Live Updates: Tehran says Strait of Hormuz "under Iran's control" after Trump threatens U.S. might "keep it"

The Pacific-based aircraft carrier USS George Washington has begun heading toward the Middle East, according to Navy statements and open source information on the ship's movements.

This comes as reports have emerged of mental health and supply issues aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, whose long deployment to the Middle East in support of the Iran war includes a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 240 days.

The USS George Washington left port in Da Nang, Vietnam, last week, according to a Navy statement. The carrier, along with a cruiser and a destroyer, have since been spotted crossing the Singapore Strait.

A Navy official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail sensitive ship movements, confirmed that the USS George Washington was in the Strait of Malacca, which links the Pacific and Indian oceans. That puts the ship on a course to head into the Indian Ocean. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier the Washington would replace the Lincoln.

Saudi Arabia's defense minister called Iraq a "cherished neighbor" in talks with a senior Iraqi army official on Thursday, despite last month's deadly U.S.-Saudi strikes on targets in the country.

The Riyadh visit was the first announced by an Iraqi security official to Saudi Arabia since Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's trip to the kingdom was canceled after the strikes on July 29.

Officials from the Hashed al-Shaabi, an armed Iraqi alliance also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces and that includes pro-Iran groups, said the U.S.-Saudi strikes killed 20 militants, including five Iranians.

Riyadh said its forces had intercepted drones targeting oil facilities, blaming Iran-backed groups in Iraq for the attacks.

"Iraq will remain a cherished neighbour, we share bonds of brotherhood, solidarity, and mutual support with its government and its brotherly people. The Kingdom will always stand by Iraq to support its security, stability, development, and prosperity, for the benefit of Iraq and its brotherly people," Khalid bin Salman wrote in a post on X.

Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and regular foreign negotiator, wrote a lengthy social media post on Thursday to commemorate six years since the agreement known as the Abraham Accords.

Kushner said many thought the agreement - which normalized relations between Israel and several Muslim majority countries - was "impossible" but they were achieved by President Trump's "courageous leadership."

"For too long, the region was trapped by old ideas and failed frameworks that managed conflict rather than solved it, and too often created incentives that perpetuated division and instability," Kushner wrote.

"What began as a bold vision has delivered billions in trade, joint innovation, new friendships and partnerships, and a powerful alternative to the failed approaches of the past," he continued.

The deals opened up increased economic cooperation, but didn't address regional conflicts that exploded in subsequent years between Israel and Palestinians or Iran and its proxies.

Kushner also took the opportunity to share an optimistic look on current negotiations with Iran, which could bring greater stability to the region. Kushner has been involved in many of the negotiations along with special envoy Steve Witkoff. So far, the negotiations have been plagued by broken promises.

"The Middle East is once again at an inflection point," Kushner, who has been married to Ivanka Trump since 2009, wrote. "There are breakthrough opportunities today that many will say are impossible. But we have seen what can happen when leaders reject conventional thinking, focus on common interests, and have the courage to pursue a better future."

"We surprised the world once. With the right leadership, focus, patience and courage, I believe we can do it again," he added.

A sailor went overboard from the USS Abraham Lincoln earlier this month, the U.S. Navy confirmed in a statement.

The sailor was "quickly recovered" after going overboard and transferred off the ship for further care, the Navy said. The Abraham Lincoln has been stationed in the Middle East for months and been used in both the strikes on land and the blockade on Iranian ports.

Senate Democrats demanded answers Wednesday about conditions aboard the Abraham Lincoln following reports of food shortages, broken plumbing and mental health crises during the aircraft carrier's record-setting, nine-month deployment.

In two recent meetings, family members clashed with Navy leadership over the difficult conditions — including food shortages — faced by the 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard the Lincoln and demanded to know when loved ones would return home, MSNOW reported.

Some families reported severe mental health issues and attempted suicides on board.

An investigation is underway into the circumstances of how and why the sailor went overboard.

The U.S. military has launched a task force to develop one-way attack drones with Middle East partners to be used "above, on, and below the sea." 

"Task Force Falcon Strike will expand on Scorpion Strike's success given the tremendous innovation happening among our regional allies and partners," Adm. Brad Cooper, U.S. Central Command commander, said in a statement. "Integrating and deploying our new capabilities together will help us rapidly realize the new possibilities that are on the horizon."

In the wake of the war with Iran, the U.S. has tried to ramp up drone development and manufacturing operations. The battlefield has changed dramatically, led by developments in Ukraine's fight against Russia.

Kyiv has sent drone interceptors and pilots to the Middle East to help U.S. allies defend against the same types of Iranian-designed Shahed drones that Russia has used to attack Ukraine's towns and cities and the two countries agreed in a memorandum of understanding in May that would allow Ukraine to export military technology to the U.S. and to manufacture drones in joint ventures with American companies.

The U.S. did not announce the specific countries involved in the new task force.

Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on Thursday claimed a drone attack on an Aramco refinery in southern Saudi Arabia, the group's affiliated news agency Saba reported.

"A military source confirmed that the Yemeni Armed Forces targeted an Aramco refinery in the Jizan region using two drones, achieving a precise hit by the grace of God," Saba reported, referring to Houthi forces.

In recent weeks, the Houthis have attacked Saudi Arabia and shipping in the Red Sea. This week the group killed six people in an attack on a cargo ship in the waterway.

-CBS/AFP

Crew members of a Yemeni commercial ship who survived a deadly attack by Houthi rebels earlier this week said a second missile struck the vessel just as rescue efforts from the initial strike were underway, causing even more chaos and casualties.

Three ballistic missiles fired by the Iran-backed Houthis struck the ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, just off Yemen's coast, as it was coming into port, killing six people and injuring at least nine others, according to Yemeni authorities.

It was part of an escalating campaign by the Houthis and their first deadly attack this year on a vessel navigating the strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and accounts for roughly 12% of global trade.

"People were burning ... it was a strange scene of doomsday," said Zaheer Ahmed, a Pakistani crew member recovering at a hospital in the port city of Mokha.

"I shouted for help and a Yemeni soldier came to my aid," said Ahmed, who injured both legs.

All three of the crew members The Associated Press interviewed Wednesday at the hospital described intense fire, panic and damage aboard the ship, which was struck before dawn on Tuesday.

Muhammad Alteno, an Indonesian crew member, said he was in "complete shock" after witnessing another Indonesian crew member — a friend — die in the attack. 

Alteno said he had tried to rescue his friend, who was trapped inside the room they shared, after the first missile strike.

"But the flames were so intense that I couldn't breathe," Alteno said. "I managed to escape with some of the [other] crew members."

Two members of Yemen's government-allied National Resistance Forces were killed in the attack, as were three crew members from Pakistan.

A British company said Thursday it had been hired to salvage a grounded Russian shadow fleet tanker off Oman's coast and stop an oil spill that is threatening wildlife as it reaches the country's shoreline.

Satellite images show that oil from the tanker Caroline Bezengi has exponentially spread over hundreds of square kilometers during stormy weather, endangering a marine protected area.

Ambrey, a U.K.-based maritime risk and response company, said its personnel boarded the vessel with help from the Omani air force to assess its condition before stabilizing it.

The vessel has been grounded off Qabiliyah Island in southwestern Oman following an explosion of unclear cause in early June. Its cargo previously has been estimated at more than 800,000 barrels.

Satellite images also show that the tanker is increasingly submerged, and experts have warned of an unprecedented environmental disaster if the vessel sinks or breaks open and leaks its entire cargo.

"This is an extremely challenging situation, compounded by adverse weather conditions associated with the Khareef monsoon," Ambrey's global response director Ed Wollaston said in a statement. The company did not immediately have any estimates of how long the salvage operation would take or cost.

Oman's Environment Authority said Wednesday the oil spill has reached the shores of Ras Madrakah, more than 200 kilometers north of Qabiliyah Island. Authorities said they estimated the spill could reach more than 100 kilometers further north, to Masirah Island.

Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, said the leadership's new "definitive strategy" to turn the war into an offensive conflict if Iran's conditions are not met would fundamentally alter the global balance of power.

"The definitive strategy of the Leader to turn the war into an offensive one if Iran's conditions are not met will, without a doubt, change the equations of power in the world," Mokhber said in a post on X.

"By proving America's inability to protect its allies in the Persian Gulf, the most sustainable path toward a new order in the region is the implementation of the Strait of Hormuz economic-security mechanism, independent of Washington's military guarantee," he added. 

Britain on Thursday urged Iran to stop backing Yemen's Houthi rebels, saying Tehran's support for the group threatens the country's stability

"Iran must cease its long-standing support for the Houthis, which threatens Yemen's stability," U.K. Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Kate Foster told the U.N. Security Council, accusing the Houthis of "reckless … actions" in its attacks on Saudi Arabia and shipping in the Red Sea.

"The recent escalation is compounding an already dire humanitarian situation," she added.

Stock markets mostly advanced Thursday as investors welcomed further signs of easing U.S. inflation, making the prospect of higher interest rates in the world's biggest economy less likely.

Oil prices fell back from recent gains amid uncertainty over the prospects for Gulf shipments from the Strait of Hormuz, helping the positive momentum in thin summer trading.

Wall Street indexes jumped at the open, again flirting with record highs, while European equities were little changed after a mixed performance in Asia.

Seoul's Kospi was an outlier, jumping 3.6% thanks to chipmakers SK hynix and Samsung as investors returned to AI names.

The index had tumbled 40% by early August since hitting a record high in June. It has since recovered by about 20%.

London's stock market, however, fell as shares in heavyweight mining companies retreated after copper giant Antofagasta downgraded its production outlook.

Oil prices shed more than 2% Thursday despite no signs of a deal being struck to end the war.

A senior Iranian official said the Strait of Hormuz remained under the control of the Islamic republic after President Trump claimed U.S. control over the strategic waterway.

The Head of Iran's Department of Environment, Shina Ansari,appeared to echo demands for compensation for environmental damage caused by an oil spill in the Strait of Hormuz that has reached Qeshm Island.

In a post on X, Ansari said the oil slick was "just one example of the widespread pollution that has destroyed the region's marine ecosystem over the past few decades."

"Who is responsible for compensating for the damages inflicted—is it the energy-consuming countries that import from our region, or the aggressor parties that have turned this area into a playground for military operations?" she asked.

Ansari's remarks echoed those made earlier by Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson.

Iranian state news agency IRNA reported Wednesday that cleanup efforts were underway in parts of southern Qeshm and Hengam.

Iran's military on Thursday rejected as lies remarks by President Trump claiming control of the Strait of Hormuz, saying the strategic waterway was fully under Iranian control.

"The false claims of the United States that ships are passing through the Strait of Hormuz normally ... are nothing more than lies and fabrications," said Ebrahim Zolfaghari, the spokesperson for Iran's central military command, Khatam-al Anbiya.

"The Strait of Hormuz is, as in the past, under the complete management and control of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and no commercial ship or tanker without the permission and supervision of the powerful Iranian armed forces has had and will have the possibility of safe passage through this strait," he said in a video carried by state television.

Mr. Trump claimed a day earlier that the U.S. "has total control over the Strait of Hormuz," adding, "I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT!"

Iran and Oman have been in talks to establish a new route through the strait, but negotiations have not been finalized. Tehran says that even if the talks produce a new route, that would not on its own open the waterway unless the U.S. meets Iran's demands.

Clashes between Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen raged overnight as renewed violence spreads and feeds fears that the country's civil war could reignite and create a new front in the Middle East war.

At least one government soldier was killed and another critically wounded in clashes between Houthi rebels and the military in the mountainous province of Taiz, Yemeni military officials told The Associated Press.

The fighting came as part of a spate of recent attacks by the Houthis on government-held areas across the country. Dozens of government troops have been killed in attacks since last week, the Yemeni military said.

Elsewhere, several tribal leaders in the central province of Marib said the Yemeni army artillery targeted overnight Houthi movements.

The Houthis have been hitting government-held areas with drones and missiles, saying they have been targeting military forces and warehouses. They have also been attacking oil facilities in neighboring Saudi Arabia, which supports the Yemeni government, and the kingdom's shipping in the Red Sea.

On Tuesday, they hit a commercial ship in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, killing six people.

Turkey's defense ministry announced Thursday that joint military exercises are planned with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan as part of their newly-formed Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, stressing that the pact is defensive in nature and does not identify any country as an adversary.

Speaking at his weekly press briefing, Turkish Defense Ministry Spokesman Rear Admiral Zeki Aktürk said the agreement, signed by Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Aug. 7, aims to strengthen and institutionalize defense and security cooperation between the three countries.

He said they planned "to carry out joint exercises with the participation of land, sea, air, air defense and unmanned systems."

"The exercises aim to identify needs and deficiencies before possible crises, to transfer the experiences gained to doctrine, training and planning processes, and to continuously improve joint operation capability," Aktürk added.

The Mecca agreement "is not an alternative or competitor structure to NATO, but is considered as a complementary mechanism to the international security architecture by contributing to regional security and stability," he said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday the United States has miscalculated on the Strait of Hormuz.

"The U.S. has long miscalculated due to intelligence failures. Case in point: The war on Iran," he wrote in a post on X. "Now, an even bigger miscalculation on the Strait of Hormuz."

His comments come a day after President Trump said the U.S. has "total control" over the waterway. 

"I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT," he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Tehran responded to his comments Thursday, saying the water is "under Iran's control and management."

Senate Democrats demanded answers Wednesday about conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, following reports of food shortages, broken plumbing and mental health crises during the aircraft carrier's record-setting deployment.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, of Connecticut, called for the Navy to account for conditions aboard the carrier, which he said "has been deployed more than 250 days" without coming ashore "in over 200 days, setting a record for consecutive days at sea."

Blumenthal voiced concern over such extended deployments, noting "widespread reports of shortages of basic supplies, water contamination, plumbing issues, deteriorating mental health, deck safety concerns" and other problems aboard the Lincoln.

A Navy official told CBS News that the "Lincoln is operating in a highly contested environment where traditional supply hubs in the Middle East were disrupted by combat actions. In response, leadership prioritized mission-critical supplies: first food, then hygiene items, then mail. Current reports from the ship confirm continuous access to clean water, functional AC, and healthy meal options."  

Read more here.

CBS/AFP

Iran appears to be demanding compensation for an oil spill in the Strait of Hormuz that has washed up on Qeshm Island.

Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported Wednesday that the country's Department of Environment said oil was spotted along parts of the island's coastline. Cleanup operations are underway and authorities are investigating the source of the spill.

In a post on X Wednesday, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei wrote: "Who bears responsibility for compensating these damages? Is it the nations that consume the inexpensive energy exported from our region, the shipping insurers, or the aggressors and their partners who have transformed the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman into a theater for military operations and the testing of highly destructive weaponry?"

"Every party that benefits from commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz carries both a legal and a moral obligation to remediate the environmental harm inflicted upon the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman," he added, saying "preliminary evidence indicates a foreign bulk carrier as the source." 

Baqaei did not go into specifics about how much compensation Iran might insist on or from whom, but did say that degradation in the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman and the local marine ecosystem has imposed "trillions of dollars in damage on Iran's coastal areas" in recent decades.

The head of Iran's Basij paramilitary unit, Hossein Taeb, asserted Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz is "under Iran's control and management," Reuters reported, citing Iran's semi-official Fars news agency.

The remarks came a day after President Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that the U.S. had "total control" of the vital waterway. 

More than 30 countries, including France, Britain and Canada, have condemned Iran's use of capital punishment, saying in a joint statement that the Islamic republic is executing protesters to "silence dissent."

The countries, joined by the European Union's top diplomat, said they "condemn in the strongest terms the ongoing executions of protesters and use of the death penalty" by Iran.

"The use of capital punishment to silence dissent, intimidate communities, and punish individuals exercising their human rights can never be justified," the statement said. "The people of Iran must be free to exercise their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear."

Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Italy, Germany and numerous other European nations were among those calling for Iran "to immediately end the use of the death penalty and release all those arbitrarily detained."

Iran's foreign minister brushed off the criticism, saying, "Countries like France should stop lecturing the world about 'human rights' and international law. The hypocrisy is blatant and embarrassing.

"Your backing of Israel's genocide in Gaza -- and aggression against Iran -- has destroyed whatever moral high ground you imagined you had," Abbas Araghchi posted on X.

The joint statement speaks to growing alarm from the United Nations and rights groups over a surge in executions in recent months, after Iran was rocked by nationwide anti-government protests earlier in the year and the start of the Middle East war in February.

AFP  

Last month's elaborate ruse that saw President Trump secretly move from Air Force One to another plane by way of a catering truck took place within a day of U.S. and Turkish intelligence picking up on an Iranian plot to fire a missile at the presidential jet, CBS News has learned.

The decision to shift Mr. Trump to a different plane was made while the annual NATO conference was underway in Ankara, according to two law enforcement officials and a U.S. official. The president had flown into the Turkish capital on a newly retrofitted Boeing 747 donated by the government of Qatar, but an older white-and-blue jet that has served as Air Force One since the 1990s was also on the ground as a support aircraft.

Ahead of Mr. Trump's July 8 departure from the summit, the National Security Agency, the CIA and Turkey's MIT intelligence service picked up streams of information about a credible plot by Iran to fire a surface-to-air missile at Air Force One, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss sensitive matters. 

There were also reports of a team in Turkey tasked with firing the surface-to-air missile at the plane, the U.S. officials said. But after more probes, no team was detected.

As the U.S.-Iran war nears the six-month mark, there is a significant ongoing threat from Iran to kill Mr. Trump, according to the officials. 

Read more here.

Iran is countering President Trump's claim on Wednesday that the Strait of Hormuz is under U.S. control, though Tehran did not refer to the president by name. 

"Claims and repeated posts by U.S. officials that the Strait of Hormuz is no longer blocked do not change the reality: the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked and will not be reopened until Iran's conditions are accepted," the Persian Gulf Strait Authority said in a statement on X.

The authority was the agency set up to manage transit through the strait — and collect a tolls — soon after the war began on Feb. 28.

Traffic in the strait has slowed to a crawl in recent weeks. Tuesday's tally of eight vessels fell below a 10-day average of about 12, for the lowest daily count since Aug. 5, according to Kpler data. 

Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier that the U.S. has "total control over the Strait of Hormuz."

"I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT! Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, 'A WALL OF STEEL,' and there is nothing Iran can do about it," he wrote.