5 Updates
15m ago (00:30 GMT)
Israel’s Smotrich announces plan to expand illegal settlement near Nablus
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says Israel plans to build 763 new units in the illegal Eli settlement south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, near the scene of a deadly shooting on Friday.
According to the Anadolu news agency, Smotrich – a leading candidate in upcoming elections – told Israel’s Chanel 14 that the government intends to continue building settlement farms and communities.
Anadolu said the 763 units he announced plans for would triple the size of the illegal Eli settlement in the coming years.
On Friday, four Palestinians and two Israelis were killed near the village of Tal, southwest of Nablus, after Israeli settlers attacked the area, according Palestinian authorities.
Earlier this month, Smotrich said Israel’s security cabinet approved a budget of 1.3 billion shekels ($434m) for establishing 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. He said the government had approved 104 new settlements and 160 agricultural outposts in the occupied West Bank since taking office in late 2022.
The settlements are illegal under international law.
29m ago (00:15 GMT)
Iran condemns Ukrainian attack in Caspian Sea, summons diplomats
This is the first time we’ve witnessed such an incident, but there’s little hesitation in the strongest messages of condemnation coming from Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reflecting real concern about the potential for such attacks to be repeated.
The ministry first announced that it had summoned a top Ukrainian diplomat and condemned the attack as a violation of the UN Charter.
In a separate statement, the ministry said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held a phone call with the EU’s foreign policy chief, in which he called on the international community and the UN Security Council to respond to and condemn the attack.
In yet another statement, the ministry went beyond condemnation, warning of what it described as a hostile approach by Ukraine toward Iran.
This is critically important as Iran is already dealing with a US naval blockade that’s putting significant pressure on the country’s maritime trade.
35m ago (00:10 GMT)
WATCH: War on Iran, Phase II – Day 14
After 13 consecutive nights of US attacks on Iran, Friday night marked the first of no direct US bombing of Iran. But tensions remain high in the Strait of Hormuz, and the status of talks remains ambiguous.
Al Jazeera’s Mohammad Saleh has the latest updates.
42m ago (00:03 GMT)
A recap of recent developments
- Iran summons Ukraine’s diplomats after Kyiv bombs an Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea, killing at least one sailor and wounding another.
- Ukraine says it was targeting Russian vessels carrying Iran-linked military cargo, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia is assisting Iran in its military campaign in the Middle East.
- Yemen’s Houthis launch missile and drone attacks on Saudi Aramco oil facilities in Jizan and Yanbu on the Red Sea coast, in retaliation for Saudi-led coalition strikes on Hodeidah port and Kamaran Island.
- The US military says it boarded a tanker in the Arabian Sea as part of its blockade on Iranian ports, a day after US forces fired on another vessel trying to breach the naval blockade.
- Israeli forces have killed at least six Palestinians and wounded seven others in Gaza, as Israeli military raids and settler attacks spread across the occupied West Bank, including in Hebron, Nablus and Tulkarem.
- Lebanese media report huge explosions in Nabatieh, as well as Israeli strikes in Kfar Tebnit and Markaba in southern Lebanon, as Israel continues to breach a US-brokered “ceasefire”.
45m ago (00:00 GMT)
Welcome to our coverage
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 analyses from across the Middle East and beyond.
You can find our updates from Saturday, July 25, here.
People hold Iranian flags near a ‘Shut down the bases’ banner during an antiwar protest outside RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, Britain, on July 25, 2026 [Toby Melville/Reuters]
