Trump Considers ‘Massive Attack’ as US Completes 13th Night of Iran Strikes; Senate Rejects War Powers Resolution

Live updates,

President Donald Trump has stated he is weighing a ‘massive attack’ on Iran, while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi countered that such ‘mindless aggression’ would not facilitate any agreement.

The US military campaign against Iran has entered its 13th night as the conflict continues to escalate.

Published On 24 Jul 2026

• US President Donald Trump says he is considering a “massive attack” on Iran because Tehran has not “received enough pain yet” and that he is near a decision to resume major military operations.
• Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that “mindless aggression” will only see Trump pay a “heavier price” for a deal to end the war.

20 Updates

• 2m ago

   (03:00 GMT)

  Senate knocks back War Powers resolution as war drags on

  Reporting from Capitol Hill, Washington, DC

  On Thursday, the US Congress revisited the War Powers Resolution, a measure requiring presidential approval for military action.

  Basically, that says that if both chambers of Congress pass it, it sends the message to the President that he had to stop the war in Iran until he had congressional approval.

  It’s really more of a symbolic gesture because most presidents have ignored it, and it’s never been legally tested.

  Nonetheless, the resolution passed in the House with a vote of 214 to 208, but fell short in the Senate, failing 47 to 49.

  Notably, the same measure was approved by the Senate in June during the ceasefire period.

  [The vote comes as] concerns from [US voters are] likely to get even louder in the coming weeks as the cost of gas increases and the war drags on.

  Now that said, there is a new poll that could be a warning sign for Republicans.

  Those who identify themselves as MAGA Republicans, the US President Donald Trump’s core base, they have been staunch supporters of this war, but in a new poll, one in five says it should end.

• 17m ago

   (02:45 GMT)

  Crude holds sharp weekly gains despite slight Friday dip

  Crude prices were on track for weekly increases on Friday following Houthi strikes on Red Sea oil tankers, which raised fears over the potential closure of another key maritime passage.

  The market was further tightened as Kazakhstan temporarily reduced production after its primary export pipeline was taken offline.

  Brent crude futures dropped 72 cents, or 0.72%, to $99.97 a barrel as of 01:26 GMT, though the benchmark remained set for a 13.5% gain over the week. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude declined 70 cents, or 0.76%, to $91.49 a barrel, pointing toward a 10.9% weekly increase.

  Both benchmarks surged during the previous session, with Brent settling 7% higher and WTI gaining 6.2% on Thursday.

  It marked the first time Brent closed above $100 since May, following claims by Iran-aligned Houthi forces that they had targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.

• 29m ago

   (02:33 GMT)

  

  Four killed, five injured in US missile strike near Iran’s Ahvaz

  Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency is reporting that four people were killed in a US missile attack near the southwestern city of Ahvaz.

  Five others were injured in the strike, according to local officials in Khuzestan province, according to the Tasnim report.

• 32m ago

   (02:30 GMT)

  Japan highlights economic cost of ongoing conflict

  In an annual white paper released today, the Japanese government warned that ‘close attention’ was needed on the extent to which the Middle East conflict could hurt the country’s economy, Reuters reports.

  The report found that Japanese companies are passing on rising costs from the conflict at a faster pace than back in 2022, when the war in Ukraine pushed up fuel costs.

  Japan has been hit by ongoing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. The country relies heavily on fuel imports from the Middle East and has been forced to dip into its reserves to avert an energy crisis.

• 47m ago

   (02:15 GMT)

  WATCH: How the Houthi Red Sea blockade will impact the world

  The Houthis’ blockade of Bab al-Mandeb threatens a vital global trade route, with the global economy already reeling from the ongoing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.

  Al Jazeera explain how a crisis in the Red Sea could make everything even more expensive.

  Watch more below.

• 1h ago

   (02:00 GMT)

  US prepares potential escalation as Trump warns Iran ‘not ready for a deal just yet’

  Reporting from Wahington DC

  The US president is weighing his options for something even larger, given the fact that there have been 13 nights of consecutive strikes.

  The question becomes whether this is going to be more of the same, or whether the United States is ramping up.

  We know that there has been a surge of forces as well as weaponry into the region, and White House official telling me that talks are continuing with Iran, but at the same time, she says, that the cards are on the table for the president, and he has all the options at his disposal.

  Now, what I can tell you is that it appears that the United States may be considering an escalation to force a negotiated settlement.

  The US media reporting the President is close to a decision on a potential massive attack and military preparations are in place, but the US President also, with his words on Thursday, signaling that there is something potentially looming, given the fact that he said, Iran is not ready to make a deal just yet, but they may be soon.

• 1h ago

   (01:45 GMT)

  Iraqi PM concludes Tehran visit after signing transport agreements

  Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has left Tehran after holding talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and other top officials, his office said.

  During his meetings al-Zaidi reached agreements on international road freight transport and shipping as well as railway connectivity between Kermanshah, Khosravi, Khanqin and Baghdad, his office said in a statement shared on X.

  As we reported earlier, Al-Zaidi said his visit reflected the depth of ties between the two nations, calling it “a bridge of friendship between the two peoples”.

  His visit to neighbouring Iran comes shortly after he returned from trips to Washington, DC and Texas, where he signed deals with Western oil firms to revive a pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz.

  

• 1h ago

   (01:30 GMT)

  Reports of air defences activated in Tehran, as US strikes further afield

  Reporting from Tehran, Iran

  According to some sources, such as the semi-official Mehr News, we’ve got in some areas of the Iranian capital the sounds related to the activation of the air defence system.

  Although Al Jazeera cannot independently confirm that at this certain point.

  We know that if that happened, this is not the first time as we had it for at least two times over the past nights, the activation of the air defence system was also reported.

  Still, we know that this is not the only place that we are receiving reports about escalation.

  We know that it’s been yet another night of exchange of fire, yet another night of continued American airstrikes in different cities. Some of them for the very first time.

  Indeed, we witnessed the explosions and the sounds related to the heavy bombardment by the American airstrikes.

  We know that in Jask, a very important city that oversees the Strait of Hormuz, also Qeshm Island, the largest island in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz, also in Bander Abbas, various explosions are reported, as well as two people injured as a result of attack on a neighborhood called Tappeh Allah-o-Akbar.

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• 1h ago

   (01:26 GMT)

  

  US completes 13th consecutive night of strikes on Iran

  US Central Command says it has completed another round of strikes against Iran, marking the 13th consecutive night of operations to further diminish the threat the country poses to civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

  In a statement, CENTCOM said its forces targeted “Iranian military command centers, drone storage facilities, communication networks, coastal surveillance sites, and maritime capabilities” in the latest wave at 9:00 p.m. ET (01:00 GMT) on July 23.

  It added that the international waterway remains open for transit despite recent attacks from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, noting that commercial vessels continue to freely navigate the strait with US military support.

  “More than 50,000 US service members are currently operating across the Middle East,” the statement added.

• 1h ago

   (01:15 GMT)

  UN chief says civilians in Gaza ‘pay a heavy price every day’

  United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the “prolonged suffering” in Gaza must end.

  “Despite the so-called ceasefire in Gaza, civilians continue to pay a heavy price every day,” Guterres said in a post on X.

  “People are being killed in their homes, in their communities, and while carrying out ordinary acts of daily life – as Israel increases its control of Gaza,” he added.

  Despite the so-called ceasefire in Gaza, civilians continue to pay a heavy price every day.

  People are being killed in their homes, in their communities, and while carrying out ordinary acts of daily life – as Israel increases its control of Gaza.

  Living conditions remain…

  — António Guterres (@antonioguterres) July 23, 2026

• 1h ago

   (01:05 GMT)

  

  Explosions reported in cities across Iran

  Iranian media are reporting explosions or attacks across multiple Iranian cities.

  • Khondab: A location outside the city was hit by two enemy projectiles, state broadcaster IRIB reported.
  • Khorramabad & Konarak: Explosions were heard in both cities, according to IRIB.
  • Jask: Blasts were reported in the port city on the Strait of Hormuz, according to Fars news agency and IRIB.
  • Tehran: Mehr news agency reported air defence activity over eastern Tehran.

  We will bring you more as soon as we have it.

• 2h ago

   (01:00 GMT)

  UN says humanitarian needs growing as conflict again escalates

  The humanitarian consequences of the latest escalation in the Middle East, including the closures of the Straits of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb, are “continuing to grow,” says UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

  “The escalation threatens to further disrupt maritime trade, flights, border crossings and regional supply chains on which millions of people rely on,” Dujarric told reporters.

  “Any further disruption could drive up humanitarian needs and costs at a time when aid operations are already underfunded and already overstretched,” he said.

  “We call on all parties to respect international humanitarian law, protect civilians and civilian objects, and avoid disrupting the essential services on which civilians rely,” he added.

  

• 2h ago

   (00:45 GMT)

  Gulf states not likely to hit back at Iran

  Reporting from Doha, Qatar

  We have had this statement coming from the Gulf Cooperation Council states, plus Jordan. It’s really important to look at the rhetoric here that they’re using. They’re using the language of self-defence.

  Under the UN Charter, they are saying the states have every right to defend their sovereignty.

  The statement’s signatories have been using their air defence missile systems. These are multi-layered, multipronged systems that have been intercepting, quite successfully, many of the missiles and drones coming over from Iran.

  The statement did not go as far as to say [that the signatories] would retaliate against Iran in that way.

  On the rhetoric: this hasn’t changed in the previous few months. The signatories have been saying that the only way of solving this crisis is by going back to the negotiating table. They’ve been leaning more to the language of diplomacy and their own self-defence rather than looking at a retaliatory attack.

• 2h ago

   (00:30 GMT)

  US weapon stocks could take 5 years to recover: former Pentagon official

  Mark Cancian, a former Pentagon official, has told Al Jazeera that the US has used so many arms in the Iran war that it may have left itself vulnerable elsewhere.

  ‘We looked at seven munitions that have been used heavily against Iran and that would be used in a war in the Western Pacific, and [the US has] used between a third and half of those munitions,’ he said.

  Cancian, who worked on the Department of Defense’s budget strategy and war funding while at the Pentagon, said it could take two to five years for US stockpiles just to reach pre-Iran war levels.

  That leaves a ‘window of vulnerability’ in the case that another conflict starts elsewhere, for example, in Taiwan. He also said the kinds of weapons that the US uses are changing.

  The war has already cost the US $37.5 billion, and this week, Pete Hegseth, the US Secretary of War, said he needs an extra $70 billion to pay for the Iran war and wider military readiness.

  ‘What you see in warfare is a move towards a high-low mix. There’s ballistic missiles, cruise missiles at the high end, and the low end is cheap drones. It’s a mix and they’re complementary,’ Cancian, who is now a senior adviser at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said.

  This drone arsenal includes sea drones—remote-controlled boats armed with significant amounts of explosives—which have reportedly been used by the US to attack coastal targets in Iran.

  

• 2h ago

   (00:25 GMT)

  

  Attacks on Bandar Abbas injure 2, Iranian media reports

  Attacks on the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas have injured two people, Iranian media reports.

  The strikes reportedly hit Bandar Abbas’s residential Tappeh Allah-o-Akbar neighbourhood, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reports, citing the deputy governor of Hormozgan province.

• 2h ago

   (00:15 GMT)

  Reports of explosions as US attacks on Iran continue

  Reporting from Tehran, Iran

  Two weeks, and it’s still continuing.

  We have reports from Qeshm Island over the past few hours. Explosions have been heard on this island, which is one of the most geostrategic locations as the largest island in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz.

  Meanwhile, we’ve got some initial reports about the explosion sounds in the city of Ahvaz, and also again some unconfirmed initial reports about downing of a flying object across the skies of Qeshm Island again.

  We have to keep waiting to see what comes next in that regard.

  But speaking of the broader context, we know that the Iranian side is talking about the continuation of their retaliatory strikes.

  This is something that we have been hearing from the speaker of the parliament and from the foreign minister of the country.

  Other military sources are also coming out to say that, should the American strikes continue, each time, Iran is going to come with a more crushing response – stronger retaliatory strikes that we have been witnessing across the region, targeting US military assets.

• 2h ago

   (00:10 GMT)

  US missiles hit 2 cities in Iran’s Khuzestan

  US missile strikes have hit the cities of Andimeshk and Omidiyeh in the Khuzestan province, Iran’s Mehr news agency reports.

  “Points around the cities of Andimeshk and Omidiyeh were attacked by missiles from the American terrorist army,” Mehr quoted Valiullah Hayati, deputy security and law enforcement officer of the Khuzestan governor’s office, as saying.

  There are no casualties or injuries, Mehr said.

• 2h ago

   (00:07 GMT)

  A recap of recent developments

  • US President Donald Trump says he is considering a “massive attack” on Iran, “bigger than ever before”.
  • Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that “mindless aggression” will see Trump pay a “heavier price” for a deal.
  • The UK has said its armed forces stand ready to protect the country from attack after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard issued a warning over the use of UK bases by US bombers.
  • Trump said a nuclear pact between the US and Saudi Arabia will hinge on the kingdom normalising relations with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords.
  • More than 4,200 right-wing Israelis stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem.
  • A new UN report has found that 1.4 million people, 67 percent of Gaza’s population, are still experiencing “crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity” – not having enough to eat.

• 2h ago

   (00:07 GMT)

  WATCH: The $110 billion price tag of the US war on Iran

  America’s war on Iran has already cost the US nearly $110 billion.

  Now, the Trump administration wants another $67 billion, even after declaring victory.

  Al Jazeera’s Emma Withrow breaks down the growing price tag.

• 3h ago

   (00:00 GMT)

  Welcome

  Hello, and welcome to our live coverage of the United States and Israel’s war on Iran.

  Stay with us for the latest news and analysis from across the Middle East and beyond.

  You can find our updates from Thursday, July 23, here.

  

The congressional votes reflect growing unease among lawmakers and the public as the conflict prolongs. The House passage but Senate failure underscores partisan and institutional divides on war powers. With gas prices rising and the war showing no signs of abating, voter concerns are expected to intensify, potentially shaping the political landscape for Republicans ahead of the next election cycle. Meanwhile, the rhetoric from both sides suggests no immediate diplomatic breakthrough.