Trump threatens to destroy Iran’s bridges and power plants: Live

Key Points

• Hegseth's new estimate for the cost of the war: Nearly $38 billion
• Three tankers carrying Saudi crude make U-turns in Red Sea
• Trump warns Iran the US ‘has been nice’ so far in attacks as threat of full-blown war grows
• Iran claims strikes in Kuwait and Amazon data centre in Bahrain
• US military says 11th successive night of strikes on Iran has ended

Iran launches fresh attacks around region

Iran is launching fresh attacks around the region, following another night of US strikes on Tuesday.

The Revolutionary Guards say they have targeted the Prince Hassan and King Faisal bases in Jordan, according to Iran’s state news agency.

US targets at Camp Doha in Kuwait were attacked by drones overnight, Iranian media said.

Saudi civil defence issued a warning of potential danger in Dammam - but the danger had passed as of Wednesday lunchtime.

Sirens also sounded in Bahrain, according to the interior ministry.

Jordan added to EU no-fly list

Jordan has been added to the EU’s no-fly list, as the nation and other U.S. Gulf allies were struck by Iran in the renewed conflict.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency on Wednesday asked airlines not to operate within the country’s airspace.

"Since the middle of July 2026, the security situation has deteriorated rapidly, with a sustained increase in kinetic military activity affecting Jordanian airspace," EASA said in a statement.

EASA already recommends that airlines avoid the airspace of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Iraq and Lebanon.

Watch: Trump warns Iran the US ‘has been nice’ so far in attacks as threat of full-blown war grows

Ships linked to Israel, US and Saudi Arabia warned against Red Sea travel

Ships with links to Israel, the US or Saudi Arabia are at a higher risk of being attacked by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militia, the European Union's naval force Aspides said on Wednesday.

The ships are advised to avoid voyages through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

“EUNAVFOR ASPIDES recommends that merchant vessels linked to Israeli, U.S. or Saudi interests avoid transiting the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden until the threat level decreases,” said the force's advisory to the shipping industry which was seen by Reuters.

More ships change course in the Red Sea after Houthi threats, shipping data shows

Four tankers changed their navigational course in the Red Sea on Wednesday with two signalling the Suez Canal as their new destination after Yemen's Houthi militia warned ships to avoid sailing to Saudi Arabian ports, ship tracking data showed.

The vessels all changed their direction, with the other two signalling their destination as open waters in the Red Sea, according to LSEG and MarineTraffic ship tracking data and analysis from British maritime risk management group Vanguard.

A fifth ship — a vehicle carrier — appeared to have turned away in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday after signalling the Saudi port of Jeddah as its next destination, according to shipping data.

Three oil tankers loaded with Saudi crude for China and India made U-turns in the Red Sea on Tuesday, heading towards the Suez Canal rather than braving the Yemeni coast at the sea's mouth following the warning from the Iran-aligned Houthis.

Analysis | Pete Hegseth is floundering. His desperate Senate appearance just proved that

Pete Hegseth headed to Capitol Hill Tuesday to ask for another vast pile of money for a war that’s long over or isn’t over or has been going on for decades or is all Joe Biden’s fault anyway. The War-Not-Defense Secretary was making a request for an additional $87.6 billion for the Pentagon, over $70 billion of which appeared to be headed straight to the war he started in Iran.

Senators were not amused.

U.S. intelligence experts have reportedly warned the Trump administration that there’s no end in sight for the conflict, an insight underlined on Monday by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announcing: “[Trump] should know that, by God's grace, even if this war lasts for several years, until the very last day, our missiles and drones will rain down on American criminals.” Definitely sounds like something a few more drones and bombs will fix, doesn’t it?

Holly Baxter writes...

Pete Hegseth is floundering. His desperate Senate appearance just proved that

Hegseth's new estimate for the cost of the war: Nearly $38 billion

Pete Hegseth’s latest estimate for the growing costs of the Iran war has now reached $37.5 billion.

That’s likely a low-end estimate, according to analysts.

Before the last week of attacks, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies estimated total costs to have reached between $34 billion and $42 billion. Other estimates place the true cost of the war at more than $100 billion.

Middle East war could cut global growth to 1.3% in 2026, World Bank says

Escalating hostilities between the United States and Iran could reignite inflation, drive interest rates higher and knock global growth back to as low as 1.3 per cent, down from 2.9 per cent last year, World Bank chief economist Indermit Gill has said.

Gill, who retires at the end of August, said the bank had modelled three outcomes in its June economic forecast given the high uncertainty surrounding the war in the Middle East.

The worst-case scenario, with hostilities lasting six months or more has already come close to materializing, he said on Tuesday. Under that scenario, global headline inflation would reach 4.5 per cent.

Prolonged fighting and damage to the region's oil infrastructure would also deepen food insecurity by disrupting shipments of fertilizer, helium and sulphur needed in agriculture, setting off a chain of secondary effects that could include higher interest rates, Gill said.

His comments were the first by a senior World Bank official since a sharp rise in tensions between Washington and Tehran and the collapse of an April ceasefire agreement that had fuelled hopes of a less severe impact from the conflict.

Watch: Hegseth heckled by protestors during Iran war funding hearing

Trump to attend ceremony for US troops killed by Iranian attacks

Donald Trump will attend a ceremony for four US service members killed in Iranian attacks in the Middle East on Wednesday.

The troops will return to American soil in flag-draped caskets.

The ceremony, known as a "dignified transfer" of the bodies, comes amid growing frustration with Trump's war against Iran.

The war has cost US taxpayers at least $37.5 billion so far, has led to the deaths of 18 US service members and injured more than 450 troops. It has killed thousands of Iranians.

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have raised questions about the war, which has caused global oil prices to rise and shows no signs of ending. Since the war started in February, Trump has offered differing objectives for the war.

The US president will travel to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for the ceremony.

Bulgaria plays down Iran's warning against plans to host US tanker

Bulgaria has played down Iran's warning that its plan to host US tanker aircraft would constitute complicity in "aggression and war crimes" in the Middle East.

The government said on Monday it would seek parliamentary approval to station up to eight US tanker aircraft at an air base in the Balkan country, which is a member of NATO and the European Union. Parliament is expected to greenlight the move at a session later on Wednesday.

The plan prompted a warning from Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, on Tuesday against allowing the US to use Bulgaria's territory for military operations against Iran, which he said would make Sofia "an accomplice of aggressors and lawbreakers".

Prime minister Rumen Radev said it was "categorically out of the question for military operations in the Middle East to be conducted from Bulgarian territory".

"These tanker aircraft are intended solely for logistical missions, and they will be refuelled outside Bulgarian airspace," Bulgarian media quoted Radev as telling ministers.

Trump threatens to bomb Pickaxe Mountain. What you need to know about Iran’s secret nuclear site

Donald Trump has issued threats to bomb a secretive under-construction Iranian nuclear site buried deep under a mountain.

The site, known as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, or “Pickaxe Mountain,” lies on the south side of Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment site, which was bombed by the United States during Operation Midnight Hammer in 2025's 12-day war between Iran and Israel. But Pickaxe Mountain has remained untouched as Iran continues to dig at the site.

It remains unclear just what has been placed at Pickaxe Mountain, as the United Nations' nuclear watchdog has never gained access to the site.

The threat comes as the two nations continue to exchange blows over the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday the United States is still willing to negotiate an end to the Iran crisis but claimed Tehran is not serious about talks. Rubio ⁠made his comments in a meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers a day after three oil tankers carrying Saudi crude to Asia reversed course in the Red Sea, apparently in response to threats from Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis.

Here’s all you need to know about Pickaxe Mountain:

Trump threatens Pickaxe Mountain. What you need to know about Iran’s secret site

French diplomats not ill-treated by Iranian personnel, says Tehran

Two French diplomats at the centre of a dispute between France and Iran were not ill-treated by Iranian security personnel, according to an Iranian foreign ministry official quoted by state media on Wednesday.

France has said that the diplomats in Tehran had their phones taken, were forbidden to contact the embassy and verbally intimidated, breaking international diplomatic conventions. One of the officials, the cultural attache, was hit.

The French foreign ministry on Tuesday summoned the Iranian charge d'affaires to protest the incident.

"France expects the Iranian authorities to shed light on this incident, punish the perpetrators, and ensure the security of its premises and personnel, in accordance with their international obligations," the French foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

According to Iranian Foreign Ministry official Mohammad Tanhaei, Iranian security personnel questioned two French embassy staff who held a meeting with individuals who are being investigated for security reasons.

"Security agents transferred the two individuals to the diplomatic police as soon as they realised their link to the French embassy," he was quoted as saying, adding that there was no intimidation.

France's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Watch: Trump warns Iran the US ‘has been nice’ so far in attacks as threat of full-blown war grows

Pakistan seeks $10 billion fund from US after mediating Iran talks: report

Pakistan has asked the United States for a $10 billion exchange stabilization facility, according to a source briefed on the matter, which, if approved, could provide a lifeline for the cash-strapped South Asian economy.

The request, which is being reported for the first time, follows Pakistan's role in brokering talks over the Iran war, which raised its diplomatic profile and stirred hopes that it could seek economic gains from Washington and other partners.

In the request to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Islamabad is seeking a Bilateral Exchange Stabilization Support Facility between the U.S. and the Pakistani government worth $10 billion with maturity of up to five years.

The facility, if agreed to, would bolster Pakistan's reserves, ease pressure on the rupee and reduce its reliance on multilateral financing, even as Islamabad undertakes tighter fiscal and monetary policies in line with its International Monetary Fund program.

The U.S. Treasury declined to comment on the reported request.

Iran executes man over January protests, judiciary news agency says

Iran executed a man for charges linked to protests in the January, the judiciary's Mizan news agency reported on Wednesday.

Mizan identified the man as Mehdi Khaneki and said he was executed for "operational actions" that benefited Israel, the United States and hostile groups. It said he also produced and possessed weapons.

Iran renews strikes on Jordan and Bahrain

Iran’s military is claiming fresh strikes on US military targets in Jordan and Bahrain, per state media.

Targets were identified in Jordan’s Al Azraq base and Bahrain’s Sheikh Isa air base.

Mapped: Traffic still piled up outside Strait of Hormuz

Traffic around the Strait of Hormuz was still subdued on Wednesday as clashes between the US and Iran continue to escalate.

Ship tracking data from Marine Traffic shows limited movement around the Strait itself, which has been affected by spoofing and radio interference since the start of the conflict.

Rubio discusses Iran war with Jaishankar ahead talks with Chinese diplomat

Marco Rubio held talks with Indian foreign minister S. Jaishankar on the sidelines of the Asean meeting, discussing the Iran war as he is met counterparts of the Quad grouping.

Rubio reaffirmed the commitment of Quad – the US, India, Australia and Japan – to maritime security in the Indo-Pacific.

"We are united in our conviction that peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific maritime domain underpin the security and prosperity of the region," the leaders said in a statement.

Rubio added in a post on X that, "The Quad remains a priority, and we will meet again later this year."

After his talks with Jaishankar, he said an interim US-India trade deal that Washington said is "almost complete."

“The world is extremely turbulent, and it is increasingly evident that no single nation or even grouping can deal with it on its own," Jaishankar said.

Rubio is also expected to meet Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the summit.

Iran's demands over the Strait of Hormuz would set a dangerous precedent, Rubio tells Asean leaders

US secretary of state Marco Rubio has warned that Iran's demand to control and levy tolls on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz would endanger the global economy and set a dangerous precedent for international waterways.

Speaking at an Asean foreign ministers' meeting in Manila on Wednesday, Rubio said allowing a country to control an international shipping lane and attack vessels that refuse to pay would undermine the principle of freedom of navigation.

"If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll and if you don't pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region," he said.

Trump threatens to strike Iran's Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site

Donald Trump has warned that the US military will hit Iran’s "Pickaxe Mountain" nuclear complex soon.

Trump said the US military would be "hitting that area pretty soon, and very heavily," referring to Pickaxe Mountain – known in Iran as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La – a fortified underground site near one of the country's main nuclear enrichment facilities.

Pickaxe Mountain, about 220km south of Tehran and near the Natanz nuclear facility, is believed to house an underground complex buried nearly 100 metres inside the mountain.

Little is known about the site, which experts say is still under construction, and is likely too deep to be reached by even the US's most advanced bunker buster missiles.

According to the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), the facility was not targeted during the US-Israeli strikes in either the 2025 or 2026 conflicts.

WATCH: Hegseth accuses US senator of having 'Trump derangement syndrome'

Hegseth's new estimate for the cost of the war: Nearly $38 billion

Pete Hegseth’s latest estimate for the growing costs of the Iran war has now reached $37.5 billion.

That’s likely a low-end estimate, according to analysts.

Before the last week of attacks, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies estimated total costs to have reached between $34 billion and $42 billion. Other estimates place the true cost of the war at more than $100 billion.

Trump warns Iran the US ‘has been nice’ so far in attacks as threat of full-blown war grows

Donald Trump warned Iran that the US has been “nice” so far in its attacks against the Middle East nation as tensions continue to rise and the threat of full-blown war remains.

Speaking in the Oval Office Tuesday alongside Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, Trump said Iran was once again being “decimated” and disclaimed any interest in new ceasefire negotiations after a wave of attacks on US bases and allies.

But he cautioned the US could escalate attacks on Iran in ways that would leave the country’s infrastructure so devastated it could take “decades” for Tehran to rebuild as the renewed conflict heads into a third full week.

“They want to desperately meet, and until they're ready to meet in a meaningful way, we have no interest”, the US president said.

“If we left today, it would take them decades to rebuild, and I don't believe they'd ever rebuild. And honestly, they haven't seen anything yet — we've been nice”.

Read on...

Trump warns Iran that the US ‘has been nice’ so far

Iran claims strikes in Kuwait and Amazon data centre in Bahrain

Iran’s military claims it struck US military targets at Camp Doha in western Kuwait and Amazon’s central data infrastructure in Bahrain in Tuesday’s attacks.

In a statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, the Iranian military said its forces destroyed “a US long-range radar site, a communications center, satellite receiving systems, a missile defense radar, and a MQ-9 drone hangar”.

“The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran – with sacred unity – stand ready to decisively counter any new conspiracy and adventurism by the enemy,” the statement added, calling Camp Doha a major support hub for US personnel and equipment in the region.

“An MQ-9 drone hangar was also hit at the Ali al-Salem base, and a number of drones were destroyed or completely damaged,” it added.

It also said that it destroyed the central data infrastructure of the American company Amazon in Bahrain with several cruise missiles.

It said the attack was in response to the US’s alleged attack on the "civilian facilities of Darkhovey" – an under-construction nuclear power plant in Iran.

WATCH: Hegseth says 'inability' to fund Pentagon is 'single greatest threat' to US

US military says 11th successive night of strikes on Iran has ended

The US military says it has concluded its latest round of strikes on Iran, marking the 11th consecutive night of American attacks.

Centcom said the 75-minute operation targeted Iranian military operations centres, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities and logistics infrastructure to further degrade Tehran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Washington said Iran had attacked more than 30 commercial vessels transiting the strategic waterway over the past three months.

MAGA congressman shrugs off Americans killed in Iran as the ‘nature of warfare’

A Republican US congressman and close ally of Donald Trump dismissed the deaths of American military members in the Iran war as “the nature of warfare”.

Rep. Carlos Giménez, who sits on the House’s Armed Services Committee, made the remark while discussing the escalating conflict with CNN Monday.

“You know my condolences go out to the families of our servicemen and women that are killed – have been killed – in Iran. That’s the nature of warfare; we will have some casualties,” Giménez told “The Lead”.

Read on...

MAGA congressman shrugs off Americans killed in Iran as the ‘nature of warfare’

US military shares promo-style video of blockade as 8 ships redirected and 1 disabled

US Central Command has shared a promo-style video of American troops enforcing its blockade of Iranian ports as eight ships have been redirected and one disabled as of Tuesday.

Rubio says US open-minded on Middle East, but Iran not serious about talks

​US state secretary Marco Rubio said on Wednesday the ⁠United States is open-minded on the Middle East conflict and ⁠willing to ​engage, ⁠negotiate and settle differences with Iran, ⁠but Tehran was ​not ⁠serious about ‌talks.

"If they're serious, we're serious. If ‌they're not, then ‌we will do what's necessary to protect ⁠our interests, and also the interests of our allies," Rubio said in remarks in a meeting with ‌Southeast Asian counterparts ​in Manila, ‌who have ⁠expressed serious concern about ⁠the renewed hostilities.

Three tankers carrying Saudi crude make U-turns in Red Sea

Three oil tankers loaded with Saudi crude for China and India made U-turns in the Red Sea following a warning from Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militia.

The three tankers – Xin Long Yang, the Rodos and the Amazon – made turns towards the Suez Canal to skil the Yemeni coast andswitched off their transponders on Tuesday.

The Houthis on Monday declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia, opening a potential new front in the US-Israeli war with Iran and raising the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf.

The group, in an ⁠email sent to shipping companies, warned them not to load or discharge cargo at ​Saudi ⁠Arabian ports and said such activity may result in being targeted "in any location".

"Vessels calling at Saudi Arabian ports are advised to reconsider transiting the Red Sea and to consider implementing enhanced mitigation measures," British maritime security company Ambrey said, adding that it assessed vessels calling at Saudi Arabian ports "were ‌at high risk".

WATCH: Hegseth says Trump is not fighting 'stupid wars' as Iran conflict drags on

RECAP: Trump meets with Lebanese president

US President Donald Trump met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the White House Tuesday, where the two leaders discussed the Middle Eastern country's security and economic priorities.

Aoun “emphasized the urgent need for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territories” during the meeting, according to a statement from his office shared on X.

As Trump continues his war with Iran, the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and the Israeli military have been trading fire.

“President Aoun also outlined before President Trump the catastrophic repercussions of the recent war on Lebanon, and the human and economic losses it left behind, along with severe damage to infrastructure across Lebanese territories”, the statement continued.

Following their meeting, Trump announced on Truth Social that he will allow all US airlines to “fly directly to Lebanon so that Americans can easily visit this beautiful land”.

US senator bashes spending on Iran war: 'But they can’t help you afford health care'

US Senator Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, has bashed the Trump administration’s spending on the Iran war.

“They want you to pay $37.5 billion for Trump's war in Iran, which is tragically turning into another forever war. But they can’t help you afford health care”, Schiff wrote on X.

The affordability of health care and other basic needs has been a major concern among Democrats in Congress ahead of the midterm elections in November.

Pentagon identifies third soldier killed in Friday's Jordan attack

The Pentagon has identified the third soldier killed in an Iranian attack at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on Friday.

Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad, a 28-year-old from New York, was killed in the attack, as was Tyler James Feehan, a 25-year-old from Hawaii, and Isabella Gonzales, a 19-year-old from Texas.

The Pentagon identified Feehan and Gonzales on Monday.

US completes latest round of strikes that targeted Iranian military infrastructure

US Central Command has announced that its latest round of strikes that targeted Iranian military infrastructure has been completed.

The strikes, which concluded at 8:15 p.m. ET Tuesday/12:15 a.m. GMT Wednesday, “targeted Iranian military operations centers, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities, and military logistics infrastructure to further degrade Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz”, CENTCOM wrote on X.

“Over the past three months, Iran has attacked more than 30 commercial vessels transiting the international waterway vital for regional and global trade. The unwarranted attacks have endangered hundreds of innocent mariners and undermined freedom of navigation.

“Despite Iranian aggression, the Strait of Hormuz remains open for commercial vessel transit. Since early May, CENTCOM forces have helped facilitate the transit of approximately 900 commercial vessels and 450 million barrels of crude oil”, the US military said.

Despite CENTCOM proclaiming that the strait is open, maritime traffic through the key oil waterway in the Middle East remains diminished.

Just 11 ships have transited the strait in the past 24 hours, according to the Hormuz Strait Monitor.

Number of US troops injured in Iran war higher than publicly reported: official

The number of American forces injured in the Iran war is higher than publicly reported, a US official told the Associated Press.

The official said well over 500 troops have been injured, despite the Pentagon’s tally on its Defense Casualty Analysis System currently showing 482 wounded.