From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
Read more
The US is moving special operations forces, weapons and medics to the Middle East to give president Donald Trump broader military options as he considers widening the conflict against Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing officials.
In the past week, special operations forces have deployed to the region from US bases, according to flight-tracking data and officials. Squadrons of jet fighters have been staged across the Middle East, and bomber aircraft at bases in the US and UK are on high alert, the Journal reported.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump has warned that attacks on ships in Middle Eastern waterways will be paid for by Iranian cash that he controls.
“Any and all damages done to Ships, Cargo, or anything related thereto, will be paid for by Iranian Money that the United States has in its possession, and controls.
“These damages may be very substantial but, nevertheless, this is the fair and equitable thing to do”, the US president wrote on Truth Social Thursday.
Earlier, Trump said he was seriously considering restarting major combat operations in Iran, including strikes that would be bigger than the ones carried out earlier this year.
He told Axios: “They haven’t received enough pain yet.”
Iran’s army has claimed attacks on US military facilities at Jordan’s Al-Azraq base and Bahrain’s Sheikh Isa air base, Iranian state media reported.
Stuti Mishra24 July 2026 06:51
UN secretary general António Guterres has warned the Security Council that the Middle East conflict is “getting out of control”.
“It is teetering on the edge of the unimaginable. The region is being pulled into an ever-widening circle of confrontation. One crisis feeds another. One escalation triggers the next,” Mr Guterres told the Security Council.
(Getty)
Stuti Mishra24 July 2026 06:30
US president Donald Trump has said he is considering re-launching major combat operations against Iran and is close to a decision, telling Axios that Tehran “hasn’t received enough pain yet.”
Mr Trump’s warning came after Yemen’s Houthi fighters struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, extending the Middle East war to a second major shipping chokepoint.
Mr Trump said he would hold Iran responsible for any further Houthi attacks, writing on social media: “If they do this again, the US will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves.”
Sources in Iran and Yemen told Reuters that Iran had flown Revolutionary Guard commanders, military advisers and missile and drone-related equipment into Yemen days before the Houthis announced their Red Sea blockade. The Houthis dismissed the report.
(Reuters)
Stuti Mishra24 July 2026 05:58
The US is failing to wear down Iran with strikes around the Strait of Hormuz and making no progress to resolve the conflict through diplomacy. Here are Donald Trump’s apparent options:
James Reynolds24 July 2026 05:25
The US is moving special operations forces, weapons and medics to the Middle East to give US president Donald Trump broader military options as he considers widening the conflict against Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing officials.
In the past week, special operations forces have deployed to the region from US bases, according to flight-tracking data and officials.
Squadrons of jet fighters have been staged across the Middle East, and bomber aircraft at bases in the US and UK are on high alert, the Journal reported.
Stuti Mishra24 July 2026 05:01
The number of tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz fell to just one on Thursday, the lowest since 7 May, as oil prices surged back to $100 a barrel, according to data from analytics firm Kpler.
Only the very large crude carrier New Giant, loaded with two million barrels of Iraqi Basrah crude, exited the strait on 23 July, bound for China’s Rizhao port. No ships entered the waterway that day, down from three crossings the previous day.
The US military said late yesterday it had completed a 13th consecutive night of strikes on Iran.
At the Bab el-Mandeb strait, tanker crossings rose to 32 on 23 July from 26 the day before, Kpler data showed, though some vessels are already rerouting. A clean tanker loaded with naphtha bound for Asia has turned toward the Suez Canal exit rather than the typical Bab el-Mandeb route — a detour that could make the voyage nearly three times as long. Saudi Aramco has also started offering crude cargoes loading at Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Sidi Kerir as an alternative to its Red Sea ports.
Stuti Mishra24 July 2026 04:40
Two Chinese supertankers carrying a combined 4 million barrels of Saudi Arabian oil exited the Red Sea via the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Thursday, shipping data showed, apparently escaping a blockade of Saudi oil by Yemen’s Houthi militias.
It happened as Saudi vessels came under attack.
The Red Sea blockade by the Iran-aligned Houthis is worsening global energy supply disruption, coming at the same time the Strait of Hormuz is practically shut due to the resumption of fighting between the US and Iran.
Jane Dalton24 July 2026 04:30
The UK “stands ready 24/7 to defend itself”, the government has said, after Iran claimed Britain would “bear responsibility” for allowing the US to use British bases.
It comes after Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) accused the UK government of “complicity in the crime of aggression and war crimes” by allowing the US to carry out “unlawful attacks”.
While the government has refused to take part in offensive campaigns against Iran, it has allowed the US to launch defensive strikes from British bases hosting American personnel.
In a statement, the MFA said that anyone who supports “military aggression against Iran will bear responsibility for the consequences and repercussions of its decision”.
US president Donald Trump has carried out 13 consecutive nights of strikes against targets in Iran, indicating potential further escalation.
Stuti Mishra24 July 2026 04:18
Jane Dalton24 July 2026 03:00
Iran flew Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders, military advisers and missile- and drone-related equipment into Yemen this month, according to four sources, in a move that suggests Tehran is seeking to strengthen the ability of its Houthi allies to threaten Red Sea shipping.
Four sources, two of them Iranian, Yemen’s information minister and a regional security analyst, said Iran transferred the IRGC personnel and military-related equipment on a flight from Tehran to Yemen 10 days ago.
The two Iranian sources told Reuters that between 10 and 21 IRGC personnel, including senior commanders, were on the Mahan Air flight.
The plane was originally bound for the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, but diverted to the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah after the airport came under attack by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.
“The IRGC commanders travelled there to support Houthi operations and provide training on new missile systems,” one of the sources said, adding that Iran also sent gold on the aircraft to fund Houthi activities.
Jane Dalton24 July 2026 01:30