Iran Vows Continuous Strikes if US Doesn’t Halt Attacks as Middle East War Spreads to Red Sea

• Tehran’s military warns of “new scenarios” as Houthi allies strike Saudi oil tankers, threatening a second chokepoint on global energy supplies alongside the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has vowed to keep striking the region for as long as it remains under attack, as the Middle East war spreads to new fronts with Tehran’s Houthi allies attacking Saudi shipping in the Red Sea. The conflict resumed following a ceasefire that lasted just a few weeks, throwing the region and global energy markets back into chaos as Iran and the United States battle for control of the vital Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil passed before the war. “The armed forces’ retaliatory attacks will continue as long as the US attacks on the country’s infrastructure and coastal areas continue,” Iran’s army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia said, according to state TV. Iranian military spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akrami-Nia further declared that the conflict had entered a new phase after the US “violated the agreement to end the war.” Akrami-Nia warned that Iran has prepared “new scenarios” to retaliate if the US continues military operations against its territory. “The US must understand that this situation cannot last forever. If they continue their destructive actions targeting the southern regions of our country, Iran will take new measures… New scenarios have been developed, preparations have been made, and we will respond in a different way to prevent the adversary from continuing the war,” he said.

The developments follow fresh US strikes on Iranian military targets, with US Central Command reporting its twelfth consecutive night of strikes, saying it aimed to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters”. American strikes have widened from the south to western and central areas of Iran in 12 straight days of attacks since the June ceasefire fell apart. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the US would bomb Iranian civilian infrastructure every time Tehran fires at ships in Hormuz. “Any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT,” Trump wrote on social media, including those “located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran”. Iran’s joint military command warned that if Trump’s threat against infrastructure was carried out, Iranian forces would target regional oil, gas, electricity and economic infrastructure and prevent the export of “even a single drop of oil,” Iranian state media reported. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran would respond in kind to any attack on its infrastructure, writing: “Our defence doctrine is clear: eye for an eye”. Iranian state media said Thursday that a US attack killed two people at Shalamcheh on the Islamic republic’s border with Iraq. It also reported two US missiles hit Bushehr, home to the country’s only civilian nuclear plant and a frequent target of Washington’s strikes.

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The Iranian-aligned Houthis this week joined the conflict, claiming to have struck two Saudi oil tankers after declaring a blockade of Saudi ports. The Houthis said their forces carried out missile and drone strikes on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, identifying them as the Encelia and the Layla. Saudi state news agency SPA cited an official source as saying the Encelia was struck, causing a fire at the bow. A maritime security source said Encelia had transmitted a distress call, reporting it had been struck by a missile near the Saudi port of Jizan in the Red Sea late on Wednesday. The attack on the Layla remained unconfirmed. The Houthi threat to impose a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia could significantly widen the war and strain the US military, current and former US officials said. Five tankers changed course in the Red Sea to avoid the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Wednesday, and three tankers loaded with Saudi oil for China and India made U-turns on Tuesday. Millions of barrels per day of Saudi oil have been heading to the kingdom’s Red Sea port of Yanbu to avoid the Strait of Hormuz. If shipments cannot pass through the Red Sea’s southern strait, they have only the northern route through the Suez Canal, adding weeks and costs to the journey.

In Hormuz, the Revolutionary Guards said they stopped three oil tankers from transiting, as the US and Iran vie for control over the route. “The Strait of Hormuz is under our control… and any ship that is deceived by the US and intends to pass without coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran will suffer the same fate,” the Revolutionary Guards said. Hours later, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reported an explosion in what it called a mined route south of the Strait of Hormuz, saying one of three oil tankers had caught fire while the other two turned back. The Guards said the strait was under their control and “completely closed,” warning that no tanker would be allowed to enter or leave without coordination with Iran.

Oil prices again climbed Thursday, with Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, up four percent at $97.80 a barrel, bringing back fears of spiralling consumer prices and slowed growth globally. Even before the renewed threats to shipping traffic in the Red Sea, Iran’s near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz had stoked inflation around the world, pushing up oil prices and squeezing US gasoline consumers.

On the sidelines of a Southeast Asian summit in Manila, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Houthis had been “suckered” into attacking Red Sea shipping by Iran. “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 said. “I hope they will de-escalate, because I think the Houthis, frankly, got snookered into this thing by the Iranians.” Rubio also told the diplomatic gathering that the price Iran pays “will get higher every night” until Tehran is ready for a peace deal it would live by. “Iran is begging (for a deal) every day. The problem with Iran is every time they make a deal … they either break it or they want to change it,” 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.” Oman, a key mediator in the longstanding war between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, said it was working to resume talks between the two sides, as it voiced “great concern” at the situation in the Red Sea.

Iran Vows Continuous Strikes if US Doesn’t Halt Attacks as Middle East War Spreads to Red Sea

Just in: Senegal’s President Diomaye Faye Emerges New ECOWAS Chairman

Senegal’s President, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, has been elected as the new Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), taking over the leadership of the 15-member regional bloc at a critical period marked by rising insecurity, political instability and efforts to strengthen regional integration.

Faye emerged as the new chairman on Sunday during the 69th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government held in Freetown, Sierra Leone, where regional leaders deliberated on pressing political, economic and security issues confronting West Africa.

The Senegalese leader succeeds Sierra Leone’s President, Julius Maada Bio, who assumed the rotating chairmanship in June 2025 after taking over from Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu.

Faye’s election places him at the helm of ECOWAS at a time the regional body is battling terrorism, violent extremism, unconstitutional changes of government and the diplomatic fallout from the withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger from the bloc.

Restoring regional cohesion and advancing economic integration are expected to rank high on his agenda.

The 46-year-old Senegalese president, who came to office in April 2024 on a reformist platform promising transparency, anti-corruption measures and stronger African cooperation, is widely regarded as one of the new generation of leaders shaping the continent’s political landscape.

Established in 1975, ECOWAS remains the principal regional organisation promoting economic integration, free movement, peace, security and democratic governance across West Africa.

The Authority of Heads of State and Government is the bloc’s highest decision-making body, with its chairmanship rotating among member states.

New York Mayor Says He Is Exploring Possible Arrest of Netanyahu During UN Visit

• Zohran Mamdani calls Israeli PM a “war criminal” and says his legal department is actively reviewing whether city authorities can enforce an ICC warrant, as US envoy dismisses the threat as “pure political theater”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said his administration is actively examining whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be arrested if he visits the city for the United Nations General Assembly in September. Speaking on The New York Times’ “The Interview” podcast, Mamdani said the city’s legal department is assessing the matter, which aligns with a campaign pledge he made during the mayoral race. “I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani said. “He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court. And what you will find is that is an opinion that is held by many purely because of what his actions have wrought over these last many years.”

When asked about the legal authority available to his office, Mamdani said the issue remains under active review. “That’s an active conversation with our legal department. However, what we’ve seen at the national level is a desire sometimes to write your own laws, to go outside of the bounds of legality. That’s not something we have an interest in.” The mayor clarified that he would act only within the bounds of existing law. “Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what we will do, but we won’t be writing our own laws to that end.” The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders in 2024 over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the war in Gaza, following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. Both President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden criticised the court’s decision.

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Any attempt by New York authorities to enforce the warrant would face major legal obstacles. The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC and requires member states to execute the court’s arrest warrants. Former prosecutors have warned that any attempt by Mamdani or New York police officials to arrest Netanyahu based on an ICC warrant would violate US federal law and could expose them to federal conspiracy charges. US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz dismissed the mayor’s comments on Saturday, describing them as “pure political theater.” In a social media post, Waltz outlined four reasons why the arrest “is not going to happen”: the US is not party to the Rome Statute; the UN Headquarters Agreement grants diplomatic protections to visiting heads of government; head-of-state immunity applies; and federal authority trumps any local mayor’s wishes. The Trump administration has escalated its long-running battle against the ICC, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently pledging to “dismantle” the court and accusing it of “waging a war against our country, not with bullets or missiles” but with “the force of so-called international law.”

Netanyahu dismissed the concerns during an interview earlier in the week with WABC radio host Sid Rosenberg, accusing Mamdani of supporting Hamas and suggesting the mayor “secretly hates America.” Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said on social media on Saturday that Netanyahu “will come to New York, address the United Nations General Assembly with pride, and stand before the world to state Israel’s truth and its unwavering right to defend its citizens.” Danon also accused Mamdani of failing to confront the “rising wave of antisemitism” in New York City and suggested that “if anyone should be arrested, it is Mayor Zohran Mamdani.”

New York Mayor Says He Is Exploring Possible Arrest of Netanyahu During UN Visit