Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warns that any attempt by military vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz will be met with “a strong response,” saying only non-military vessels would be allowed to pass under specific regulations, the IRGC declares in a statement carried by Iranian media after the US Central Command announced two US Navy warships transited the strategic waterway to clear mines laid by Tehran.
“Any attempt by military vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz will be dealt with severely. The IRGC Navy has full authority to manage the Strait of Hormuz intelligently,” the IRGC’s Navy Command says, according to state broadcaster IRIB, adding passage of the strait will only be “granted to civilian vessels under specific conditions.”
US President Donald Trump says he is not bothered about the outcome of US-Iran talks in Pakistan, insisting the United States has come out ahead from the war.
“Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me. The reason is because we’ve won,” Trump tells reporters, downplaying the importance of the ongoing ceasefire negotiations involving Vice President JD Vance.
Trump acknowledges “very deep negotiations” with Iran, but says the US military is searching for mines in the Strait of Hormuz, which still remains effectively closed to most freighters carrying oil and natural gas out of the Persian Gulf.
He also warns that China will have “big problems” if it ships arms to Iran.
Iran news agency says another round of talks under way in Islamabad
A new round of talks between Iranian and US delegations has begun in Islamabad, with Pakistani officials acting as mediators, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reports, citing its correspondent.
It adds that the current round appears to be the “last opportunity” to reach a common framework, given what it describes as “excessive US demands.”
Turning to the fight against Iran’s proxies, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasts that Israel created security zones in Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon.
“We will deal with” Hamas in Gaza, he promises.
Israel is also dealing with the missiles that Hezbollah still has, says Netanyahu.
Hezbollah also planned that “thousands of Radwan terrorists will covertly reach the border, will invade, and conquer the Galilee.”
“We are still fighting them, it’s not over,” he says.
Netanyahu says that Lebanon asked Israel several times over the past month to begin direct peace talks.
“I approved it,” he says, adding that there are two conditions — disarming Hezbollah, and a “real peace agreement” that will last for generations.
He asserts other countries are also reaching out to Israel.
Netanyahu claims that Iranian propaganda minimizing Israel’s achievements “is echoed in our media, and the propaganda of our political rivals is echoed in Iran.”
The campaign against Iran “is not over,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says in a video statement, “but we can already say clearly — We have historic achievements.”
Moving to a map of the Middle East with the Iranian axis highlighted in red, Netanyahu says that “they wanted to strangle us, and we are strangling them.”
“We hit them, we still have more to do,” he says.
Netanyahu says that he spent much of his life ensuring that Iran won’t achieve a nuclear weapon, including approving covert operations to delay it and telling the world of the danger. “But the world wouldn’t hear,” he says.
Netanyahu says that Israel “broke the barrier of fear” by striking Iran last June.
Netanyahu obliquely criticizes Israel’s intelligence agencies — and again absolves himself of blame — over the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack, saying “this time, precise intelligence reached me on time.”
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