Egypt president warns of regional 'escalation' after drone strike on port
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned on Thursday that the Middle East conflict was facing a serious escalation, after a drone struck a US-owned gas tanker in an Egyptian port.
According to his spokesman, during a call to Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Sisi "stressed the need for Egypt, Spain, Europe and the international community to work together to halt this escalation".
Saudi Arabia unveils plans for multinational maritime defence coalition
Saudi Arabia on Thursday unveiled plans for a multinational maritime defence coalition aimed at protecting international shipping and energy supply routes in the Red Sea region after attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis disrupted one of the world's busiest trade corridors.
The Saudi defence ministry said representatives from 43 countries and the European Union attended an international meeting that discussed the proposed coalition, including Saudi Arabia serving as its founding and leading state and hosting its headquarters.
The ministry said the coalition would strengthen maritime security, safeguard freedom of navigation, secure international trade routes and energy supply lines, and protect shared maritime interests in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden.
It said 14 countries, including Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan and Djibouti, issued a joint statement supporting the proposed coalition. Among the six Gulf Arab states, Oman and the United Arab Emirates were not listed among the countries backing the statement.
US military says no US aircraft hit in attempted Iranian attacks
The US military said on Thursday that no US aircraft were destroyed or damaged in recent attempted Iranian attacks, denying a claim it said was made by Iran's Revolutionary Guards that three US F-35 jets and three other aircraft were destroyed.
In a statement, US Central Command also said the commercial vessel M/T Nora had not broken through America's blockade of Iranian ports, denying a claim it said was made on Iranian state media.
Kuwait's chief of staff meets in Saudi Arabia with defence coalition for Bab el-Mandeb strait
Kuwait's chief of staff, General Khaled Al-Shuraian, met in Saudi Arabia with a "maritime defence coalition" for preserving freedom of navigation in Bab el-Mandeb strait, Kuwait's state news agency reported on Thursday.
Iran's Araqchi presses European counterparts over use of bases in US operations
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi urged Bulgaria to reconsider its decision to allow the temporary deployment of US military aircraft at the Bezmer air base, Iranian state media reported on Thursday.
During a phone call with his Bulgarian counterpart, Velislava Petrova-Chamova, Araqchi said Sofia's approval of a US request to station military aircraft at the base to support military operations amounted to facilitating aggression against Iran, adding the move was unacceptable and contrary to the traditionally friendly relations between the two countries.
Iran has repeatedly warned countries allowing their territory to be used for US military operations against it that they could "face consequences".
Araqchi held a separate phone call with Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, during which he stressed the importance of preventing foreign military bases in Cyprus from being used against Iran.
Refinery attacks keep European fuel prices around record highs
European refiners continued to reap bumper profits for producing fuels such as gasoline and diesel this week, as a wave of attacks on oil refineries in the Middle East and Russia further tightened supply and lifted prices globally.
Soaring fuel prices ripple through the global economy, raising costs for consumers and businesses. Fuel prices are continuing to rise even though crude oil has fallen back to around $90 a barrel - well below 2008's record of $147 - as attacks on refineries due to the wars in Iran and Ukraine have taken out a growing number of major plants that make usable fuels out of crude.
Houthis say they were not behind drone strike on Egypt port, affiliated media report
Yemen's Houthi rebels declared on Thursday that they were not behind a drone strike the day before that hit a US-owned-and-operated gas storage ship in the Egyptian port of Damietta.
According to the Houthi-affiliated news agency Saba, an official in the movement's foreign affairs office said "rumours claiming Yemen targeted a ship in Damietta Port in the Arab Republic of Egypt are unfounded".
Egypt drone attack message that US interests 'vulnerable' anywhere, analysts say
A drone strike on the Egyptian port of Damietta, the first attack on the country since the US-Iran war broke out, could be a high-risk message for American interests everywhere in the Middle East, analysts say.
No party has claimed the strike on the Mediterranean port and Egypt has not assigned blame for the attack, which struck an American-owned and operated floating gas storage vessel.
According to analysts, the goal of the attack – regardless of who launched it – could be to drag Egypt into the conflict, after months of Cairo acting as one of few diplomatic channels between Iran and the US.
The port strike, the furthest afield from the Gulf since the war broke out, also marks a new milestone by crossing the Red Sea into the Mediterranean, threatening shipping lanes that had been so far considered safe.
Saudi Arabia cornered by Iran's proxy attacks, blockade
Months into the Middle East war, Saudi Arabia is being increasingly hemmed in by Iranian proxies targeting oil infrastructure from the north and south, and maritime blockades threatening crude exports in the east and west.
The emerging picture is a nightmare scenario for the world's biggest oil exporter -- muddying its plans to diversify its economy, attract investment and lure tourists.
Despite calls for a diplomatic solution, Saudi forces have faced attacks from both Yemen's Tehran-backed Houthi rebels as they impose a Red Sea blockade on Saudi ships, and from pro-Iran militias in Iraq targeting its energy facilities.
Early on Wednesday, the kingdom struck back. Joint US-Saudi strikes in Iraq killed 20, according to the alliance of former paramilitary groups and factions whose bases were targeted.
Qatar condemns Iranian attacks on Jordan, Kuwait
Gaza civil defence says Israeli strikes kill four
Gaza's civil defence agency and two hospitals said Israeli attacks on Thursday killed four people across the Palestinian territory, including two children.
A ceasefire remains in place between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, but it has not halted the violence in Gaza, and efforts to secure a lasting agreement to end the war have stalled.
Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal told AFP that "four martyrs, including two children, and a number of wounded were transported following Israeli air strikes" across the Gaza Strip.
Jordan's army says shot down 5 Iranian missiles
Jordan's military said Thursday that its air defences shot down five Iranian missiles targeting its territory, adding the attack caused no casualties.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards later confirmed launching an attack on Jordan's Al Azraq air base, saying they targeted US aircraft there.
The military's official spokesperson said "air defences engaged five missiles launched from Iran targeting the Kingdom's territory early this morning, Thursday. The missiles were detected, intercepted, and shot down according to established defence plans," the military's statement said.
US launches wave of strikes on Iran in response to Tehran missile attack in Jordan
The US military completed a "heavy wave of strikes" against Iran on Thursday in retaliation against Tehran targeting American bases in Jordan, as fighting intensified in the Middle East war after a nearly week-long pause.
US President Donald Trump had vowed to hit Iran "hard" after Tehran launched missiles at Jordan, its first regional strike in days. FRANCE 24's Fraser Jackson reports from Washington.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say they attacked Azraq base in Jordan, state media reports
Iran's Guards say three members killed in US attack
Revolutionary Guards said that three of its members were killed in an attack by the United States on the northwestern province of Zanjan.
"In the brutal attack carried out by the terrorist regime of the criminal United States on 30 July 2026, three brave and devoted members of the Ansar al-Mahdi IRGC in Zanjan province ... attained martyrdom," the Guards' provincial branch said in a statement, according to Tasnim news agency.
Operations still ongoing at Egypt's Damietta port despite drone attack, port authority says
The authority overseeing the Egyptian port of Damietta said that its operations were ongoing despite a fire breaking out there the day before that authorities blamed on a drone attack.
"The Damietta Port Authority confirms the continued full operational efficiency of the port, with all terminals and berths experiencing regular vessel arrivals and departures, along with ongoing loading, unloading, and cargo handling of all types," the Damietta Port Authority said in a statement.
Pakistan says US-Iran negotiations 'ongoing'
Mediator Pakistan confirmed that negotiations between the United States and Iran were "ongoing" despite the renewed fighting across the Middle East.
"Negotiations between parties are ongoing, particularly on (the) Strait of Hormuz and to de-escalate," Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi told reporters in Islamabad.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards promise to ‘punish the aggressor today’ after deadly overnight US attacks
Drone sparked fire at Egyptian port Wednesday, Cairo says
A drone caused a fire on two ships at Damietta port on Wednesday, initial investigations showed, Egypt's cabinet said on Thursday.
No party has claimed responsibility, and authorities are continuing their investigations and taking necessary measures to protect Egypt's interests and national security, the cabinet added.
Iranian strike hits Chinese firm's building, killing a worker, Kuwait’s defence ministry alleges
An Iranian attack hit a building belonging to a Chinese company in northern Kuwait, killing a worker and inflicting significant damage, the Kuwaiti defence ministry spokesperson said in a post on X.
- US-Saudi strikes on Iraq killed at least 20 members of the Hashed al-Shaabi, an armed Iraqi alliance that includes pro-Iran groups, the alliance said.
- Iraq vowed to defend its sovereignty and to prevent its territory from being used against neighbouring countries following the deadly US-Saudi strikes.
- The US on Wednesday imposed new sanctions on entities it accused of being linked to Iran 's Revolutionary Guards and of extorting commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz .
- US President Donald Trump said the United States would hit Iran very hard after an attack on the US military in Jordan .
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
