The US military said it completed another night of strikes on Iran “to further degrade Iranian military capabilities”, including on Qeshm Island and near Bandar Abbas, home to Iran’s largest port and key navy and Revolutionary Guards facilities.

“US forces, including fighter jets, aerial drones, and warships, launched precision munitions that hit dozens of Iranian military targets such as coastal surveillance and air defense sites, military logistics infrastructure, and maritime capabilities,” the US Central Command said in a statement.

Iran has fired missiles and drones at US military bases in neighbouring states, including an air base in Jordan.

In the early hours of Friday, Iran’s military said it had attacked US facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait. Several explosion-like sounds were heard in the Qatari capital Doha, according to a witness, and the Ministry of the Interior said a child was injured by shrapnel.

Iranian media reported that five bridges were hit in the latest round of US strikes, as well as the train station in coastal Bandar Khamir and Iranshahr Airport in southeastern Iran.

Seven people were killed in US attacks on bridges in Bandar Khamir, a port city in southern Iran, state news agency IRNA reported.

Shipping halted again in Strait of Hormuz

The escalation has once again largely halted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important shipping route for oil and gas, pushing up global energy prices.

Tehran resumed its blockade of the strait and Washington again blockaded Iranian ports from Wednesday.

Iran has signalled it could prod the Houthi’s in Yemen to close another key strait: the Bab al-Mandeb at the mouth of the Red Sea, sources told Reuters, if Washington attacks Iran’s infrastructure.

Iran last week hit ships moving through a corridor in the strait.

Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary, told a briefing on Thursday that US President Donald Trump would not “sit by and allow these active acts of terrorism to take place in the strait without ensuring Iran pays consequences for that”.

But she added the president was “always open to diplomacy at the very same time”.

Iran keeps grip on strait

Iran wants all ships using the Strait of Hormuz to travel through a channel close to its shores, and intends to charge passage fees at the end of a 60-day negotiation period set in last month’s memorandum.

Washington had encouraged ships to use an alternative route to the south, along the Omani coast.

US forces said their airstrikes have hit military targets along the coast to cripple Iran’s ability to control the strait.

Iranian Army spokesperson Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia said on Thursday this would not work because Iran could strike the strait from anywhere on its territory.

Trump has not ruled out the possibility of using ground forces, including to seize Kharg Island, the site of Iran’s main oil export terminal.

He has repeated threats to hit Iranian power plants and bridges next week unless Tehran resumes negotiations.

According to the sources, Aurangzeb is scheduled to meet officials from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the US Export-Import (Exim) Bank, the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

A key focus of the visit will be discussions on the framework of a potential bilateral trade agreement aimed at expanding trade and investment between the two countries. The talks are expected to cover tariffs, market access, investment opportunities and broader economic cooperation.

Meetings with the Exim Bank and the DFC are also expected to explore avenues for financing infrastructure, energy and private-sector investment projects.

Aurangzeb’s visit comes as Pakistani and US officials continue negotiations that began in Washington last week over tariffs on Pakistani exports and a wider trade agreement.

The latest round of talks follows months of negotiations over the global tariff regime announced by US President Donald Trump on April 2, 2025, under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which initially imposed a 29 per cent tariff on Pakistani exports.

A Pakistani delegation that visited Washington in July 2025 succeeded in persuading US officials to reduce the proposed tariff from 29 per cent to 19pc.

The tariff landscape has since changed following a US Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that invalidated the IEEPA-based tariffs. In response, the Trump administration invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act to impose a temporary global tariff of 10pc, which is due to expire on July 24 after the statutory 150-day period.

Pakistan is also among nearly 60 countries facing USTR investigations under Section 301 over alleged forced labour and related trade practices. Islamabad has submitted detailed responses to the USTR, including an additional submission this week ahead of the latest negotiations.

Under the ongoing Section 301 process, Pakistan faces a proposed additional tariff of 10pc, while India and 53 other countries are subject to proposed tariffs of 12.5pc. Public hearings before the USTR are continuing.

Beyond tariffs, both sides are also expected to discuss measures to expand bilateral trade and investment.

Aurangzeb last visited Washington in April to attend the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings, where he held more than 50 meetings with international financial institutions, investors and rating agencies to present Pakistan’s economic reform programme and efforts to restore macroeconomic stability.

During that visit, he briefed investors on Pakistan’s plans to return to international capital markets through Panda Bonds and Eurobonds after several years. He also met US Treasury officials and representatives of multilateral institutions to discuss Pakistan’s response to the economic impact of regional tensions and volatility in global energy markets caused by the conflict involving Iran.

Khan was one of 26 new appointments confirmed by the government just days before Starmer is due to hand over power to Andy Burnham on Monday. The appointment means Khan and the others who come from across the political spectrum with a range of different professional backgrounds can participate in the lawmaking process.

The upper chamber typically revises and scrutinises laws put forward by the elected House of Commons, though it has on occasion been the arena for protracted battles over the principles of legislation.

Khan will continue to serve as the elected mayor of London. His appointment to the House of Lords would allow Starmer’s successor to give Khan a ministerial portfolio when he names his new government next week, though no such role has been confirmed.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2026

In a primetime White House address, Trump portrayed the US electoral system as dangerously exposed and urged lawmakers to adopt new restrictions on voting, despite scant appetite for the measures even within his own Republican Party.

“We can never watch a stolen election again,” Trump said, referring to his 2020 defeat by Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump said he was declassifying intelligence that showed, among other things, that China had illicitly acquired 220 million US voter files.

“Over a period of years, starting during the 2020 election cycle, the People’s Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history,” he said from the White House.

Trump also claimed that more than 250,000 non-US citizens were registered to vote in four states.

He then attacked US broadcasters that refused to interrupt programming to carry his speech live, naming ABC and NBC and baselessly implying they were involved in election-rigging attempts.

“They and others in the media are part of a plot,” Trump said. “Fraud like this should mean a revocation of their licenses.”

Trump’s claim that the 2020 election was “rigged” has never been substantiated. More than 60 lawsuits produced no ruling establishing fraud capable of changing the outcome, while recounts, audits and his own Justice Department found none.

‘Unsupported’ claims

Trump had promised “big news” on election security, but analysts said much of the address repackaged old or unsupported material.

Rick Hasen, an election law expert at UCLA in California, called it the “same old unsupported, and surprisingly weak, claims of American election vulnerabilities”.

“It was a tired speech with recycled and debunked claims,” Hasen said. “I don’t think it changes anything with how American elections will be run.”

Trump devoted little time to issues voters appear more focused on, including the Iran war and the economy.

Democrats accused Trump of trying to undermine confidence ahead of November’s midterms, in which Republicans fear his unpopularity could cost them control of Congress.

Senate Democrat Dick Durbin called the speech “a dangerous attempt to resurrect disproven lies to undermine future elections before a single vote is cast”.

Former Trump White House lawyer Ty Cobb said the speech appeared intended to build a case for declaring an election emergency.

“I think tonight’s speech is intended to add to the predicate that he needs to declare an emergency at or about the time of the elections,” Cobb told PBS, adding that he believed immigration officers at polling places were a “virtual certainty”.

Trump has been pushing lawmakers to pass the SAVE America Act ahead of the midterms, but the measure has little appetite even in his own party.

The bill would require proof of citizenship to register to vote — already required under existing law in federal and state elections — and photo identification at polling places, while imposing new limits on mail-in ballots.

He has never accepted his 2020 defeat. Months after the election, he urged supporters to Washington before a mob stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Trump could face a third impeachment trial if Democrats seize control of the House of Representatives. He was impeached twice in his first term, including for alleged incitement of the January 6 attack.

His last major televised address to the nation came on April 1, when he gave his first full public justification of the Iran war more than a month after the US-Israeli military campaign began.

The US military said it completed another night of strikes on Iran “to further degrade Iranian military capabilities”, including on Qeshm Island and near Bandar Abbas, home to Iran’s largest port and key navy and Revolutionary Guards facilities.

“US forces, including fighter jets, aerial drones, and warships, launched precision munitions that hit dozens of Iranian military targets such as coastal surveillance and air defense sites, military logistics infrastructure, and maritime capabilities,” the US Central Command said in a statement.

Iran has fired missiles and drones at US military bases in neighbouring states, including an air base in Jordan.

In the early hours of Friday, Iran’s military said it had attacked US facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait. Several explosion-like sounds were heard in the Qatari capital Doha, according to a witness, and the Ministry of the Interior said a child was injured by shrapnel.

Iranian media reported that five bridges were hit in the latest round of US strikes, as well as the train station in coastal Bandar Khamir and Iranshahr Airport in southeastern Iran.

Seven people were killed in US attacks on bridges in Bandar Khamir, a port city in southern Iran, state news agency IRNA reported.

Shipping halted again in Strait of Hormuz

The escalation has once again largely halted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important shipping route for oil and gas, pushing up global energy prices.

Tehran resumed its blockade of the strait and Washington again blockaded Iranian ports from Wednesday.

Iran has signalled it could prod the Houthi’s in Yemen to close another key strait: the Bab al-Mandeb at the mouth of the Red Sea, sources told Reuters, if Washington attacks Iran’s infrastructure.

Iran last week hit ships moving through a corridor in the strait. Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary, told a briefing on Thursday that US President Donald Trump would not “sit by and allow these active acts of terrorism to take place in the strait without ensuring Iran pays consequences for that”.

But she added the president was “always open to diplomacy at the very same time.”

Iran keeps grip on strait

Iran wants all ships using the Strait of Hormuz to travel through a channel close to its shores, and intends to charge passage fees at the end of a 60-day negotiation period set in last month’s memorandum.

Washington had encouraged ships to use an alternative route to the south, along the Omani coast.

US forces said their airstrikes have hit military targets along the coast to cripple Iran’s ability to control the strait. Iranian Army spokesperson Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia said on Thursday this would not work because Iran could strike the strait from anywhere on its territory.

Trump has not ruled out the possibility of using ground forces, including to seize Kharg Island, the site of Iran’s main oil export terminal. He has repeated threats to hit Iranian power plants and bridges next week unless Tehran resumes negotiations.