Iran War Live Updates: U.S. Strikes Abate, Even as Trump Considers Escalation

U.S. forces did not announce new overnight attacks on southern Iran for the first time in about two weeks, but tensions remained high as the Houthis and Saudi-led forces in Yemen said they had traded strikes.

Aaron Boxerman and Ismaeel Naar

Here’s the latest.

Fighting between the United States and Iran appeared to abate for the first time in two weeks on Saturday, but tensions remained high as President Trump weighed whether to intensify the conflict and as hostilities flared between Saudi-backed forces and Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen.

After 13 straight nights of attacks on Iran, U.S. forces did not announce any overnight strikes. A spokesman for Iran’s health ministry said on social media that there had been no new attacks.

The two countries have been locked in a cycle of strikes and counterstrikes as each tries to control the Strait of Hormuz, effectively unraveling a cease-fire signed last month.

Fighting persisted in the Red Sea region, where the Houthis declared a maritime blockade on Saudi vessels this week. Although some tankers have made it through, the Houthis, a Yemeni militia backed by Iran, have fired on passing ships, increasing the pressure on global oil prices.

Early Saturday, a spokesman for Saudi-led forces operating in Yemen said that they had attacked Houthi military targets. The Houthis said they had fired rockets and drones at sites at energy facilities in two areas along Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast.

A video clip circulating on social media Saturday and verified by The New York Times showed plumes of smoke coming from the direction of the Saudi Aramco refinery in Jazan, Saudi Arabia. The Saudi authorities did not immediately respond to a request for a comment, nor provide further details.

The apparent decrease in fighting hardly soothed fears that the situation could still deteriorate. Mr. Trump met with advisers on Friday to discuss a potential escalation with Iran, according to four people briefed on the discussion.

Those consultations came just days before the president was set to meet Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. His visit, on Tuesday, would be the first since he argued in February for a joint U.S.-Israeli offensive against Iran, which began weeks later.

Nearing the end of its fifth month, the war with Iran is at a critical juncture. The Trump administration has had little success in its war aims, having failed to topple the Iranian government and end its nuclear program. Instead, Iranian forces have effectively blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, a vital corridor for global oil and gas shipments that was open before the war, throttling the global economy.

Here’s what else we’re covering:

• Red Sea: Dozens of ships continue to move through the Red Sea, according to shipping data, after the Houthi militia announced the blockade of the vital shipping passage. Some ships are making U-turns and at least three have been attacked. Read more ›

• Strait of Hormuz: U.S. forces disabled a tanker identified as the Lavine after it repeatedly tried to breach the American blockade on the strait, according to Capt. Tim Hawkins, a U.S. Central Command spokesman. He said the crew ignored at least four warnings, adding that he was aware of reports of crew casualties but could not confirm them. Read more ›

• Energy markets: The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, was up more than 7 percent at $100.95 a barrel on Friday, before dropping to around $98 a barrel. The price of crude is nearly 40 percent higher since the start of the war. Read more ›

• Tattered cease-fire: Nearly all the provisions of a June 17 cease-fire between the United States and Iran have been violated. Read more ›

July 25, 2026, 12:56 p.m. ET3 hours ago

Arijeta Lajka

Video reporter

A video clip circulating on social media early Saturday and verified by The New York Times showed plumes of smoke coming from the direction of the Saudi Aramco refinery in Jazan, Saudi Arabia. NASA Firms, which detects heat-producing events, also showed thermal activity at the refinery on Saturday.

July 25, 2026, 10:53 a.m. ET5 hours ago

Marc Santora

Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Ukraine struck a cargo vessel moving military supplies between Iran and Russia in the Caspian Sea. He said Ukraine also hit an oil platform and a Russian missile ship in the Caspian, which is more than 600 miles from the front line in Ukraine. 

While the claims could not be immediately independently verified, Ukraine has conducted multiple long-range drone strikes against Russian warships in the Caspian, and last year it expanded its targets to include cargo vessels.

Russia’s Caspian flotilla has long served as both a launch platform for cruise missiles and a secure conduit for Iranian weapons, according to Ukrainian, U.S. and European intelligence assessments. Ukraine’s expanding arsenal of long-range weapons has put the Caspian, long considered a safe haven for the Russians, under increasing threat.

July 25, 2026, 9:42 a.m. ET6 hours ago

Shuaib Almosawa

The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen claimed to have targeted two Saudi energy facilities, in Jazan and Yanbu, on Saturday in response to overnight strikes that hit areas they hold along the Red Sea coast.

“We will not hesitate to expand our operations and escalate our actions based on developments in the coming hours and days,” Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, said in a statement.

The Saudi government has not confirmed the attacks, but its civil defense issued early emergency warnings in both areas on Saturday.