Donald Trump has declared an “Economic D-Day” against Iran, threatening sanctions on any nation offering a lifeline to the Middle Eastern country.
“ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences”, the US president warned on Truth Social Wednesday. “Oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies — It all needs to stop NOW. You know who you are”.
“This will be an ECONOMIC D-DAY, and we need all of our Allies to stand with the United States of America to isolate, and defeat, the Iran threat”, Trump added.
Meanwhile, Iran has threatened to target any Gulf states assisting the US in the conflict, after the United Arab Emirates accused Tehran of launching two ballistic missiles in the first such incident since May.
“Nothing is hidden from our eyes”, Iran’s army chief Ali Abdollahi said, adding, “We warn: Any assistance and facilitation to the aggressive US army is tantamount to participation with the US military forces”.
The UAE defense ministry said the missiles targeted "maritime traffic" based on its assessments. Both missiles fell into the sea, it said.
Iraqi parliament speaker asks Iranian counterpart for special status on Hormuz oil exports
Iraq's parliament speaker Haibat al-Halbousi called for special status for Iraqi oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz during talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf in Baghdad on Wednesday, his office said in a statement, without providing further details.
Israeli military announces criminal investigation into killing of Palestinian girl Hind Rajab in Gaza
The Israeli military has confirmed for the first time that it fired on a car carrying five-year-old Hind Rajab and her family.
It also announced that it has launched an investigation into her killing in a statement on Wednesday.
A separate probe will investigate the killing of 15 Palestinian paramedics in Gaza in May 2025, but the military said it would not launch an inquiry into three other high-profile attacks that killed aid workers from World Central Kitchen and Doctors Without Borders.
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Trump threatens 'tremendous economic consequences' for any nation that helps Iran financially
Donald Trump has threatened “tremendous economic consequences” for any nation that helps Iran financially as the war drags on.
“ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences”, the US president wrote on Truth Social Wednesday.
“Oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies — It all needs to stop NOW. You know who you are”, he added.
Iran war inflation continues to impact prices in UK, chancellor says
In response to the UK’s latest inflation figures, published on Wednesday, chancellor John Healey said: “Iran war inflation continues to impact prices here at home, but Britain’s economy is resilient.
“We have cut VAT on electricity bills and capped bus fares at £2 – to give breathing space to those feeling the strain.
“There is more to do to restore hope and build a stronger economy where prosperity is shared more fairly across Britain.”
US military presence in Middle East could be cut back after Iran war ends: report
The Pentagon is considering reducing U.S. military presence in the Middle East following the conclusion of the Iran war, according to a report.
Troops could be withdrawn from the Persian Gulf, officials told The Washington Post, following months of attacks by Iranian forces that have targeted U.S. bases across the region since the war began in late February.
The Pentagon’s policy office is evaluating U.S. regional presence, with U.S. Central Command (Centcom) and Joint Staff also looking at the situation, a senior Pentagon official told the outlet.
While no formal review has been ordered by U.S. defence secretary Pete Hegseth, “decisions are going to have to be made on some of this stuff,” the official told The Post.
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US warns Siemens devices can be hacked amid fears Iran is breaching water plants
Several US government agencies warned that unidentified hackers are trying to breach devices made by Siemens that are used to monitor and operate water facilities and other critical infrastructure systems, according to a cybersecurity advisory published on Wednesday, reports Reuters.
The warning comes amid widespread cyber incidents targeting local water systems in multiple states in recent weeks in attacks cybersecurity experts suspect are linked to Iran.
The advisory describes an "active threat" to all Siemens S7 Series programmable logic controllers across multiple critical infrastructure sectors, including manufacturing, energy, water and wastewater, chemical, food and agriculture facilities, according to the warning issued by the National Security Agency, FBI, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
Depending on specific circumstances, compromises of these devices could lead to the disruption of critical processes, safety incidents, downtime or equipment damage, the compromise of sensitive data, compliance violations and cascading impacts across interconnected systems, the government warned.
Siemens did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to the advisory, the hackers are using AI to dramatically reduce the technical expertise and time required to develop exploits that can successfully compromise the systems, the agencies said.
CISA warned on 30 July of a significant increase in hackers targeting programmable logic controllers, following on a 22 July advisory warning of Iranian-affiliated hackers exploiting such devices manufactured by Siemens, Rockwell Automation and Schneider Electric.
Federal officials have stopped short of formally linking Iran to the recent attacks on local water systems, while president Donald Trump said on 31 July that he did not believe Iran was involved.
Instead, he blamed it on Minnesota, the first state to report a wave of at least 30 water-related cyber incidents that occurred on 26 July and 27 July.
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Houthis planning to seize Bab al-Mandeb Strait, says Yemeni minister
The information minister of Yemen’s internationally recognised government has warned that Iran-backed Houthi rebels are planning to seize the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea.
Ordinarily, around six per cent of the global total of oil moves through the Strait — enough to inflict significant damage if the supply is cut off.
Information minister, Moammar al-Eryani told AFP that the Houthis are “working to create the conditions for seizing control of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait” by expanding their presence along the western coast and attempting to control islands in the Red Sea.
Turkish government accuses Netanyahu of planning to destabilise region ahead of elections
Turkey has rejected Israel’s explanation for its latest strikes on Syria, calling the claims “untenable” and “unlawful.”
Israel struck the Abu al-Duhur airbase in northwestern Syria on Tuesday, saying Syria was close to allowing Turkish troops to deploy at the facility and that this would threaten an existing security arrangement.
The Turkish government has strongly disputed that justification, labelling the claims part of Netanyahu’s “intent to pursue expansionist and destabilising policies in the region ahead of the elections in Israel.”
U.S. special envoy Tom Barrack has described the strike as an “unnecessary escalation,” saying that the United States is working on a deconfliction mechanism between Turkey, Israel and Syria to prevent further confrontation.