Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
- Trump says US military campaign against Iran will continue
- Iran struck sites in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan
- Trump says US will be hitting Pickaxe Mountain area ‘pretty soon’
-
Two tankers carrying Saudi crude make U-turns in Red Sea after Houthi warning
- Saudi Arabia condemns Houthis’ Red Sea blockade
Below is a roundup of the main developments from the US-Iran war on July 21, 2026.
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Skip next section Trump warns US will respond to any Houthi blockade of Saudi ports 07/21/2026July 21, 2026
Trump warns US will respond to any Houthi blockade of Saudi ports
President Donald Trump says the US will respond if Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement carries out its threat to impose a naval blockade on Saudi ports.
Trump told reporters that if the Houthis take action, “we will just have to take care of business.”
“You know, we’ve done that with the Houthis before, and we haven’t heard from them in a while since we did what we did originally. “
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The Houthis, who control much of northern and western Yemen, including the Red Sea coast, announced the blockade on Monday, opening a potential new front in the wider regional conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States.
The announcement follows renewed clashes between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, raising concerns about the future of a truce that has largely held since 2022.
Two tankers carrying Saudi crude to China and India reportedly changed course on Tuesday, avoiding the Bab el-Mandeb Strait connect the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HWhESkip next section Trump says US not finished with Iran campaign, dismisses immediate talks07/21/2026July 21, 2026
Trump says US not finished with Iran campaign, dismisses immediate talks
President Donald Trump said the United States will continue its military campaign against Iran.
Speaking during a White House meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Trump said Iran would need 20 to 25 years to rebuild from the damage already sustained.
“If we left right now, it would take Iran 20, 25 years to rebuild. Okay, and we’re not finished at all … we’re not leaving right now,” he told reporters.
Trump also expressed skepticism about potential talks aimed at ending the conflict.
“I will tell you, they want to desperately meet. And until they’re ready to meet in a meaningful way, we have no interest in meeting,” Trump told reporters.
He said that in dialogue behind the scenes, Iranian officials had said “they want to meet desperately to try and end it, because they’re getting decimated.”
Trump also said the US would be hitting the Pickaxe Mountain area, located near Iran’s heavily damaged Natanz uranium enrichment facility, “pretty soon.”
https://p.dw.com/p/5HWbCSkip next section Lebanon’s Aoun urges Trump to back Lebanese military07/21/2026July 21, 2026
Lebanon’s Aoun urges Trump to back Lebanese military
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has urged US President Donald Trump to maintain support for Lebanon’s military, warning that southern Lebanon could slide back into the kind of instability seen in the 1970s without continued backing.
“We don’t want to see that back again. All we’re asking is, keep supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces,” Aoun told reporters.
Speaking at a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House, Aoun said he fully trusts the Lebanese Armed Forces and called for ongoing US assistance to help secure the country’s south.
Trump vowed the US would help Lebanon going forward.
“It’s been a very badly treated place and country, and we’re going to have it properly treated, and treated with the respect that it deserves,” Trump said.
The talks come as Lebanon seeks the withdrawal of Israeli troops from parts of southern Lebanon.
Lebanon and Israel announced a framework agreement on June 26.
The US-mediated deal is aimed at ending the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Shiite militant group in Lebanon.
Lebanon is seeking greater support for its military to take control of former Hezbollah strongholds.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HWg7Skip next section France summons Iranian charge d’affaires over Tehran embassy incident07/21/2026July 21, 2026
France summons Iranian charge d’affaires over Tehran embassy incident
France‘s Foreign Ministry summoned the Iranian charge d’affaires on Tuesday over an incident where it said French Embassy staff in Tehran had been physically intimidated by Iranian security services.
A spokesperson said the ministry’s secretary-general had “informed him of our strongest condemnation of this premeditated and deliberate aggression.”
“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 spokesperson said.
When reporting the incident two days ago, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the staff members had been treated in a manner that was “in flagrant violation of diplomatic immunity.”
Both were “detained for several hours without reason, interrogated, and one of them was physically abused” before they were able to return to the embassy, he said.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HVkMSkip next section WATCH: Iran war: Analyzing the Houthi blockade against Saudi Arabia07/21/2026July 21, 2026
WATCH: Iran war: Analyzing the Houthi blockade against Saudi Arabia
As the Iran war ripples across the Middle East, Yemen’s Houthis threaten a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia in the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait. What risk does this blockade pose to regional security
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https://p.dw.com/p/5HUYQSkip next section Kuwait says Iran hit several power, water plants on Monday strikes07/21/2026July 21, 2026
Kuwait says Iran hit several power, water plants on Monday strikes
Iran struck several power generation and water desalination plants in attacks on Monday, according to Kuwait‘s Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy.
“In light of the continued Iranian heinous aggressions on the state of Kuwait, several electricity power plants and water desalination stations were subjected to attacks for the fourth day in a row resulting in fires in several facilities,” the ministry said in a post on X.
The ministry said a number of power generation units were taken out of service to ensure the stability of the electricity and water grid.
Authorities have called on the public to ration their electricity use due to the attacks, which come amid the scorching summer heat in the Gulf country, where residents survive off of constant air conditioning.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HUrUSkip next section Iranian minister meeting with mediators in Pakistan — reports07/21/2026July 21, 2026
Iranian minister meeting with mediators in Pakistan — reports
News agencies are reporting that Iran‘s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni is in Pakistan to meet with mediators amid continued US and Iranian strikes.
The Associated Press reported that Momeni had met Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir to discuss the closed-door negotiations and cited two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Momeni is also expected to meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif later Tuesday.
The Reuters news agency cited a senior Iranian official as saying that Tehran had received a proposal from mediators for a 10-day ceasefire in a bid to salvage the interim agreement that ultimately aimed at ending the war.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HUQSSkip next section WATCH: Strait of Hormuz: Iran’s most powerful weapon?07/21/2026July 21, 2026
WATCH: Strait of Hormuz: Iran’s most powerful weapon?
Roughly a quarter of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas trade usually passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Has control of this strategic choke point become a more powerful weapon than a nuclear bomb?
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https://p.dw.com/p/5HTQwSkip next section Bahrain says Iranian attack intercepted07/21/2026July 21, 2026
Bahrain says Iranian attack intercepted
Bahrain‘s military said it intercepted Iranian aerial strikes on Tuesday in yet another attack on the Gulf kingdom.
“The air defences of the Bahrain Defence Force intercepted and destroyed a number of Iranian aerial aggressions,” the military said in a statement.
Later, sirens sounded once again in the Gulf kingdom.
“The siren has been sounded, Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement on X.
The ministry advised residents to follow communications from official channels.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HTlbSkip next section WATCH: Iran engaged in ‘full-scale war’ with US, says Iran’s President Pezeshkian07/21/2026July 21, 2026
WATCH: Iran engaged in ‘full-scale war’ with US, says Iran’s President Pezeshkian
Iran’s president says the country is now engaged in a ‘full-scale war’ as fighting with the United States intensifies across the Middle East.
With US airstrikes entering a ninth consecutive night, Iranian attacks targeting American assets across the Gulf, and commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz largely disrupted, fears are growing of a wider regional conflict.
We speak to Middle East security expert Sara Bazoobandi about the risks of escalation and what’s at stake for global trade and security.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HTR5Skip next section READ: Iran’s oil supply threat extends beyond Strait of Hormuz07/21/2026July 21, 2026
READ: Iran’s oil supply threat extends beyond Strait of Hormuz
Oil and gas producers in the Gulf are seeking alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz as traffic again comes under fire. But is Iran also turning its attention to the pipelines meant to bypass the waterway?
Read more in depth DW coverage here.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HTQtSkip next section Jordan targeted by Iranian drones07/21/2026July 21, 2026
Jordan targeted by Iranian drones
Jordan‘s military said it had intercepted five drones launched by Iran.
The state-run Petra news agency reported that the interceptions took place during overnight attacks
The agency cited a senior military source as confirming that the interceptions took place without any casualties or damage caused on the ground.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said their forces targeted a complex housing US forces, confirming the attack.
Jordan hosts US forces and aircraft and has therefore been a frequent target of Iranian attacks since a preliminary deal between Washington and Tehran collapsed some two weeks ago.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HTP7Skip next section Lebanon’s military deploys in southern town after Israeli withdrawal, sources say07/21/2026July 21, 2026
Lebanon’s military deploys in southern town after Israeli withdrawal, sources say
Lebanese forces had started deploying in the southern town of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh after Israel withdrew troops from the area, news agencies have reported, citing military sources.
The AFP news agency reported that Lebanese soldiers “have begun deploying to the village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh” in the Nabatieh region, after Israel occupied parts of southern Lebanon during their war with Hezbollah.
The move is in line with a plan sponsored by Washington that sees Lebanon‘s military assume greater responsibility for security and work to remove Iran-backed Hezbollah’s weapons from the area.
According to the US-sponsored framework agreement between Lebanon and Israel, reached late June, Lebanon’s armed forces will “gradually assume full and effective security responsibility in pilot zones, which will serve as the mechanism for phased and verified redeployments of the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) and the deployments of the LAF (Lebanese Armed Forces).”
https://p.dw.com/p/5HT43Skip next section Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claims attack on Amazon infrastructure in Bahrain07/21/2026July 21, 2026
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claims attack on Amazon infrastructure in Bahrain
Iran’s state media have reported that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) claimed to have destroyed infrastructure belonging to US company Amazon in Bahrain.
IRNA reported that “multiple missiles” were launched against “Amazon’s central data infrastructure in Bahrain, completely destroying it.”
There has been no official confirmation from Bahrain and the claims cannot be independently verified.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HSzJSkip next section US military completes latest round of strikes on Iran07/21/2026July 21, 2026
US military completes latest round of strikes on Iran
The US military said it completed another round of strikes against Iran, targeting military command centers, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and air defense systems.
In a statement, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the operation was aimed at degrading Iran’s ability to continueattacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes.
CENTCOM said commercial shipping through the waterway remained ongoing despite the conflict. According to the US military, its forces have helped facilitate the transit of approximately 900 commercial vessels and 450 million barrels of crude oil through the strait since early May.
The US military also said its forces remain positioned to respond to what it described as Iranian aggression against civilian shipping, pledging to hold Tehran accountable for attacks on vessels navigating the strategic waterway.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HSZMShow more posts
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