U.S. bombs Iranian wedding; Netanyahu visits Gaza, vows no withdrawal; UN admits global warming will exceed 1.5 C

An aerial view shows people surveying damage to buildings in the aftermath of a U.S. strike on a wedding party, on September 2, 2026 in Sirik in the Hormozgan Province of Iran. Photo by Morteza Akhondi/Getty Images. Wednesday, September 2, 2026 – U.S. launches strikes on southern Iran, killing 18. Iran launches retaliatory attacks. IRGC says two oil tankers hit Hormuz mines and were disabled. CENTCOM claims 84 vessels redirected during naval blockade. President Donald Trump threatens to escalate attacks, says Gulf allies privy to latest wave of U.S. attacks. Head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council vows retaliation. Russia affirms solidarity with Iran. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf claims U.S. giving ships “false guarantees” about Hormuz passage. U.S. previews more sanctions on Iranian business partners. Saudi shipping firm says two sailors killed in Hormuz transit. Peru cuts diplomatic ties with Iran. USS Abraham Lincoln arrives in Thailand after more than 6 months at sea. Israeli attacks kill Palestinian boy in Jabalia, woman dies of wounds in Deir al-Balah. “Why should a child filling up water die?” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Gaza, vows no withdrawal. Israeli demolitions, land razing, detentions and settler attacks continue across occupied West Bank. Palestinian ministry documents pattern of Israeli restrictions on Islamic holy sites in August. Hamas condemns Israeli attacks on Gaza in talks with mediators, Board of Peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov. WHO: Water contamination nearly triples in Gaza as rainy season threatens public health crisis. U.S. claims it seized more than $560,000 in cryptocurrency donations intended for Hamas. East Jerusalem teachers strike as Israel imposes curriculum, blocks teacher permits. Israeli attacks kill one, wound another in southern Lebanon as ceasefire violations continue. EU plans new mission to train Lebanese army as UNIFIL mandate nears end. Ed Markey wins Massachusetts Democratic Senate Primary. War Secretary Pete Hegseth continues military purge. Top Pentagon AI official sells AI company stake for millions. Two House Democrats break ranks to save GOP procedural vote. Chinese immigrant found dead hours after entering ICE custody. State Department proposes requiring parents to prove citizenship for children’s passports. ICE arrests hold near record high with roughly 50,000 in August. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin says ICE could deploy to polling sites for “specific threats.” DOJ sues Kansas City schools over gender policy. Tyson lays off 2,500 workers overnight in abrupt Illinois plant closure. Global warming set to exceed 1.5°C within years. Chinese president calls for new Middle East security order during Egypt visit. Germany accuses Russia of drone attack on Leipzig airport, expels diplomats. Germany investigates second power-grid sabotage attempt in 24 hours. South Korean president calls for revival of U.S.-North Korea dialogue. Vanuatu files ICJ case seeking sovereignty over French-controlled Pacific islands. Mexican soldiers kill suspected cartel hitman. This is Drop Site Daily, our free news recap We send it Monday – Friday Subscribe Iran U.S. launches strikes on southern Iran, killing 18: The U.S. expanded its strikes into southern Iran, killing 18 people, Iranian media reported on Wednesday. Island regions: The U.S. struck several villages on Iran’s Qeshm Island, hitting a fish powder factory, and also hit Lavan Island, killing three members of the paramilitary Basij force. Hormozgan: A U.S. attack hit a wedding in Sirik on Tuesday, killing at least four people, including a child, and injuring nearly 100 people, 51 of whom were hospitalized, according to Iran’s Health Ministry. Separate U.S. strikes hit a fishing pier and a port authority tower in the city. The U.S. also struck the major southern port city of Bandar Abbas, the city of Jask, and a residential area in the coastal city of Kuhestak. Several parts of the power grid in Hormozgan were also targeted. Kermanshah: The U.S. killed four Iranian military personnel in an overnight attack on the western province of Kermanshah, according to a statement from Iran’s military. Sistan and Baluchestan: The U.S. struck the port city of Chabahar several times on Tuesday, and hit the nearby city of Konarak as well. Khuzestan: A U.S. missile struck the outskirts of the Iranian city of Ahvaz, in the country’s western Khuzestan province, Iran’s Fars news agency reported, and later strikes hit at least two other locations. Tuesday strikes killed at least seven and injured eight others in the province. Kerman: The U.S. also targeted an airport in the city of Jirfot, in Iran’s southeast, Iranian broadcaster IRIB reported, though the attack entailed no casualties and minimal damage to the airport’s infrastructure. Bushehr: Explosions were also heard in the gas hub of Asaluyeh. Markazi: Iranian forces shot down a U.S. MQ-9 drone over Khomeyn, in central Iran on Tuesday, Tasnim reported. Iran launches retaliatory attacks: Iranian officials announced that the country would launch “regretful” retaliatory attacks on Tuesday, with a spokesman for the IRGC saying the U.S. would face “severe punishment” for its latest attack on Iran. Jordan: Iran launched several rockets towards Jordan, claiming a successful strike on the U.S. military barracks at Camp Titin, near the Gulf of Aqaba. Iran claimed it killed several U.S. forces and destroyed “several installations and enemy attack helicopters” at the base, while a U.S. source told Al Jazeera the attack had not caused any injuries or major damage. Iran also claimed a successful ballistic missile strike on a helicopter hangar at the Prince Hassan Base in Jordan, and launched attacks at the city of Mafraq. Jordanian officials claimed that they intercepted 10 of 13 Iranian missiles launched into the kingdom, that the remaining three landed in remote areas, and that no injuries or deaths were recorded. Bahrain: Iran launched drone attacks on U.S. forces in Bahrain, at the country’s Sheikh Isa Airbase, according to a statement issued by Iran’s Tasnim news service. Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior later reported several missile interceptions over its airspace. Kuwait: The Kuwaiti army reported that the country’s air defenses were responding to attacks by “hostile,” Iran-linked drones in its airspace. Kuwait’s fire service later said a fire at a residential complex in the capital was brought under control after an alleged Iranian drone strike with no injuries reported. Iran claimed its attack on Kuwait’s Ali Al-Salem airbase inflicted casualties. Iraq: Iran’s IRGC said its forces carried out a combined missile and drone attack on U.S. facilities in Erbil province, northern Iraq, killing several U.S. personnel, destroying a repair center and warehouses containing technical equipment. Its claims of casualties and damage have not been independently verified. Syria : Three missiles aimed at Jordan were intercepted over the eastern Deraa countryside in southern Syria, Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday evening. United Arab Emirates: Iran said it struck radar stations at the Al-Dhafra and Al-Minhad bases in the UAE on Wednesday. The UAE did not confirm the attacks. IRGC says two oil tankers hit Hormuz mines and were disabled: The IRGC said two ⁠oil ⁠tankers hit sea mines and were disabled ⁠while attempting to transit the ⁠Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, according to a statement shared on Iranian state media. The IRGC claimed that the tankers had attempted a transit through the “illegal” southern route with the help of U.S. operatives, and that they were forced to disembark their crews. CENTCOM claims 84 vessels redirected during naval blockade: U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said as of Tuesday evening, U.S. forces had redirected 84 commercial vessels during its ongoing naval blockade against Iran, adding one vessel redirection to Sunday’s toll. In a post on X, CENTCOM added that it had disabled three vessels and boarded two to “ensure compliance.” Trump threatens to escalate attacks, says Gulf allies privy to latest wave of U.S. attacks: President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday evening to intensify U.S. attacks on Iran if Tehran retaliated, telling Fox News: “They’ll be hit much harder…if it goes a third time, they’re going to be totally wiped out as a country.” He had earlier claimed in a Truth Social post that the “biggest attack of them all” was “waiting in the wings,” should Iran respond to the latest wave of attacks Separately, Trump said that the U.S. had “almost total control” of Hormuz on Tuesday, and dismissed reports that the U.S. was seeking a new agreement with Iran. Trump also claimed in his Fox News interview that the U.S.’s Gulf allies were notified before the latest round of U.S. strikes on Iran. Head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council vows retaliation: In response to the U.S. attacks, Mohsen Rezaei, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said in a post : “You will soon see that Iran’s new strategy on the battlefield, in diplomacy, and in confronting the economic blockade will shatter your foundations.” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei called the U.S. bombing of a wedding a “war crime” and said in a post on X: “The truth of America’s illegal war against Iran was revealed last night in #Sirik; where a wedding ceremony was bombed, within the framework of America’s desperate attempt to conceal its own defeat; the reality is the crimes that America commits, not the AI-generated videos that falsely depict American officials as morally upright and victorious heroes.” Russia affirms solidarity with Iran, Putin tells Pezeshkian: President Vladimir Putin told Iranian President ⁠Masoud Pezeshkian at ⁠the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting on Tuesday that Russia stood in solidarity with the Iranian people. Putin ⁠also told Pezeshkian that Russia and Iran would maintain ⁠their economic and ⁠trade relationship despite U.S. threats against countries that cooperate with Iran. Ghalibaf claims U.S. giving ships “false guarantees” about Hormuz passage: In a video message shared by Iranian news agencies, parliament speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf addressed the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, saying that, despite a few “enemy” ships managing to get through the passageway, Iranian forces remained “in complete control” of the Strait and would “not allow it to be opened. He claimed the U.S. was giving ships “false guarantees” about their ability to cross a southern route in Hormuz, adding that ships that try to do so are being targeted. In his remarks, Ghalibaf also threatened that “no one” would be “able to export oil,” should the U.S.’s stranglehold on Iranian oil continue. U.S. previews more sanctions on Iranian business partners: At the G20 finance meeting on Tuesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the U.S. planned to announce new sanctions on “anyone that does business with the IRGC.” He also claimed that the U.S. was presently tracking down the group’s assets. Saudi shipping firm says two sailors killed in Hormuz transit: The Saudi shipping company Bahri reported on Wednesday that two Filipino crew members were killed on board the Sidr supertanker in a Monday incident in the Strait of Hormuz. Peru cuts diplomatic ties with Iran: Peru announced on Tuesday that it had severed diplomatic relations with Iran, accusing Iran of “inciting violence” and “escalating” the conflict in the Middle East, and citing disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz in a statement from its Foreign Ministry. The two countries have had diplomatic relations since November 1973. USS Abraham Lincoln arrives in Thailand after more than 6 months at sea: After more than 200 consecutive days at sea, the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln arrived in Thailand on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The vessel plans to dock in the Southeast Asian country for five days. The vessel has been plagued by reports of deteriorating conditions on board and concerns over the mental health of some sailors and marines after its long deployment. Palestine Killed and wounded in Gaza: Over the past 24 hours, eight Palestinians were killed and 31 were injured in attacks across Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. One Palestinian was killed in a building collapse, bringing the number of people killed in building collapses to 34. The total recorded death toll since October 7, 2023 has risen to 73,470 killed, with 174,540 injured. Since October 11, the first full day of the so-called ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 1,334 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 4,429, while 815 bodies have been