dailynewsnblog
Iran foreign ministry: there is no nuclear activity at Pickaxe Mountain
The Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, posted on X on Wednesday that there is no nuclear activity at Kolang Kouh, otherwise known as Pickaxe Mountain.
“The repeated US attacks and threats against Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities not only constitute a flagrant violation of the core principles of the UN Charter, international law, and the relevant resolutions of the IAEA board of governors, general conference, and UN Security Council, but also reveal the United States’ deep-rooted enmity toward Iran’s scientific progress and technological development,” Baghaei wrote on X.
“Iran’s nuclear activities have been fully declared to the IAEA in accordance with its safeguards obligations. Washington’s obsessive focus on Kolang Kouh where no nuclear activity is taking place is nothing more than a fabricated pretext for aggression, destruction, and sabotage.”
Read more on what Pickaxe Mountain is here:
Key events
Dan Sabbagh
In the UK, the new defence secretary Wes Streeting said that Israel has “fallen short” of British standards in its intense bombing of Gaza and its military operations in the West Bank in a briefing to journalists.
The newly appointed minister said that he stood by comments he had previously made in a July 2025 whatsapp exchange with Peter Mandelson that “Israel is committing war crimes before our eyes”.
“I’m not going to pretend I didn’t make those comments,” Streeting said, although he noted that any decisions on future arms exports to Israel would be part of a “clear framework” across the UK government.
Streeting, in his second day in the job, then went on to offer a degree of criticism of Israel and its military campaign that was notable for a British defence minister:
I believe very strongly in Israel’s right to defend itself, to defend its values, its freedom, and its democracy, just as we do every single day.
But I also hold Israel as a, as a friend and ally to the same standard that we hold ourselves to. That is the standard that should be applied to Israel. That is the standard that I think I feel they’ve fallen short of.
You know, we’ve got a responsibility as a country to make sure that we’re good friends. We’re good friends who are also critical friends when necessary.
Iran foreign ministry: there is no nuclear activity at Pickaxe Mountain
The Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, posted on X on Wednesday that there is no nuclear activity at Kolang Kouh, otherwise known as Pickaxe Mountain.
“The repeated US attacks and threats against Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities not only constitute a flagrant violation of the core principles of the UN Charter, international law, and the relevant resolutions of the IAEA board of governors, general conference, and UN Security Council, but also reveal the United States’ deep-rooted enmity toward Iran’s scientific progress and technological development,” Baghaei wrote on X.
“Iran’s nuclear activities have been fully declared to the IAEA in accordance with its safeguards obligations. Washington’s obsessive focus on Kolang Kouh where no nuclear activity is taking place is nothing more than a fabricated pretext for aggression, destruction, and sabotage.”
Read more on what Pickaxe Mountain is here:
Oil price touches $95 as US-Iran conflict escalates
Lauren Almeida
Oil prices are climbing further this morning as investors grow fearful around the impact of the war in the Middle East on global supply.
Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, is up 4.6% to $95.16 a barrel, its highest point in six weeks. Oil prices have risen by abut 20% this month as Washington and Tehran have exchanged fire.
For more, follow the Guardian’s live business updates here:
Today so far
The US military completed its 11th night of strikes on Iran, including on aircraft hangars and drone storage sites, as the renewed conflict continues to undermine diplomatic efforts to salvage an interim ceasefire deal.
Donald Trump warned that strikes would intensify and that the US would “soon” target “very heavily” the area near Pickaxe Mountain – a fortified underground site near one of Iran’s primary nuclear enrichment facilities, which Iran’s military leaders said would be considered a major escalation.
In what could open up a potential new front in the war, Yemen’s Iranian-aligned Houthis have warned shipping companies that their tankers risk being attacked if they use Saudi Arabian ports, as the militia moved quickly to enforce a blockade announced the previous day. Underlining how seriously the Houthi threat is being taken, three oil tankers that had loaded Saudi crude this week for China and India made U-turns on Tuesday away from Houthi-controlled coast at the mouth of the Red Sea and headed towards the Suez canal. The Houthis claimed six ships had changed course.
The Jordanian army said it intercepted four Iranian missiles on Wednesday with two additional missile falling in an open area, AFP reports. The two missiles that the army did not intercept fell in “two remote, uninhabited areas, without causing any human casualties or material damage” the army said in a statement.
Iran has executed a man after finding him guilty of charges related to protests that swept the country last winter, according to AFP. The Iranian judiciary announced on Wednesday that Iran has executed a man identified as Mehdi Khanaki, who was arrested on 10 February in Karaj, west of Tehran, while in possession of a large arsenal. Khanaki “was condemned to death and the confiscation of all his property for having acted in favour of the Zionist and American regimes,” the website said. These allegations could not be independently confirmed.
In Lebanon, the focus is on “a complete Israeli withdrawal from the south”, Lebanese prime minister Nawaf Salam said on Wednesday. Salam was visiting Zawtar al-Gharbiya, one of several “pilot zones” intended to demonstrate that the Lebanese army can remove and disarm Hezbollah as part of a Washington-sponsored deal with Israel, AFP reports.
The US war in Iran has cost $37.5bn so far, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said, an increase of nearly $8bn since the last public estimate. Hegseth told the Senate on Tuesday that the defence department needs an additional $67.1bn to “pay our service members, rapidly replenish equipment and munitions, and sustain vital operations without disruption”.
The US secretary of state Marco Rubio warned south-east Asian foreign ministers on Wednesday that Iranian control of the strait of Hormuz would set a dangerous precedent with repercussions beyond the Middle East. “If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll and if you don’t pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region,” Rubio said.
Rubio warns that Iran’s demand to control Hormuz threatents global economy
US secretary of state Marco Rubio spoke to southeast Asian leaders on Wednesday in the Philippine capital of Manila and warned them that Iran’s demand to control the strait of Hormuz threatens the global economy and freedom of navigation, the Associated Press reports.
“If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll and if you don’t pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region,” Rubio said.
Rubio also accused Iran of reneging on commitments under a failed peace deal.
Iran “has been reaching out to the United States, both directly and indirectly, to engage in talks about settling the differences,” Rubio said, but gave no indication that the US was considering returning to peace talks with Iran.
Lebanese interior minister says US can help secure Israeli withdrawal from south
Lebanese interior minister Ahmad Hajjar said the US remains the best actor positioned to pressure Israel into completely withdrawing from Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency reports.
A full Israeli withdrawal is Lebanon’s top priority, Hajjar said. Despite continued Israeli attacks in the south, Lebanon’s security situation remained “very good” despite continued Israeli attacks in the south, Hajjar said.
Mamdani urges US government to arrest Netanyahu if Israeli PM visits US
Robert Mackey
Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor, acknowledged on Tuesday he does not have the authority to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu, but urged US federal authorities to do so if the Israeli prime minister visits the US later this year.
“Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal, the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people,” Mamdani said in a video posted to social media.
Mamdani said he believed the international criminal court warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest over alleged war crimes was justified, but admitted he lacked the legal authority to enforce it.
Netanyahu is expected to travel to New York in September for the UN general assembly.
More here:
The number of vessels transiting the strait of Hormuz continues to drop, shipping data showed.
Three commodity vessels crossed the strait on Tuesday, down from four on Monday, according to data from Kpler. The Kaiser, a general cargo ship, exited the strait loaded with cargo, while dry bulk carrier H7 Smb8 entered the strait in ballast, meaning it will take on a cargo in the Gulf. The Hsin Ocean entered the strait carrying refined palm olein, Kpler said.
No visible very large crude carrier or liquefied natural gas tankers passed through the strait on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, a news agency in Yemen that is run by the Houthis, Saba, said six ships in the Red Sea were forced to reroute after they received warnings from the rebel group. The claim could not be independently verified. During the war, the Red Sea has served as the main alternate route out for millions of barrels of Saudi oil per day.
Jordanian army intercepts four Iranian missiles
The Jordanian army said it intercepted four Iranian missiles on Wednesday with two additional missile falling in an open area, AFP reports.
The two missiles that the army did not intercept fell in “two remote, uninhabited areas, without causing any human casualties or material damage” the army said in a statement.
Iran executes man for charges related to winter protests
The Iranian judiciary’s Mizan Online news website reported that Iran has executed a man after finding him guilty of charges related to protests that swept the country last winter, according to AFP.
What began as a demonstration in Tehran at the end of December against the rising cost of living quickly grew to the largest nationwide uprising in years against the country’s theocratic leaders.
In turn, Iran responded with overwhelming repression and state violence to silence the protests. Some human rights advocates estimate that this crackdown killed thousands.
On Wednesday, the Iranian judiciary announced that Iran has executed a man identified as Mehdi Khanaki in connection to charges related to the protests.
The judiciary’s online news website said that Khanaki was arrested on 10 February in Karaj, west of Tehran, while in possession of a large arsenal. Khanaki “was condemned to death and the confiscation of all his property for having acted in favour of the Zionist and American regimes,” the website said. These allegations could not be independently confirmed.
According to Amnesty International, Iran conducts the second most executions of any country, after China.
Donald Trump plans to attend the dignified transfer of four US service members recently killed in the Middle East.
The White House says Trump will be at Dover air force base when the remains are returned to their families on Wednesday.
An official says two Army soldiers killed in Iranian missile and drone attacks in Jordan will be returned, as well as a third service member believed to be the soldier missing after the Jordan attacks. The remains of another soldier, killed in Iraq during a detonation of an Iranian drone, will also be returned.
Since the war began on 28 February, 18 US service members have been killed.
Patrick Wintour
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has described how he was pulled from the rubble of a leadership compound after the US-Israeli airstrike that killed the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the war, and has survived since by constantly moving around Tehran.
Beirut working for ‘complete Israeli withdrawal’, says Lebanon PM
Lebanese prime minister Nawaf Salam on Wednesday visited Zawtar al-Gharbiya, one of several “pilot zones” intended to demonstrate that the Lebanese army can remove and disarm Hezbollah as part of a Washington-sponsored deal with Israel, AFP reports.
“We will continue mobilising our political and diplomatic efforts to secure a complete Israeli withdrawal from the south,” Salam said.
Houthis threaten to attack shipping tankers if they use Saudi Arabian ports on Red Sea
Peter Beaumont
Yemen’s Iranian-aligned Houthis have warned shipping companies that their tankers risk being attacked if they use Saudi Arabian ports, as the militia moved quickly to enforce a blockade announced the previous day.
The Houthi warning for the Red Sea, coming on top of Iran’s threat to shipping on the other side of the Arabian peninsular in the Gulf, could affect the substantial Saudi oil exports that have so far been unscathed by the months-long conflict and deepen the rapidly escalating crisis in the region.
Underlining how seriously the Houthi threat is being taken, three oil tankers that had loaded Saudi crude this week for China and India made U-turns on Tuesday away from Houthi-controlled coast at the mouth of the Red Sea and headed towards the Suez canal. The Houthis claimed six ships had changed course.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate on Tuesday that the war on Iran has so far cost $37.5bn – and the defence department needs $67.1bn more to “pay our service members, rapidly replenish equipment and munitions, and sustain vital operations without disruption”.
“The best way to create peace is to prepare for war, to deter it,” Hegseth said.
The Guardian’s Joseph Gedeon and Lauren Gambino have more here:
Trump nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia could allow it to enrich uranium: report
Donald Trump has approved an agreement with Saudi Arabia that could provide the kingdom with uranium enrichment capability for its civilian nuclear programme, according to news reports citing people familiar with the matter.
The deal is expected to last 30 years and is also expected to involve US firms in developing the programme. It could allow for the building of a uranium enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia after a joint US-Saudi study.
The agreement is not expected to include the IAEA’s “additional protocol”, which would allow for more monitoring, inspections and verification, according to one of the people who revealed it.
What is Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, the site Trump has threatened to attack?
Donald Trump on Tuesday made new threats to attack and destroy Iran’s nuclear site known as Pickaxe Mountain.
Here’s what we know about Pickaxe Mountain, why it has captured Trump’s attention and how the US military could strike at the deeply buried complex.
Opening summary
Welcome to our live coverage of the latest developments in the US-Iran war, and its regional and global ramifications.
The US military completed its 11th night of strikes on Iran, including on aircraft hangars and drone storage sites, as the renewed conflict continues to undermine diplomatic efforts to salvage an interim ceasefire deal.
In what could open up a potential new front in the war, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, who control the coast at the mouth of the Red Sea, announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia. With the strait of Hormuz blocked, Saudi Arabia has been relying on a pipeline to the Red Sea to get millions of barrels of oil out to market.
The latest US barrage came as Donald Trump warned strikes would intensify.
The US leader also declared the US would “soon” target “very heavily” the area near Pickaxe Mountain – a fortified underground site near one of Iran’s primary nuclear enrichment facilities, which Iran’s military leaders said would be considered a major escalation.
Before the latest strikes, Iranian interior minister Eskandar Momeni visited Pakistan, a key mediator in the conflict. But it was unclear what new arrangement might be reached to end the war, which is now centered on a battle for control over the strait of Hormuz.
In other news:
The US war in Iran has cost $37.5bn so far, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said, an increase of nearly $8bn since the last public estimate.
The number of wounded US personnel in the Iran war has grown to well more than 500 troops, a US official told the Associated Press.
Brent crude was trading up 1.2% at $92.09 a barrel at around 0130 GMT, its highest intraday price since 11 June. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the main US oil benchmark, climbed 1.1% to $85.23.
The US secretary of state Marco Rubio told South-east Asian foreign ministers on Wednesday that Iranian control of the strait of Hormuz would set a dangerous precedent with repercussions beyond the Middle East.
Trump said he would authorise the resumption of direct flights by US airlines to Lebanon, which have been suspended since the 1985 hijacking by Lebanese Islamist militants of a TWA flight with many Americans aboard.
