Portal:Current events/2026 July 23

July 23, 2026 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Middle Eastern crisis
- 2026 Iran war
  - 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis
    - 2026 United States naval blockade of Iran
      - The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) says it has redirected 12 commercial vessels and disabled one since the naval blockade on Iran resumed on July 14. (Middle East Eye)
    - The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy says it has stopped three oil tankers from passing through the Strait of Hormuz. (AFP via Arab News)
  - July 2026 United States strikes against Iran
    - The Islamic Republic News Agency reports that the U.S. military struck the Shalamcheh area near the Iran–Iraq border. Two people are reported to be killed and 11 are reported injured. (The Guardian) (Middle East Eye)
    - The U.S. CENTCOM reports on X that they have conducted strikes against Iran for a 13th consecutive night amidst clashes over shipping routes, with explosions reported in Ahvaz, Bandar Abbas, and Qeshm Island. (MENA via The New Arab) (WLS-TV)
  - Kuwait in the 2026 Iran war
    - Kuwait's defense ministry reports that a drone has hit the Abdali area near the Iraqi border. (KUNA via Arab Times Kuwait) (Kurdistan24)
- Red Sea crisis
  - The Houthis claim to have attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea for their violation of the blockade by Yemen's Houthi-led armed forces. There are no reported casualties. (Al Jazeera)
  - Shipping data shows that two Chinese very-large crude carriers carrying four million barrels of Saudi Arabian oil, the Singaporean-flagged VLCC Xin Long Yang and Chinese-flagged VLCC Cosnew Lake, are heading towards Bab-el-Mandeb strait. (Reuters)
  - Germany's defence ministry moves the Frankenthal-class minehunter Fulda and the replenishment oiler Mosel from the coast of Djibouti to the eastern Mediterranean Sea, citing uncertainty over a planned Strait of Hormuz mission and concerns about prolonged deployment affecting the vessels. (AFP via Al Arabiya)
  - Reuters reports that Iran sent Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers, along with drone- and missile-related equipment, on a Mahan Air flight to Houthi-controlled Yemen on July 13, in preparation for the blockade on Saudi Arabia. (Reuters)
Sudanese civil war
- 2026 Blue Nile campaign
  - Emergency lawyers report that a drone strike has killed several civilians in the Badia area of Sudan's Blue Nile State. (Sudan Tribune)

Business and economy

Economic impact of the 2026 Iran war
- 2026 Iran war fuel crisis
  - Oil prices, including Brent Crude and West Texas Intermediate, increase to over US$101 per barrel and to nearly $93 per barrel, respectively, after the escalation in the Red Sea. The United States gasoline national average increases to $4.09 per gallon. (NBC News)
Foie gras controversy
- Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signs a law banning the production and sale of foie gras, citing animal cruelty. The measure effectively ends Brazilian imports of the product. (Reuters)
Tariffs in the second Trump administration
- The United States imposes tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on imports from 60 trading partners, citing forced-labor concerns. The duties take effect Friday and exempt USMCA-covered goods and products already subject to sector-specific tariffs. (AFP via Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Disasters and accidents

2026 France wildfires
- More than 20,000 people are evacuated from their homes as wildfires spread in Gironde, France. More than 700 firefighters have been deployed to battle the fires. (BBC News)

Health and environment

2026 United States cyclosporiasis outbreak
- Taylor Farms temporarily suspend operations at its processing facility in central Mexico after American health officials linked it to a current cyclosporiasis outbreak in the U.S., which is caused by Cyclospora cayetanensis. (Reuters)

Law and crime

2025 shootings of Minnesota legislators
- United States federal judge John R. Tunheim sentences Vance Boelter to two life terms plus 40 years without parole for killing Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband and wounding state senator John Hoffman and his wife in June 2025. (AFP via The Manila Times)
International Criminal Court investigation in Darfur
- The International Criminal Court at The Hague, Netherlands, officially drops charges against former militia leader Abdallah Banda, who was previously charged for his role in a 2007 attack on African Union peacekeepers during Sudan's Darfur conflict. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Reactions to the 2026 Iran war
- The United States House of Representatives votes 214–208 to approve war powers legislation attempting to require the president of the United States to halt military action against Iran. The United States Senate votes 47–49 to stop the legislation from advancing. (CNBC) (Reuters)

Science and technology

The International Mathematical Union awards the 2026 Fields Medals to Yu Deng, John Pardon, Jacob Tsimerman, and Hong Wang at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Wang becomes the third woman to receive the prize after Maryam Mirzakhani in 2014 and Maryna Viazovska in 2022. (AFP via Le Monde)

Sports

In association football, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger submit joint bids to host the 2032 Africa Cup of Nations under the Alliance of Sahel States. (BBC Sport)