live U.S. to impose measures 'never seen before' on Iran, Treasury secretary says
The U.S. will impose unprecedented measures on Iran in order to economically isolate the country, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said...
The U.S. military said it completed a fresh wave of strikes on Iran late on Thursday, marking the 13th consecutive night of American attacks. The latest operation lasted more than two hours, according to U.S. Central Command.
The Saudi-led coalition said it carried out strikes against Houthi military sites in Yemen's Hodeidah governorate, according to Saudi broadcaster Al Arabiya.
The coalition said the targets were linked to threats against commercial shipping in the Red Sea, adding that Hodeidah port itself was not targeted and that all ports in the governorate remain open to maritime traffic.
It warned that it would respond "uncompromisingly" if the Houthis continue what it described as hostile actions and said it would keep taking measures to protect shipping and Saudi interests in the region.
The U.S. military disabled a tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Friday after it allegedly attempted to breach a blockade of Iranian ports, according to a U.S. official.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said American forces fired on the M/T Lavine, leaving the vessel unable to continue its voyage. No immediate details were provided on casualties, damage or the tanker’s cargo.
Several strikes targeted Yemen's Red Sea port of Hodeidah on Friday, according to eyewitnesses living in the city.
Residents reported hearing explosions in and around the port area, though there was no immediate information on casualties, damage or who carried out the strikes.
Hodeidah is a key entry point for food, fuel and humanitarian aid into Yemen. The reported attack comes amid rising regional tensions and continued military activity involving the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington and Tehran are engaged in discussions aimed at ending the conflict between the two countries, while cautioning that an agreement has not yet been reached.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Friday, Trump said he believes Iran is showing a greater willingness to engage than at any previous point in the crisis.
"We are talking to them. I think they're being serious. I think they are being by far the most serious that we've seen them," Trump said.
However, the president stressed that progress in the talks does not guarantee a breakthrough.
"That doesn't mean we get there. We'll see what happens," he added.
Trump's comments come amid ongoing hostilities and intensifying diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation between the United States and Iran.
Iran's Fars News Agency, citing an unnamed informed source, reported that two crew members of an LPG tanker were killed in what it described as a U.S. strike in the Gulf of Oman.
The report follows earlier claims by the agency that the tanker suffered damage to its engine room and was left disabled after the attack.
Iran's Fars News Agency, citing an informed source, reported that a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker was struck by a U.S. attack in the Gulf of Oman.
According to the report, the vessel suffered damage to its engine room, leaving it disabled. No immediate details were provided on casualties, the identity of the tanker, or the extent of the damage.
There was no immediate comment from U.S. officials, and the claim has not been independently verified.
A liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker carrying 28 Indian crew members came under attack in the Strait of Hormuz, but all of the Indian crew are safe, the Indian Embassy in Iran said.
The embassy said on X that the Mozambique-flagged Meda was attacked in Iranian territorial waters.
It said Indian authorities were in close contact with relevant officials, adding that they would continue to closely monitor the situation.
U.S. missions in Iraq warned American citizens to remain vigilant amid escalating regional tensions, saying Iran and allied groups could target U.S. interests and facilities worldwide.
“The security situation remains complex with the potential for unexpected escalation,” the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and Consulate General in Erbil, northern Iraq, said in a joint security alert.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he does not believe China or Russia are involved in the Iran conflict but warned it would be "very bad" if they supplied weapons to Tehran. He added that Chinese President Xi Jinping had assured him China would not provide arms to Iran, including through Chinese companies.
An Omani diplomatic delegation arrived in Tehran for talks with Iranian officials on mechanisms governing navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported.
The report said the delegation’s visit was part of ongoing consultations between Iran and Oman aimed at establishing appropriate mechanisms for managing ship traffic through the strategic waterway.
No further details were immediately provided about the delegation or the duration of the talks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Washington on Monday and will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, according to a statement from Netanyahu's office.
The EU imposed sanctions on five Iranian judges accused of serious human rights violations, including the persecution of political dissidents and religious minorities.
The judges serve in Iran’s regional Revolutionary Courts and have presided over trials involving dissidents, activists, and members of religious minorities, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, the Council of the EU said in a statement.
The cases were based on “vaguely defined national security and religious charges,” according to the council.
Bahrain’s air defence intercepted several Iranian aerial attacks as all weapons and units remain at the highest levels of readiness to protect the kingdom, the defence force said in a statement.
This comes a few hours after warning sirens sounded in Bahrain for the second time in the same day, the Bahrain Interior Ministry said on X.
Iraq rejected a media report claiming that Baghdad was mediating efforts to secure a ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.
In a statement carried by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), the Iraqi prime minister’s media office said the “claims” in the New York Times report, published Thursday were “completely baseless and had no connection to reality.”
It urged media outlets “to verify information, rely on official sources and refrain from circulating unsubstantiated reports or claims attributed to anonymous sources.”
Iran's Health Ministry says at least 55 people were killed and 645 injured in recent U.S. military strikes, according to figures reported by the country's Fars news agency.
The ministry said the highest number of casualties was recorded in Khuzestan province, followed by Hormozgan and Sistan and Baluchestan. Those three provinces also accounted for most of the reported deaths.
Officials said 586 of the injured have been discharged from hospital after receiving treatment, while eight people remain hospitalised, with some still requiring surgery.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it has carried out a strike on what it described as an Amazon-operated data centre in Bahrain, claiming the site was used to support U.S. military intelligence operations, according to state media.
The claim was carried by Iranian state media, which said the facility had been destroyed. The IRGC had previously announced on Wednesday that it had targeted the same location.
There has been no independent confirmation of the strike, and neither Amazon nor Bahraini officials have publicly responded to Iran's claims.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) has said it had attacked the Al-Adiri Base in Kuwait and an observation tower of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency has reported.
People in countries hosting U.S. soldiers have been warned by Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) to stay at least 500 metres away from areas where military personnel are staying, Iranian state-funded broadcaster Press TV has reported.
The IRGC added that the warning was for the safety of civiliasn in these countries.
A drone crashed near Erbil International Airport on Friday, according to two security sources.
Flights resumed after they were suspended. No casualties were reported, and a fire at the site was being brought under control.
Diet Coke prices rise in India as Iran conflict disrupts can supplies. Coca-Cola has increased prices by more than 10%, with aluminium can shortages forcing it to import larger, costlier cans from Southeast Asia after shipping disruption through the Strait of Hormuz, sources say.
Malaysia's Sepang circuit is being considered as a replacement venue for this season's Bahrain Grand Prix, with the government confirming discussions are underway as Formula One explores alternatives amid ongoing Middle East conflict.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a post on X that the U.S. punished itself with triple-digit oil prices after the rise in global oil prices above $100 a barrel, saying Washington has ended up punishing itself instead of Tehran.
He said, ''They wanted to punish Iran. Punished themselves with triple-digit oil instead. 10/10 strategy.”
The post was accompanied by an image depicting how the United States’ decision to impose a naval blockade on Iran to halt its oil exports has pushed global oil prices above $100 a barrel and gasoline prices above $7 a gallon in the U.S. It used a popular internet meme to mock what Ghalibaf portrayed as Washington’s strategy.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said in a statement on X that the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council member states should be held accountable for the U.S. assertion that they participated in military aggression against Iran, stressing: “Iran's self-defense is aimed at restoring security and stability for the entire region."
He added, ''The CENTCOM commander explicitly names the five Persian Gulf Cooperation Council member states and Jordan and says they participated in the U.S. military aggression against Iran. If this U.S. claim is false, the mentioned governments should officially and transparently reject it.''
Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned the UK for allowing the U.S. to use British military bases and infrastructure for strikes on Iran, calling the move a violation of international law and accusing London of complicity in the attacks.
He said, ''By facilitating U.S. and Israeli military operations, London has abandoned its responsibilities as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. Any participation or cooperation in the preparation and execution of these attacks constitutes complicity in the aggression and war crimes.''
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi criticized U.S. policy, saying Washington has "turned a blind eye to the realities on the ground" and appears focused only on the 2028 U.S. elections, in response to remarks by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
''Agents affiliated with Israel in the U.S. administration are burying their heads in the sand. They have turned a blind eye to the realities on the ground and it seems their only concern is the 2028 elections. The mindless aggression that these people promote and encourage will have only one result: the U.S. president will have to pay a heavier price if he is looking for a deal.”
Also on the sidelines of the meeting with his Iraqi counterpart in Tehran, he added: ''Iran has no problem with a mediator to exchange messages with Washington. The main obstacle is America's irrational, excessive, and hegemonic approach, which until it changes and the Iranian nation and interests are respected, there will be no basis for progress on this path.''
Two Chinese supertankers carrying a combined four million barrels of Saudi crude exited the Red Sea via the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Thursday, apparently avoiding the Houthi blockade on Saudi oil shipments, according to shipping data.
The vessels departed as other Saudi-linked tankers slowed or paused near the Gulf of Aden, highlighting mounting disruption to regional energy shipping as tensions persist in both the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.
Only one tanker crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, down from three a day earlier, while no vessels entered the waterway, according to Kpler ship-tracking data.
The sharp decline came amid heightened regional shipping risks and oil prices returning to $100 a barrel. The sole crossing was the New Giant, carrying two million barrels of Iraqi crude to China.
Traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb was higher, although some vessels are reportedly rerouting via the Suez Canal, potentially making journeys to Asia nearly three times longer.
Four people were killed and five injured in a U.S. missile strike near the south-western Iranian city of Ahvaz, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, citing local officials in Khuzestan province.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that seizing another country's assets to pay future claims would set an "incendiary precedent", saying that once governments normalise confiscation, "no one's assets are safe" and the resulting chaos "will not be pretty or peaceful".
The U.S. military said it carried out more than two hours of strikes on Iran late on Thursday, marking the 13th consecutive night of American attacks.
American Central Command said the operation targeted military command centres, drone storage facilities, communications networks, coastal surveillance sites and maritime capabilities.
The strikes came as President Donald Trump threatened “major military punishment” against Iran and its Houthi allies after attacks on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.
Tehran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz and warned it could retaliate against regional energy and economic infrastructure if Iranian facilities are targeted.
Flights at Catania airport in Sicily will remain suspended until early Friday as ash from Mount Etna continues to disrupt air travel, following hundreds of cancellations and diversions over the past week.
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled or rerouted at Catania Airport over the past week as ash from Mount Etna’s ongoing eruption continues to disrupt air travel in Sicily.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz remains under its control, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of “total control” over the strategic waterway and insisting it will not reopen until Washington fulfils its commitments under an interim deal.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
The U.S. will impose unprecedented measures on Iran in order to economically isolate the country, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said.
The U.S. will impose unprecedented measures on Iran in order to economically isolate the country, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz remains under its control, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of “total control” over the strategic waterway and insisting it will not reopen until Washington fulfils its commitments under an interim deal.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
Iran said it was nearing a final pact with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz but repeated that the U.S. must meet other conditions.
A deal on a new route for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is "very close," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said, while warning that the reopening of the waterway depends on the U.S. meeting other conditions, including paying compensation to Iran.
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