LiveLive Updates July 15, 2026Share to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeJuly 15, 2026UpdatesIran threatens to shut more energy routes as tensions with U.S. escalateIran threatened Wednesday to shut down additional regional energy export routes, saying the United States "must brace for the closure of all other export corridors that benefit the U.S. and its allies."The warning comes as hostilities intensify following Iran's announcement late Saturday that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy route.The United States said Iran had attacked seven commercial ships over the past week, leaving nearly a dozen crew members killed, missing or injured.Iran politician: 'We must prepare for a war economy and yearslong conflict with U.S.'Iran must prepare for the possibility of a war with the United States lasting several years, prominent Iranian politician Mohammad-Javad Larijani said Wednesday in an interview on state television."What keeps the threat of war at bay is our complete readiness to defend ourselves," Larijani said. "If the U.S. senses that Iran is prepared even for a two- or three-year war, they will realize that they should not continue the war," he added. "We must prepare for a war economy so that the resilience of the population increases." Larijani is the brother of Ali Larijani, a former secretary-general of Iran's Supreme National Security Council who was killed in mid-March. The Larijani family is considered influential in Iran's political establishment.Mohammad-Javad Larijani, a conservative politician who served eight years in parliament, focused primarily on foreign policy during his tenure.New anti-Trump billboards appear in Tehran amid U.S.-Israeli strikes on IranNew billboards targeting U.S. President Donald Trump have appeared across Tehran amid the ongoing U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran, Iranian media reported Wednesday.A depiction of Trump in a coffin, Tuesday. Credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA via REUTERSA depiction of Trump in a coffin, Tuesday. Credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA via REUTERSLarge political billboards criticizing opponents of Iran's theocratic government have long been a feature of Tehran's streetscape since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Recent displays have focused specifically on Trump following the start of the joint U.S.-Israeli offensive against Iran on February 28.A depiction of Trump and his family members with coffins and the White House. Credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA via REUTERSA depiction of Trump and his family members with coffins and the White House. Credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA via REUTERSImages released by Iranian news agency WANA, which is independently operated but state monitored, showed new billboards depicting Trump and his family members alongside coffins and the White House, as well as an image of Trump in a coffin.Iranian drone hits warehouse in Kuwait port area, Kuwait says facilities targetedA drone struck a warehouse in the port town of Al Shuaiba in Kuwait late Tuesday night, with Kuwait's military saying several vital and civilian facilities were targeted by Iranian forces.The Kuwaiti Army confirmed the incident in a statement, while video shared on social media and verified by The New York Times showed an Iranian drone hitting an area near an already burning warehouse.A drone hit a warehouse in the port town of Al Shuaiba in Kuwait. Kuwait Army confirmed in a statement that several vital and civilian facilities were targeted by Iranian forces reut.rs/4vAovFUIran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed the warehouse in Mina Abdullah was a logistics and supply hub for U.S. forces in the region. It was not immediately clear whether the site had any connection to U.S. military operations or whether there were casualties.Iran says more than 260 wounded in recent U.S. strikes, including women and childrenMore than 260 people have been injured in recent U.S. strikes on Iran, the country's Health Ministry said Wednesday.Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour said the casualties included at least three women and six children. "So far, 222 of the wounded have been treated and discharged," he said.Kermanpour said the injuries were sustained during the "latest wave of attacks against Iran," without providing further details on the timing or locations of the strikes.U.S. Central Command releasing footage of a new round of strikes carried out against Iran on coastal defense systems and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Greater Tunb Island.Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said earlier Wednesday that more than 30 civilians had been killed in U.S. strikes on southern parts of the country in recent days.The Iranian army also said at least seven military personnel were killed overnight in U.S. strikes targeting a military base in southeastern Iran.U.S. says it redirected two commercial vessels after resuming Iran naval blockadeU.S. Central Command said Wednesday that it has redirected two commercial vessels since the United States resumed its naval blockade of Iranian ports.The blockade was reinstated at 4 P.M. Washington time on Tuesday, according to U.S. officials. CENTCOM said the vessels were redirected after the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed to commercial shipping.Since restarting the naval blockade against Iranian ports 17 hours ago, U.S. forces have redirected 2 commercial vessels attempting to run the blockade. The U.S. military remains vigilant and prepared to ensure full compliance.Iranian state media reported that the strait remains impassable for commercial vessels, while a Tasnim News Agency correspondent reported that at least two ships were halted by Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces with "warning shots" over the past 24 hours.📹 تنگه هرمز همچنان بسته است و در ۲۴ ساعت گذشته دستکم ۲ کشتی با شلیک اخطار نیروی دریایی سپاه متوقف شدند 'The Strait of Hormuz remains closed, and in the past 24 hours, at least 2 ships were stopped following warning shots fired by the IRGC Navy.'The US had previously enforced a blockade on Iranian ports for roughly two months between April and June.Gaza death toll rises to 73,246, health officials sayThe death toll in Gaza has risen to 73,246 since the start of the war, with 173,727 people wounded, medical sources in the Strip said Wednesday, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.The sources said Gaza hospitals received 13 bodies and 18 wounded people over the past 24 hours.A Palestinian child walks along a street surrounded by buildings destroyed in Israeli military strikes during the Israel-Hamas war in Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip, Wednesday. Credit: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP A Palestinian child walks along a street surrounded by buildings destroyed in Israeli military strikes during the Israel-Hamas war in Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip, Wednesday. Credit: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP According to the report, 1,123 people have been killed and 3,616 wounded in Gaza since the cease-fire began on October 11. The sources also said 800 bodies have been recovered during that period.They added that some victims remain trapped beneath rubble and in the streets, with ambulances and civil defense teams unable to reach them.Rep. Ro Khanna to Haaretz: 'I'm more disturbed by Israel's lies than being detained in West Bank'In his first interview with an Israeli media outlet since his confrontation with armed settlers and Israeli soldiers in the southern West Bank last week, Representative Ro Khanna spoke with Haaretz Podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer in a wide-ranging conversation about the now-famous incident, the "cruelty" he witnessed in his visit to the West Bank, and how Israel's "disproportionate and inhumane" behavior in the Gaza war has changed his policy positions and the way that both he – and Americans at large – view the Jewish state."Israel has lost Americans under 50 – not just Democrats but Republicans," he said. "It is one of the most foolish strategies to have antagonized an entire American generation, and that's what Bibi Netanyahu has accomplished."In the interview, Khanna recounted how Israeli settlers mocked and antagonized his delegation, and parked their vehicle in front of his to block the road to Khirbet Zanuta, a Bedouin village in the South Hebron Hills that has been forcibly displaced by settler violence twice since 2023, despite a High Court ruling that requires Israeli authorities to safeguard the Palestinians' return."We were quickly told to get into our van, and they blocked our van from exiting," he said, saying that the settlers and the IDF forces who "took their side" should be investigated and prosecuted. "You can't do that. I've called it detainment. You could call it false imprisonment."In reaction to subsequent statements on the incident issued by the Israeli military and top officials, he said that he was "more disturbed" by their "lies" than by "the incident itself."Khanna, a California Democrat who has made it clear that he is interested in a presidential run in 2028 and that he plans to make Palestinian rights a central issue on his platform, added, "the next American president will demand the arrest of violent settlers."Read the full articleIranian foreign minister arrives in Doha to offer condolences for ex-Qatari emir’s deathIranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Doha on Wednesday to offer condolences over the death of former Qatari ruler Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Iranian media reported.The visit comes after Iran carried out repeated attacks on what it said were U.S. targets in Qatar, including a missile and drone strike on Al Udeid Air Base on Sunday, the day Qatar announced the former emir's death.Qatar has been acting as a mediator between Washington and Tehran during the war.Commuters drive past a billboard bearing a portrait of Qatar's former leader Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in Doha on Sunday, after the announcement of his death. Credit: AFP/MAHMUD HAMSCommuters drive past a billboard bearing a portrait of Qatar's former leader Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in Doha on Sunday, after the announcement of his death. Credit: AFP/MAHMUD HAMSSheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who ruled Qatar from 1995 until transferring power to his son in 2013, died Sunday at the age of 74, according to Qatar's Amiri Diwan.IDF says it killed Hamas operative involved in October 7 abduction of three soldiersThe Israeli army said Wednesday that it killed a Hamas operative in the southern Gaza Strip who took part in the October 7 attack on Kibbutz Nirim and the abduction of three Israeli soldiers.According to the military, Hussam al-Shafie, a member of Hamas' Eastern Khan Yunis Battalion, was killed in a strike on Tuesday. The IDF said al-Shafie infiltrated the kibbutz during the October 7 massacre and participated in the abduction of Col. Asaf Hamami, Staff Sgt. Tomer Ahimas and Sgt. Kiril Brodski, who were killed in the battle there.The strike was carried out through intelligence gathering and under the direction of the IDF's Gaza Division, the military said."Throughout the war, and in recent months, the terrorist advanced attacks and posed a threat to IDF troops operating in the area," the IDF said.Hamami served as commander of the Gaza Division's Southern Brigade, while Ahimas and Brodski were soldiers under his command.In the NewsA Genius Encumbered by Loss: A Haunted Jewish Poet Is Brought Back to LifeU.S. Launches New Strikes on Iran as Tehran Threatens More Shipping DisruptionIsrael Police Fatally Shoot Suspect During Pursuit in Arab VillageTop Court Freezes Divisive Law Halting Arrests of ultra-Orthodox Draft EvadersRo Khanna 'More Disturbed by Israel's Lies Than Being Detained in West Bank'Remembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIInside the Mossad Plot to Install Ahmadinejad as Iran's LeaderThe Original Tradwives of Ancient RomeEgypt Lost the World Cup. 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