Democracy Dies with Dictatorship
NY Times
Jul 20, 2026
Iran War Live Updates: U.S. and Iran Signal Hope for Diplomacy Despite New Attacks
Energy prices rose on Monday amid the escalating strikes by the United States and Iran. Still, both countries’ top diplomats indicated that they were open to restarting talks.
July 20, 2026, 6:52 a.m. ET
Aaron BoxermanYan ZhuangHari Raj and Sanam Mahoozi
Here’s the latest.
The United States and Iran offered hints on Monday that they were willing to restart talks, with both countries saying they were open to negotiations after a week of deadly attacks across the Middle East shattered last month’s cease-fire.
The escalating hostilities have extended beyond the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for global oil and gas supplies that Iran has sought to control, and sent oil prices sharply higher. The latest Iranian attacks have killed American service members and damaged critical infrastructure of U.S. allies across the Persian Gulf. U.S. forces have bombarded Iranian military sites and key infrastructure.
Esmaeil Baghaei, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, said in a news conference on Monday that Iran had received ideas for de-escalating tensions but did not offer details. Last month’s short-lived cease-fire collapsed after mutual recriminations over Iran’s grip over the strait.
The Trump administration also signaled a cautious willingness to engage in new negotiations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Sunday night that “if that door opens, we’ll be happy to see it open.” But he added that Iran’s “behavior has to change in order for ours to change.”
It was unclear whether the two countries could reach a compromise quickly. U.S. officials said on Sunday that more warplanes were being sent to the Middle East, a sign that the Trump administration may be preparing to ramp up its attacks.
At least three American troops have been killed in the Middle East since Friday, and a fourth is missing. Two were killed in an Iranian missile barrage on a base in Jordan that hosts U.S. forces, while the third died during a controlled detonation of an Iranian attack drone, according to the U.S. military.
Iranian forces fired on Kuwait and Bahrain — both of which host U.S. forces — overnight and into Monday morning, the two countries said. The U.S. military said it had carried out more strikes on Iranian military sites overnight, the ninth consecutive day of attacks. At least 50 people have been killed in Iran since the cease-fire broke down, according to the Iranian authorities.
Here’s what else we’re covering:
Strait of Hormuz: A British navy monitoring agency said a vessel was on fire off the coast of Oman, near a route through the strait that Iran has warned ships against using. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said two tankers had “exploded and were forced to cease movement” after trying to use the alternate route, though it did not directly claim responsibility.
Troop deaths: The latest confirmed U.S. military death occurred on Saturday, when a soldier was struck by fragments or debris from the controlled detonation of a drone in Iraq, said a U.S. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The official also said that remains recovered at the scene of the Iranian attack in Jordan were believed to be those of a missing soldier. Read more ›
Aircraft deployment: Air Force F-16 fighter jets from Germany and F-35 jets from Britain were being sent to the Middle East, U.S. officials said on Sunday. Additional aerial refueling aircraft were also on the way, according to the officials, who were not authorized to publicly discuss operational matters. They added that the deployment had been in the works before the recent troop deaths.
Energy prices: Gas prices in the United States rose to $4 a gallon on Monday, according to the AAA motor club, reaching levels seen in the early parts of the war. Read more ›
July 20, 2026, 7:04 a.m. ET24 minutes ago
Leo Sands
The Pentagon identified the two U.S. service members who were killed by an Iranian attack on an American military base in Jordan on Friday.
The Defense Department said on Monday that 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Hawaii, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Texas, were killed in the strike on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, and that the authorities would continue to investigate.
July 20, 2026, 6:55 a.m. ET33 minutes ago
Sanam Mahoozi and Leo Sands
The latest round of U.S. strikes hit targets spanning Iran’s southwest and northwest, Iranian officials said, according to state media reports on Monday.
Around Tabriz, in the northwest, a local crisis management official said U.S. attacks had killed at least one person and injured others. Along the Persian Gulf coastline, U.S. missiles and projectiles hit the port cities of Bushehr and Bandar Imam Khomeini, the governors of the regions said. And around Urmia, near the Turkish border in northwest Iran, an “enemy projectile” injured several others, emergency officials said.
July 20, 2026, 5:02 a.m. ET2 hours ago
Eric Schmitt covers the U.S. military.
The Pentagon did not disclose information about dozens of U.S. military injuries.
In the week leading up to the Iranian attack on Friday that killed two U.S. soldiers and left one service member missing in Jordan, Iran carried out three other strikes against U.S. forces in the country.
Those attacks injured dozens of U.S. service members and damaged several helicopters, according to several U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters.
But the Pentagon did not disclose the earlier strikes, nor the casualties and damage they inflicted.
The episode is the latest example during the Iran conflict of the tension between what the Pentagon says is the need for operational security and the government’s obligation to inform the public about the conduct of the war.
In statements after airstrikes against Iranian military sites last week, U.S. Central Command said it was retaliating for Iran’s attacks against commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, never mentioning Iran’s strikes on bases in the region, including in Jordan.
Central Command is not required to release information about injured service members, especially when they quickly return to duty, a U.S. military official said.
Moreover, another U.S. military official added, why would the Pentagon divulge information that could help Iran zero in on its deadly ballistic missiles and drone attacks in Jordan and other bases in the Middle East where thousands of American troops are stationed?
Central Command has also stopped announcing how many sites in Iran it hits each day for the same reason, U.S. officials say.
In the days since the collapse of a fragile truce, the Pentagon has provided little information about the American military strategy after nearly five months of war. The last major Pentagon briefing on the war was in early May.
In the past several months, the Trump administration has failed to disclose how the Iran war has drained U.S. supplies of critical, costly weapons, and how Iran retained and rebuilt substantial missile capabilities.
The subject of American casualties in the war is similarly sensitive. The deaths of two Army soldiers in Jordan on Friday and another service member in northern Iraq bring to 17 the total number of American military personnel killed since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.
The Pentagon’s casualty reporting protocols call for publicly identifying deceased service members only after 24 hours have passed since next of kin were notified. The names of troops wounded in action are not typically released.
In a statement on Saturday, Central Command said four American service members wounded in Friday’s attack were taken to Jordanian hospitals and had been discharged. More American troops received minor injuries and had returned to duty, the statement said, but it did not specify how many.
And the statement did not mention service members injured in the three previous attacks in Jordan last week.
In a brief phone call with NewsNation, President Trump said the troops died “in service of our country” and reiterated the war’s primary goal of “never allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on social media on Saturday that the loss of the two U.S. soldiers would stiffen American resolve.
More than 400 U.S. service members have been injured in the Iran conflict, according to Central Command. The Pentagon had periodically reported the total number of service members injured and returned to duty since early in the war, but it has stopped updating the overall figure in recent weeks.
In previous administrations, the Pentagon usually delayed providing any details on injured service members until family notifications were completed. During the Biden administration, the Pentagon typically reported the number of service members injured in attacks by Iran-backed militias on U.S. bases in Syria and Iraq.
Greg Jaffe, John Ismay and Helene Cooper contributed reporting.
July 20, 2026, 4:58 a.m. ET2 hours ago
Reporting from Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Bahrain’s Defense Force said it had intercepted and destroyed a number of “treacherous Iranian aerial attacks” without specifying their nature or what was targeted. Since dawn on Monday, warning sirens have sounded twice in the Persian Gulf country, which has been targeted more frequently by Iran in recent days.
July 20, 2026, 4:58 a.m. ET3 hours ago
Breaking news reporter
Kuwait’s military said on Monday morning that it was intercepting drone attacks from Iran. The authorities in Bahrain said they had activated warning sirens, without saying what set them off.
July 20, 2026, 4:58 a.m. ET3 hours ago
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said on Monday that two oil tankers had been disabled after they tried to traverse the Strait of Hormuz via a route that Tehran has warned ships not to use. “Both vessels exploded and were forced to cease movement,” the Guards said in a statement, without providing details or directly claiming responsibility for strikes on the ships. United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a monitoring group, earlier reported a vessel on fire off the coast of Oman.
July 20, 2026, 4:58 a.m. ET3 hours ago
Breaking news reporter
A vessel was on fire early Monday local time about eight nautical miles off of the coast of Oman, according to United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a monitoring group run by the British navy. The cause of the fire has not yet been verified, the agency said, noting it had receved the information from unspecified “military authorities” and advising vessels “to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity” while the incident was being investigated.
The warning from the maritime authority came shortly after the U.S. military said it was launching attacks on Iran for the ninth consecutive night and Iranian state media reported firing missiles at “enemy targets.”
July 20, 2026, 3:57 a.m. ET4 hours ago
The average price of gas in the U.S. returns to $4 a gallon.
After a brief respite, the price of gas is back on the rise.
On Monday, the average price at the pump in the United States climbed to $4 a gallon, according to the AAA motor club, as the war with Iran reignited, halting most shipping and pinching already-depleted global refineries.
The price has surged 13 cents higher from a week ago, when it averaged $3.87 across the country.
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Here is a county-level look at where drivers are facing the highest costs.
It’s a return to the elevated prices seen this spring. In March, shortly after the Unite States and Israel attacked Iran, gas prices in the United States hit an average of $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine. Prices breached $4.50 in May before gradually dropping below the $4 threshold after the United States and Iran agreed to a tentative cease-fire.
The preliminary agreement did not hold, and the conflict has escalated once more, with the United States this week reinstating a naval blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil and gas transport. The blockade and the strikes in the area have all but halted shipping, pushing up energy prices.
Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, rose above $90 a barrel on Monday, the highest in over a month. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, was $82 a barrel.
On Thursday, the average price of diesel rose above $5 a gallon, up 33 percent since the start of the war. On Monday, diesel was $5.11 a gallon, up about 23 cents from a week earlier.
The national average price does not reflect the wide range of prices across the country. Prices in many Southern states, for instance, are closer to $3.60 a gallon, while they’re around $5.50 a gallon in California.
The price increases represent a conundrum for President Trump as the country nears the November midterm elections, which are likely to be a critical referendum on his performance. Economic anxiety is top of mind for many voters.
The White House lauded economic data released last week showing that consumer prices had dipped in June, though they were still up 3.5 percent from the same time last year. Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office: “Prices are coming way down, and we’re doing a great job. And remember that for the midterms.”
But July appears to be delivering the opposite. There are several factors playing into price pressures, beyond the increase in oil costs as a result of the war in the Middle East. Many refineries in the United States that turn oil into different types of fuel are running at high capacities with low inventory. And there is elevated demand for gas with summer travel.
July 20, 2026, 2:02 a.m. ET5 hours ago
Breaking news reporter
Top U.S. and Iranian diplomats signal a willingness to talk.
The top U.S. and Iranian diplomats signaled separately that they remained open to talks even as the two sides traded new strikes on Monday, more than a week into a spiraling escalation in their war.
Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, said the country had “emerged as a significant interactional actor” from the war that began in February and demonstrated its “resilience.” His comments sought to portray Tehran as having gained from the conflict despite the heavy loss of life and damage inflicted by months of punishing U.S. and Israeli strikes.
“The right time to negotiate is exactly when you have achieved reliable battlefield and strategic gains,” Mr. Araghchi said, according to remarks published by IRNA, the state broadcaster. He also warned against taking “risks with people’s lives and the fate of the entire country.”
Esmail Baghaei, the Iranian foreign ministry’s spokesman, said at a news conference on Monday that Tehran had received proposals from mediators who were “trying to prevent an escalation of tensions,” though he declined to provide details.
Even as Iranian forces were actively countering U.S. attacks, he said, “diplomacy also knows its duties well and spares no efforts.”
Earlier, on Sunday night, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States was still willing to pursue diplomacy and that Iran had sent signals directly and through mediators that it wanted to negotiate.
“We’ve tried multiple times with Iran, and we’ll continue to try. If that door opens, we’ll be happy to see it open,” Mr. Rubio told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland before he departed for an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Manila. However, he added, “their behavior has to change in order for ours to change.”
Still, after a week of escalating strikes that shattered the cease-fire the two sides had reached last month, there were no imminent signs of talks. Tehran and Washington have both sought to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway for global oil and gas supplies, though the attacks in recent days have widened to include infrastructure in the Middle East, including bridges and water facilities.
As U.S. forces launched a ninth night of attacks against Iran on Sunday, Mr. Rubio accused Tehran of striking more ships that day. Iran’s attacks on vessels traversing the Strait of Hormuz violated the terms of the memorandum of understanding that Washington and Tehran had signed in June, he said.
Tehran has interpreted that deal to mean that it alone can determine which route ships take through the strait. It has struck vessels that have sought to use an alternate route close to Oman’s coastline.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said on Monday that two oil tankers had “exploded and were forced to cease movement” after trying to traverse the Strait of Hormuz via a route that Tehran had warned ships against using. The Guards did not directly claim responsibility for the strikes. A British navy monitoring agency said earlier on Monday that a vessel was on fire off the coast of Oman.
In response to a question about President Trump’s canceled plan to charge a fee for guiding ships through the strait, Mr. Rubio called on other countries to step up. It was “not the United States’ job to protect shipping for the entire planet forever,” he said.
“Other countries need to begin to step up and provide — whether it’s hardware or finances — to help carry that burden,” Mr. Rubio added.