• No respite from war: US President Donald Trump signaled he is not yet ready to negotiate a new ceasefire with Iran, saying “they need more of the same” following several consecutive days of airstrikes.
• Cost of the conflict: Oil topped $100 a barrel for the first time since May — and the average US gas price rose to $4.09 — after Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted Saudi ships in the Red Sea, threatening to cut off a crucial escape hatch for the kingdom’s oil exports.
• On the ground: Jordan and Kuwait reported fresh Iranian attacks targeting sites in their countries. US strikes killed two people at an Iraq-Iran border crossing, Iranian state media reported.
• War powers: The US House voted to halt the Iran war absent congressional approval, but a similar measure failed in the Senate. While the votes could not have compelled an end to the conflict, they highlight discontent from some Republicans over Trump’s use of his war powers.
43 Posts
Iran needs “more of the same,” US President Donald Trump said today following several consecutive days of US airstrikes.
US strikes on Iran have now been going on for more than a week after Tehran started attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The active conflict has spiked global oil prices back above $100-per-barrel.
Here’s the latest:
A ceasefire with Iran may not be coming in the immediate, Trump signaled today. “They would like to do something, but I say they’re not ready yet. They need more of the same,” he said, adding that Iran’s leaders “have some evil intentions.”
Iranian forces launched repeated drone assaults on northern Kuwait, according to the Kuwaiti defense ministry. Other Persian Gulf nations that host US military bases, including Bahrain, have come under repeated Iranian fire in recent days.
Attacks on infrastructure in Iran will be met with a “severe and escalatory” response, Mohsen Rezaei, the senior military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. Yesterday, Trump threatened that the US would strike a bridge or power plant every time Iran targeted a ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels, a key ally of Iran, claimed to have hit two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. Trump today said the US would hold Iran responsible for any future attacks by the Houthis. Earlier this week, the Houthis threatened to blockade the critical Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Israel’s Mossad spy agency revealed details of an alleged Iranian plot to target senior officials in Israel by recruiting operatives abroad. CNN has reported that Israel has been facing an unprecedented wave of domestic espionage since 2023.
The situation in the Middle East is “getting out of control,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned today.
Meantime, the US Senate failed to advance a resolution aimed at rebuking Trump over the war in Iran. Earlier today, the House earlier passed a measure to limit his war powers.
CNN’s Aditi Sangal Adam Cancryn, Aida Karimi, Sana Noor Haq, Adrienne Vogt, Aida Karimi, Dalia Abdelwahab, Morgan Rimmer, Sophie Tanno and John Towfighi contributed reporting to this post.
Israel’s Mossad spy agency has revealed details of an alleged Iranian plot to target senior officials in Israel by recruiting operatives abroad.
Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence attempted to infiltrate foreign citizens into Israel to target senior Israeli figures, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, issued on behalf of the Mossad.
The ministry used “criminal proxy operatives” to recruit people who could enter Israel and use them to collect information about potential targets and ultimately carry out attacks, the Mossad said. The Mossad and the Shin Bet domestic security agency worked with international partners to disrupt “dozens of attack plots by Iran,” the agency said, adding that the investigations have saved “numerous lives and enabled investigative and legal actions against those involved in terrorism.”
“Despite these efforts to conceal Iran’s direct involvement, the proxy method has repeatedly proven vulnerable, with operational failures exposing the Iranian handlers behind the attacks,” the statement said.
CNN has reported that Israel has been facing an unprecedented wave of domestic espionage since 2023, and at least 60 Israelis have been indicted on charges of spying for Iran. Several sites that prosecutors say were filmed by the alleged spies have been targeted in Iranian missile attacks on Israel during the conflict with Iran.
Oil prices surged Thursday and Brent crude settled above $100 per barrel for the first time in two months, as widening conflict in the Middle East raised nerves about inflation and stoked volatility in global markets.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose about 7% to settle at $100.69 per barrel. It was Brent’s highest settle since May 22.
WTI, the US benchmark, rose 6.17%, to settle at $92.19 per barrel. It was WTI’s highest settle since June 4.
Escalating tensions around the Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb straits sent oil prices climbing for the fifth straight day.
After declining from peaks in the spring, oil prices have surged this month as the conflict in the Middle East has intensified: Brent crude settled at $71.57 on July 1 and is now trading at just over $100 per barrel. The global oil benchmark has surged 40% in three weeks.
Other markets:
The rebound in oil prices has sent bond yields higher. The US 10-year Treasury yield rose to its highest level since January 2025. The 10-year yield influences mortgage rates.
The Dow was down 550 points, or more than 1%. The S&P 500 fell 1.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite sank 2.5%.
President Donald Trump signaled that he is not yet ready to negotiate a new ceasefire with Iran, saying Thursday that “they need more of the same” following several consecutive days of airstrikes.
“We’re doing very well against the Islamic Republican of Iran, we’re doing extremely well,” Trump said during an appearance at the Environmental Protection Agency. “They would like to do something, but I say they’re not ready yet. They need more of the same.”
The president added that Iran’s leaders “have some evil intentions,” before reiterating his vow that the country would not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.
Strikes in Iran have now been going on for more than a week after Iran started attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The active conflict has spiked global oil prices back near the $100-per-barrel level.
The US has battered targets across Iran over the last week, in addition to reimposing a naval blockade of Iranian ships in the strait.
Mohsen Rezaei, the senior military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, has accused US President Donald Trump of making “fatal mistakes,” in his conflict with Iran.
“The delusional US president has, through a series of fatal mistakes, gone from playing the ‘madman’ to playing the ‘desperate man,’” Rezaei said.
Rezaei said that an “attack on pilgrims” in Shalamcheh, an Iranian town situated on the border with Iraq, and the threats of infrastructure strikes are “nothing but signs of desperation and helplessness.”
“Iran’s response to attacks on its infrastructure will be severe and escalatory,” he added.
On Wednesday, Trump warned Tehran that the US will “bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT” every time Iran targets a ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian forces launched repeated drone assaults on northern Kuwait on Thursday, according to the Kuwaiti defense ministry, as Tehran escalates strikes on US-allied Gulf nations.
Earlier today, an attack at the Abdali border crossing with Iraq “resulted in material damage,” ministry spokesperson Maj. Gen. Saud Abdulaziz Al-Atwan said in a statement.
No one was injured or killed, the statement added, stressing the Kuwaiti armed forces’ “ongoing readiness and constant preparedness to protect the nation’s borders.”
Al-Atwan issued a similar statement after the second round of attacks.
“Relevant authorities were able to kickstart the necessary procedures upon the strikes taking place, and were able to deal with the situation in coordination,” Al-Atwan’s statement read in an Arabic-language X post by the Kuwaiti Armed Forces.
Other Persian Gulf nations that host US military bases, including Bahrain, have come under repeated Iranian fire in recent days — after Washington escalated its assault on Iran following Tehran’s attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
This post has been updated with information on further attacks.
The US Senate failed to advance a resolution Thursday aimed at rebuking President Donald Trump over the war in Iran, in the chamber’s first direct vote on the issue since the end of the ceasefire. The final tally was 47-49.
This comes after the House earlier today voted to limit Trump’s war powers, passing a similar measure.
In June, during the ceasefire, the Senate adopted a resolution aimed at removing military forces from Iran, though the chamber walked back the rebuke a day later when they failed to advance a similar war powers measure.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins voted with Democrats in an effort to limit the president’s war powers, while Democratic Sen. John Fetterman voted with the rest of the Republican conference to reject the measure.
Sen. Bill Cassidy had previously pushed back on the lack of transparency surrounding the war on the Senate floor and went toe-to-toe with Trump over the issue during a closed-door Republican luncheon in June. After receiving a briefing, Cassidy voted against the next war powers measure to come to the floor for a vote.
The president has sharply criticized Republicans for voting for to advance previous war powers resolutions, chastising them in meetings and posting on Truth Social that they are “losers” who “made my job more difficult.”
This is the 12th time the Senate has voted on an Iran war powers measure since the beginning of the year.
The situation in the Middle East is “getting out of control,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned today, adding, “It’s time to step back.”
In a message to world leaders, Guterres wrote on X, “The fighting must stop everywhere.
“Freedom of navigation must be restored. Diplomacy is the only way forward.”
If you’re just tuning in, the focus has been on developments in critical waterways in the Middle East. The Iran-backed Houthis of Yemen have threatened to blockade the Bab al-Mandeb, a major bypass of the Strait of Hormuz, while there’s also been attacks in the Red Sea.
Here are the key things to know, plus other developments in the war with Iran:
Oil has topped $100 a barrel for the first time since May, as the widening conflict threatens a further squeeze on global supplies.
President Donald Trump said today that the US would hold Iran responsible for any future attacks by the Houthis, warning of “major military punishment” if the group targets ships again. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed Houthi rebels for getting “suckered” into attacking shipping lanes in the Red Sea, calling on the group to de-escalate.
Insurance companies can cancel policies for ships that pay tolls to Iran or any other country to transit the Strait of Hormuz, a major trade group announced, injecting a new layer of uncertainty into the oil market.
Recent threats by the Houthis to impose a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia jeopardize regional stability and “constitute a dangerous escalation,” the European Union’s foreign policy chief said.
Streams of tankers and cargo vessels continue to traverse the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, even as the Houthis threaten to blockade the critical waterway.
In other news:
The US continues to strike Iran, while Tehran launches widening attacks on US allies in the region. Jordan and Kuwait reported incoming Iranian fire on Thursday. The UK warned against all but essential travel to Kuwait and Bahrain.
Trump placed a new condition on this week’s nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, saying the country now must join the Abraham Accords. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu applauded the development.
The US House of Representatives voted to halt Trump’s war in Iran absent congressional approval, marking another significant rebuke of the president’s war powers. Even if the Senate passes a similar measure in an upcoming vote today, the concurrent resolutions lack the force of law. But the votes have highlighted growing discontent from some Republicans over the ongoing conflict.
CNN’s David Goldman, Hanna Ziady, Billy Stockwell, Betsy Klein, Alejandra Jaramillo, Adrienne Vogt, Aida Karimi, Sana Noor Haq, Duarte Mendoca, Dana Karni, Oren Liebermann, Lauren Chadwick, Nic Robertson, Mostafa Salem and Ellis Kim contributed to the report.
The White House said Thursday that an already signed civilian nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia is “off” unless the kingdom normalizes diplomatic relations with Israel.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt pointed to President Donald Trump’s repeated past statements pressing other countries, including Saudi Arabia, into joining the Abraham Accords.
But she stopped short of providing a full explanation for why Trump’s new condition on the nuclear arrangement wasn’t spelled out before the deal was inked on Wednesday.
“The president is always the final dealmaker, as you know,” she said. “This is something he has mentioned on numerous occasions.”
And she denied that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had requested the new condition. “Not to my knowledge, no. Again, as I told you, this was an idea the president has long had.”
Leavitt said Trump would continue conversations with Saudi leaders on normalization, but that the president hadn’t spoken to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — who has stated plainly that he will not normalize relations with Israel unless there is a clear pathway toward a Palestinian state — since Trump unveiled the new condition.
“The president just put out this statement a few hours ago. I don’t believe he’s had a call with MBS in the hours since. However, this is something that he has raised in previous conversations and has also said many times in the past,” Leavitt said.
President Donald Trump is expected to gather his Cabinet next week for a meeting at Camp David, convening at a high-stakes moment for both his presidency and the US war with Iran.
“Next Friday, the president will host the 13th Cabinet meeting of this term at Camp David, which will be a lot of fun and something different for the Cabinet to experience together,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.
It comes as a ceasefire deal with Iran has fallen apart and fighting has intensified in recent days. There is significant political pressure on the White House to resolve the conflict, with gas prices on the rise and the consequential midterm elections just months away.
This marks the first Cabinet meeting since May 27.
Trump has visited Camp David, the highly restricted Maryland presidential retreat, relatively sparingly as president, just twice during his second term and 15 times during his first.
Originally called “Shangri-La,” the facility has been used as a presidential retreat and place to host foreign dignitaries since President Franklin Roosevelt. The tranquil 180-acre camp houses log cabins, an outdoor swimming pool, a one-hole golf course, a shooting range, a bowling alley and trails.
The camp also serves as a working White House and is fully equipped with the security and resources necessary to run the country.
“Yea, Camp David is very rustic, it’s nice, you’d like it. You know how long you’d like it? For about 30 minutes,” Trump said in an interview before taking office in 2017.
The US House of Representatives has voted to halt President Donald Trump’s war in Iran absent congressional approval, the latest repudiation by lawmakers of the president’s handling of the conflict.
Four Republicans voted with Democrats in support of the measure, which was brought by Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal. The vote was 214 to 208.
What comes next: The US Senate is expected to vote soon on a similar measure. But even if it passed the Senate, it would not compel the administration to end the war. Concurrent resolutions, which are not presented to the president for signature or veto, lack the force of law.
Big picture: The House resolution still amounts to a significant rebuke.
The vote comes amid escalations in the renewed conflict after a recent ceasefire came to an end. This marks the second time the House has voted to check the president’s ability to continue waging war, but the first after the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran collapsed.
Democrats have repeatedly forced votes to limit Trump’s war powers in both the House and the Senate, but the campaign has gradually picked up more GOP support in a sign of growing discontent within the party over the ongoing conflict. This vote renews the spotlight on the conflict on Capitol Hill.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed Yemen’s Houthi rebels for getting “suckered” into attacking shipping lanes in the Red Sea on Thursday, calling on the Iran-backed group to “de-escalate.”
Rubio told reporters that the Houthis “largely were smart and stayed out of all this throughout the conflict.” “They now apparently have gotten themselves suckered into this, going after Saudi Arabia and their ships,” he said in Manila, the Philippines.
Earlier this week, the Houthis announced a blanket maritime prohibition on Saudi vessels, a significant escalation that has drawn regional actors into the fighting between Tehran and Washington. They are are a key ally of Iran, having repeatedly threatened to block the Bab al-Mandeb Strait – a crucial hatch at the southern end of the Red Sea. Just on Thursday, the group claimed to have hit two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea – sending oil prices spiraling.
The Houthis had accused Riyadh of striking Yemen’s Sana’a Airport, effectively signalling the end of a UN-brokered truce signed with Saudi Arabia in 2022. It came after the opposing Saudi-backed Yemeni government claimed Tehran had dispatched a flight of military and security staffers bound for the Houthis.
The secretary of state repeated that accusation on Thursday, saying the Houthis “decided to send direct flights from Tehran into Yemen, carrying IRGC elements. … And the Saudis responded to it, and that’s what’s led to the situation we’re now facing.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi was welcomed by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at Sa’dabad Palace as he visits Tehran on Thursday.
It follows al-Zaidi’s visit to Washington last week, where he met with US President Donald Trump.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said al-Zaidi may convey messages and viewpoints from Trump, but insists Tehran is not seeking further mediation with the US.
“Iran currently has no shortage of mediators or means to exchange messages with the United States,” Araghchi told the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
“The primary obstacle is the ‘irrational, excessive, and hegemonic’ approach of the US,” he said, according to state media.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has applauded President Donald Trump’s new requirement on the nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia.
Just hours after Trump said the Saudis would have to join the Abraham Accords in order to finalize the deal, Netanyahu’s office issued a statement saying, “Saudi Arabia’s joining of the Abraham Accords would be an historic leap forward for peace in the Middle East.”
It is Netanyahu’s first public comment about the deal – which could allow the Gulf state to enrich its own uranium without international oversight – even as other Israeli politicians called the agreement a strategic disaster. Former Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman wrote on X that a civilian nuclear program for Saudi Arabia “will end with nuclear weapons and lead to a wild arms race across the entire Middle East.”
The accords are Trump’s signature foreign policy accomplishment from his first administration that saw Israel normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and others. But Saudi Arabia has said it will only join the Abraham Accords if there is a viable path to a Palestinian state, something Netanyahu has openly rejected.
Oil has topped $100 a barrel for the first time since May, as the widening conflict in the Middle East threatens a further squeeze on global supplies.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped more than 6% Thursday to briefly touch $100.14 a barrel, before pulling back just a bit. West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, was up almost 5% to $90.98 a barrel.
Fears about global oil supply are resurfacing after Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted Saudi ships in the Red Sea, threatening to cut off a crucial escape hatch for Saudi Arabia’s oil exports.
The kingdom has been sending about 4 million to 5 million barrels of oil via the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb strait, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, according to analysts. That lifeline for the global oil market is now at risk, with the Houthis claiming to have struck two Saudi tankers on Thursday.
Brent has surged by around $27 a barrel this month, a gain of more than a third. It last settled above $100 on May 22, according to FactSet.
“The developments over the past week including the Houthis implementing a naval blockade in the (Bab al-Mandeb), a lack of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, as well as Ukraine’s drone campaign disrupting Kazakh oil flows from Russian export terminals have all pushed Brent crude prices above $100 per barrel,” Hamad Hussein, climate and commodities economist at consultancy Capital Economics told CNN.
“Unless signs of de-escalation across the various conflicts emerge, the risks to oil prices are skewed to the upside.”
– Maisie Linford contributed reporting.
Streams of tankers and cargo vessels continue to traverse the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, even as Yemen’s Houthi rebels threaten to blockade the critical waterway.
Another oil chokepoint, the strait sits between Yemen and the Horn of Africa.
Here is a video showing the latest shipping traffic through the channel:
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis represent the country’s Shia Muslim minority, the Zaidis, and are formally known as Ansar Allah – “Partisans of God.”
They emerged as an armed group in the 1990s and fought a series of rebellions against Yemen’s central government over two decades.
After the Arab Spring in 2011, they seized a northern province and later the capital Sanaa, which they still hold, along with most of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline. In the process they became part of Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” across the region, receiving weapons and missile technology.
Tehran has provided the group with sea mines, ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones), according to a 2021 report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
After Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza began in October 2023, the Houthis launched missiles against Israel and began targeting shipping in the Red Sea. Israel responded with strikes on Houthi infrastructure and killed a number of senior Houthi officials.
Amid the US-Iran war, the militant group has repeatedly warned they could take action to block the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a chokepoint at the southern end of the Red Sea. Earlier this week, the group declared a maritime blockade on Saudi ships in the strait, threatening to create a new front in the Iran war.
CNN’s Lex Harvey contributed reporting.
President Donald Trump has placed a new condition on a nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia a day after formally approving it, saying the country now must join the Abraham Accords.
Trump wrote in a post on social media Thursday that the signed deal “will be approved,” but added, that it “is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords.”
On Wednesday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart signed the agreement, which provides Saudi Arabia with a civilian nuclear program.
It has already sparked criticism from Israeli officials and is expected to draw scrutiny on Capitol Hill. CNN previously reported that the administration let the deal languish for months over concerns about the Iran war and the potential for congressional disapproval.
Trump emphasized in his post that there will be “no enrichment” of nuclear material. Saudi Arabia has previously been resistant to efforts to join the Abraham Accords, an effort started during Trump’s first term and expanded during his second to establish diplomatic ties between Israel and its neighbors in the Middle East.
It is unclear what impact Trump’s social media missive will have on the signed agreement.
CNN has reached out to the Saudi embassy for comment and the White House for additional information.
President Donald Trump said today that the United States would hold Iran responsible for any future attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis, warning of “major military punishment” if the group targets ships again.
Trump’s warning comes after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for striking two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, days after announcing a naval blockade targeting Saudi vessels.
“(If) they do this again, the U.S. 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, who I am very disappointed with in that they have, until now, acted very professionally and smart,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
The reported attacks sent global oil prices above $98 a barrel.
Correction: A previous version of this post misidentified where Houthi attacks were occurring.
• No respite from war: US President Donald Trump signaled he is not yet ready to negotiate a new ceasefire with Iran, saying “they need more of the same” following several consecutive days of airstrikes.
• Cost of the conflict: Oil topped $100 a barrel for the first time since May — and the average US gas price rose to $4.09 — after Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted Saudi ships in the Red Sea, threatening to cut off a crucial escape hatch for the kingdom’s oil exports.
• On the ground: Jordan and Kuwait reported fresh Iranian attacks targeting sites in their countries. US strikes killed two people at an Iraq-Iran border crossing, Iranian state media reported.
• War powers: The US House voted to halt the Iran war absent congressional approval, but a similar measure failed in the Senate. While the votes could not have compelled an end to the conflict, they highlight discontent from some Republicans over Trump’s use of his war powers.
Iran needs “more of the same,” US President Donald Trump said today following several consecutive days of US airstrikes.
US strikes on Iran have now been going on for more than a week after Tehran started attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The active conflict has spiked global oil prices back above $100-per-barrel.
Here’s the latest:
A ceasefire with Iran may not be coming in the immediate, Trump signaled today. “They would like to do something, but I say they’re not ready yet. They need more of the same,” he said, adding that Iran’s leaders “have some evil intentions.”
Iranian forces launched repeated drone assaults on northern Kuwait, according to the Kuwaiti defense ministry. Other Persian Gulf nations that host US military bases, including Bahrain, have come under repeated Iranian fire in recent days.
Attacks on infrastructure in Iran will be met with a “severe and escalatory” response, Mohsen Rezaei, the senior military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. Yesterday, Trump threatened that the US would strike a bridge or power plant every time Iran targeted a ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels, a key ally of Iran, claimed to have hit two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. Trump today said the US would hold Iran responsible for any future attacks by the Houthis. Earlier this week, the Houthis threatened to blockade the critical Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Israel’s Mossad spy agency revealed details of an alleged Iranian plot to target senior officials in Israel by recruiting operatives abroad. CNN has reported that Israel has been facing an unprecedented wave of domestic espionage since 2023.
The situation in the Middle East is “getting out of control,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned today.
Meantime, the US Senate failed to advance a resolution aimed at rebuking Trump over the war in Iran. Earlier today, the House earlier passed a measure to limit his war powers.
CNN’s Aditi Sangal Adam Cancryn, Aida Karimi, Sana Noor Haq, Adrienne Vogt, Aida Karimi, Dalia Abdelwahab, Morgan Rimmer, Sophie Tanno and John Towfighi contributed reporting to this post.
Israel’s Mossad spy agency has revealed details of an alleged Iranian plot to target senior officials in Israel by recruiting operatives abroad.
Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence attempted to infiltrate foreign citizens into Israel to target senior Israeli figures, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, issued on behalf of the Mossad.
The ministry used “criminal proxy operatives” to recruit people who could enter Israel and use them to collect information about potential targets and ultimately carry out attacks, the Mossad said. The Mossad and the Shin Bet domestic security agency worked with international partners to disrupt “dozens of attack plots by Iran,” the agency said, adding that the investigations have saved “numerous lives and enabled investigative and legal actions against those involved in terrorism.”
“Despite these efforts to conceal Iran’s direct involvement, the proxy method has repeatedly proven vulnerable, with operational failures exposing the Iranian handlers behind the attacks,” the statement said.
CNN has reported that Israel has been facing an unprecedented wave of domestic espionage since 2023, and at least 60 Israelis have been indicted on charges of spying for Iran. Several sites that prosecutors say were filmed by the alleged spies have been targeted in Iranian missile attacks on Israel during the conflict with Iran.
Oil prices surged Thursday and Brent crude settled above $100 per barrel for the first time in two months, as widening conflict in the Middle East raised nerves about inflation and stoked volatility in global markets.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose about 7% to settle at $100.69 per barrel. It was Brent’s highest settle since May 22.
WTI, the US benchmark, rose 6.17%, to settle at $92.19 per barrel. It was WTI’s highest settle since June 4.
Escalating tensions around the Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb straits sent oil prices climbing for the fifth straight day.
After declining from peaks in the spring, oil prices have surged this month as the conflict in the Middle East has intensified: Brent crude settled at $71.57 on July 1 and is now trading at just over $100 per barrel. The global oil benchmark has surged 40% in three weeks.
Other markets:
The rebound in oil prices has sent bond yields higher. The US 10-year Treasury yield rose to its highest level since January 2025. The 10-year yield influences mortgage rates.
The Dow was down 550 points, or more than 1%. The S&P 500 fell 1.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite sank 2.5%.
President Donald Trump signaled that he is not yet ready to negotiate a new ceasefire with Iran, saying Thursday that “they need more of the same” following several consecutive days of airstrikes.
“We’re doing very well against the Islamic Republican of Iran, we’re doing extremely well,” Trump said during an appearance at the Environmental Protection Agency. “They would like to do something, but I say they’re not ready yet. They need more of the same.”
The president added that Iran’s leaders “have some evil intentions,” before reiterating his vow that the country would not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.
Strikes in Iran have now been going on for more than a week after Iran started attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The active conflict has spiked global oil prices back near the $100-per-barrel level.
The US has battered targets across Iran over the last week, in addition to reimposing a naval blockade of Iranian ships in the strait.
Mohsen Rezaei, the senior military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, has accused US President Donald Trump of making “fatal mistakes,” in his conflict with Iran.
“The delusional US president has, through a series of fatal mistakes, gone from playing the ‘madman’ to playing the ‘desperate man,’” Rezaei said.
Rezaei said that an “attack on pilgrims” in Shalamcheh, an Iranian town situated on the border with Iraq, and the threats of infrastructure strikes are “nothing but signs of desperation and helplessness.”
“Iran’s response to attacks on its infrastructure will be severe and escalatory,” he added.
On Wednesday, Trump warned Tehran that the US will “bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT” every time Iran targets a ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian forces launched repeated drone assaults on northern Kuwait on Thursday, according to the Kuwaiti defense ministry, as Tehran escalates strikes on US-allied Gulf nations.
Earlier today, an attack at the Abdali border crossing with Iraq “resulted in material damage,” ministry spokesperson Maj. Gen. Saud Abdulaziz Al-Atwan said in a statement.
No one was injured or killed, the statement added, stressing the Kuwaiti armed forces’ “ongoing readiness and constant preparedness to protect the nation’s borders.”
Al-Atwan issued a similar statement after the second round of attacks.
“Relevant authorities were able to kickstart the necessary procedures upon the strikes taking place, and were able to deal with the situation in coordination,” Al-Atwan’s statement read in an Arabic-language X post by the Kuwaiti Armed Forces.
Other Persian Gulf nations that host US military bases, including Bahrain, have come under repeated Iranian fire in recent days — after Washington escalated its assault on Iran following Tehran’s attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
This post has been updated with information on further attacks.
The US Senate failed to advance a resolution Thursday aimed at rebuking President Donald Trump over the war in Iran, in the chamber’s first direct vote on the issue since the end of the ceasefire. The final tally was 47-49.
This comes after the House earlier today voted to limit Trump’s war powers, passing a similar measure.
In June, during the ceasefire, the Senate adopted a resolution aimed at removing military forces from Iran, though the chamber walked back the rebuke a day later when they failed to advance a similar war powers measure.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins voted with Democrats in an effort to limit the president’s war powers, while Democratic Sen. John Fetterman voted with the rest of the Republican conference to reject the measure.
Sen. Bill Cassidy had previously pushed back on the lack of transparency surrounding the war on the Senate floor and went toe-to-toe with Trump over the issue during a closed-door Republican luncheon in June. After receiving a briefing, Cassidy voted against the next war powers measure to come to the floor for a vote.
The president has sharply criticized Republicans for voting for to advance previous war powers resolutions, chastising them in meetings and posting on Truth Social that they are “losers” who “made my job more difficult.”
This is the 12th time the Senate has voted on an Iran war powers measure since the beginning of the year.
The situation in the Middle East is “getting out of control,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned today, adding, “It’s time to step back.”
In a message to world leaders, Guterres wrote on X, “The fighting must stop everywhere.
“Freedom of navigation must be restored. Diplomacy is the only way forward.”
If you’re just tuning in, the focus has been on developments in critical waterways in the Middle East. The Iran-backed Houthis of Yemen have threatened to blockade the Bab al-Mandeb, a major bypass of the Strait of Hormuz, while there’s also been attacks in the Red Sea.
Here are the key things to know, plus other developments in the war with Iran:
Oil has topped $100 a barrel for the first time since May, as the widening conflict threatens a further squeeze on global supplies.
President Donald Trump said today that the US would hold Iran responsible for any future attacks by the Houthis, warning of “major military punishment” if the group targets ships again. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed Houthi rebels for getting “suckered” into attacking shipping lanes in the Red Sea, calling on the group to de-escalate.
Insurance companies can cancel policies for ships that pay tolls to Iran or any other country to transit the Strait of Hormuz, a major trade group announced, injecting a new layer of uncertainty into the oil market.
Recent threats by the Houthis to impose a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia jeopardize regional stability and “constitute a dangerous escalation,” the European Union’s foreign policy chief said.
Streams of tankers and cargo vessels continue to traverse the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, even as the Houthis threaten to blockade the critical waterway.
In other news:
The US continues to strike Iran, while Tehran launches widening attacks on US allies in the region. Jordan and Kuwait reported incoming Iranian fire on Thursday. The UK warned against all but essential travel to Kuwait and Bahrain.
Trump placed a new condition on this week’s nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, saying the country now must join the Abraham Accords. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu applauded the development.
The US House of Representatives voted to halt Trump’s war in Iran absent congressional approval, marking another significant rebuke of the president’s war powers. Even if the Senate passes a similar measure in an upcoming vote today, the concurrent resolutions lack the force of law. But the votes have highlighted growing discontent from some Republicans over the ongoing conflict.
CNN’s David Goldman, Hanna Ziady, Billy Stockwell, Betsy Klein, Alejandra Jaramillo, Adrienne Vogt, Aida Karimi, Sana Noor Haq, Duarte Mendoca, Dana Karni, Oren Liebermann, Lauren Chadwick, Nic Robertson, Mostafa Salem and Ellis Kim contributed to the report.
The White House said Thursday that an already signed civilian nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia is “off” unless the kingdom normalizes diplomatic relations with Israel.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt pointed to President Donald Trump’s repeated past statements pressing other countries, including Saudi Arabia, into joining the Abraham Accords.
But she stopped short of providing a full explanation for why Trump’s new condition on the nuclear arrangement wasn’t spelled out before the deal was inked on Wednesday.
“The president is always the final dealmaker, as you know,” she said. “This is something he has mentioned on numerous occasions.”
And she denied that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had requested the new condition. “Not to my knowledge, no. Again, as I told you, this was an idea the president has long had.”
Leavitt said Trump would continue conversations with Saudi leaders on normalization, but that the president hadn’t spoken to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — who has stated plainly that he will not normalize relations with Israel unless there is a clear pathway toward a Palestinian state — since Trump unveiled the new condition.
“The president just put out this statement a few hours ago. I don’t believe he’s had a call with MBS in the hours since. However, this is something that he has raised in previous conversations and has also said many times in the past,” Leavitt said.
President Donald Trump is expected to gather his Cabinet next week for a meeting at Camp David, convening at a high-stakes moment for both his presidency and the US war with Iran.
“Next Friday, the president will host the 13th Cabinet meeting of this term at Camp David, which will be a lot of fun and something different for the Cabinet to experience together,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.
It comes as a ceasefire deal with Iran has fallen apart and fighting has intensified in recent days. There is significant political pressure on the White House to resolve the conflict, with gas prices on the rise and the consequential midterm elections just months away.
This marks the first Cabinet meeting since May 27.
Trump has visited Camp David, the highly restricted Maryland presidential retreat, relatively sparingly as president, just twice during his second term and 15 times during his first.
Originally called “Shangri-La,” the facility has been used as a presidential retreat and place to host foreign dignitaries since President Franklin Roosevelt. The tranquil 180-acre camp houses log cabins, an outdoor swimming pool, a one-hole golf course, a shooting range, a bowling alley and trails.
The camp also serves as a working White House and is fully equipped with the security and resources necessary to run the country.
“Yea, Camp David is very rustic, it’s nice, you’d like it. You know how long you’d like it? For about 30 minutes,” Trump said in an interview before taking office in 2017.
The US House of Representatives has voted to halt President Donald Trump’s war in Iran absent congressional approval, the latest repudiation by lawmakers of the president’s handling of the conflict.
Four Republicans voted with Democrats in support of the measure, which was brought by Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal. The vote was 214 to 208.
What comes next: The US Senate is expected to vote soon on a similar measure. But even if it passed the Senate, it would not compel the administration to end the war. Concurrent resolutions, which are not presented to the president for signature or veto, lack the force of law.
Big picture: The House resolution still amounts to a significant rebuke.
The vote comes amid escalations in the renewed conflict after a recent ceasefire came to an end. This marks the second time the House has voted to check the president’s ability to continue waging war, but the first after the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran collapsed.
Democrats have repeatedly forced votes to limit Trump’s war powers in both the House and the Senate, but the campaign has gradually picked up more GOP support in a sign of growing discontent within the party over the ongoing conflict. This vote renews the spotlight on the conflict on Capitol Hill.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed Yemen’s Houthi rebels for getting “suckered” into attacking shipping lanes in the Red Sea on Thursday, calling on the Iran-backed group to “de-escalate.”
Rubio told reporters that the Houthis “largely were smart and stayed out of all this throughout the conflict.” “They now apparently have gotten themselves suckered into this, going after Saudi Arabia and their ships,” he said in Manila, the Philippines.
Earlier this week, the Houthis announced a blanket maritime prohibition on Saudi vessels, a significant escalation that has drawn regional actors into the fighting between Tehran and Washington. They are are a key ally of Iran, having repeatedly threatened to block the Bab al-Mandeb Strait – a crucial hatch at the southern end of the Red Sea. Just on Thursday, the group claimed to have hit two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea – sending oil prices spiraling.
The Houthis had accused Riyadh of striking Yemen’s Sana’a Airport, effectively signalling the end of a UN-brokered truce signed with Saudi Arabia in 2022. It came after the opposing Saudi-backed Yemeni government claimed Tehran had dispatched a flight of military and security staffers bound for the Houthis.
The secretary of state repeated that accusation on Thursday, saying the Houthis “decided to send direct flights from Tehran into Yemen, carrying IRGC elements. … And the Saudis responded to it, and that’s what’s led to the situation we’re now facing.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi was welcomed by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at Sa’dabad Palace as he visits Tehran on Thursday.
It follows al-Zaidi’s visit to Washington last week, where he met with US President Donald Trump.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said al-Zaidi may convey messages and viewpoints from Trump, but insists Tehran is not seeking further mediation with the US.
“Iran currently has no shortage of mediators or means to exchange messages with the United States,” Araghchi told the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
“The primary obstacle is the ‘irrational, excessive, and hegemonic’ approach of the US,” he said, according to state media.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has applauded President Donald Trump’s new requirement on the nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia.
Just hours after Trump said the Saudis would have to join the Abraham Accords in order to finalize the deal, Netanyahu’s office issued a statement saying, “Saudi Arabia’s joining of the Abraham Accords would be an historic leap forward for peace in the Middle East.”
It is Netanyahu’s first public comment about the deal – which could allow the Gulf state to enrich its own uranium without international oversight – even as other Israeli politicians called the agreement a strategic disaster. Former Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman wrote on X that a civilian nuclear program for Saudi Arabia “will end with nuclear weapons and lead to a wild arms race across the entire Middle East.”
The accords are Trump’s signature foreign policy accomplishment from his first administration that saw Israel normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and others. But Saudi Arabia has said it will only join the Abraham Accords if there is a viable path to a Palestinian state, something Netanyahu has openly rejected.
Oil has topped $100 a barrel for the first time since May, as the widening conflict in the Middle East threatens a further squeeze on global supplies.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, jumped more than 6% Thursday to briefly touch $100.14 a barrel, before pulling back just a bit. West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, was up almost 5% to $90.98 a barrel.
Fears about global oil supply are resurfacing after Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted Saudi ships in the Red Sea, threatening to cut off a crucial escape hatch for Saudi Arabia’s oil exports.
The kingdom has been sending about 4 million to 5 million barrels of oil via the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb strait, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, according to analysts. That lifeline for the global oil market is now at risk, with the Houthis claiming to have struck two Saudi tankers on Thursday.
Brent has surged by around $27 a barrel this month, a gain of more than a third. It last settled above $100 on May 22, according to FactSet.
“The developments over the past week including the Houthis implementing a naval blockade in the (Bab al-Mandeb), a lack of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, as well as Ukraine’s drone campaign disrupting Kazakh oil flows from Russian export terminals have all pushed Brent crude prices above $100 per barrel,” Hamad Hussein, climate and commodities economist at consultancy Capital Economics told CNN.
“Unless signs of de-escalation across the various conflicts emerge, the risks to oil prices are skewed to the upside.”
– Maisie Linford contributed reporting.
Streams of tankers and cargo vessels continue to traverse the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, even as Yemen’s Houthi rebels threaten to blockade the critical waterway.
Another oil chokepoint, the strait sits between Yemen and the Horn of Africa.
Here is a video showing the latest shipping traffic through the channel:
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis represent the country’s Shia Muslim minority, the Zaidis, and are formally known as Ansar Allah – “Partisans of God.”
They emerged as an armed group in the 1990s and fought a series of rebellions against Yemen’s central government over two decades.
After the Arab Spring in 2011, they seized a northern province and later the capital Sanaa, which they still hold, along with most of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline. In the process they became part of Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” across the region, receiving weapons and missile technology.
Tehran has provided the group with sea mines, ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones), according to a 2021 report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
After Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza began in October 2023, the Houthis launched missiles against Israel and began targeting shipping in the Red Sea. Israel responded with strikes on Houthi infrastructure and killed a number of senior Houthi officials.
Amid the US-Iran war, the militant group has repeatedly warned they could take action to block the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a chokepoint at the southern end of the Red Sea. Earlier this week, the group declared a maritime blockade on Saudi ships in the strait, threatening to create a new front in the Iran war.
CNN’s Lex Harvey contributed reporting.
President Donald Trump has placed a new condition on a nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia a day after formally approving it, saying the country now must join the Abraham Accords.
Trump wrote in a post on social media Thursday that the signed deal “will be approved,” but added, that it “is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords.”
On Wednesday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and his Saudi counterpart signed the agreement, which provides Saudi Arabia with a civilian nuclear program.
It has already sparked criticism from Israeli officials and is expected to draw scrutiny on Capitol Hill. CNN previously reported that the administration let the deal languish for months over concerns about the Iran war and the potential for congressional disapproval.
Trump emphasized in his post that there will be “no enrichment” of nuclear material. Saudi Arabia has previously been resistant to efforts to join the Abraham Accords, an effort started during Trump’s first term and expanded during his second to establish diplomatic ties between Israel and its neighbors in the Middle East.
It is unclear what impact Trump’s social media missive will have on the signed agreement.
CNN has reached out to the Saudi embassy for comment and the White House for additional information.
President Donald Trump said today that the United States would hold Iran responsible for any future attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis, warning of “major military punishment” if the group targets ships again.
Trump’s warning comes after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for striking two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, days after announcing a naval blockade targeting Saudi vessels.
“(If) they do this again, the U.S. 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, who I am very disappointed with in that they have, until now, acted very professionally and smart,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
The reported attacks sent global oil prices above $98 a barrel.
Correction: A previous version of this post misidentified where Houthi attacks were occurring.
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