Iran-US cyberwar escalates as hackers target US infrastructure and strikes continue across Middle East

Iranian hackers were accused of carrying out an unprecedented attack on a British power generator last month

Iranian hackers have targeted critical American infrastructure with cyberattacks in recent weeks, a new report has claimed, as fresh strikes threatened to plunge Washington and Tehran back into all our war.

Four sources with access to government and industry information about cyberthreats told NBC News that hackers are believed to have targeted US telecommunications, energy and other infrastructure, bringing the war ever closer to the American public.

The attempts have focused on automated systems connected to the internet but have not been successful so far, according to the report, noting that new threats against energy, water and telecommunications were still emerging on Telegram over the weekend.

The FBI said at the end of July that at least seven states have been targeted in a growing wave of cyberattacks on critical water infrastructure across the country. Officials were said to be investigating Iran as the likely agent behind the attacks, per PBS.

The latest threats emerged as the US and Iran exchanged attacks across the Middle East, with US forces striking Iran's southern coast and Iran firing at American bases across the region.

The United States threatened more devastating strikes. Iran accused Washington of hitting a wedding party, killing five people and wounding dozens.

Analysis | Trump doesn’t understand the forever war he’s created with Iran – and Russia

In an age of rogue law dominating international affairs since Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office and then staggered about the globe like a toddler with a chainsaw, it is inevitable that other outlaw nations, Russia and Iran, would see opportunity in mayhem.

The 47th US president is too infantile, and misled by a messianic government in Israel, to comprehend that the citizens of Iran will not rise against their oppressors in Tehran under the Stars and Stripes and that Moscow will never be America’s friend.

But Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei (along with his Guardian Council), the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin are locking America into another forever war.

Their long term intent is to expose the limits of current US power and to further weaken its influence across the Middle East, where the close alliance between Washington and Israel is a liability.

World affairs editor Sam Kiley writes:

Trump doesn’t understand the forever war he’s created with Iran – and Russia

Trump remains mesmerized by Putin even as the Kremlin helps Iran kill Americans and weaken US influence around the globe, explains world affairs editor Sam Kiley

Alex Croft2 September 2026 17:01

Iran seizes ship smuggling fuel in Gulf, state media reports

Iranian border guards have seized a vessel with 382,000 litres of smuggled fuel in the northern Gulf, and arrested its foreign crew of 11, the state broadcaster IRIB reported on Wednesday, without giving the nationality of the detained.

Iran, which has some of the world's lowest fuel prices due to heavy subsidies and a sharp fall in the value of its national currency, has been seeking to curb widespread fuel smuggling by land to neighbouring countries and by sea to Gulf states.

Maira Butt2 September 2026 16:30

In pictures: Damage after alleged US strike on Iranian wedding kills five

Alex Croft2 September 2026 16:01

The latest: Trump aides ‘desperately trying to stop war escalating’ despite renewed strikes

Donald Trump’s top White House aides are urgently pushing to prevent the Iran war from escalating, after the US ramped up the intensity of its attacks on Wednesday.

The aides want to prevent the war escalating before November's midterm elections to stem Republican electoral losses, four sources told the Reuters news agency.

Officials will consider once again ramping up military action after the vote in November, but a return to the full-scale conflict is not a given, they said.

"We are keeping the pressure on Iran," one White House official said. "But November is a priority."

James Reynolds2 September 2026 15:30

Saudi Arabia says Iranian attack killed two seafarers in Strait of Hormuz

As we reported earlier, Saudi Arabian shipping company Bahri reported that two Filipino seafarers had been killed in a security incident in the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest crude exporter, has now confirmed that an Iranian attack on an oil tanker owned by its national shipping company killed the seafarers.

Sidr, owned by Bahri, was one of two supertankers carrying Saudi oil reported to have been hit late on Monday while transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Tehran has threatened tankers attempting to sail through the narrow waterway without authorisation, impeding energy exports from neighbouring oil-rich Gulf countries.

About one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade used to pass through the Strait of Hormuz before the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28.

"The kingdom stressed the necessity of halting escalations, and respecting international maritime safety and the security of global energy supplies," the Saudi foreign ministry said.

"Bahri remains in continuous contact with the vessel and is coordinating closely with the relevant authorities and maritime industry stakeholders, while continuing to closely monitor developments," the company said in a statement.

Alex Croft2 September 2026 15:00

US Centcom says it 'never targets civilians' after wedding strike

US Central Command has denied targeting civilians after Iranian media reported at least four people were killed in a US strike on a wedding in Sirik, southern Iran.

"The US military never targets civilians, unlike the Revolutionary Guards," CENTCOM told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday.

Alex Croft2 September 2026 14:29

Iranian people are victims of Tehran's decisions, says France's UN ambassador

Iranian people are the victims of the decisions made by Tehran’s authorities, France’s UN ambassador and September’s president of the Security Council Jérôme Bonnafont has said.

“They are the victims of the choices made by the Iranian authorities for years now, with these episodes of mass repression,” he told reporters according to Iran International.

“At the heart of our discussions on Iran this month will be the nuclear issue,” Bonnafont added.

The council is set to discuss the sanctions committee tired to Iran’s nuclear programme this month.

“We will look at the noncompliance of Iran with its nuclear obligations and the consequences arising therefrom.”

Bonnafone added that the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz was having “extremely adverse” consequences.

Alex Croft2 September 2026 14:00

Car hits pro-government gathering in Iran, killing four

A car ​struck a gathering of supporters of Iran's government and armed forces in the northeastern city of ⁠Mashhad overnight, killing four people and injuring more than 10, several Iranian media reported on Wednesday.

A car travelling ⁠at high ​speed ⁠first collided with another vehicle, lost control and then veered ⁠into the crowd after hitting safety ​barriers ⁠and traffic ‌signs, Noor News reported, citing Mohsen Mousa-Abadi, head of Razavi Khorasan Province's traffic ‌police.

Initial checks showed ‌the driver, who was arrested, was not in a normal state, Mousa-Abadi said, ⁠without giving details on his condition.

There was no immediate indication of a political motive, and authorities described the incident as a traffic accident.

The evening gathering was one ‌of a series of recurring events ​attended by supporters of ‌the Islamic ⁠Republic and its armed forces since ⁠the war with the United States ‌began in ​late February, according ‌to Mehr news ​agency.

Alex Croft2 September 2026 13:29

Watch: US Central Command releases video showing wave of strikes on Iranian military targets

Alex Croft2 September 2026 13:00

The latest: Trump has no interest in ‘worthless’ deal with Iran as both sides launch new strikes

US president Donald Trump has insisted he “couldn’t care less” if Iran signs a “worthless” deal to end the war, as both sides launched fresh strikes in the spiralling conflict.

The conflict in the Middle East saw a dramatic re-escalation on Wednesday as Washington and Tehran traded attacks in the biggest exchange of fire in weeks, with US forces attacking Iran’s southern coast and Iran attacking American bases across the region.

“I’m not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table,” the Trump wrote on Truth Social overnight, responding to speculation after the US struck Iran for the first time since July overnight into Monday. “I couldn’t care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement.”

Trump has no interest in ‘worthless’ deal with Iran as both sides launch new strikes

US Centcom said it had struck IRGC air defences and maritime assets as Iran targeted American bases across the region

James Reynolds2 September 2026 12:36