President Donald Trump has insisted that Iran “cannot have a nuclear weapon” as strikes have spread across the Middle East.
The US leader appeared to backtrack from an earlier threat of massive strikes and said that discussions had been going “well”.
“They are talking to us right now. They’d love to make a deal. I don’t think they’re ready to. I don’t think it’s time yet, but I’m willing to listen,” he said in remarks at the White House on Friday.
“But they cannot have a nuclear weapon. We don’t want to see Washington DC, or any of our cities, or Israel, or frankly the Middle East, destroyed with a nuclear weapons, because I know the power of nuclear weapons.”
Conflict has spread across the Middle East as Yemen’s Houthi rebel group and Saudi Arabia exchanged strikes overnight.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack on the southern Saudi city of Jizan after targets in the Yemeni port city of Hodeida and a nearby island were hit by Saudi on Friday.
Accusing Riyadh of a “dangerous escalation”, they had warned the attacks would not go “unanswered”.
The Houthis have threatened a maritime blockade in the Red Sea, impacting Saudi shipping.
Greek-operated air defence system shoots down missiles over Saudi
An air defence system operated by Greek military personnel in Saudi Arabia intercepted two ballistic missiles launched from Yemen on Saturday targeting oil refineries in Yanbu, Greek security sources told Reuters.
Maira Butt25 July 2026 10:55
Incident involving tanker and military forces reported in Gulf of Oman, UKMTO says
A tanker was involved in an encounter with military forces in the Gulf of Oman on Friday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said on Saturday.
UKMTO advised vessels to consult the latest maritime security information and remain alert to the evolving operational environment.
Maira Butt25 July 2026 10:22
Experts warn the real pinch from the Iran war is about to strike
Patrick DeHaan, petroleum analyst for GasBuddy, said Friday on social media that while oil prices were “taking a breather for today” after recently surging by $20 a barrel, he’s still expecting the national average cost of a gallon of gas to soon reach $4.20 to $4.30.
Shon Hiatt, director of the University of Southern California’s Zage Business of Energy Initiative, said oil markets apparently assumed that political pressure would force Trump to quickly end the war he launched without congressional authorization on February 28.
Maira Butt25 July 2026 09:58
WATCH: Trump says Iran war ‘going extremely well’ but warns regime has ‘evil intentions’
Rachel Dobkin25 July 2026 09:30
FULL STORY: Trump went on expletive-laden rant against ‘scumbags’ in Iran as his frustration with war mounts: report
During a recent Oval Office meeting, the president called the Iranian leaders “scumbags” and “lunatics,” a person who overheard the remarks told The Wall Street Journal.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that Iran broke a memorandum of understanding with the United States by shooting at commercial ships and killing American soldiers.
Ariana Baio25 July 2026 09:00
Fired military officials claim they were ousted by Pete Hegseth for questioning orders
Two former US military officers have accused the country’s Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of firing them for questioning his orders, according to a report.
The officers, who spoke to MS NOW anonymously for fear of reprisals from the Pentagon, said Hegseth had effectively forced them to retire early after interpreting their raising issues about his directives as insubordination.
The secretary “is intimidated by people who have real warfighting background and don’t just talk about the warrior ethos”, one of the officers claimed. “I think he just can’t stand people around who will call him on his bulls***”.
They argued that if Hegseth were serious about encouraging “warfighters”, as he has frequently claimed, he would not have removed Gen. Christopher Donahue, the top Army commander for Europe and Africa, from his post.
A spokesperson for the Pentagon denied the claims, branding them “completely false”.
Joe Sommerlad25 July 2026 08:40
Iran accuses EU of ‘hypocrisy’ over war
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson has hit out at the European Union’s Kaja Kallas after she expressed concerns about human rights in the country.
On Saturday, Esmail Baghaei, wrote in a post on X: “Kaja Kalals speaks of the European Union’s ‘human rights concerns’ regarding Iran.
“How can a professed commitment to human rights be so easily reconciled with providing logistical and technical support for lethal aggressions against the Iranian people — aggressions that deliberately target civilians and critical national infrastructure?
“All while refusing to condemn even the most blatant war crimes, and offering not a single word of sympathy for Iranian children slaughtered by American-Israeli bombs and missiles enabled by the EU’s own ‘logistical and technical support.’
“This is not merely a loss of credibility. It is the banality of evil — and the purest form of hypocrisy.”
The US and Israel deny committing war crimes.
Maira Butt25 July 2026 08:20
Trump says Iran is ‘most serious’ yet in discussions
President Donald Trump said that Iran is now far “more serious” in discussions than it has been in the conflict so far.
“I think they are being by far the most serious that we’ve seen,” he said on Friday. “But that doesn’t mean we get there.”
He added: “They are talking to us right now. They’d love to make a deal. I don’t think they’re ready to. I don’t think it’s time yet, but I’m willing to listen.”
Maira Butt25 July 2026 08:00
Trump insists Iran ‘cannot have a nuclear weapon’ as he insists talks are going ‘well’
President Donald Trump has insisted that Iran “cannot have a nuclear weapon” in comments made during the White House Correspondents’ dinner on Friday.
He also said that talks between the countries had been going “well” as he seemingly backtracked from the “massive” strikes he had earlier threatened.
“They are talking to us right now. They’d love to make a deal. I don’t think they’re ready to. I don’t think it’s time yet, but I’m willing to listen.
“But they cannot have a nuclear weapon. We don’t want to see Washington DC, or any of our cities, or Israel, or frankly the Middle East, destroyed with a nuclear weapons, because I know the power of nuclear weapons.
“I see it. I get to see it. We’re not going to let that happen. So this is all about we will not let them have a nuclear weapon. And they would use it. They would use if they had it.”
Maira Butt25 July 2026 07:40
Houthis and Saudi Arabia exchange strikes as conflict spreads
Saudi Arabia has Yemen’s Houthi rebel group has claimed responsibility for an attack on Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
The missile attack on the southern Saudi city of Jizan came after days of escalating tensions, in which they vowed retaliation against the country for attacking its military targets on Friday.
Accusing Riyadh of a “dangerous escalation”, it said its attacks would not go “unanswered”.
The Houthis had been threatening a maritime blockade in the Red Sea, impacting Saudi shipping.
“The terrorist Houthi military … targeted commercial ships in the Red Sea,” Turki al-Maliki, the Saudi-led coalition’s spokesperson, said on X, adding that after carrying out attacks on the Houthi targets the “military response is now over”.
The attacks hit Houthi targets in the Yemeni port city of Hodeida and a nearby island on Friday.
Maira Butt25 July 2026 07:17
