LIVE UPDATES: Middle East Escalation & Global War Tensions

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Source: Al Jazeera

Here’s what happened today

We will be closing this live page soon. Here’s a look at the day’s major developments:

Source: Al Jazeera

Air raid sirens activated in Bahrain

Warning sirens are blaring in Bahrain, with authorities urging residents to seek shelter immediately.

The Interior Ministry has instructed the public to “remain calm and head to the nearest safe place”.

Source: Al Jazeera

WATCH: Houthis target Saudi Arabia after Yemeni gov’t strikes Sanaa airport

Source: Al Jazeera

US missions in UAE suspend consular appointments over ‘security situation’

The US embassy in Abu Dhabi and the US consulate in Dubai have cancelled consular appointments through Wednesday due to the regional “security situation”.

People with appointments scheduled for the next two days “should not come to the embassy or consulate”, the US mission said.

— US Mission to UAE (@USAinUAE) July 13, 2026

Source: Al Jazeera

Smotrich fears Oslo Accords’ return

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is worried about a return to the Oslo Accords, which saw Israeli and Palestinian leadership at the time recognise the other for the first time.

The far-right minister has been a vocal proponent of illegal Israeli settlements and claimed in 2023 that the Palestinian people are “an invention” of the past century.

Source: Al Jazeera

UAE condemns ‘brazen’ attack on its oil tankers

The UAE’s Defence Ministry says the attack that killed a crew member and injured eight others is a “serious violation and a clear breach of international law”.

The UAE reserves its full right to respond to this escalation and to take all necessary measures to protect its territories, people, and residents, the ministry said in a statement.

Source: Al Jazeera

Attack on UAE tankers caused ‘material damage’

The UAE’s Defence Ministry added that the attack on its oil tankers, which it blamed on Iran, “also caused material damage… as a result of fires breaking out on board”.

“The fires have been brought under control on both tankers,” it said.

Source: Al Jazeera

Arab League committed to ‘ending occupation’ in Palestine, new chief says

Palestine will remain a top priority for the Arab League, the group’s new secretary-general, Nabil Fahmy, has said.

“We will continue to defend the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and work towards ending the occupation,” the Wafa news agency quoted Fahmy as saying during his first news conference in Cairo.

“What Israel is committing in Gaza and the West Bank is an ongoing crime of genocide, which demands a steadfast Arab stance and action commensurate with the scale of historical responsibility.”

Jerusalem will be a particular focus “in the face of every attempt to alter its status or erase its Arab identity”, said Fahmy.

Last week, he said Israel had blocked him from visiting Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

Source: Al Jazeera

UAE says Iran targeted 2 tankers, Indian crew member killed

The UAE’s Defence Ministry says Iranian cruise missiles targeted two of its oil tankers in Omani waters in the Strait of Hormuz.

An Indian national crew member was killed in the attack on the Mombasa tanker, with eight people wounded, it added.

Source: Al Jazeera

WATCH: Iran’s military warns US against Strait of Hormuz ‘interference’

Iran’s military has warned that it will not allow the US to “interfere” in the management of the Strait of Hormuz – after Trump said the US would reinstate its naval blockade on Iranian ports and become the “guardian” of the strategically vital waterway.

Watch more in our video below:

Source: Al Jazeera

Trump says Iran wanted further negotiations after deal reached

The US president has claimed that Washington had a “deal with [Iran] two days ago” but that Tehran wanted “to negotiate it further”.

Asked by a reporter if he has decided that a negotiated settlement with Iran is no longer possible, Trump said: “I never reached that conclusion.”

He added that he believed the “most effective” way to put pressure on Iran was through a combination of a blockade and “hitting them”.

Source: Al Jazeera

Seems like ceasefire is over but negotiations still taking place

President Trump has been repeating things that he said for many weeks now about how there has been a complete degradation of the Iranian military power.

But there is also an important point in that he was asked specifically whether he’s come to the conclusion that there will be no more negotiation, and he was very specific and actually quite strong in saying he will never come to that conclusion.

So for President Trump, the idea of negotiation remains on the table, despite the fact that there’s a whole series of new strikes.

The ceasefire is over, but the negotiations are still there. Whether or not negotiations are taking place is beside the point, as far as the US is concerned. What they want is for the concept of negotiation to remain in place, because the US administration desperately wants those negotiations to go forward and to come up with a deal at the end.

Source: Al Jazeera

Trump says US ‘hitting’ Iran ‘very heavy tonight’

“We’re hitting them very heavy tonight,” the US president said in response to a question from a reporter at the White House.

“We have tremendous amounts of ammunition… and it’ll continue, and we’ll see what happens. But we’re knocking out all of their offensive capability, and we’re controlling the strait,” Trump said.

“We’re putting the blockade back, and it’s a blockade not for anybody but Iran.”

Source: Al Jazeera

Explosions reported in Jam and Qeshm Island

Iran’s Fars news agency reports that several explosions have been heard in Jam, a southern city in Iran’s Bushehr province, as well as on Qeshm Island.

Earlier, Iranian media reported explosions in Bandar Abbas and Kish Island after US Central Command said its forces had started launching a new wave of attacks on Iran.

Source: Al Jazeera

Sudan’s army says it downed another FH-95 drone amid clashes with RSF

Military says Chinese-made drone intercepted near El-Obeid fourth of its kind shot down in less than a month | Anadolu …

Source: Bing News

Sudan court sentences RSF commander to death over West Darfur killings

On Sunday, the anti-terrorism and crimes against the state court in Port Sudan sentenced Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, and 15 other defendants to death …

Source: Bing News

US launches new wave of strikes on Iran; IRGC hits US-linked sites in three Gulf states

US Central Command said it struck military air-defense systems, coastal radar sites, and missile and drone capabilities at several locations across Iran, using fighter aircraft, naval vessels, one-way attack aerial drones and, for the first time, one-way attack sea drones. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps retaliated hours later, hitting a long-range air-surveillance radar in Bahrain, a vessel-detection radar system in Oman, and a U.S. Army surface-to-surface missile base in Kuwait, which the IRGC said destroyed two missile launchers and nearby storage facilities. Vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — which carries roughly a fifth of global energy exports — fell to its lowest level in five weeks.

Source: Al Jazeera

US strikes roughly 140 Iranian targets; Khuzestan casualties reported, Jordan intercepts missiles

Two days before the latest exchange, the US carried out a larger operation hitting approximately 140 targets across Iran. Iranian officials said the strikes hit eight cities in Khuzestan province, killing one security guard and injuring four people at a water station in Mahshahr. Jordan said it intercepted four Iranian missiles over its territory. The escalation follows the April 7–8 ceasefire between the US, Iran, and Israel and a June 14 memorandum of understanding meant to formalize an end to the conflict within 60 days — a timeline that expired without resolution.

Source: Al Jazeera

UN fact-finding mission concludes RSF committed genocide in el-Fasher

A UN Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan concluded that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces committed genocide during and after its siege of el-Fasher, North Darfur’s capital, through mass killings, gang rapes, and deliberate starvation that restricted humanitarian access and destroyed food-production systems. Mission chair Mohamed Chande Othman said the documented pattern — “encirclement, attacks on civilian infrastructure, restrictions on humanitarian access and widespread abuses against civilians” — “serve as a stark warning” for the city of el-Obeid, where the mission fears a similar campaign could unfold.

Source: Al Jazeera

Up to 500,000 civilians at risk as siege pressure builds on el-Obeid

El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state and a key logistical hub linking central Sudan to Darfur, has become the Sudanese army’s next major stand against the RSF’s push through Kordofan. More than 11,000 people, including over 5,500 children, fled the city in the two weeks prior as electricity, water, and fuel supplies were disrupted and food prices spiked. Aid agencies warned up to half a million civilians could be at risk if the RSF encircles the city the way it did el-Fasher.

Source: Al Jazeera

China test-fires a submarine-launched ballistic missile into the open Pacific for the first time

China launched a submarine-launched ballistic missile from the South China Sea into the Pacific, flying roughly 7,300 km and landing in the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone — the first time Beijing has fired an SLBM into international open waters, publicly demonstrating a submarine-launched strategic nuclear strike capability in the Indo-Pacific. New Zealand and Australia criticized the test as a threat to regional peace and stability. The same day, China and Russia began the week-long “Joint Sea-2026” naval exercise off Qingdao, pairing Chinese destroyers and a submarine with a Russian cruiser, frigate, and submarine in anti-submarine, air-defense, and Pacific maritime-patrol drills that analysts say build the operational familiarity needed for a future Taiwan contingency.

Source: The Diplomat / Defence Security Asia

Russia claims capture of Kostiantynivka after Ukraine rejects a local ceasefire

Russia said its forces took control of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region, a city Moscow has long targeted in its push through the Donbas, after accusing Ukraine of rejecting a proposed local ceasefire around the city. The claim came as broader ceasefire talks remained stalled over Russia’s demand that Ukrainian forces withdraw from contested territory, which Kyiv has rejected in favor of freezing the current front line.

Source: Al Jazeera

Russia's 2026 advance has collapsed even as its casualties climb to record levels

Russia’s territorial gains have all but stalled in 2026: just 622 sq km captured in the first six months of the year, versus 2,190 sq km over the same period in 2025, with June’s advance rate falling to about 1 sq km a day. Ukraine’s military estimated Russia suffered roughly 39,490 casualties in June alone — a rate of 1,298 per square kilometer of ground taken, against 68 per sq km a year earlier — far outstripping Russia’s estimated monthly recruitment capacity of 24,000–30,000 troops. Ukrainian mid-range strikes rose from 210 in May to 303 in June, and Ukrainian forces destroyed 12 Russian-occupied electricity substations in Crimea on July 1–2.

Source: Al Jazeera

Mediators announce a memorandum of understanding to formally end the Iran conflict

Following the April ceasefire, international mediators announced a memorandum of understanding intended to bring the US-Iran-Israel conflict to a formal end within 60 days. That window expired in mid-August without a resolution, and by July the arrangement was described as close to collapse as strikes resumed on both sides.

Source: Al Jazeera

US, Iran, and Israel agree to a ceasefire after more than five weeks of war

The United States and Iran agreed to a ceasefire that included Israel, ending more than five weeks of direct fighting between the countries. The truce set the stage for the June memorandum of understanding — and for the strikes that have since put it under growing strain.

Source: Al Jazeera