Live Updates: Iran attacks ships in Strait of Hormuz as thousands more U.S. forces head for Middle East

The Senate rejected another attempt to rein in President Trump's ability to use further military force against Iran on Wednesday, marking Democrats' fifth effort to do so since the war began eight weeks ago.

In a 46 to 51 vote, a motion to discharge the measure from committee failed. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voted with Republicans against it, while GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky voted with Democrats in favor. 

Led by Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, the resolution would have directed the president to "remove the United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Iran, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or a specific authorization for use of military force."

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that President Trump has not set a "firm deadline" for Iran to send its latest proposal.

"The president wants a unified response, and so, as we await that response, there's a ceasefire with the military and kinetic strikes," Leavitt said, adding the U.S. blockade would continue.

Leavitt also would not predict when the war would come to an end, saying, "I think President Trump ultimately will dictate the timeline, and he will do so when he feels it's in the best interest of the United States and the American people."

As of Wednesday, U.S. Central Command says U.S. forces have directed 29 vessels to turn around or return to port as part of the U.S. blockade against Iran – one more than yesterday's update. 

CENTCOM in a post on X disputed reporting about ships getting through the blockade.

"Over past 24 hours, media reports have alleged that several commercial ships evaded the blockade, citing M/V Hero II, M/V Hedy, and M/V Dorena as examples. These reports are inaccurate," CENTCOM wrote.

CENTCOM said the first two tankers are anchored in Iran after they were intercepted by U.S. forces, and a Navy destroyer in the Indian Ocean is escorting the Dorena to return to port after it tried to "violate the blockade."

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on social media that his country "has welcomed dialogue and agreement and continues to do so. Breach of commitments, blockade and threats are main obstacles to genuine negotiations."

In an apparent message to President Trump, Pezeshkian said the "World sees your endless hypocritical rhetoric and contradiction between claims and actions."

There have now been 400 service members injured during Operation Epic Fury, the U.S.'s name for its war with Iran, according to new casualty numbers released Wednesday in the Defense Casualty Analysis System.

The majority of those injuries are among the U.S. Army, a total of 271, while 64 members of the Navy, 19 Marines and 46 members of the Air Force have also been injured. Of those injured, 349 have been men, according to the Defense Casualty Analysis System.

There have been 13 service members killed in the operation, all early in the war. They were all members of the Army or Air Force.

Iran is reiterating it won't accept a lasting ceasefire as long as the U.S. maintains a naval blockade on Iranian ships trying to enter or exit the Strait of Hormuz.

"A full ceasefire only makes sense if it is not violated by the naval blockade and the hostage-taking of the world's economy," Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf said on X. 

"They did not achieve their objectives through military aggression, nor will they through bullying," he added. "The only way forward is to recognise the rights of the Iranian nation."

President Trump has said the U.S. plans to keep the blockade in place as a condition on negotiations for a long-term peace deal.

"People approached me four days ago, saying, 'Sir, Iran wants to open up the Strait, immediately.' But if we do that, there can never be a Deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included!" the president posted Tuesday night on Truth Social.

Democratic leader Sen. Chuck Schumer criticized President Trump's strategy in Iran, saying it's a "mistake" not to end the war as soon as possible. 

"Trump is digging himself deeper and deeper into this hole," Schumer told reporters in the Capitol on Wednesday. "Every day we see more trouble in the Strait of Hormuz. We see an Iranian leadership that is more militant. We see the nuclear materials they have even more hidden. So they're making a huge– that's the mistake they're making."

Schumer highlighted Mr. Trump's declining approval ratings, including a 33% approval rating in an AP/NORC poll released Wednesday, and said not ending the "unpopular" war is the bigger mistake than leaving funding for the Iran war out of the budget.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., one of President Trump's closest allies in Congress, applauded the administration for keeping the blockade in place as the ceasefire was extended and said it could grow larger.

"I not only expect this blockade to stay in place until Iran shows a commitment to change their ways, I expect the blockade will be growing and that it could become global soon," Graham wrote on X, saying he had spoken to Mr. Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Wednesday morning.

The U.S. took a step in that direction on Tuesday when it boarded the M/T Tifani, a sanctioned vessel carrying Iranian oil, in the Indian Ocean. It was the first time during this conflict the U.S. has boarded a ship outside the Middle East.

"To those assisting or thinking about assisting the Iranian regime in distributing its oil, which provides resources for terrorism, you do so at your own peril," Graham wrote.

Iran maintains more military capabilities than the White House or Pentagon has publicly admitted, according to multiple U.S. officials with knowledge of intelligence on the matter. 

About half of Iran's stockpile of ballistic missiles and its associated launch systems were still intact as of the start of the ceasefire in early April, three of the officials told CBS News.

Roughly 60% of the naval arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is still in existence, the officials said, including fast-attack speed boats. 

Iranian air power has been significantly degraded but not erased, said the officials, who requested anonymity from CBS News because they were not authorized to discuss the matters publicly. 

About two-thirds of Iran's air force is still believed to be operational, the officials said, after an intensive U.S. and Israeli campaign that struck thousands of targets, including storage and production facilities. 

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A Malaysia-based maker of condoms said it may raise its prices due to global supply chain disruptions caused by the Iran war, according to media interviews with the company's chief executive.

Karex CEO Goh Miah Kiat told Reuters on Tuesday the manufacturer faces a shortage of synthetic rubber, while the cost of some of its raw materials have doubled. Rising freight costs and shipping delays have also left Karex with leaner than usual stockpiles, Goh told Reuters.

Karex has been able to fulfill its supply needs so far, but if the war continues causing disruptions, Goh said the company could be forced to increase its prices by 20% to 30%.

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A second French soldier, part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission, has died of injuries sustained in a suspected Hezbollah ambush in southern Lebanon, President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday.

Macron said in a post on X that Corporal Anicet Girardin "died for France."

His death follows that of his unit leader, Staff Sgt. Florian Montorio, who was killed during the attack.

"Everything suggests that responsibility for this attack lies with Hezbollah," Mr. Macron posted on Saturday. Iran-backed Hezbollah, which the U.S. has long designated a terrorist organization, has denied killing the French soldiers amid its war with Israel's invading forces. Lebanese officials have opened a probe into the incident.

France's armed forces minister, Catherine Vautrin, paid tribute to Girardin on Wednesday and said he and Montorio's unit were deployed to clear a road on Saturday that had been rigged with an improvised explosive device. In a post on X, she said the soldiers were "ambushed at close range" by Hezbollah fighters.

"He was coming to the aid of his unit leader [Montorio], who had just fallen, when he himself was critically wounded," she wrote. "Repatriated yesterday from Lebanon, he ultimately succumbed to his injuries."

Two other French soldiers were wounded in the attack. The forces were working with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, the U.N. peacekeeping mission established after an Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1978. The force comprises more than 8,000 personnel from nearly 50 nations.

Iran's state broadcaster IRIB said Wednesday that the Islamic Republic's leaders had yet to issue any response to President Trump's announcement the previous day that he was extending the ceasefire between the countries indefinitely.

"No official statement has been released by Iranian authorities on the matter," IRIB said, dismissing reports that a foreign ministry spokesman had indicated an agreement by Tehran to adhere to the ceasefire.

President Trump said Wednesday that it's "possible" a second round of peace talks with Iran will begin as soon as Friday, according to the New York Post.

Asked about Pakistani officials telling the newspaper that talks might be possible within "36 to 72 hours," the post said Mr. Trump replied with a text message saying: "It's possible! President DJT."

Despite dire warnings from both sides and tit-for-tat interceptions of commercial ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz, the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has held since it was signed two weeks ago, and Mr. Trump said Tuesday that he was extending it indefinitely to give the Iranian regime time to formulate a unified response to his offer for a wider peace deal.

Pakistan, which has acted as an intermediary between Washington and Tehran, has urged both sides to sit down again for a new round of direct talks after brokering the first ceasefire agreement in Islamabad in early April.

The Iranian-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel's military accused each other of violating the fragile 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel on Wednesday, as ambassadors from both countries geared up for a new round of peace talks in Washington.

The Israel Defense Forces accused Hezbollah of launching an attack drone at its soldiers in southern Lebanon, calling it "a blatant violation" of the ceasefire agreed to by the Israeli and Lebanese leaders on April 16. The IDF said the aircraft was intercepted. 

Hezbollah, which has long been designated as a terrorist group by the U.S. and Israel, claimed to have struck an Israeli artillery position in the Lebanese town of Al-Bayada with a drone "in response to the Israeli enemy's violation of the ceasefire and its continued aggression against villages in southern Lebanon."

Lebanon's national news agency reported, meanwhile, that Israeli strikes elsewhere had killed two people Wednesday, adding to the more than 2,000 the country's health authorities say have been killed by Israel's operations since the beginning of March.

Israeli officials say 23 people have been killed in the country by Hezbollah attacks since Israel's assault against the group ramped up in tandem with the war in Iran.

A first round of U.S.-brokered peace talks between Lebanon and Israel on April 14 led to the current 10-day ceasefire. A second round of talks between the countries, at the ambassador level, will take place at the State Department Thursday, a department official told CBS News on Tuesday.

Germany's flag carrier airline Lufthansa said Wednesday that it was canceling 20,000 short-haul flights within Europe to save money, citing the dramatic spike in the price of jet fuel caused by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, which has dramatically constrained the flow of petroleum products through the Strait of Hormuz.

"In total, 20,000 short-haul flights will be removed from the schedule through October, equivalent to approximately 40,000 metric tons of jet fuel, the price of which has doubled since the outbreak of the Iran conflict," the airline said in a statement. 

"The planned consolidation of the European network is being carried out across Lufthansa Group's six hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Brussels, and Rome," the airline said. "Passengers will therefore continue to have access to the global route network, particularly long-haul connections." 

Several other major airlines — in both Europe and the U.S., which is far less reliant on fuel supplies from the Middle East — had already announced temporary flight cuts. 

Air Canada, Delta, and other airlines announced cancellations earlier this month. 

"The spike in oil prices is big news in general and the impact on jet fuel prices is pronounced," Stephen Rooney, lead economist at Tourism Economics, told CBS News last week. "Jet fuel is a huge cost for airlines, especially on longer-haul flights."

Amid uncertainty over whether the ceasefire with the U.S. will last, Tehran residents voiced frustration and anxiety on Wednesday about what might come next.

"Last night my family all stayed awake, waiting for the clock to show 3:30 a.m. and see who really has the upper hand," said Reza Tehrani, a 34-year-old resident of Tehran, referring to the time many people expected the ceasefire to lapse.

Tehrani said President Trump had made a series of false claims, including that Iran would give up its enriched uranium. 

"It's obvious that he will eventually take his warships back and nothing will happen," he predicted. "We will win, rest assured."

Another resident voiced frustration over the uncertainty.

"We should know where we stand. Is it going to be a ceasefire, peace or the war is going to continue?" Mashallah Mohammad Sadegh, 59, told The Associated Press. "The way things currently are, one doesn't know what to do."

CBS/AP

Iran's top diplomat said Wednesday that responsibility for the global economic consequences of the U.S.-Israeli war with his country, which has sent energy prices soaring, "lies with the aggressors."

In a phone call with his Italian counterpart, Antonio Tajani, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted that Iran, "as a coastal state of the Strait of Hormuz, has taken measures in accordance with international law to safeguard its national security against U.S. and Israeli threats and aggression," according to a readout of the call provided by the Iranian ministry.

"Responsibility for any consequences [of the war] on the global economy lies with the aggressors," he was quoted as telling Tajani.

International energy prices have spiked since the U.S. and Israel launched their attacks on Iran more than seven weeks ago, which has already driven up the price of goods and services across the board. 

Economists have warned that U.S. motorists shouldn't expect fuel costs to return to where they were before the war, as neither Tehran nor Washington show any inclination to back down, and Iran's attacks and threats keep the Strait of Hormuz — a vital shipping lane for global energy supplies — gridlocked.

Oil prices edged higher Wednesday but the reaction in stock markets was less clear amid uncertainty surrounding the prospect of resumed Mideast peace talks following an extension of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire.

Asian equities had a mixed trading day as investors wait for clarity but broadly expect that both President Trump and authorities in Iran want to end a war that has sent oil and gas prices soaring.

"The ceasefire extension hasn't done much to calm nerves given that worries remain about the impact of the energy squeeze on the global economy," said Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at the Wealth Club."Shipments from the Middle East are in limbo and a resolution to the conflict remains elusive, and the price of Brent crude, the benchmark, reflects this."

International benchmark Brent Crude was again closing in on $100 a barrel, while main U.S. contract, West Texas Intermediate, traded back above $90.

Iranian gunboats attacked several commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday despite Mr. Trump announcing the previous evening that he was unilaterally extending a ceasefire to allow more time for peace talks.

"The US and Iran may be trying to shore up leverage and playing a game of who blinks first," said Christopher Wong, a strategist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp.

"Whatever the outcome, the suspense in the interim may see risk appetite being curtailed," he said. 

European stock prices were down slightly, but Asian markets were mixed and S&P futures in the U.S. rose 0.5%, while Nasdaq futures gained 0.7% ahead of Wednesday trading.

CBS/AFP

Underwater communications cables beneath the Strait of Hormuz are "a vulnerable point for the region's economy," Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency, which is closely linked with the country's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said in a report Wednesday.

The article described the contested waterway as not only a chokepoint for oil and gas transit, but also for subsea cables that "form the backbone of data transfer, e-commerce, cloud services and online communications in Gulf countries."

"The concentration of numerous internet cables in a single narrow passage has made the Strait of Hormuz a vulnerable point for the region's digital economy," the Tasnim report said. 

While the article did not include any explicit threat to the cables, the timing of its publication, with the U.S. and Iran locked in a standoff over control of the strait amid a tense ceasefire, was a clear hint that the cables could become targets for the IRGC.

In retaliation for the war launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28, Iranian forces have not only blocked commercial ship traffic through the strait but launched hundreds of missiles and drones at U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf. 

Iran has also targeted several facilities belonging to major Western technology firms in the Gulf, and warned that more attacks on big corporations could follow.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baqaei said Wednesday that Tehran would only engage in peace talks with Washington when it deems there to be a "necessary and rational basis" for negotiations "to advance national interests and consolidate the gains achieved by the Iranian people in frustrating the enemies' objectives," according to Iran's official state news agency IRNA.

Three commercial vessels came under attack in the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday, according to international news agencies, with the U.K. military and Iran's Revolutionary Guard confirming two of the strikes on cargo ships, potentially jeopardizing efforts to resume peace talks between the U.S. and Iran.

The U.K. military's Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO) reported early Wednesday morning that an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps gun boat fired at a container ship 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman. 

There was no radio warning before the boat "fired upon the vessel" causing "heavy damage to the bridge," according to UKMTO, which said all crew members were reported to be safe.

Three hours later UKMTO reported a second incident, this time 8 nautical miles west of Iran's coast at the eastern entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, in which a cargo ship said it was fired upon and was "now stopped in the water." 

The crew were "safe and accounted for" and there was no mention of the suspected source of the fire, UKMTO said, but suspicion immediately fell on Iran.

In a statement, Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said two vessels it accused of violating its blockade of the strait "had entered the area without proper authorization and allegedly tampered with their navigation systems, thereby endangering maritime safety."  

The IRGC said the ships were intercepted "and escorted to the Iranian coast." 

The Reuters and Associated Press news agencies and CBS News' British partner network BBC said a third ship was hit by gunfire in the strait Wednesday, but UKMTO did not immediately confirm that attack.

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An adviser to Iran's powerful parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who's also one of the Islamic Republic's lead negotiators, dismissed President Trump's indefinite ceasefire extension as a ploy to buy time for a military build up ahead of a "surprise blow" against his country.

"The extension of the ceasefire by Trump means nothing," Ghalibaf's aide Mahdi Mohammadi said in a post on X. "The continuation of the siege [U.S. naval blockade] is no different from the bombing and must be responded to militarily. In addition, the extension of the ceasefire on Trump's behalf definitely means buying time for a surprise blow."

President Trump said he was extending the truce to give the Iranian regime time to formulate a clear response to his terms for a wider peace deal, and he's repeatedly voiced optimism that Tehran will eventually capitulate to his demands under the economic pressure imposed by the naval blockade.

But with two U.S. aircraft carrier groups already deployed to the region, there are more than 50,000 American service members in the Middle East, compared to the roughly 30,000-40,000 typically based there. 

A third carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush, along with three missile destroyers, an amphibious assault ship carrying around 2,500 U.S. Marines and a dock landing ship — used to move people and hardware from sea to shore - are currently on their way to the region. 

President Trump says Iran's economy is hurting badly and as a result, Tehran wants the Strait of Hormuz opened at once.

On his Truth Social platform late Tuesday night, Mr. Trump said, "Iran is collapsing financially! They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately- Starving for cash! Losing 500 Million Dollars a day. Military and Police complaining that they are not getting paid. SOS!!!"

Iran itself has been largely bottling up traffic through the vital waterway that a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passes through in peacetime. The U.S. has been blockading all of Iran's ports. 

President Trump posted on Truth Social that Iran doesn't want the Strait of Hormuz closed and that "They only say they want it closed because I have it totally BLOCKADED (CLOSED!), so they merely want to 'save face.'"

"People approached me four days ago, saying, 'Sir, Iran wants to open up the Strait, immediately.' But if we do that, there can never be a Deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included!" Mr. Trump wrote.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote on X that, due to the ongoing U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, "in a matter of days, Kharg Island storage will be full and the fragile Iranian oil wells will be shut in." 

Kharg Island is a critical oil export terminal for Iran. 

"Constraining Iran's maritime trade directly targets the regime's primary revenue lifelines," Bessent said. "The US Treasury will continue to apply maximum pressure through Economic Fury to systematically degrade Tehran's ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds."

"Any person or vessel facilitating these flows—through covert trade and finance—risks exposure to U.S. sanctions," he added.

On March 20, the Trump administration temporarily lifted sanctions on Iranian oil that is already at sea in an effort to ease worldwide gas prices. That waiver expired on Sunday. 

President Trump said Tuesday afternoon on Truth Social that he was extending the ceasefire, which had been set to expire in the coming hours.

"Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal," Mr. Trump wrote. "I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their  proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other."