Breaking News July 16 2026 Part 2

A number of important headlines have crossed the wires since we last met this morning... Headline 1 US says it launched new wave of attacks as blasts hit southern Iran (Iran International) The United States began a new wave of strikes against Iran at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT) on Thursday to “further degrade Iranian military capabilities,” US Central Command said. As of now, there is no stopping the military campaign. Our next two stories illustrate the reasons why... Headline 2 Iran Warns Strait of Hormuz Is a 'Red Line,' Will Resist Until the End (Newsmax) Iran said on Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz was an inviolable "red line," warning that if U.S. President Donald Trump carried out his threat to attack Iran's infrastructure, it would strike all infrastructure across the Gulf region. The U.S. launched a fifth night of attacks on Wednesday and reimposed a naval blockade of Iran's ports, which Washington says is aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, closed by Iran last Saturday after a fragile ‌truce collapsed. Iran said that if Trump carried out the threat, Iran's armed forces would strike "all remaining infrastructure" across the region, and the response would be more severe, wider in scope and more destructive than previous attacks. If this does happen, then it could cause enormous problems... But there is also this issue now... Headline 3 Iran Tells Houthis: Get Ready to Seal Off the Red Sea (JFEED, N12) Iran has told Houthi forces in Yemen to prepare to close the Bab al-Mandab Strait, threatening to shut down a second major oil route alongside Hormuz and deepen the global energy crisis. Iran has instructed Houthi forces in Yemen to prepare to close the Bab al-Mandab Strait, according to sources in Iran and the region cited Thursday in a Reuters report, a move that would leave both of the Middle East's major oil export corridors sealed at once and threatens to deepen a global energy crisis already strained by the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz. ... The development fits a pattern documented by multiple outlets over the past several days. The Telegraph has reported that Houthi forces are quietly coordinating with al-Shabab, the Somali militant group, to assert control over both sides of the strait, and that Iran's Fars news agency has explicitly named Bab al-Mandab as a planned second front in any wider war. Yemen's Ansarullah political bureau has separately warned that a coordinated closure with Hormuz could send oil prices as high as $200 a barrel. Analysts caution, however, that the Houthis operate with a degree of independence from Tehran and have their own reasons, chiefly hostility toward Saudi Arabia, for considering such a move. Neither Iranian nor Houthi officials had issued a final order to close the strait as of Thursday, and for now, shipping through Bab al-Mandab continues. Headline 4 US House defeats amendment to end Israel aid, but nearly half of Democrats vote in favor (Times of Israel) Another indication of how far the Democratic Party has fallen in recent years... and it will only get worse... Headline 5 Netanyahu postpones planned visit to US after Lindsey Graham's funeral delayed (Jerusalem Post) Contrary to what was reported yesterday, it looks like they will meet when the funeral is held. However, since it is still about two weeks away, and with the above stories we just mentioned, nobody has any idea as to what the situation in the Middle East will look like at that time. We will keep you posted... Support the ministry of Don Stewart here: https://goinchrist.com/our-misionarie... Get access to all the materials from Pastor Don Stewart here: http://eowwwithdonstewart.com/ Follow Pastor Don Stewart Facebook:   / educatingourworld