The US Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the US Consulate General in Dubai have canceled all consular appointments from July 13 to 15, citing the regional security situation.
The embassy said it remains on ordered departure status, with non-emergency US government personnel relocated outside the UAE.
Only limited consular assistance is currently available to U.S. citizens, while routine visa services remain suspended.
A video published by Haalvsh on Telegram appears to show heavy explosions following a US strike on Konarak in southeast Iran early hours of Tuesday July 13.
Haalvsh reported that the town’s air base was also targeted.
The office of former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected reports alleging that Israel’s Mossad had recruited him for a regime-change plan and that he had later been placed under house arrest.
In a statement, the office said The New York Times’ “Hollywood-style claims” did not merit a denial and described the newspaper as “known for publishing fake news and fabricating lies.”
It also accused the newspaper of being willing to publish fabricated articles and reports in exchange for payment.
The statement said Ahmadinejad remained active and was continuing his daily work.
US President Donald Trump said Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain was a possible target for “a nice big fat shot right in the front door” and that the United States would “probably give Pickaxe a shot relatively soon.”
Speaking on Monday to conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump said the United States was monitoring the site closely and had seen no activity there.
Pickaxe Mountain is believed to house a deeply buried nuclear facility that may be difficult to destroy with conventional bunker-buster bombs.
President Donald Trump on Monday reinstated a naval blockade against Iran after notifying Congress that US military action against the Islamic Republic had resumed, amid fresh blasts in southern Iran and continued ship attacks near Hormuz.
Trump said Monday that the United States would once again block ships belonging to the Islamic Republic or serving its customers from entering or leaving Iranian ports, while keeping the Strait of Hormuz open to traffic bound for other countries.
US Central Command said the blockade would take effect at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday and apply to vessels traveling to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas. American forces would continue supporting ships in regional waters that were not violating the restrictions, CENTCOM added.
The US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center said the measure would cover Iran’s entire coastline, including ports and oil terminals. Neutral vessels traveling through Hormuz to non-Iranian destinations would be allowed to pass, while humanitarian shipments would be permitted after inspection.
The announcement came days after Trump informed congressional leaders that “military action commenced on July 7 against the government of the Islamic Republic.”
In his July 10 letter which was released on Monday, Trump said US forces launched “defensive strikes” after Iranian forces attacked several neutral-flagged commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. The targets included missile launch sites, air defenses, maritime military assets, military-support infrastructure and command-and-control capabilities.
Trump said no American ground forces were involved and described the attacks as limited and measured. He nevertheless said US forces remained positioned to carry out further action, indicating that the July 7 operation marked the resumption of a military campaign rather than an isolated retaliatory strike.
The notification could further intensify a dispute between the White House and Congress over Trump’s authority to continue the war without legislative approval. Both chambers have voted to direct him to end the fighting or seek congressional authorization, while the administration says the president is acting within his constitutional powers as commander in chief.
US strikes have continued since the renewed campaign began. CENTCOM said American forces used one-way attack surface drones in combat for the first time on Sunday, striking a submarine and ship-maintenance facility at the Bandar Abbas Naval Base.
Three Corsair unmanned vessels hit the facility and degraded the Islamic Republic’s ability to attack commercial shipping, according to the US military.
Explosions in southern Iran
Fresh explosions were reported Monay across southern and southeastern Iran, within a coastal zone highlighted by CENTCOM.
A map released by US Central Command highlights a broad stretch of Iran’s southern coastline along the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, hinting at the general range of ongoing US strikes.
The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency said the sound of four missile impacts was heard near Konarak, with the blasts also audible in Chabahar and Dashtiari.
The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency reported six loud explosions in Chabahar and Konarak and said areas around Chabahar had been targeted by the US military in recent nights. It also reported explosions and the activation of air defenses in Bandar Abbas.
Iran’s state broadcaster later denied that explosions had occurred in Bandar Abbas, Larak and several other southern locations, contradicting earlier reports by IRNA and Tasnim. No immediate casualty figures were announced.
The confrontation also continued at sea, with Tasnim reporting that several vessels accused of violating Iranian restrictions had been targeted in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s armed forces warned they would respond forcefully to US interference with shipping and said regional governments providing logistical support to Washington could be regarded as participants in the war.
Trump, meanwhile, declared the United States the “Guardian of the Hormuz Strait” and proposed charging the equivalent of 20% of cargo shipped through the waterway, a plan rejected by the UN’s shipping agency as lacking a legal basis.
Trump also said the United States would hit Iran hard on Monday night and Tuesday, in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.
Asked about the memorandum of understanding, Trump said it had been a test for Iran and that Tehran had failed to honor it.
US President Donald Trump said the United States would hit Iran hard on Monday night and Tuesday, in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.
Asked about the memorandum of understanding with Iran, Trump called it a test that Tehran failed to honor.
“It was a test. We didn’t know,” Trump said. “Memorandums of understanding, when you’re dealing with sleazebags, don’t mean much. It was sort of a test, and they weren’t there. They didn’t honor the test.”
