Iran threatens to expand war if US resumes strikes, which it says Israel is pushing for

Author: Published: July 27, 2026

Ahead of Trump-Netanyahu meet, Iran says conflict will spread ‘geographically’ if US renews strikes after 2 days of quiet; reports progress on talks with Oman on Strait o

By Agencies and ToI Staff26 July 2026, 1:31 pm
This screen grab made on July 26, 2026 from footage released by the US Central Command (CENTCOM) on July 25, 2026 shows what CENTCOM says are operations enforcing its naval blockade against Iran. (US CENTRAL COMMAND (CENTCOM) / AFP)

This screen grab made on July 26, 2026 from footage released by the US Central Command (CENTCOM) on July 25, 2026 shows what CENTCOM says are operations enforcing its naval blockade against Iran. (US CENTRAL COMMAND (CENTCOM) / AFP)

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s army warned on Sunday that the Middle East war would widen if the United States chose to press ahead with attacks on the Islamic Republic, ahead of the visit of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington.

The stark caution came after the second night in succession without US strikes on Iran, following nearly two weeks of nightly attacks and responses by Tehran that targeted US allies across the Middle East, but not Israel, which stayed out of the fighting.

Iran said on Sunday it has halted retaliatory attacks in the region after the United States stopped its strikes on the country for the past two nights.

“Since… our strategy has essentially been retaliatory, we have also halted our retaliatory operations,” said army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia, confirming there have been no US strikes over the past 48 hours.

Earlier, he told state television that he believed Israel was trying to prod the US into resuming attacks.

He said the war had already expanded to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the entrance of the Red Sea, referencing the recent military flare-up between Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia.

Screen capture from video of Iran’s military spokesperson Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia, January 2026. (YouTube; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

“The scope of our operations now encompasses the entire region, from US bases in Jordan to the countries along the Persian Gulf,” he said.

Akraminia said the situation in the Middle East for the United States is “difficult and unsettled,” predicting that Washington was now looking “for a new strategy.”

“We are prepared for each of the options and scenarios that appear likely,” he added.

US President Donald Trump, right, shakes hands with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida, December 29, 2025. (Alex Brandon/AP)

On Friday, Israel said Netanyahu will meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday.

Previous private presentations by Netanyahu to Trump on Iran’s nuclear activities and alleged violations of its commitments reportedly played a significant role in the US decision to strike Iran.

Channel 12 reported Saturday that Netanyahu and his team plan to present Trump with fresh intelligence on Iran’s efforts to rebuild its military and nuclear program during their meeting, including what Israeli officials believe are accelerated efforts under new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei to advance toward a nuclear weapon.

The report, citing Israeli sources, did not elaborate on the alleged moves or the intelligence Israel intends to present, though recent reports have detailed some.

Iran, which has already retaliated against US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan, has said that it is ready to also attack Israel if the US escalates its air campaign.

Iran says progress in Oman talks on Strait of Hormuz management

Also Sunday, Iran said it had made progress in talks with Oman on management of the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway crucial for oil and gas trade that both countries border and that has become a center of contention in the US-Iran war.

Tankers and cargo vessels are seen in the Gulf of Oman, along shipping routes linking the Strait of Hormuz and the Arabian Sea, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo)

The latest talks came after the US had resumed its attacks on Iran in an effort to end Tehran’s control of the strait, following a June memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war that had briefly eased tensions.

Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said several rounds of negotiations were held in the Iranian capital Tehran on Friday and Saturday between Iranian and Omani deputy foreign ministers.

The discussions focused on “common principles and operational mechanisms” for ensuring the safe passage of shipping through the strait while respecting the sovereign rights of the two states, Baghaei said.

He described the talks as “useful” and said progress had been made, adding that “technical and political consultations between the two sides were continuing.”

In June, Oman and Iran said they would discuss imposing service fees, a move Washington opposes.

But Muscat also said ships could transit Hormuz via its waters, angering Tehran, which responded with a pattern of escalation by attacking ships moving through the strait. The US responded by blockading Iranian ports that are all accessed via the waterway.

This screen grab made on July 26, 2026 from undated handout video footage released by the US Central Command (CENTCOM) on July 25, 2026 shows what CENTCOM says are operations enforcing its naval blockade against Iran.

According to Axios, the Pentagon presented Trump with a plan for a 14th consecutive night of strikes, but he declined to authorize it in favor of renewed talks.

The report said Trump made the order to hold fire after an Omani delegation arrived in Tehran “for talks on a new arrangement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.”

Responding to a separate question, Baghaei said there had been “no change” in the status of shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

On Sunday, Iran’s armed forces stopped six vessels attempting to transit the Hormuz strait after warnings over the past 24 hours, according to state television.

Despite the pause in US attacks, Israeli leaders still estimate that Trump would soon be compelled to step up military action, Hebrew media reports said Saturday.

Multiple outlets, including Axios and the Kan public broadcaster, cited sources as saying that the US was still intending a major expansion of the fighting, but that Trump was now favoring allowing more time for negotiations.

Trump has threatened in recent days to widen the range of targets to include Iran’s energy plants and bridges, send ground forces to seize its central oil hub on Kharg Island, and bomb a deep-underground nuclear site known as Pickaxe Mountain.

This June 15, 2026, photo from Planet Labs PBC shows Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, upper right, and the construction at Pickaxe Mountain directly to the south of it. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

On Friday, however, Trump said he had not yet made a decision on new major strikes.

Trump has decided, for now, to back away from plans to ramp up attacks on Iran, the New York Times said on Saturday, citing two people briefed on the discussion.

The president and his advisers, the newspaper said, have concerns about expanding the conflict, depleting defense stockpiles, alienating Middle East Gulf allies and affecting energy supplies and the global economy.

Vice President JD Vance and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, both raised concerns about the US munitions stockpile with Trump during a White House meeting on Friday, a US official told CNN.

Operations are “on a hold,” a Department of Defense source told the broadcaster on Saturday.

Report: US special forces preparing potential raid to seize Iran’s enriched uranium

Author: Published: July 27, 2026

Possible targets included the damaged Fordo and Isfahan facilities, as well as the underground Pickaxe Mountain complex near Natanz

i24NEWS
Satellite image showing continued activity at Iran’s Fordo nuclear facility
Satellite image showing continued activity at Iran’s Fordo nuclear facilityMaxar

US special operations forces were preparing for a possible mission to seize enriched uranium from Iran’s fortified nuclear facilities, the New York Post reported, citing a source familiar with military planning and US security experts.

Trump says if Riyadh wants a nuclear deal, it must join the Abraham Accords
Trump says if Riyadh wants a nuclear deal, it must join the Abraham Accords

The operation could involve thousands of troops securing nuclear sites, clearing damaged or booby-trapped entrances and establishing protected routes to an airfield. A smaller team of special operators would then enter the facilities and remove the nuclear material, according to the report.

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Joseph Rodgers, deputy director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the Post that a military operation could become the most likely option if negotiations failed to produce an agreement on Iran’s uranium stockpile. He described any such mission as exceptionally complex and dangerous.

Talks on Iran's nuclear program: UN nuclear chief: Inspections of sites "will happen"
Talks on Iran’s nuclear program: UN nuclear chief: Inspections of sites “will happen”

Potential targets included the damaged Fordo and Isfahan facilities, as well as the underground Pickaxe Mountain complex near Natanz, where Iran was reported to have transferred hundreds of centrifuges.

 

Iran had reinforced the Isfahan site and placed mines and explosives in its tunnels in anticipation of a possible raid, it is understood. US forces would need to maintain control of the surrounding area and airspace while construction crews reopened access points and transported the uranium.

Richard Goldberg, a former US National Security Council official, said a raid on Pickaxe Mountain could instead focus on infiltrating the site, placing explosives and withdrawing, if airstrikes alone were considered insufficient to destroy the facility.

Rare find dating back to First Temple period unearthed in Jerusalem

Author: Published: July 27, 2026
 
Rare First Temple-era figurine mold discovered in near the Tower of the David in Jerusalem.
By World Israel News Staff

Archaeologists excavating near the Tower of David Jerusalem Museum have uncovered a rare clay mold used to produce the face of a female figurine during the First Temple period, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced.

The artifact, dating from between the eighth and sixth centuries BCE, is the first figurine-production mold from the period ever found in Jerusalem. Researchers said the discovery provides the clearest evidence to date that at least some of the clay figurines commonly found across ancient Jerusalem were manufactured locally.

“Although many figurines from this period have been uncovered in Jerusalem, this is the first time that a mold used to manufacture them has ever been found in the city,” Israel Antiquities Authority researchers said.

The mold was discovered during excavations at the Kishle, within the Tower of David museum complex, as archaeologists sifted soil removed from layers dating to the First Temple period.

The excavations are being conducted ahead of the construction of the museum’s new Schulich Wing for Archaeology, Art and Innovation, which is intended to combine archaeological remains with contemporary art and technology.

“The mold was discovered while sifting soil removed from fills and accumulations dating to the First Temple period,” excavation directors Dr. Amit Re’em and Dr. Ayala Zilberstein said.

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“The Kishle excavation, which has been ongoing for several years, continues to surprise us time and again,” they added. “It is one of the most significant archaeological excavations conducted in Jerusalem in recent decades, presenting the city’s history in a clear and continuous sequence — from the days of the Kings of Judah, through the many periods that shaped Jerusalem, and up to the British Mandate.”

Following the discovery, the mold was transferred to Israel Antiquities Authority ceramics specialist Tamar Gonen, who removed the soil and exposed the finely detailed facial features preserved inside it.

Conservation specialist Sviatoslav Klindukhov then used the mold to create a cast, producing a reconstruction of a female face with clearly defined features and an elaborate curly hairstyle.

Clay figurines from the First Temple period have been found in archaeological excavations throughout Jerusalem and the Kingdom of Judah. However, the absence of molds had left archaeologists uncertain whether they had been made in Jerusalem or brought into the city from elsewhere.

“Until now, however, no production molds for these figurines had ever been discovered in Jerusalem,” Re’em said. “This raised the question of whether they were manufactured locally or imported from elsewhere.”

“The discovery of this mold at the Kishle is therefore the first of its kind in Jerusalem, providing direct evidence that at least some of these figurines were produced within the city itself,” he said.

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The figurines generally stood between 10 and 20 centimeters tall and were formed from clay. Their heads and bodies were usually made separately, with the face pressed into a mold before the pieces were joined together.

That manufacturing process may explain why many of the figurines have been found broken at the neck.

Archaeologists generally divide the figurines into three categories: female figures known as Judean Pillar Figurines, horse-and-rider figures and animal figures, particularly horses.

The female figurines typically depict women with prominent hairstyles and their hands positioned beneath their breasts. Many were coated with a white slip and painted with yellow, red and black pigments.

Researchers remain divided over how the figurines were used and what they represented.

“The meaning and function of these figurines are still not fully understood,” said Debbi Ben-Ami, the Israel Antiquities Authority’s curator of the Iron Age.

“The fact that they have been found in almost every household, as well as in streets and tombs, indicates that they were objects of everyday use,” she said.

Some scholars have interpreted the female figures as representations of a fertility goddess, possibly Asherah, while others have suggested that they were children’s toys.

Ben-Ami said they may instead have been household amulets or figures intended to provide protection, good fortune or blessings.

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“We hope that the newly discovered mold from Jerusalem will provide fresh insights and help answer some of the questions that continue to occupy researchers,” she said.

The Tower of David Jerusalem Museum plans to give visitors an opportunity to participate in the research over the summer by sifting soil from the Kishle excavations in search of additional artifacts.

“The discovery of the first mold for producing figurines dating to the First Temple period has generated tremendous excitement among all of us,” said Eilat Lieber, the museum’s director and chief curator.

“This summer, visitors will have the extraordinary opportunity to take part in real archaeological research by sifting soil from the Kishle excavations,” she said. “Every fragment recovered helps illuminate another chapter in the story of Jerusalem, making participants true partners in preserving and revealing the city’s remarkable heritage.”

Heritage Minister Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu said the mold offered a physical connection to the religious and cultural conditions in Jerusalem before the destruction of the First Temple.

“When such an artifact emerges from the soil of Jerusalem, history becomes real and immediate,” Eliyahu said. “This small piece of pottery tells the story of the beliefs, customs and spiritual challenges that characterized the capital city in ancient times.”

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