Democracy Dies with Dictatorship
NY Times
Jul 16, 2026
Iran War Live Updates: U.S. and Iran Escalate Attacks, While Hinting at Diplomacy
As the renewed fighting entered its sixth day, both sides appeared to leave the door open to more negotiations to end the war.
By Ravi MattuFrancesca RegaladoQasim NaumanShirin Hakim and Farnaz Fassihi
Here’s the latest.
The United States and Iran escalated their attacks overnight, even as the two countries signaled that they were open to diplomacy to end a war that has now narrowed its focus to control of the Strait of Hormuz.
President Trump welcomed Iran’s decision on Wednesday to release Dena Karari, a dual American-Iranian citizen who had been charged with espionage and held for two years, describing it as a good-will gesture. Separately, in a speech broadcast on Iranian state television on Wednesday, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the country’s top negotiator, hinted that new talks were still possible to end the conflict, even as he defended Iran’s stance on controlling the strait and warned that it was fighting an “existential” war.
Despite those potential openings to diplomacy, both sides continued attacking for a sixth straight day. Analysts say that the conflict, which Mr. Trump said would last just weeks, now risks turning into another American forever war.
Iranian state media reported on Thursday afternoon local time that new airstrikes had hit Qeshm Island, which is strategically located in the Strait of Hormuz. Overnight, the U.S. military said it had targeted Iranian command centers and air defense and surveillance facilities in a wave of strikes on multiple locations, including the port city of Bandar Abbas. U.S. Central Command, which oversees American forces in the Middle East, said that the military action in recent days was an effort to weaken Iran’s ability to threaten commercial vessels in the waterway.
The Iranian military said on Thursday that it had launched strikes on U.S. military assets in Jordan and Kuwait. The Kuwaiti Army said on social media that it had intercepted Iranian drones. The Jordanian military said that it had shot down eight Iranian missiles and that there were no casualties or damage.
Ebrahim Zolfaghari, an Iranian military spokesman, said in a statement that “all infrastructure in the region” would “be crushed” if Mr. Trump made good on his renewed threat to target bridges, power plants and other civilian sites. Such attacks could be considered war crimes under international law.
Aerial attacks were also reported in parts of the country on Thursday, according to Iranian state media. It reported that air defenses were activated in Tehran, the Iranian capital, and strikes were reported on Semnan Airport about 145 miles east of the city.
Here’s what else to know:
Naval blockade: The U.S. military said it had disabled an oil tanker and “redirected” two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz in the first 24 hours since reimposing a naval blockade on Iranian ports on Tuesday. Central Command also said that it had fired on an oil tanker near Kharg Island, Iran’s oil export hub, the first time it has targeted a commercial vessel since the new blockade began. Read more ›
American released: The Iranian authorities freed Ms. Karari, who had been prevented from leaving the country since December 2024. Her lawyer, Jared Genser, said that she had been caught up in Iran’s long-held practice of apprehending dual citizens to use as political pawns. Read more ›
Gas prices: The average price of diesel in the United States rose above $5 a gallon on Thursday, the first time it has done so since June, as renewed fighting over the Strait of Hormuz puts pressure on energy prices. Read more ›
July 16, 2026, 12:46 p.m. ET35 minutes ago
Mike Abrams is the deputy editor for Trust, working to help readers understand The Times and its journalistic values.
Times Insider
A Times reporter describes getting into wartime Iran and what he saw there.
Even before the current war, Iran was among the hardest places in the world to report on. Much of the work of The New York Times happens from the outside, through conversations with contacts inside, verified visual material and social media posts.
But this month, Abdi Latif Dahir, a Middle East correspondent, and Emile Ducke, a photographer, became the first Times journalists to visit Iran since before the United States and Israel attacked in late February. They were joined by two colleagues from The Times’s video department, and together, they traveled from three continents to witness the funeral ceremonies of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s slain supreme leader.
To help readers better understand how they approached the assignment, I spoke to Abdi about his preparations and how he worked through constraints. These are edited excerpts from our conversation.
Abdi, images of the mourners streamed across screens around the world. It appeared to be so crowded that the funeral procession vehicles could barely move. Can you take us there?
ABDI LATIF DAHIR: The funeral ceremonies unfolded over several days across different cities. I attended four of them, and each seemed more crowded, emotional and overwhelming than the last. The most astonishing was the funeral procession that culminated in Tehran’s Azadi Square. It was a sweltering day, and the crowds seemed endless.
The sheer scale of the turnout, the weight of the moment, the palpable sense of history and the raw chaos of mourning made it extraordinary to witness. It was a funeral for a man revered by millions, but also for one whose rule was marked by repression, imprisonment, torture, executions and exile. His legacy is one of deep veneration for many, and profound pain for many others.
The Iranian government tightly restricts access to independent journalists. How did that work in practice?
ABDI: We were assigned a translator and a guide who accompanied us at all times. We understood that our access was specifically to cover the funeral ceremonies, not to conduct broader reporting in the country. But there was one thing we always made clear: Our editorial independence was not negotiable. We would document what we saw, what we heard and what people told us, without approval or interference. Despite the restrictions, I went in with my eyes and ears open, trying to be fully present and capture the moment as honestly as possible.
How did you prepare for the trip?
ABDI: The visas came through very last minute. I remember rushing from a reporting assignment in Beirut to the Iranian embassy to pick mine up.
While we were racing to secure the paperwork, we also had to figure out the logistics of getting there. The airspace was expected to close, and flights from many places were filling up. Our colleague Erika Solomon, who is also the Iran and Iraq bureau chief, worked hard alongside several of our Iran researchers and bureau managers in the region to help coordinate travel. We were a team coming from three different continents, and we needed to find a central meeting point so that we could enter the country together.
We also had to think carefully about what equipment to bring, like phones and laptops. We were in touch with The Times’s Information Security team to help us prepare. All of this happened within the span of just a few days.
Let’s talk about those assigned guides. How did that work?
ABDI: We had two handlers with us throughout the trip. In the beginning, one asked for a lot of details, including where we planned to go and what we hoped to do. Gradually, his approach changed and he became much more relaxed, especially as we worked in preapproved places like the Grand Mosalla, the sprawling mosque complex in Tehran where some of the mourning ceremonies took place.
The second handler spoke English flawlessly and said that he had a Ph.D. from a university in the United States. He went around with us and arranged for us to have dinner at a nice restaurant in northern Tehran. But at times, he would tell us we could not photograph certain places or say we couldn’t go to certain places without explaining why. It was a strange and sometimes surreal dynamic: We had normal conversations and even friendly interactions while knowing we were being monitored.
How were you generally received by everyday Iranians?
ABDI: They were very kind to us. People would approach me and ask where we were from and what we were reporting on. Sometimes they would simply take the opportunity to tell us what they wanted the world to know, often sharing their thoughts about President Trump and the United States.
I was fascinated by how many people I met, particularly younger Iranians in Tehran, who dressed less conservatively than often assumed — men in shorts, women with dyed hair and riding motorcycles — revealing a layered social landscape. They were warm and polite with us, but almost all were unwilling to be interviewed. Even those who stopped to talk would often make clear that they did not want to risk getting into trouble.
You described the streets as “managed and staged.” How is that different from, say, security we see at major events in the United States?
ABDI: There was a level of organization and uniformity that went beyond what you would normally see at a large public gathering. Stations set up by the government were distributing flags, posters and headbands, so many of the symbols people carried had been provided in a very coordinated way.
How did you file your reports? Was there internet access?
For the most part, we had no usable internet at the events. That shaped the way we worked. We had to gather material quickly, return to the hotel, file our stories and then go back out. It was especially challenging for the photo and video teams, given the large files they have to send. With roads closed, our shoes became the unsung heroes of the trip as we walked constantly between events and the hotel while racing to file.
You were in Tehran, the capital, and another large city, Mashhad. How would you compare them?
ABDI: Both cities were united in grief: There was a sea of black-clad mourners, an unmistakable sense of loss, and an emotional atmosphere. Even the landscapes felt similar. Both cities are surrounded by mountains, which seemed to give them the same solemn feeling.
But the mood wasn’t quite the same. In Tehran, the mourning felt more political. Alongside the grief, there was a strong current of defiance, with many people chanting slogans and calling for revenge. As the capital and the seat of power, it felt like people were also making a political statement.
Mashhad, by contrast, felt more spiritual. The ceremonies centered on the Imam Reza shrine, and the emphasis seemed to be on prayer, remembrance and paying religious respects. There were political messages there too, but the overwhelming feeling was one of devotion and mourning.
You’ve reported in many challenging countries, including Rwanda, Somalia and Syria. So you’ve seen your share of hardship, violence and political upheaval. How does wartime Iran compare?
ABDI: Iran is a massive, sprawling country, and we were only able to see very specific parts of two cities. But the scars of the war were still visible.
We also heard about the impact of the war. About how the war had added to the economic pressures they were already facing, how wages were low and how difficult it was to find jobs. So even amid all the ceremony, the crowds and the displays of power, there was a very clear sense that life for many Iranians was difficult.
What did you find most remarkable about Iran, despite the limited picture?
ABDI: What struck me most was the people: how curious and warm they were, and how deeply proud they felt of their country, its history and its culture. It reinforced something I think is true of every country. They cannot be reduced to its politics or the headlines. Iran contains multitudes. There are so many different stories, perspectives and lives unfolding there. I came away wishing we had more time and opportunity to document that complexity, rather than just one extraordinary moment in the country’s history.
July 16, 2026, 12:00 p.m. ET1 hour ago
Sanam Mahoozi
New airstrikes targeted Iran’s Qeshm Island, a strategic island in the Strait of Hormuz, on Thursday afternoon, state media reported. State media attributed the attacks to the United States, and said damage assessments were still underway. The port city of Bandar Abbas was also hit a few hours later, state media reported.
July 16, 2026, 11:59 a.m. ET1 hour ago
Gas production facilities at the Khor Mor field in Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdistan region were shut down by its Dubai-listed operator, Dana gas on Thursday. The shutdown came in response to an elevated security risk in the area, the electricity ministry said, after eight explosives-laden drones were shot down last night in Iraqi Kurdistan, a close U.S. security partner.
Also on Thursday, a drone struck near an oil tanker in the port of Iraq’s oil-rich southern province of Basra, local media reported. Iraq’s oil ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that a “foreign object” fell near a tanker, but caused no damage, and said loading was continuing as normal.
July 16, 2026, 11:11 a.m. ET2 hours ago
Shuaib Almosawa
Reporting from Sanaa, Yemen
The leader of Yemen’s Houthis, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, warned that his group would target Saudi energy infrastructure with missiles and drones if it further escalated its attacks, days after Saudi Arabia targeted Yemen’s main international airport. Those strikes were sparked by a dispute over an Iranian plane that attempted to land carrying Yemeni medical patients returning home, as well as a large Houthi delegation that had attended the funeral for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s slain supreme leader.
“All Saudi oil installations and highly vital facilities are targets for our missiles and drones if it involves itself in a comprehensive aggression against our country and moves toward escalation,” al-Houthi said in a televised address on Thursday.
His speech is the strongest escalatory address yet against Saudi Arabia, which he accused of “serving the American-British-Israeli agenda” throughout the nearly two-hour speech.
July 16, 2026, 8:45 a.m. ET5 hours ago
Jenny Gross and Katie Robertson
Reporting from London
Strait of Hormuz tanker traffic erodes further.
Just 13 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the first full day of the reinstated U.S. naval blockade on maritime traffic to and from Iranian ports in the vital waterway.
Traffic through the strait declined markedly, down from 21 ships the day before, according to Kpler, a maritime data firm. Most of the vessels passed through Iranian waters, using the route Tehran has mandated.
But the U.S. naval blockade was likely to severely diminish Iran’s hold over the strait and its ability to act as a gatekeeper of traffic and bring in revenue through sales of its oil. U.S. Central Command said on Wednesday that it had intercepted two ships that were trying to cross the blockade.
Of the ships that transited the strait on Wednesday, five were sanctioned, according to Kpler. Some ships sail with their tracking devices turned off, obscuring their precise routes and making it hard to have a complete picture of shipping activity.
The stealth tactics also make it hard to immediately know where ships ended up after passing through the strait.
The dwindling traffic comes as fighting between Iran and the United States over the strait, which is a critical thoroughfare for oil and gas shipments, extended into a sixth day. The blockade has added to the uncertainties facing shippers looking to move oil in and out of the region. Before the start of the war, more than 130 vessels passed through the strait on average each day.
During the first U.S. blockade, in effect from April until mid-June, forces redirected more than 140 ships and disabled nine near the Strait of Hormuz and further afield, preventing them from reaching their final destinations and depriving Iran of billions in oil revenue.
The renewed blockade could hit oil prices harder than the first one, which saw prices soaring as high as $120 a barrel by the end of April. Now, after months of fighting, global oil reserves are even lower as national and commercial stockpiles were tapped to minimize shortages.
Neither the United States nor Iran wants the strait to be completely closed, but neither side appears willing to make significant concessions, said Ben May, the director of global macroeconomic research at Oxford Economics. Prolonged tension seems inevitable, he said.
“As a result, shipping firms will limit or stop voyages through the strait and Gulf states will redouble efforts to diversify routes, eventually reducing the strait’s strategic importance,” he said.
Oil prices rise as diesel hits $5 a gallon.
On Thursday, Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, rose roughly 1 percent from the previous day to above $85 a barrel; prices have remained elevated since the hostilities were reignited this week. West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, rose above $80 a barrel.
Price of Brent crude oil
The average price of diesel in the United States rose above $5 a gallon again on Thursday, up 7 cents from the day before and 33 percent since the start of the war with Iran. Diesel prices first surpassed $5 in March before retreating when Iran and the United States agreed to a tentative cease-fire that has since fallen apart. But the renewed fighting as well as reduced refinery capacity is once again pushing up prices at the pump.
Stocks were subdued on Thursday. Having slumped across Europe, stocks ticked lower as markets opened in the United States, with the S&P 500 falling 0.4 percent. Europe’s benchmark Stoxx 600 index fell 0.6 percent. Markets in Asia finished lower, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 declining 2.8 percent and South Korea’s KOSPI tumbling 6.4 percent.