday, July 13, 2026
Is this evidence of Trump putting his theories as propounded in The Art of the Deal into operation? — © Mark Alexander
ALSO READ:
How Trump Failed to Secure the Strait of Hormuz in His Iran Deal: President Trump signed an agreement that Iran said gave it control of the waterway — and global energy supplies. Now, Iran’s military is violently asserting authority. »
Saturday, July 11, 2026
US Iran Talks Face Persistent Impasse
Trump’s ‘Dramatic’ Words for Iran Put the War ‘Right Back Where We Began’ | Harriet Alexander
Jul 11, 2026 | “Donald Trump is frustrated because he wanted this to be done and dusted months ago.”
Relations between the US and Iran just “keep getting worse” as the regime realises “what a strong hand it has” and Trump becomes increasingly frustrated with the duration of the conflict, says US reporter Harriet Alexander.
Relations between the US and Iran just “keep getting worse” as the regime realises “what a strong hand it has” and Trump becomes increasingly frustrated with the duration of the conflict, says US reporter Harriet Alexander.
Friday, July 10, 2026
As U.S. Steps Up Attacks on Iran, Prospect of All-Out War Rises
THE NEW YORK TIMES: American officials said they were trying to safeguard maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran said it had responded by firing at U.S. bases in Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait.
The U.S. military says it sharply increased its attacks on Iran this week, as both countries extended a cycle of hostilities that has all but shattered a truce intended to pave the way to a long-term peace deal.
American military officials say they hit about 170 targets in Iran during strikes on Tuesday and Wednesday, 15 times the number struck during a previous round of attacks in late June. U.S. Central Command said the strikes had hit air defense systems, drone and missile storage sites and logistics infrastructure along the Iranian coast.
The goal, military officials said, is to degrade Iran’s ability to threaten ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Health Ministry said that U.S. attacks over the past two days had killed at least 14 people and injured 78 others across five provinces. Iran said it had responded by firing at U.S. military bases in Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. Jordan said it had also intercepted Iranian attacks.
The attacks have left the region deeply unsettled and seemingly caught in an ongoing cycle of sporadic war. They have raised the prospect of a return to the full-scale war that began in late February, when the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran. » | Max Bearak, Yeganeh Torbati, Eric Schmitt and Michael Levenson | Thursday, July 9, 2026
The U.S. military says it sharply increased its attacks on Iran this week, as both countries extended a cycle of hostilities that has all but shattered a truce intended to pave the way to a long-term peace deal.
American military officials say they hit about 170 targets in Iran during strikes on Tuesday and Wednesday, 15 times the number struck during a previous round of attacks in late June. U.S. Central Command said the strikes had hit air defense systems, drone and missile storage sites and logistics infrastructure along the Iranian coast.
The goal, military officials said, is to degrade Iran’s ability to threaten ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Health Ministry said that U.S. attacks over the past two days had killed at least 14 people and injured 78 others across five provinces. Iran said it had responded by firing at U.S. military bases in Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. Jordan said it had also intercepted Iranian attacks.
The attacks have left the region deeply unsettled and seemingly caught in an ongoing cycle of sporadic war. They have raised the prospect of a return to the full-scale war that began in late February, when the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran. » | Max Bearak, Yeganeh Torbati, Eric Schmitt and Michael Levenson | Thursday, July 9, 2026
Thursday, July 09, 2026
Trump's Iran War Is 'an Absolutely Stupid Adventure' | Patrick Sigler-Lathrop
Trump wouldn't sell anything to me, I can assure this gentleman. I find Trump a complete and utter turn-off! — © Mark Alexander
Wednesday, July 08, 2026
Trump Says Ceasefire Is Over Describing Iranian Leaders as ‘Scum’
Jul 8, 2026 | Just three weeks since the US-Iran ceasefire was agreed, it's 'over' according to President Trump.
After Iran attacked commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the US responded by hitting more than 80 targets overnight.
Speaking at the NATO summit in Turkey, Mr Trump lambasted Iran's leaders. He then threatened to hit Iran 'hard' in the next few hours, prompting Tehran to say it would respond to any attack immediately.
After Iran attacked commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the US responded by hitting more than 80 targets overnight.
Speaking at the NATO summit in Turkey, Mr Trump lambasted Iran's leaders. He then threatened to hit Iran 'hard' in the next few hours, prompting Tehran to say it would respond to any attack immediately.
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