The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in a statement published by IRNA, report that two oil tankers have exploded after hitting mines south in the Strait of Hormuz. However, the U.S. Central Command disputes the claims on X as "false".
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July 18, 2026 (Saturday)
1.8 minutes to read
Armed conflicts and attacks
Kuwait says Iranian attacks have struck a second power and desalination plant in two days, causing a fire and shutting several generating units, while other attacks injure firefighters and a worker and temporarily disrupt flights from Kuwait International Airport.
Iranian deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi says that the United States has violated the terms of the Islamabad Memorandum and that Iran is "no longer implementing them".
The Bahraini military intercepts projectiles fired from Iran.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reports that two American troops have been "killed in action" in Jordan while defending against Iranian missiles and attacks against the country, bringing the total casualties for American troops to 16.
Axios reports that Iran has launched a ballistic missile at a United States base in Saudi Arabia, making it the first direct attack by Iran on the country since targeting a petrochemical complex in Jubail.
The Filipino Department of Foreign Affairs reports that four vessels registered by the Philippines carrying 81 seafarers have safely transited through the Strait of Hormuz.
July 17, 2026 (Friday)
3.3 minutes to read
Armed conflicts and attacks
Around eight Palestinians are reported to be killed in an airstrike on a funeral in central Gaza.
Iranian drone strikes near Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq, kill eight Kurdish rebels and injure several more.
Iranian state media reports that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps have targeted a United States Special Operations Command in Al-Tanf in response to the killing of Iranian soldiers in Iranshahr, Sistan and Baluchestan province.
Iran says that it has launched ballistic missile and drone strikes at targets in Bahrain, including a drone vessel depot, an artificial intelligence center used for targeting, and the Al-Sakhir Air Base, as part of the 11th phase of its Saegheh operation.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force launches an attack at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, and claims to have caused damage to equipment there, while Qatar's armed forces claim to have intercepted Iranian attacks.
The Israeli military and Shin Bet confirm that they have killed Hamas commander Anas Mahmoud Ahmad Hamdan, who served as a "right-hand man" of former Al-Qassam Brigades commander Mohammed Deif, in an airstrike in Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip.
Iranian strikes damage a desalination plant and a power plant in Kuwait, according to the Kuwaiti energy ministry.
CENTCOM launches strikes against Iran for a seventh consecutive night.
The U.S. military's Central Command (CENTCOM) confirms that they have destroyed the Chah Bahar Shahid Kalantari Port surveillance tower in Chabahar Port yesterday, which was allegedly used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for tracking commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Business and economy
Iraq and Syria sign a memorandum of understanding to rehabilitate the Kirkuk–Baniyas pipeline to bypass to the Strait of Hormuz.
Disasters and accidents
A strong Mw 7.3 earthquake strikes near the coast of Chiapas, Mexico. Tsunami warnings were issued and damage is unknown.
A large fire breaks out among terraced houses in Krokstadelva, Drammen, Norway, spreading rapidly between multiple housing blocks and prompting mass evacuations; the municipality declares a crisis and calls in fire crews from eight neighboring municipalities.
The United States Forest Service reports that wildfires in northern Minnesota has reached over 77,000 acres, prompting evacuations in the area.
Four people are killed and nine others are injured after a head-on collision between two overspeeding cars along the N-25 National Highway, Wadh, Balochistan, Pakistan
Health and environment
The death tolls from the measles outbreak in Bangladesh reaches 780 after one child is reported to have died from the disease by the Directorate General of Health Services.
Taylor Farms recalls their iceburg lettuce, traced through a farm in Mexico, amidst the ongoing cyclosporiasis outbreak in the United States, which is caused by cyclospora cayetanensis.
International relations
The United States allows its national emergency over Hong Kong's national security law to expire while retaining the underlying executive order and most related sanctions.
Law and crime
A civilian dies and a police officer and the suspected gunman are wounded in a shooting in Nørresundby, North Jutland, Denmark, after officers responding to a reported fire are met with gunfire.
Japan enacts a law criminalizing public damage, removal or defacement of the national flag, punishable by up to two years in prison or a ¥200,000 (US$1,200) fine.
The Ontario Court of Appeal finds Canadian far-right activist and Freedom Convoy organizer Pat King "guilty of intimidation" and orders a re-sentencing.
Politics and election
Andy Burnham is elected as the new leader of the British Labour Party. He will formally succeed Keir Starmer as prime minister on Monday.
Japan's National Diet amends the Imperial Household Law to allow unmarried male descendants of former imperial branches to rejoin the family and permit royal women to retain status after marrying commoners, while preserving male-only succession.
Politics and elections
Protests continue for a second day in Kyiv near the Office of the President of Ukraine, demanding the return of Mykhailo Fedorov as Minister of Defence and the resignation of Oleksandr Syrskyi as the Commander-in-Chief.
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