Iran’s response to days of aerial bombardment and long-range artillery strikes has proved more resilient than Trump administration officials anticipated.
President Trump said protesters risk getting shot “right through the head,” a change in tone from his earlier comments that Iranians must seize the chance to take over their government.
The defense secretary said the leader of an Iranian unit that had planned to assassinate President Trump had been killed. But U.S. officials privately acknowledge the story is not that simple.
At a news conference, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave no indication of how long it would take before the Navy could escort civilian cargo ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
The defense secretary has disparaged restrictive rules for opening fire that are aimed at reducing the risk of mistakes and civilian casualties.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said it was “unfortunate” that the move could benefit Russia, but maintained that it was only for the short term.
Iran’s new supreme leader delivered a forceful message in his first public statement since succeeding his slain father, as the Israeli military bombarded Tehran and the Lebanese capital with strikes.
The threats to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz are complicating President Trump’s calculations about how and when to end the war.
A fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait, making it a critical choke point in global commerce.
Rebuffing pressure from President Trump, a legal office says the prime minister should be pardoned only if he resigns, confesses or is convicted.