Iran war updates: Trump says US may attack Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain soon

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• US President Donald Trump continued to downplay the war on Iran, saying it shouldn’t be classified as a “war” and calling it “small potatoes”.
• He also said that the US may strike Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, where nuclear material is thought to be stored, “very soon”.
• The US imposed further sanctions as part of its economic pressure campaign against Iran, targeting Turkiye-based Golden Global Bank and two of its subsidiaries. The Treasury Department accused them of facilitating “tens of millions of dollars’ worth of transactions” for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.
• The bank fired back in a statement carried by Reuters news agency, in which it threatened legal action over the US’s accusations.
• Iran criticised a bid by the US and three of its European allies to prompt the IAEA, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, to refer Tehran to the UN Security Council, saying the move is bound to fail.
• Israel continues to escalate its attacks on southern Lebanon, as Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Israel killed at least three people and wounded 23 today.
• Israel also kept up the pace of its attacks on the Gaza Strip, with the enclave’s Health Ministry reporting at least eight people killed and 31 wounded in the last 24 hours there.
• In a rare public display of disagreement with Israel, the United States rejected calls by top Israeli officials that the Palestinian population should be removed from Gaza.

US President Donald Trump called the war with Iran “small potatoes”, saying just 18 Americans had been killed compared with 100,000 in Vietnam.

He called US strikes “intermittent” and threatened to attack Pickaxe Mountain, whose tunnels are said to hold Iran’s enriched uranium.

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Average US diesel prices have hit a record high amid increased global supply disruptions due to the renewed fighting in the Middle East and Russia’s war on Ukraine.

A gallon of diesel now costs $5.85 on average in the US, according to American Automobile Association data.

The price of diesel could rise even further due to the sharp drawdown in inventories and as agricultural states in various parts of the country head into harvesting and planting seasons.

Brent crude futures also settled at $92.68 a barrel, up 76 cents, or 0.8 percent. West Texas Intermediate crude futures finished at $91.48 a barrel, up 18 cents, or 0.20 percent.

For the week, Brent crude rose 7.6 percent while US crude gained nearly 10 percent, as supply routes in the Middle East remain impaired due to the war.

The US has announced the approval of a $5bn sale of bombs, guidance kits and other equipment to Saudi Arabia, which has been repeatedly attacked during the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran.

“The proposed sale will improve Saudi Arabia’s airborne defense capability to counter current and future regional threats, strengthen its homeland defense, and improve interoperability with systems operated by US forces and other Gulf region partners,” the US State Department said in a statement.

The sale will also “support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a Major non-NATO Ally”, the department said.

Saudi Arabia has been targeted with drone and missile strikes by Iranian forces and Yemen’s Tehran-backed Houthi rebels since the US and Israel launched their joint war on Iran in late February this year.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has discussed bilateral ties and regional tensions with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in a phone call.

The two leaders reviewed cooperation across multiple sectors, with Erdogan saying defence and economic ties between the two countries will deepen significantly, according to a Turkish government statement.

Erdogan also addressed broader regional flashpoints, saying Turkiye was striving to end Iran-US tensions and other conflicts in the region. He said Ankara’s peace-focused diplomatic initiatives would continue and that Turkiye “never approves of attacks on brotherly countries” in the region.

Germany has condemned an AI-generated video shared by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir that mocked Palestinian prisoners, calling the depiction “appalling” and “unacceptable,” German newspaper Berlin Morgen reported.

German Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Giese criticized the video posted by Ben-Gvir, which drew sharp backlash before reportedly being removed from social media platforms.

“Of course, this is completely unacceptable. It’s appalling,” Giese said during a press briefing in Berlin, adding that the German government firmly rejects Ben-Gvir’s politics and rhetoric.

The controversial video depicted overweight Palestinian prisoners traveling on a conveyor belt into a facility and emerging visibly emaciated and crying.

An Iranian army official has pledged to conduct “preemptive operations”, signalling a shift in the country’s military approach.

“Wherever we perceive a threat, we will conduct preemptive operations,” army spokesman Brigadier-General Mohammad Akrami Nia said in comments carried by Iran’s state-run broadcaster, IRIB.

“Our military doctrine has shifted toward preemptive defense and deterrent operations,” Nia said.

The National Iranian American Council has condemned the decision by language certification firms Pearson PLC and Pearson VUE to block Iranians from taking English proficiency exams required for international study, after a US sanctions exemption was suspended.

In a statement, council President Jamal Abdi called the Trump Administration’s decision to target students in Iran “draconian”, but, he said, “Pearson appears to be going even further than the law requires by punishing Iranians who are not even in Iran.”

Last week, Educational Testing Service and Duolingo announced they would also block English proficiency certifications for Iranian nationals.

“This appears to be sanctions overcompliance that is inflicting serious harms on innocent people. Pearson should immediately reinstate these tests for Iranians outside of Iran,” he said.

He said the US Treasury Department “must provide far more clarity and reassurance about what is and is not sanctionable”.

In a rare public display of disagreement with Israel, the United States has rejected calls by top Israeli officials that the Palestinian population should be removed from Gaza.

Asked about Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz’s call for de-populating Gaza as the only “solution” to the crisis, the US State Department reiterated Washington’s commitment to President Donald Trump’s 20-point “peace plan” that established the “ceasefire” last year.

“As explicitly stated in Point 12 of the President’s plan: ‘No one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return. We will encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza’,” a State Department spokesperson told Al Jazeera in a statement on Friday.

“The United States does not support any plan or proposal for the forced displacement, expulsion, or mandatory transfer of the population of Gaza,” the spokesperson said.

Katz had said that Trump had only “frozen” – not cancelled – his support for removing Palestinians from the territory, a proposal that rights advocates say would amount to ethnic cleansing.

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US officials deny that this is a war. US President Donald Trump just now called the Iran war “small potatoes” in the White House Oval Office.

He contrasted the number of US personnel killed in this conflict so far – 18 and counting – with the Vietnam War which killed tens of thousands of troops. That’s why he believes it is not yet a significant conflict constituting a full-fledged war.

What we know is that the US president is saying the US is in full control and that it understands the actions and movements of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, the IRGC.

We did see evidence of that earlier this week when the US attacked Larak Island and launchers the US alleged Iran was loading with mines to fire into the Strait of Hormuz.

The goal for the US is to keep freedom of navigation open and also protect US interests in the region. But what we also know is that, in terms of trying to end the conflict, there is now a precondition on the part of the US. JD Vance, the vice president, said earlier that there will be no talks to end this conflict until Iran stops shooting at commercial ships.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition has announced a new maritime mission aimed at breaking Israel’s blockade of Gaza, with vessels stopping at European ports before attempting to reach the enclave in October.

“We are sailing again because Israel hasn’t stopped its genocide and because Palestine is still not free,” the coalition said in a statement, appealing for international support.

The coalition’s Handala II vessel visited Norway, Sweden and Denmark in June and July, while another vessel, the Kate, departed Bristol in August and has since stopped in Ireland, Germany and France. Both are expected to visit Spain, Portugal and Italy before continuing towards Gaza.

“The Freedom Flotilla sails again because our governments continue to fail to uphold their obligations,” said Zohar Chamberlain Regev, a member of the coalition’s steering committee.

The coalition said Israeli forces attacked and detained hundreds of participants during a spring 2026 mission, with volunteers reporting beatings, gunshot wounds and sexual assaults while in custody. That mission, involving more than 50 vessels from the Global Sumud Flotilla and the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was intercepted by Israeli naval forces in international waters in May 2026.