Iran\u2019s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf expanded on the threats, saying no one will be able to sell oil in a region where Iran is not able to do so, and adding that if Tehran\u2019s security is not ensured, no infrastructure will be safe.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe equation of this war is clear: either all or none,\u201d Ghalibaf said in a post on X.<\/p>\n
\t \u201cOur defense doctrine is clear: eye for an eye. Any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response,\u201d Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X.<\/p>\n In addition, Iran\u2019s state broadcaster quoted the military as saying that US threats \u201cwill have no result other than the expansion of the war.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran on Wednesday fired missiles and drones<\/a> at several Arab regional countries, including at Jordan\u2019s Red Sea port of Aqaba, the interceptions of which could be heard in Israel\u2019s southern city of Eilat.<\/p>\n Missile alerts also sounded in Kuwait and Bahrain. The Iranian military said it targeted US assets in both small Gulf countries, including air defense systems, radar installations and administrative buildings.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia warned residents of the Gulf city of Dammam to seek shelter. Saudi authorities later said the danger had passed, without elaborating.<\/p>\n On Wednesday afternoon, a US missile hit Larak island in the strait, Iran\u2019s Tasnim news agency reported, saying the extent of the damage was being investigated.<\/p>\n The US military said earlier Wednesday that it had completed an 11th night of strikes on Iran, with targets including aircraft hangars and drone storage sites.<\/p>\n \t Iran\u2019s state-run IRNA news agency reported explosions across several provinces. Iran\u2019s Health Ministry says US strikes over the past 11 days have killed 53 people, including six women and three children, and wounded nearly 600 people.<\/p>\n Trump had said earlier that the next US target<\/a> could be an underground complex known as Pickaxe Mountain<\/a>, or Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La in Persian, a site in the Natanz area where Western intelligence agencies suspect Iran is building an undeclared nuclear enrichment facility.<\/p>\n Iran threatened reprisals, with the Khatam Al-Anbiya military command saying it would \u201cconsider it as an expansion of war\u201d if such an attack were carried out, threatening strikes on \u201call the interests of America, the allies and supporters,\u201d the state broadcaster reported. However, it again denied the existence of any secret nuclear complex at the site, calling it a \u201cfabricated pretext for aggression.\u201d<\/p>\n \t Report: US told Israel it plans to escalate with heavy bombers<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Kan public broadcaster reported Wednesday that the US has informed Israel that it plans to escalate its strikes on Iran in the coming days, including the use of heavy bombers for the first time since this year\u2019s joint US-Israeli campaign.<\/p>\n According to the report, the bombers are expected to target Pickaxe Mountain, based on repeated threats by Trump over the past week that the area would be hit \u201cpretty soon.\u201d<\/p>\n The close security coordination between Jerusalem and Washington is reportedly intended to allow Israel to prepare for the possibility that Iran could respond to the intensified US strikes by escalating its own attacks, including launching missiles at Israel.<\/p>\n Israel is at its peak level of readiness tonight following the US update, Kan reported.<\/p>\n \t Additionally, the Axios news site reported that the head of Israel\u2019s Mossad intelligence agency traveled to Washington two weeks ago to discuss the Iran war, in his first visit to the US capital since taking office. The report cited two unidentified sources with knowledge of the situation.<\/p>\n Roman Gofman met with CIA Director John Ratcliffe and White House officials, the report said.<\/p>\n Channel 14 news \u2014 an Israeli right-wing TV station which has repeatedly been accused of violating IDF censor rules \u2014 reported that a \u201cvery important Israeli delegation\u201d visited the US two weeks ago in an attempt to convince Trump to bomb Pickaxe Mountain.<\/p>\n The report did not cite any specific sources.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident \u2013 ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded \u2013 I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.<\/p>\n There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.<\/p>\n As a Times of Israel reporter, I\u2019m committed to telling stories of resilience like Shilgit\u2019s. But my colleagues and I can’t do this alone. If you value work like this, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to keep real human reporting like this going.<\/p>\n \u2014 Stav Levaton, military reporter<\/p>\n \t\t\t
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26203567771256-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tA man rides on his motorbike as boys ride their bicycles in downtown Tehran, Iran, July 22, 2026. (AP Photo\/Vahid Salemi)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AFP__20260722__C2U699J__v1__HighRes__UsIranIsraelWar-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tThis screen grab, made on July 22, 2026, from handout video footage released by the US Central Command on July 21, 2026, shows US forces launching what the military says are precision strikes targeting Iranian military capabilities for the eleventh consecutive night. (CENTCOM via AFP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26203226244583-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tThis June 15, 2026, photo from Planet Labs PBC shows Iran\u2019s Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, upper right, and the construction at Pickaxe Mountain directly to the south of it. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP25173644791458-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tA B-2 bomber arrives at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, June 22, 2025. (AP Photo\/David Smith)<\/p>\n
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