US-Iran war Highlights: Iran vows Strait of Hormuz will stay shut until US accepts its terms

Our coverage on this live blog has ended. Thanks for following LiveMint.

Iran has asked Yemen's Houthi movement to be ready to close the Red Sea oil route if the United States targets Iranian power infrastructure, Reuters reported citing three sources.

The move, if carried out, could further disrupt global energy supplies already strained by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Qatar strongly condemns Iran's repeated attacks on Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait.

Doha called the strikes a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the three countries.

Qatar said the attacks constitute a flagrant breach of international law.

The Foreign Ministry urged all parties to prevent further regional escalation.

Qatar stressed the importance of dialogue, diplomacy and de-escalation to preserve regional and global security.

Qatar pledged support for all measures taken by the three countries - Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait - to protect their sovereignty and national security.

Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remained severely disrupted, with vessel-tracking data showing traffic largely limited to Iran-linked ships using routes approved by Tehran.

Some tankers have continued moving through the waterway without broadcasting their locations, making the full scale of oil movements difficult to assess.

Bloomberg calculations based on vessel-tracking data showed the seven-day average of crude flows through the strait has fallen to about 5.5 million barrels per day, down sharply from 9.4 million barrels per day a week earlier.

The United States has accused Iran of repeatedly attacking commercial shipping despite an earlier interim agreement intended to restore navigation through the strategic waterway.

The Strait of Hormuz remains at the center of the confrontation.

"As long as the United States does not accept the Iranian legal system, this strait will remain closed," an Iranian army spokesperson said, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency.

Iran has demanded that ships obtain its permission before passing through the strait and comply with Iranian regulations, including paying any applicable service fees.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday night amid the ongoing conflict with Iran.

According to Katz's office, Hegseth updated him on the US military's ongoing operations in Iran.

The two leaders agreed to continue US-Israel defense cooperation as the conflict develops.

They pledged to maintain coordination "in the face of any possible developments," according to Katz's office.

The conversation took place as military exchanges between the US and Iran continue to escalate across the Middle East.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel is determined to maintain its military presence in "security zones" inside Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip.

Katz conveyed Israel's position during an overnight conversation with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to his office.

Katz said the continued deployment is necessary to protect Israel's borders and communities near the frontier from threats posed by jihadist forces.

"We have never asked the United States to act in our place along our borders," Katz said, underscoring Israel's intention to handle its own border security.

Katz's remarks follow reports that US President Donald Trump urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to withdraw Israeli forces from Syria and Lebanon, according to Axios.

Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, warned that regional infrastructure could become targets if Washington attacks Iranian bridges or power facilities.

"All the infrastructure in the region will be crushed under the steel blows of the powerful armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Zolfaghari said.

"Under no circumstances and in no way will we allow America, as a foreign and extraregional country, to interfere in the Strait of Hormuz. This is Iran's invincible red line."

Oil prices steadied on Thursday after a sharp three-day rally, as fresh US airstrikes on Iran and continued attacks on shipping in the Persian Gulf kept traders focused on the risk of supply disruptions from the world's most important oil transit route.

Global benchmark Brent crude traded near $85 a barrel after surging 12% over the previous three sessions.

The US intensified strikes against Iran, hitting an oil tanker near the country’s main export terminal for the first time since the restart of the blockade on the Islamic Republic’s ports, Bloomberg reported.

The target, deep within the Persian Gulf, suggests Washington is widening the scope of the naval operation in parallel with continued attacks on military sites. Iran responded by firing upon American bases in Kuwait and Jordan. The Jordanian government said it intercepted eight missiles.

Iran has asked Yemen’s Houthi movement to stand ready to close the Red Sea oil route if the United States strikes Iranian power infrastructure, three sources told Reuters on Thursday, posing a potent new threat to global energy supplies.

The United States intensified its strikes on Iran early Thursday, hitting targets further north as American forces also fired into a ship the U.S. accused of trying to break its naval blockade on the Islamic Republic. Iran retaliated with missile and drone fire targeting U.S. allies in the region before dawn and warned its attacks may escalate, AP reported.

Kuwait's military said it is responding to a new wave of Iranian drone attacks, as regional tensions continue to escalate, news agency AFP reported.

The United States intensified its strikes on Iran early Thursday, hitting targets further north as American forces also fired into a ship the U.S. accused of trying to break its naval blockade on the Islamic Republic. Iran retaliated with missile and drone fire targeting U.S. allies in the region before dawn and warned its attacks may escalate.

Days of back-and-forth strikes by the U.S. and Iran across the Middle East — and renewed threats to the Strait of Hormuz — have shredded the interim deal to end the Iran war and could tip the region back into all-out war. Already, Iranian officials say U.S. strikes have killed more than 35 people and wounded over 300 others.

Strikes also reached into areas around Iran’s capital, Tehran, for the first time in this latest round of violence, showing a widening set of targets for the Americans.

(AP)

Tehran on Thursday accused the United States of carrying out a "barbaric attack" after a cancer hospital in Iran's southwest was forced to evacuate due to nearby strikes.

"This barbaric attack, reminiscent of Israel's atrocities against healthcare facilities, caused severe suffering and anxiety upon the hospitalised children," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei posted on X, saying "211 patients undergoing chemotherapy" were evacuated.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning to travel on Saturday to the US, where he is seeking a meeting with President Donald Trump, Bloomberg reported.

Pakistan on Thursday urged the US and Iran to end hostilities and resume negotiations, as renewed military strikes between the two sides threatened to derail their interim peace arrangement and further destabilise the region.

Addressing the weekly media briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi acknowledged the challenges facing the interim peace deal.

The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed last month, had led to the launch of technical-level talks aimed at reaching a permanent peace agreement within 60 days.

However, the process stalled after the US and Iran resumed attacks last week.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had struck a US air base in Jordan with ballistic missiles in response to what they described as an American attack near a children's cancer hospital in Iran.

The IRGC said US forces had "used air bases located in Jordan to target various parts of Iran, including the vicinity of a children's cancer hospital", and that it responded by "launching two waves of missile strikes" on the bases in Jordan, according to the Guards' website.

The cost of bringing an Iranian dhow into Dubai has risen sharply since the Iran war began, the Telegram channel Civil Protest of the Bazaar reported on Thursday, citing maritime traders. They said the fee had risen from about 1,000 dirhams, roughly $270, before the war to 8,700 dirhams, about $2,370, for each vessel, the Iran International reported.

The tanker Belma had transported at least 38 million barrels of Iranian crude oil before being disabled by the US forces in the Middle East, TankerTrackers said on Thursday.

"Based on our tracking over the years, BELMA (9289491) has transported at least 38 million barrels of Iranian crude oil. A proper cash cow," the vessel-tracking firm wrote on X.

Earlier, US Central Command said a US aircraft disabled the Curaçao-flagged tanker with Hellfire missiles after the vessel ignored repeated warnings while sailing toward Iran’s Kharg Island in an attempt to breach the US blockade.