Middle East live: Beirut working for 'complete Israeli withdrawal' from south, Lebanon PM says
· France 2422/07/2026 - 10:47
Jordan army intercepts four Iranian missiles
The Jordanian army said it intercepted four Iranian missiles, adding that two others fell in an open area, as Tehran pressed its attacks across the region.
"Air defence systems today detected six missiles coming from Iranian territory," the army said in a statement, adding that they "intercepted and downed four missiles, while the other two fell in two remote, uninhabited areas, without causing any human casualties or material damage".
22/07/2026 - 10:20
Sirens sound in Jordan as Israel says kingdom is targeted by Iranian missiles
Missile alert sirens sounded in Jordan’s port city of Aqaba as officials in neighbouring Israel say an Iranian missile attack targeted the kingdom.
Plumes of smoke could be seen overhead in Aqaba in videos filmed by people in nearby Eilat, Israel.
Officials in Eilat described it as an Iranian missile attack that saw no fragments reach Israel.
22/07/2026 - 09:50
22/07/2026 - 09:43
Tehran's security services did not mistreat French diplomats, Iranian ministry official quoted
Two French diplomats at the centre of a dispute between France and Iran were not ill-treated by Iranian security personnel, according to an Iranian foreign ministry official quoted by state media.
France has said that the diplomats in Tehran had their phones taken, were forbidden to contact the embassy and verbally intimidated, breaking international diplomatic conventions and that one of the officials was hit.
22/07/2026 - 09:23
Lebanon PM says Beirut working for 'complete Israeli withdrawal'
Beirut is working towards a "complete Israeli withdrawal" from areas it occupies, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on a visit to a village where Lebanon's army recently deployed.
"We will continue mobilising our political and diplomatic efforts to secure a complete Israeli withdrawal from the south," he said in 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.
22/07/2026 - 08:16
Iran army says it targeted US military in Jordan and Bahrain bases, state media reports
22/07/2026 - 08:15
Iran executes man over January protests, judiciary news agency says
Iran executed a man for charges linked to protests in the January, the judiciary's Mizan news agency reported.
Mizan identified the man as Mehdi Khaneki and said he was executed for "operational actions" that benefited Israel, the United States and hostile groups. It said he also produced and possessed weapons.
22/07/2026 - 08:03
CMA CGM will impose emergency surcharge due to renewed Hormuz tensions
CMA CGM will impose an emergency fuel surcharge following the renewed escalation of hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz effective August 1, the French shipping firm said in a notice posted on its website.
"Following the renewed escalation of hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz over the past days, fuel prices have surged sharply again, reversing the easing observed in recent weeks. As a result, bunker costs have significantly increased across all regions and trades, impacting the overall cost of ocean transportation," the firm said.
22/07/2026 - 07:25
🎥 Trump says US will be hitting Iran's Pickaxe Mountain nuclear complex 'pretty soon'
US President Donald Trump said the United States was far from finished with Iran and warned the next US military target could be an underground nuclear complex known as Pickaxe Mountain.
FRANCE 24's James Vasina reports.
22/07/2026 - 06:39
- US completes 11th night of strikes on Iran
- Rubio says US open to talks but Iran not 'serious'
- Lebanon PM says Beirut working for 'complete Israeli withdrawal'
- Sirens sound in Jordan as Israel says kingdom is targeted by Iranian missiles
22/07/2026 - 06:39
22/07/2026 - 06:38
22/07/2026 - 06:35
Hegseth estimates cost of Iran war at $37.5 billion
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Iran war has cost the United States $37.5 billion so far, up from a previous estimate of nearly $29 billion in mid-May.
"The estimate we have as of today is $37.5 billion," Hegseth testified during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing at which he defended a request for some $67 billion in supplemental funding for the Pentagon.
22/07/2026 - 04:27
Rubio says allowing Iranian control of Hormuz is a 'dangerous precedent'
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Southeast Asian foreign ministers 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 to control an international waterway, charge a toll, and blow up your ships if you don't pay, we have created a very dangerous precedent that will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including this region," he told envoys at a Manila gathering of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
22/07/2026 - 03:59
Rubio says US open to talks but Iran not 'serious'
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States was open-minded on the Middle East conflict and willing to engage, negotiate and settle differences with Iran, but Tehran was not serious about talks.
"If they're serious, we're serious. If they're not, then we will do what's necessary to protect our interests, and also the interests of our allies," Rubio said in remarks at a meeting with Southeast Asian counterparts in Manila, who have expressed serious concern about the renewed hostilities.
22/07/2026 - 03:22
Trump administration to submit Saudi nuclear pact to Congress
The Trump administration plans to submit to Congress in coming days a pact with Saudi Arabia to share nuclear power technology that does not include safeguards the US has said would stop materials being used in nuclear weapons programmes, two sources told Reuters.
The sources said the administration will submit to Congress a document known as a 123 Agreement signed by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Minister of Energy Abdulaziz bin Salman.
The two signed a preliminary agreement in Riyadh last year.
22/07/2026 - 03:00
US completes 11th night of strikes on Iran
The US military said it completed the 11th night of strikes on Iran early Wednesday as attacks across the Middle East overshadowed diplomatic efforts in Pakistan to salvage an interim ceasefire deal that has collapsed.
US Central Command said targets included aircraft hangars and drone storage sites. The newest barrage came after President Donald Trump signalled that strikes would be intensifying.
22/07/2026 - 03:00
Air defence activated in Tehran, state media reports
Iranian state media said on Wednesday that air defence systems were activated across Tehran and reported strikes in several parts of the country.
"News sources reported minutes ago that air defence activity was heard in the west, east and northeast of Tehran," state TV posted on Telegram.
State media reported strikes in north-western and southern Iran, as well as explosions in the city of Bushehr, which hosts a nuclear power plant.
22/07/2026 - 02:59
Trump to attend transfer of US troops killed in Iranian attacks
US President Donald Trump will attend the dignified transfer of US military personnel killed in Iranian attacks in the Middle East on Wednesday, according to his public schedule released by the White House.
The ceremony will take place at Dover Air Base in Delaware at 11 am EDT (1500 GMT), the White House said.
22/07/2026 - 02:59
US launches 11th straight night of strikes on Iran
US Central Command said on Tuesday it had begun striking military targets in Iran for the "11th consecutive night", as attacks in the Middle East war intensified.
"The strikes are designed to continue degrading Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM said in a post on X, adding that the strikes began at 2300 GMT.
Yesterday's key developments:
• Lebanon's military said that Israeli troops fired near its soldiers deploying in a so-called "pilot zone" that Israel is to withdraw from under a US-backed agreement, with Israel saying it only fired "warning shots".
• US President Donald Trump vowed to help Lebanon with its 'Hezbollah problem' in a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Washington.
• US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the United States' war in Iran has cost $37.5 billion so far, as he faces questions from senators over Iran war funding.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AP and AFP)