The United States and Israel are planning what would be one of the harshest bombing campaigns to date against energy infrastructure targets in Iran, multiple sources told CBS News, with strikes possible throughout the weekend. U.S. embassies in several Middle Eastern capitals, including Amman, Jordan; Jerusalem; and Baghdad, warned American citizens on Saturday to beware an "unforeseen escalation" in the regional conflict and urged them to be ready to leave.
President Trump opened a Cabinet meeting on Friday saying the U.S. has done an "amazing job" with the war in Iran, going back to the refrain that wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Korea were longer. "Iran is doing very poorly," he added.
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Saturday denied seeking to charge ships for passage through the vital Bab al-Mandeb Strait. On Wednesday, the internationally recognized Yemeni government's information minister, Moammar al-Eryani, accused the group of trying to imitate Iran's efforts to impose tolls on the Strait of Hormuz, on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula. The Houthi-aligned Saba news agency published a statement from the group's HOCC agency that denied the accuracy of the reports.
"The HOCC further emphasises that transit through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait is free of charge," the Houthi-backed administrative agency said. Last month, the Houthis declared a maritime blockade of only Saudi-flagged vessels and has claimed several attacks on oil tankers and infrastructure. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-of-hormuz-kuwait-jordan-air-base/#post-update-c472bc07 link copied The Israeli military said on Saturday it killed several Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon in an operation that also injured an Israeli soldier despite a ceasefire.
The military said it identified several Hezbollah fighters overnight inside what Israel has labeled a "security zone" in southern Lebanon occupied by its forces. "Following the identification, the soldiers struck the terrorists and eliminated them in order to remove the threat," the military said in a statement. Israeli forces "will continue to operate to remove any threat to its soldiers and will not allow the Hezbollah terrorist organisation to harm Israeli civilians", it said.
An Israeli soldier was moderately injured, the military said earlier, and was evacuated to a hospital for treatment. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-of-hormuz-kuwait-jordan-air-base/#post-update-9d23a982 link copied The United Nations on Saturday expressed concern over Israel's ongoing demolitions in southern Lebanon despite a ceasefire in its war with Iran-backed Hezbollah. "The scale of the detonations and demolitions taking place in south Lebanon is deeply concerning, with a devastating impact on civilian infrastructure, cultural heritage, and the collective memory of communities," the U.N.
said in a statement. The statement comes a day after the Israeli military carried out large overnight detonations near a UNESCO-listed castle in Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the army destroyed "terror tunnels in the Beaufort area" using approximately 700 tons of explosives.
Beaufort Castle was added last week to UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger . Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Friday labeled the detonation "an extremely dangerous escalation" and "a direct threat to the process which was launched as part of the framework agreement" reached with Israel during U.S.-sponsored talks last month. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-of-hormuz-kuwait-jordan-air-base/#post-update-deb61bd6 link copied Iraq and Turkey announced a one-year agreement to continue the flow of crude oil from Iraq to Turkey's Port of Ceyhan on Saturday.
"This pipeline, which delivers Iraqi oil to global markets securely and without interruption via Ceyhan, holds a more strategic position than ever in terms of regional and global energy supply security, as evidenced by developments in global oil markets," Alparslan Bayraktar, Turkey's energy minister, said in a statement. The pipeline is a clear way for Iraq to circumvent the Strait of Hormuz. The pipeline will carry 750,000 barrels of crude oil per day, according to the agreement.
The pipeline has been in existence since the 1970s, but a 50-year deal between Iraq and Turkey expired on July 27. Both sides said they were working on a long-term deal while the one-year agreement is in place. Every country exporting oil in the Middle East and many that rely on imports from the region are working to find alternatives to exporting oil out of the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz due to the ongoing conflict and apparent resignation that fees will eventually be placed on the strait.
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-of-hormuz-kuwait-jordan-air-base/#post-update-6b791679 link copied Investigators are probing whether Iranian hackers are behind the malicious cyber activity this week that targeted water systems in seven states, including Minnesota. If they are found to be the culprits, it would not be the first time Iranian actors have been linked to cyberattacks against the U.S. For more than a decade, Iranian-linked operators have repeatedly hacked accessible American targets.
They scan for widespread vulnerabilities and aim to create disruption, intimidate, gain publicity and undermine trust in the American government. But official confirmation can take weeks or months as investigators collect technical evidence. Investigators are also looking into whether the actor could have attempted to appear Iran-based as a way of stirring the pot amid the U.S.
war with Iran. Iran has long denied any involvement in cyberattacks. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-of-hormuz-kuwait-jordan-air-base/#post-update-d71fac93 link copied U.S.
embassies in several Middle Eastern capitals warned American citizens to beware an "unforeseen escalation" in the regional conflict and urged them to be ready to leave. "Americans in the region should consider departing, or be prepared to depart should there be escalation," said a security alert, versions of which were posted on social media by the U.S. missions in Amman, Jordan; Jerusalem and Baghdad.
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-of-hormuz-kuwait-jordan-air-base/#post-update-237f845f link copied The Israeli military said one of its soldiers was moderately injured during a "close-quarters encounter" with Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon overnight on Saturday, despite a ceasefire. "Overnight (Saturday), an IDF officer was moderately injured during operational activity in southern Lebanon," the military said in a statement, specifying to AFP that the soldier was "injured during a close-quarters encounter with terrorists" in the area. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-of-hormuz-kuwait-jordan-air-base/#post-update-59bab759 link copied Iran's military accused the United States of "escalating tensions" in the Middle East Saturday and warned countries in the region against cooperating with Washington during the ongoing conflict.
"The United States is rapidly moving down the path of escalating tensions in the region," said Ali Abdollahi, head of Iran's military central command. "Any country serving as defensive shield for criminal and aggressive America will be engulfed by the flames of war." https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-of-hormuz-kuwait-jordan-air-base/#post-update-bb163f78 link copied A senior Iranian official said Tehran has prepared a "comprehensive response" to the attacks the United States and Israel are reported to be planning against the country's energy infrastructure. The unnamed official told Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency the possible U.S.-Israeli attacks would be a "form of recklessness," because Iran...
