Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
- Trump threatens ‘major military punishment’ after Houthi ship attacks
- US says Saudi nuclear deal depends on kingdom recognizing Israel
- UN secretary-general says situation in Middle East is ‘out of control’
- A US-Iran ceasefire deal fell apart on July 8
- Yemen’s Houthis attack Saudi oil tankers in Red Sea, say the tankers violated a naval blockade
Follow below for the latest developments on the US war with Iran and news from the wider Mideast on Thursday, July 23:
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Skip next section IAEA awaits US-Saudi nuclear deal verification request07/23/2026July 23, 2026
IAEA awaits US-Saudi nuclear deal verification request
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement that while it is aware of a planned US-Saudi request for the agency to carry out verification work in relation to the nuclear cooperation deal, it has not yet received such a request.
The deal discussed Wednesday would allow Saudi Arabia to build nuclear reactors using US technology, to enrich uranium and reprocess nuclear waste.
“We look forward to receiving the request for such verification and to working with the US and KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) in ensuring the implementation of those measures,” the IAEA said in a statement, according to Reuters news agency.
https://p.dw.com/p/5Hf2aSkip next section UN says Middle East situation is ‘out of control’07/23/2026July 23, 2026
UN says Middle East situation is ‘out of control’
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has pushed the region to the “edge of the unimaginable.”
“The situation is getting out of control. It is teetering on the edge of the unimaginable. The region is being pulled into an ever-widening circle of confrontation. One crisis feeds another. One escalation triggers the next,” Guterres told a Security Council meeting.
“As this dynamic spreads, the political objectives are becoming increasingly obscured by the confrontation itself,” he added.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HevSSkip next section Majority of Gaza at risk of acute hunger07/23/2026July 23, 2026
Majority of Gaza at risk of acute hunger
Over two-thirds of people in Gaza are at risk of acute hunger by the year-end due to reduced humanitarian aid flows, the global hunger monitor Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said.
The IPC said a reduction in fighting and the fact that Israel was allowing more aid into Gaza had a “significant impact, albeit unevenly across areas.”
The report also noted that most families living in Gaza were still not getting nearly enough to eat.
“Even small disruptions to humanitarian access could rapidly reverse recent gains,” the report warned.
Over 1.2 million people, or about 59% of Gaza’s population, faced acute hunger. This includes around 212,000 people in emergency conditions, the IPC said.
That figure is expected to rise to more than 1.4 million people, or 67% by December.
Currently, the majority of people in the Gaza Strip depend on aid supplies.
Israel has rejected the IPC’s findings and has consistently denied allegations that it pursued a policy of starvation in Gaza.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5HetfSkip next section READ MORE — Oil prices jump as Hormuz, Red Sea crises deepen07/23/2026July 23, 2026
READ MORE — Oil prices jump as Hormuz, Red Sea crises deepen
Renewed strikes on shipping in the Gulf and the Red Sea have dealt a fresh double blow to global oil markets, pushing the price of Brent crude to over $100 per barrel for part of Thursday.
As prices climb once again, DW examines what else could keep them elevated.
Keep reading here for all the details.
https://p.dw.com/p/5He9wSkip next section Israel welcomes idea of Saudi Arabia joining Abraham Accords07/23/2026July 23, 2026
Israel welcomes idea of Saudi Arabia joining Abraham Accords
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the US-Israeli war against Iran has “the possibility to expand the circle of peace.”
It pointed to the prospect of Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords — which has seen some Arab countries normalize relations with Israel — after the Saudis recently signed a nuclear deal with the US.
“As [US] President Donald Trump has said, Saudi Arabia’s joining of the Abraham Accords would be an historic leap forward for peace in the Middle East,” the Israeli prime minister’s office statement said.
https://p.dw.com/p/5He0RSkip next section France calls Houthi strikes ‘a serious escelation’07/23/2026July 23, 2026
France calls Houthi strikes ‘a serious escelation’
France has condemned the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen for their fresh wave of strikes on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.
“Houthi attacks on Saudi tankers are irresponsible and a serious escalation,” a French Foreign Ministry spokesperson told reporters on Wednesday.
With shipping largely halted in the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea has served as an alternative export route for Saudi oil. The Houthis announced a maritime blockade in the region earlier this week and claim to have targeted two oil tankers.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HdySSkip next section Trump threatens ‘major military punishment’ after Houthi ship attacks07/23/2026July 23, 2026
Trump threatens ‘major military punishment’ after Houthi ship attacks
US President Donald Trump has threatened to strike Yemen and Iran if the Iran-backed Houthi rebels continue to attack ships in the Red Sea.
“A year ago the United States of America attacked, very powerfully, the Houthis, for their interference with commerce and trade, by shooting at ships. Since that time, and during our conflict with Iran, they have acted very responsibly. Unfortunately, now they are starting up again, shooting at two Saudi Arabian ships last night,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
“If they do this again, the US 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.”
Trump added that he was “very disappointed” with the Houthis because “they have, until now, acted very professionally and smart.”
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https://p.dw.com/p/5HdkRSkip next section Trump: Nuclear deal depends on Saudis joining Abraham Accords07/23/2026July 23, 2026
Trump: Nuclear deal depends on Saudis joining Abraham Accords
President Donald Trump posted on Thursday that the US-Saudi nuclear deal reached a day ago is contingent on Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords, the bilateral agreements that saw the normalization of diplomatic relations between Israel and some Middle East countries.
The US president added that the agreement with Saudi Arabia was a “Civil Nuclear Deal (There will be no enrichment of material!)” and that it pertains to non-military uses of nuclear energy.
Trump concluded his post on Truth Social saying, “The United States is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities.”
https://p.dw.com/p/5HdUTSkip next section EU tells Houthis to ‘cease’ attacks on Red Sea ships07/23/2026July 23, 2026
EU tells Houthis to ‘cease’ attacks on Red Sea ships
EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas called on Yemen’s Houthi rebels to halt attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
“The attack on an oil tanker in the Red Sea is unacceptable, illegal and further inflames an already volatile situation in the region,” Kallas said.
“The Houthis must cease all actions that endanger international shipping and the lives of seafarers,” she said.
The EU’s foreign policy chief added that the bloc’s naval mission to the Red Sea “remains firmly committed to protecting freedom of navigation for all.”
The statement comes after the Iran-aligned militant group said that it had attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.
Days earlier, the Houthis had announced a blockade of Saudi ports in the Red Sea
https://p.dw.com/p/5HdIaSkip next section Jordan says it intercepted Iranian missiles, drones07/23/2026July 23, 2026
Jordan says it intercepted Iranian missiles, drones
The Jordanian military said it had intercepted a salvo of Iranian missiles and drones on Thursday.
Jordan’s official Petra news agency cited the army as saying that three missiles and six drones were intercepted, while one missile “fell in a remote uninhabited area.”
It said that the barrage had wrought no casualties or material damage.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) acknowledged the attacks on Jordan in a Thursday statement, saying it had destroyed the radar of a US THAAD missile defense system, a Patriot defense system, a C-RAM radar and a helicopter hangar.
The report could not be independently confirmed.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HcjISkip next section WATCH: US and Saudi Arabia announce landmark nuclear deal07/23/2026July 23, 2026
WATCH: US and Saudi Arabia announce landmark nuclear deal
The US has signed a deal with Saudi Arabia to help the kingdom develop a civilian nuclear program.
Is this the beginning of a new arms race in the Middle East?
Watch below for more on the topic from DW.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HcFzSkip next section Houthis ‘snookered’ into joining US-Iran conflict — Rubio07/23/2026July 23, 2026
Houthis ‘snookered’ into joining US-Iran conflict — Rubio
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he believed that Yemen’s Houthi rebels had been tricked into joining the conflict with the United States by Tehran.
“The Houthis largely were smart and stayed out of all this throughout the conflict, but they now apparently have gotten themselves suckered into this, going after Saudi Arabia and their ships,” Rubio told reporters on the sidelines of a summit of the ASEAN Southeast Asian bloc in Manila, the Philippines.
“I hope they will de-escalate, because I think the Houthis, frankly, got snookered into this thing by the Iranians,” he said.
The militant group controls much of Yemen’s most populous areas, including the capital, Sanaa, and is allied with Iran. It already began threatening merchant ships in the Red Sea in response to Israel’s offensive in Gaza in 2023.
The top US official also accused Iran of going back on its commitments in peace talks.
“These people make deals and then they break it almost immediately or they decide, ‘oh, let’s change the deal’. That’s not how deals work,” he said.
“So now they’re paying the price for it. And maybe they’ll change their mind here over the next few days as they continue to suffer great losses,” Rubio added.
He said he believed Iran was not yet ready for a deal with Washington but said it might be soon, while also reiterating the US’ position that Iran should be “denuclearized.” Iran maintains its nuclear program is exclusively for civilian purposes.
Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump declared that a previous ceasefire deal with Iran was “over.”
https://p.dw.com/p/5HcMKSkip next section WATCH: Shipping crisis expands to Red Sea as Hormuz traffic stands still07/23/2026July 23, 2026
WATCH: Shipping crisis expands to Red Sea as Hormuz traffic stands still
Threats from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis are prompting some vessels to turn around rather than risk transiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea, expanding the shipping crisis from the Strait of Hormuz.
Watch below for more on the crisis after the collapse in talks between the United States and Iran.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HcFpSkip next section Iran says it hit US bases in Kuwait07/23/2026July 23, 2026
Iran says it hit US bases in Kuwait
Dmytro Hubenko Editor
Iran has carried out strikes on US targets in Kuwait, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported on Thursday.
Fars cited Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as saying that they had attacked Udairi landing zone in northwestern Kuwait, as well as the Ali Al Salem air base that lies nearly 60 kilometers (37.3 miles) west of Kuwait City.
Meanwhile, the Iranian army said that it had attacked the Arifjan base in the south and also the Doha base near the Kuwaiti capital.
Earlier on Thursday, Kuwait’s military reported its air defenses had engaged “hostile drones.”
https://p.dw.com/p/5HbmxSkip next section US forces complete 12th consecutive night of strikes on Iran Published 07/23/2026Published July 23, 2026last updated 07/23/2026last updated July 23, 2026
US forces complete 12th consecutive night of strikes on Iran
US Central Command, or CENTCOM, says American forces have completed another round of strikes against Iran.
According to CENTCOM, the operation targeted Iranian maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites and air defense assets. The US military said the strikes were aimed at further reducing Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping and civilian mariners.
The latest operation comes as Washington continues both its air campaign and naval blockade against Iran. CENTCOM said US forces have redirected nine commercial vessels and disabled one ship in recent weeks to prevent traffic to and from Iranian ports.
The US military also said that more than 50,000 American service members are currently deployed across the Middle East and remain on high alert as tensions with Tehran continue.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HbgSShow more posts
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