Iran-US war latest: Tehran threatens Trump’s allies after ‘targeting UAE with ballistic missiles’

US secretary of state Marco Rubio held a phone call with UAE’s national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan about regional security.

“The two discussed a number of regional security issues, including Lebanon, as well as continued US-UAE coordination to hold Iran and its terrorist proxies accountable for ongoing attacks,” the state department said in a statement.

During the call, Rubio stressed the importance of freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, the statement said.

UAE has suspended all trade exchanges and financial transactions with Iran indefinitely after accusing Iran of firing two ballistic missiles towards the Gulf state.

Iran has denied the allegations, calling it a false flag operation.

US under secretary of war Michael Duffey has blamed the Biden administration for failing to develop the country’s industrial base, amid growing reports about the US military’s dwindling weapons stockpile.

As the Iran war drags on, there have been multiple reports of the US military burning through long-range missiles and interceptors.

US president Donald Trump has maintained that the military has “massive amounts” of munitions.

“We would always like to have more weapons than we have right now, which is why we are so focused on engaging with our industrial partners, entering these deals, and ensuring that we ramp the production of these key missiles as quickly as possible”, Duffey told Fox News.

“We are making up for lost time. The Biden Administration did not deliver — they did not focus on developing the industrial base that we need in order to ensure that we have munitions for the foreseeable future. President Trump and [US Defense] Secretary [Pete] Hegseth are delivering”, he added.

As Donald Trump continued his attacks on Iran earlier this month, a deal that could radically reshape security in the Middle East was quietly being done in Saudi Arabia.

On 7 August, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed the Mecca Joint Defence agreement, a Nato-style mutual defence pact that states an attack on any one of the group will be considered an attack on all.

Turkey boasts the second largest army in Nato (second only to the US), while Saudi Arabia is the second most oil-rich nation on the planet. Pakistan is a nuclear power that has also acted as a broker between the US and Iran throughout the ongoing conflict.

Iran’s military has warned Gulf states against providing assistance to US forces, saying that nothing is “hidden from our eyes”.

Ali Abdollahi, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, said the presence of large numbers of US military aircraft, particularly refuelling planes, at bases across the region would be difficult to explain without the knowledge of host countries.

“Any assistance and facilitation to the aggressive US army is tantamount to participation with the US military forces,” Abdollahi said in a statement carried by Iran’s Fars news agency.

But this time the target of his ire was unexpected. Oman, an American ally for almost 200 years, would be bombed “to s***” if it interfered with a potential US-Iran peace deal, Trump told a FOX News reporter.

It was not the first time that Trump had threatened Oman, previously warning the country in May to “behave” or face potential military action.

Throughout the US-Israeli war in Iran, Muscat has endured retaliatory strikes across its ports and energy infrastructure but has still taken part in negotiations towards a resolution.

The Strait of Hormuz runs between both countries and it therefore has a personal interest in progress.

South Korean foreign minister Cho Hyun said on Wednesday that US president Donald Trump’s order to curb joint military drills appeared ⁠aimed in part at pressuring Seoul to support US efforts in the Iran war, alongside other unresolved issues such as investment.

Trump has ordered the Pentagon to scale down one of the major military drills between US and South Korean militaries. He has asked the drills to be shortened from 11 days to five days.

“I think President Trump’s message includes pressure over several pending issues concerning ⁠the South Korean government, as ​well ⁠as a message to North Korea and an intention by the United States to break ⁠a stalemate in the Iran war,” Cho said.

One ​potential ⁠source of friction could ‌be South Korea’s pledge to invest $350bn in the United States under a trade deal signed last year, Cho ‌said.

“We could not ⁠move faster on the investment plan as we had to consider factors such as commercial viability and take legal procedures,” Cho said. He cited other unexpected problems, without elaborating.

Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz dropped significantly last week, with confirmed crossings falling 19.5 per cent to 95 transits.

Only three vessels made it through the waterway on Sunday, according to shipping data platform Kpler.

The ships used the Iranian-designated route through the strait, with no crossings recorded through the Omani routes.

Crossings through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait increased 6.7 per cent to 254 transits, while so-called dark transits, in which ships turn off the transponders that broadcast their location, fell from 40 to 16, Kpler said.

Iran is considering attacks on US military targets in Europe if Donald Trump escalates the conflict, according to people close to the Iranian regime.

Two regime insiders told the Financial Times that Iranian forces have assessed potential strikes against US assets in south-eastern Europe, including Bulgaria.

The country approved the use of its Bezmer air base by refuelling US aircraft last month, making it a potential target in any renewed escalation.

Cyprus, which houses a major British base, has also reportedly been considered as a possible target for retaliation.

Iran is considering attacks on US military targets in Europe if Donald Trump escalates the conflict, according to people close to the Iranian regime.

Two regime insiders told the Financial Times that Iranian forces have assessed potential strikes against US assets in south-eastern Europe, including Bulgaria.

The country approved the use of its Bezmer air base by refuelling US aircraft last month, making it a potential target in any renewed escalation.

Cyprus, which houses a major British base, has also reportedly been considered as a possible target for retaliation.

A record number of humanitarian workers were attacked last year, ⁠driven partly by increased use of armed drones, the United Nations said on Wednesday, calling the trend “appalling”.

Some 907 aid workers were killed, injured or kidnapped in 2025 versus 833 the year before, according to the Aid Worker Security Database, a ⁠platform funded by Canada and Australia that ​compiles ⁠major security incidents affecting aid workers.

Of those, 350 were killed, down slightly from a record 387 in 2024.

United Nations ⁠secretary-general Antonio Guterres said the level of violence was appalling and urged ​states ⁠to respect the rules of war ‌and hold perpetrators accountable.

“Serving others has become more dangerous than ever,” he said, ahead of UN ceremonies planned for World Humanitarian Day with ‌flags at half-staff in New York and ‌Geneva in honour of those killed.

UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said the proliferation of cheap and adaptable armed drones in conflicts has increased the risks.

In March, drone strikes ⁠hit Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least three people including a French aid worker, while aid convoys in Sudan and Ukraine have been repeatedly hit.

Gaza was by far the most deadly place for aid workers in 2025 with 186 humanitarians killed there last year, the database showed, followed by Sudan.

The UN Palestinian refugee ‌agency has reported at least 393 staff killed there since ​the Israel-Gaza war began on October 7, 2023.

Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have accused Israel of undermining the stalled peace process in Gaza after an airstrike killed six people.

Leaders of the groups said the strike was “in clear defiance of the mediators’ efforts to solidify the ceasefire agreement and ensure its implementation”.

Hamas called for stepped-up efforts to “put an end to these violations and compel the occupation to cease them completely.”

The Israel Defence Forces, however, said it had “struck several Hamas commanders” in the attack.

The Israel Defence Forces, however, said it had “struck several Hamas commanders” in the attack.

An Israeli plane fired two missiles at a small cafe inside the ⁠fishing harbour in western Gaza City on Tuesday.

The seaport has turned into a large displacement ⁠camp for Palestinian families during the war that began in October 2023.

A 13-year-old boy and his father were among those killed, while more than a dozen others were injured, medical officials at Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital said.