LiveLive Updates July 22, 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 22, 2026UpdatesYemen's Houthi rebels say they targeted two Saudi oil tankers which violated naval blockadeYemen's Houthis said on Thursday they had carried out a military operation targeting two Saudi oil tankers, identified as ENCELA and LAYLIA, saying the vessels violated a naval blockade imposed by the group.The Iran-aligned Houthis said on Monday they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, drawing a warning from the Saudi-led coalition that it would respond "firmly," in a move that threatens to disrupt global energy supplies beyond the Gulf.UKMTO receives report of incident 70 nautical miles southwest of Saudi Arabia's Al ShuqaiqThe United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Thursday it has received a report of an incident 70 nautical miles southwest of Saudi Arabia's Al Shuqaiq, adding no casualties or environmental impact have been reported."The master of a tanker reports being struck by an unknown projectile which has caused a fire onboard that the crew are currently fighting," UKMTO said.1 hour agoU.S. says it reached 'historic' nuclear cooperation deal with Saudi ArabiaThe U.S. and Saudi Arabia have reached an agreement on civil nuclear power, the U.S. Energy Department said on Wednesday, a deal that allows the kingdom to build nuclear reactors using American technology and to enrich uranium.A civil nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia has been in the works for years during both President Donald Trump's first administration and that of former President Joe Biden.Unlike the Biden plan, the current deal does not include a so-called Additional Protocol that allows the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency to carry out intrusive snap inspections.The deal would also allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium and reprocess nuclear waste, both of which are potential pathways to making a nuclear weapon. The UAE agreed to forgo both of those when it signed a similar deal with the U.S. in 2009.U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and his counterpart Price Abdulaziz bin Salman signed the pact, known as a 123 Agreement, alongside a bilateral safeguards agreement, the U.S. Energy Department said in a release.The administration said the deal also abides by nonproliferation agreements in the U.S. Atomic Energy Act, which are among the world's strongest. Saudi Arabia has long said if it does not partner with the U.S., it could partner with China or Russia which have different proliferation standards.The energy department said the deal now goes to Congress. Unless Congress raises votes to object to the deal within 90 session days, the deal will go into force. But it would need to have a two-thirds majority to override a presidential veto.Several Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns that the deal could spark an arms race in the Middle East. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has repeatedly said he does not want the kingdom to build a nuclear weapon but it would if Iran did."They are allowing Saudi Arabia, a belligerent and authoritarian nation, to develop nuclear weapons technologies while starting a war with Iran under the guise of preventing an Iranian nuclear bomb," said Senator Edward Markey, a Democrat. "This deal would make us all less safe."Read the full articleRECAP: Trump says U.S. striking Iran over nuclear program, 'We don't need Hormuz'Here are Wednesday's latest updates from the U.S.-Iran war and Israel's strikes in Gaza, Lebanon and the Middle East:■ U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington is striking Iranian assets along the Strait of Hormuz to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, adding that Iran "will be ready very soon" to negotiate.■ The U.K. announced that it has "temporarily" evacuated its embassy staff from Iran "due to the security situation."■ Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran will respond to any aggression, vowing to attack aggressors' allies.■ Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that no one will sell oil "if our security is not guaranteed, no infrastructure will be safe."■ Israeli strikes killed 11 people in Gaza in the past 24 hours, and another person died of wounds sustained in a previous strike, the Gaza Health Ministry reported, saying 12 others were wounded and others remain trapped under rubble.Trump says U.S. striking Iran over nuclear program, 'We don't need Hormuz'U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington is striking Iranian assets along the Strait of Hormuz to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, adding that Iran "will be ready very soon" to negotiate."If you combine us and Venezuela, we have about 62 percent of the world's oil market, so we don't need straits," he said. "We don't need the Hormuz Strait, but we do it because we have to do it, because we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. It's very simple." He added that the United States is "ensuring that they will never, ever be able to do to us what they've done to so many," adding that the current reciprocal strikes are "a skirmish"The U.S. president added that Iran is "not ready" for a deal with Washington, "because every time they make a deal, they want to change it and everything." He added, "They'll be ready very soon."Calling the conflict in Iran a skirmish, Trump said "they're getting hit so hard, and they want to make a deal. But I say they're not ready to make a deal, because every time they make a deal, they want to change it and everything. They're not ready." Iran's Araghchi says Tehran believes in 'eye for eye,' warns against U.S. strikesIranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi listens to his Iraqi counterpart Fouad Hussein during a news conference after a meeting at the foreign ministry in Baghdad, Iraq, in June. Credit: Hadi Mizban/APIranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi listens to his Iraqi counterpart Fouad Hussein during a news conference after a meeting at the foreign ministry in Baghdad, Iraq, in June. Credit: Hadi Mizban/APIranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran will respond to any aggression, vowing to attack aggressors' allies."Our defense doctrine is clear: eye for an eye," he wrote. "Any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response." He added that "those who contribute to such aggression, whatever the kind of support, will also be considered as legitimate targets."Tehran's top joint military command also said U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated threats to strike Iranian infrastructure "will only lead to the expansion of the war in the region and beyond," state media reported.The command also said that if Washington follows through on its threats, Iran will stop all Gulf oil flow and target oil, gas, electricity and economic infrastructure in the region.Read the full articleTrump pays respects to four U.S. service members killed in Iran strikesU.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth salute as members of the military carry the transfer cases of U.S. soldiers killed during an attack at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, during a dignified transfer of his remains at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, Wednesday. Credit: Evelyn Hockstein/ReutersU.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth salute as members of the military carry the transfer cases of U.S. soldiers killed during an attack at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, during a dignified transfer of his remains at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, Wednesday. Credit: Evelyn Hockstein/ReutersU.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday honored the lives of four U.S. service members who were killed in the Middle East and returned to their families at an air force base in Delaware.The president saluted as four transfer cases carrying the service members' remains were escorted off an airplane during the dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base. The ritual is one of the most somber duties of a commander in chief. It was the third Trump has attended since he launched the war in Iran in February.The soldiers killed in Jordan were identified by the Defense Department as Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas.The soldier who disappeared after the Jordan attacks is Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, New York, the Defense Department said. The soldier killed in Iraq was identified as Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, who lived in Spring Lake, North Carolina.Read the full articleIn the NewsJudge Justifies Jewish Terror. 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