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

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.