US President Donald Trump said he is close to deciding whether to launch what he described as a “massive attack” against Iran, signalling the possibility of a military operation larger than previous strikes during the months-long conflict with Tehran.

Speaking to Axios on Thursday, Trump said he was considering a significant escalation.

“I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it.”

He acknowledged such action would have consequences but said no final decision had been made. Trump also claimed Israel would join any operation quickly if requested, though he added that the United States did not need additional support.

Oil prices climb as tensions deepen

Trump's remarks came as Brent crude oil rose above $100 a barrel for the first time in the latest phase of the conflict, amid growing concerns that further disruption to Middle East shipping could push prices even higher.

The comments followed threats by Trump of "major military punishment" against Iran and Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement after the Houthis attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.

The Houthis said they struck the tankers Encelia and Layla, causing fires aboard both vessels. No casualties were reported. The attack marked the group's first reported strike on a vessel since announcing a blockade of Saudi-linked shipping.

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, is one of the world's most important maritime routes. Around 12% of global trade and roughly a quarter of the world's container traffic passes through the waterway on routes connecting Europe and Asia via the Suez Canal.

Ships have begun avoiding the strait after the Houthis declared a blockade of Saudi ports, including Yanbu, which Saudi Arabia has used to export oil to Asia as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted.

Maritime intelligence firm Lloyd's List Intelligence warned the attacks threaten Saudi oil exports from Yanbu and further undermine an alternative shipping route already under pressure because of disruptions in the Gulf.

International concern grows

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned the Security Council that the Middle East was approaching a dangerous turning point.

"The situation is getting out of control," Guterres said, adding that the region was being pulled into an expanding cycle of confrontation in which each escalation fuelled another.

Several countries also took precautionary measures. The UK temporarily withdrew diplomatic staff from Iran, Germany announced it would pull two naval vessels from the Red Sea, and the US State Department warned Americans in the region that flight cancellations were possible. Israeli authorities also opened bomb shelters in several cities.

Reports of Iranian support for Houthis

Reuters, citing four sources including two Iranian officials, reported that Iran sent Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel and military equipment, including drone components, to Yemen on 13 July. The report said the deployment coincided with Tehran's calls for the Houthis to blockade the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Trump warned on social media that any further Houthi attacks would result in Iran being held responsible, describing the group as an Iranian proxy and threatening major military retaliation against both Iran and the Houthis.

Saudi nuclear deal linked to Israel

Separately, Trump said a proposed US agreement to help Saudi Arabia develop a civilian nuclear programme would depend on Riyadh normalising relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords.

Saudi Arabia has long maintained that recognition of Israel depends on meaningful progress toward Palestinian statehood. It later emerged that the new condition had not been discussed with Saudi officials.

Trump has also intensified his rhetoric toward Iran in recent days, suggesting the US could strike an underground nuclear-related facility that Israel claims houses uranium enrichment centrifuges.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran was seeking a deal but warned it would face severe consequences if its actions continued. At the same time, Trump's handling of the conflict faces increasing political pressure at home, with opinion polls showing declining support and the US House of Representatives narrowly approving a resolution calling for an end to US military action in Iran.

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24 July 2026

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Go ahead Don. Screw up the world economy some more. And try to explain why. Give us something real. We know this has nothing to do with nuclear weapons. That is total BS.

Global oil prices hit $100 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since May as the widening war between the United States and Iran stifled the flow of energy in the Middle East.

The price rebound in Brent crude oil over the past few weeks reflects the market’s growing concern about the expanding conflict, which now extends from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea. Both arteries are vital to the global energy trade.

The Houthi threat to prevent ships from traveling to and from Saudi Arabian ports on the Red Sea has complicated travel in an area that was serving as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran and the United States are jousting for control.

The Houthis, an Iran-backed group in Yemen, claimed on Wednesday that they had targeted two Saudi oil tankers with missiles and drones. If the Houthis manage to block Saudi Arabia from using the Red Sea, they would be cutting off about 4 percent of the world’s oil supply and leaving Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s biggest producers, with very little access to global markets.

As the war in the Middle East limits the supply of energy worldwide, millions of farmers are contending with scarcity and higher prices for fuel, threatening their access to irrigation and menacing the food supply. Faced with depleted harvests, many rural households in Asia and Africa are borrowing to cover the costs of cultivation, challenging their ability to produce future crops.

In much of the world, the closure of the strait has blocked shipments of food and fertilizer, making prices much higher. The circus clown does not seem to comprehend the fact that no war has ever been won without boots on the ground in the last hundred years anywhere in the world. Bombing a country into Oblivion has never worked. This is one of the dangers of having an ignoramus, and super low end minions attempting to lead the nation.

^^^^ All /another reason (s) to end this criminal regime + proxies. High time all the gulf states step in too. These groups are terrorizing the region with major international disruption . Like I said the U.S. has decided not to lose this war- stand by... Or do ya all want to wait until these wackos aquire a nuclear weapon???https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-22/iran-war-could-widen-as-houthi-rebels-threaten-red-sea-shipping/106939980.

Q

Edited July 24Jul 24 by Point Arguello

Trump getting cold feet in making the decision for a major attack. He TACO by asking the Iragi Prime Minister Ali-al-Zaidi during a recent meeting with Trump to seek a ceasefire with Iran. Tehran rejected the proposal. They are ready for any escalation. They have years and months planning for this invasion. It will be a bloodbath on both sides. Iran is fighting for its existence with the nation behind while USA is fighting on the behalf of Israe with the majority of Americans against the war.

2 hours ago, Point Arguello said:

^^^^ All /another reason (s) to end this criminal regime + proxies. High time all the gulf states step in too. These groups are terrorizing the region with major international disruption . Like I said the U.S. has decided not to lose this war- stand by... Or do ya all want to wait until these wackos aquire a nuclear weapon???https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-22/iran-war-could-widen-as-houthi-rebels-threaten-red-sea-shipping/106939980.

Q

Now that is a pretty amusing conclusion, and though the US may have decided to not lose this war unfortunately it's already been lost in the court of public opinion, and America's reputation around the world has suffered dramatically as a result of the staggering level of incompetence that has been bought to bear on this pathetic war.

How the nation with the world's largest economy and the nation which spends more on its military than many other nations combined can suffer so much humiliation at the hands of the Iranians simply boggles the mind. It says a lot about Trump and Little Pete's incompetence and horrificly poor war strategy.

When he says "a “massive attack” against Iran, signalling the possibility of a military operation larger than previous strikes" I hope he's not thinking of sending troops in because that is just what the IRGC have been hoping for, a chance to get up close and kill thousands of Americans.

Unless he manages to convince Netanyahu to send the IDF in which is about unlikely as me waking up tomorrow 50yrs younger.

10 minutes ago, Bannoi said:

When he says "a “massive attack” against Iran, signalling the possibility of a military operation larger than previous strikes" I hope he's not thinking of sending troops in because that is just what the IRGC have been hoping for, a chance to get up close and kill thousands of Americans.

Unless he manages to convince Netanyahu to send the IDF in which is about unlikely as me waking up tomorrow 50yrs younger.

One would think that risking the world economy for a fight that the US would lose would not be a good idea, right? Get a bunch of kids killed and wreck the Western economies, all with a simple stupid decision. And yet that may well be on the agenda. Where are all the sane people?

Fair bit of buzz, including commentary from credible Iranian sources, that Iraqi Shia militia, with Iranian help of course, might make a ground move on Kuwait. And that Yemen, which apparently has a 150,000-man standing army, might invade Saudi Arabia. Incidentally, after Kuwait the logical next stop would be Shia-majority Bahrain.

Which suggests that with confidence from winning the 40-day war, Iranians have decided to go on the offensive. No more waiting to be struck but striking first. Things could get interesting.

Edited July 24Jul 24 by Autocan

Stand by for TACO!

No sign of desperation there.

What the hell, go big, or don't go at all ...

... a nuke in downtown Tehran works for me

... one going astray to Jerusalem would be welcomed also

1 hour ago, Autocan said:

Fair bit of buzz, including commentary from credible Iranian sources, that Iraqi Shia militia, with Iranian help of course, might make a ground move on Kuwait. And that Yemen, which apparently has a 150,000-man standing army, might invade Saudi Arabia. Incidentally, after Kuwait the logical next stop would be Shia-majority Bahrain.

Which suggests that with confidence from winning the 40-day war, Iranians have decided to go on the offensive. No more waiting to be struck but striking first. Things could get interesting.

I'm not sure "interesting" is the right word. A big mess, for sure, but "interesting"? No matter where you are, you might not want to find out how "interesting" things could become.

The economies of the Western world are already on thin ice. Even without all this nonsense in the Middle East, trouble is brewing.

It will be the biggest attack the world has ever seen......the best attack the world has ever seen.........it will be an attack like no one has ever seen before........The US has the best attacks, no one has attacks like the US.

2 hours ago, thecyclist said:

Stand by for TACO!

I hope that you are right but with this narcissistic megalomaniac you never know what's going to happen next.

56 minutes ago, RayC said:

I hope that you are right but with this narcissistic megalomaniac you never know what's going to happen next.

Agree with you. If he can't let go of his 2020 election lost and spent 3 years appealing the civil court loss to E. Jean Carroll, he unlikely to back off. It will likely to be a frozen war with ongoing bombing. It will continue for some time until he find someone to blame to totally withdraw the military from the conflict zone. Maybe the senators will do him a favor by voting against the war or perhaps an impeachment post mid-term.

10 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Go ahead Don. Screw up the world economy some more. And try to explain why. Give us something real. We know this has nothing to do with nuclear weapons. That is total BS.

Global oil prices hit $100 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since May as the widening war between the United States and Iran stifled the flow of energy in the Middle East.

The price rebound in Brent crude oil over the past few weeks reflects the market’s growing concern about the expanding conflict, which now extends from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea. Both arteries are vital to the global energy trade.

The Houthi threat to prevent ships from traveling to and from Saudi Arabian ports on the Red Sea has complicated travel in an area that was serving as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran and the United States are jousting for control.

The Houthis, an Iran-backed group in Yemen, claimed on Wednesday that they had targeted two Saudi oil tankers with missiles and drones. If the Houthis manage to block Saudi Arabia from using the Red Sea, they would be cutting off about 4 percent of the world’s oil supply and leaving Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s biggest producers, with very little access to global markets.

As the war in the Middle East limits the supply of energy worldwide, millions of farmers are contending with scarcity and higher prices for fuel, threatening their access to irrigation and menacing the food supply. Faced with depleted harvests, many rural households in Asia and Africa are borrowing to cover the costs of cultivation, challenging their ability to produce future crops.

In much of the world, the closure of the strait has blocked shipments of food and fertilizer, making prices much higher. The circus clown does not seem to comprehend the fact that no war has ever been won without boots on the ground in the last hundred years anywhere in the world. Bombing a country into Oblivion has never worked. This is one of the dangers of having an ignoramus, and super low end minions attempting to lead the nation.

Agreed. The bombing of Germany in WW2 would likely not have brought down the Nazi regime without it also being invaded both from the east and the west. Trump and/or his advisers have hugely miscalculated on the Iran issue. The Iranian regime appears deeply entrenched and still very much in control. I fear the impasse could last for years.

I thought Iran was already decimated the first time around. Trump crowed about it endlessly. I thought Iran was again already decimated the second time around. Trump crowed about it endlessly. Now, Trump wants a third reckless, dangerous go at it? When is Congress finally going to step in and curtail this madman and reassert its SOLE authority on when America goes to war and its SOLE authority to fund military operations?

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2 hours ago, newnative said:

I thought Iran was already decimated the first time around. Trump crowed about it endlessly. I thought Iran was again already decimated the second time around. Trump crowed about it endlessly. Now, Trump wants a third reckless, dangerous go at it? When is Congress finally going to step in and curtail this madman and reassert its SOLE authority on when America goes to war and its SOLE authority to fund military operations?

When is Congress going to wake up to the fact that economically the US has already lost just compare how many $ billions it has and is costing the US to how much its costing Iran.

How long can the US keep printing money it doesn't have and burning through its munitions stockpile just to prop up a tiny country Israel because that is what this war is really about not nuclear weapons that do not exist.

Any future nuclear developments could and were in the process of being negotiated before Israel decided to act like the mafia they are and go on a murderous killing spree assassinating Irans negotiators and leaders because an agreement was getting close to being signed.