trump says strait of hormuz will reopen 'very soon' or iran will be attacked
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u.s. president donald trump has threatened to attack iran “very hard” if it backs out of commitments with the united states.
trump said in an interview that the u.s. had “very good discussions” with iran and that the strait of hormuz will be reopening “very soon.” he said he hoped iran doesn’t “back out again,” noting he will “have no choice” but to attack again if they do.
this comes as the u.s. has reportedly burned through about 80% of its interceptor stockpile as a result of the conflict in the middle east.
here’s the latest on the iran war on wednesday:
houthis claim attack on saudi oil tanker
yemen’s houthis said wednesday they attacked another saudi oil tanker, the second in a day as the iran-backed militant group continued its maritime blockade in the gulf of aden.
houthi military spokesperson yahya saree said in a statement on telegram that the group hit the saudi oil tanker daisy with a ballistic missile, al jazeera reported.
“this targeting is part of an effort to enforce a maritime blockade on the saudi enemy,” the statement reportedly said.
there was no immediate confirmation of the militant group’s claim from saudi arabia, but the u.k. maritime operations centre (ukmto) had reported that a tanker travelling in the area at the time reported hearing a “loud explosion in proximity to the vessel.”
in a post on x wednesday, the ukmto said no crew members were injured and no environmental impacts were reported.
iran’s president: communicating with supreme leader is ‘very difficult’
iranian president masoud pezeshkian said in an interview aired by state tv on wednesday that communicating with his country’s supreme leader mojtaba khamenei was very “difficult at the moment.”
khamenei has not appeared in public since he replaced his father, the late ayatollah ali khamenei, as supreme leader.
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the younger khamenei was wounded in the u.s.-israeli strike that killed his father on feb. 28, launching the middle east war.
“it is very difficult to communicate with him at the moment, but in any case, his presence is a very great source of strength for us so that we can continue,” pezeshkian said, per afp.
his comments followed reports that the supreme leader had warned the iranian president that he (khamenei) would accept pezeshkian’s resignation if he resubmitted it.
back in may, the iranian president had reportedly threatened to quit his post over disagreements with hardline factions in iran’s leadership.
pezeshkian has previously denied those claims, and defended khamenei on wednesday, saying the supreme leader met him with “kindness and very sound logic” during their meetings.
50-50 chance iran, oman could reach deal by friday
a senior gulf official told cnn that there was a “50-50” chance that a deal can be reached between iran and oman, despite trump suggesting an agreement was imminent.
the official said the iranian delegation doesn’t include the islamic revolutionary guard corps, which would have to sign off on details of the proposed agreement on the strait of hormuz.
israeli army conducts attacks in southern lebanon
any calm in southern lebanon was shattered on wednesday after the israeli army said it conducted “precision air strikes” on the towns of tibnin and kfar tebnit.
israel said the attacks are in retaliation for what it calls “hezbollah’s blatant violation of the ceasefire.” it’s the second time in days that the israeli army has made such an accusation, per al jazeera.
israeli media reported that two soldiers in a building in the town of majdel zoun were killed after an ied exploded. seven others were also injured in the blast.
the ied explosion is why israel is stating that the ceasefire was violated.
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according to israeli media, what happened was that israeli soldiers were in a building in the town of majdel zoun when an ied exploded, killing two of them and injuring seven.
iran, oman agree to new route through strait of hormuz
iran and oman reportedly agreed to a new route for ships trekking through the strait of hormuz as the two countries put the finishing touches on a joint management of the waterway, cbs news reported.
“the geographical coordinates of the route envisaged by the two sides have been agreed upon and, if certain third parties do not obstruct the process, the joint statement of the two countries, containing the main considerations and points of agreement, is also in the final review and drafting stage,” iranian foreign ministry spokesman esmaeil baqaei told state news agency irna.
“the iran-oman understanding in and of itself cannot mean that the strait has become safe for passing ships, because the factors making the strait of hormuz insecure — stemming from the united states, especially the naval blockade and other threatening actions and measures against iran and its interests — still exist,” the ministry said.
the agreement would now allow the u.s. and iran to return to the bargaining table under terms set out in the memorandum of understanding in june.
vessels are seen anchored in the strait of hormuz, off the port city of khasab on oman’s northern musandam peninsula on may 17, 2026. (photo by afp via getty images) /
hormuz deal would give iran control of inbound traffic
a senior iranian source and two regional officials told reuters that a proposed deal between iran and oman would give tehran control over inbound ships heading through the strait of hormuz, considered one of the biggest concessions to iran.
“the concession has already been made regarding some form of control over hormuz,” one source told the news service.
another source stated there were still details to be determined about how control would be defined, whether it be inspection of ships and payment of fees.
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a senior iranian source told reuters that an agreement already on the table called for iran having control of ships heading into the gulf through the strait, with one of the main sticking points being what role iran has over ships heading in the opposite direction.
american officials have insisted repeatedly in the past that they would never accept any deal that lets iran control access to the strait of hormuz. the trump administration has said that the deal is imminent.
iran executes more than 50 since march
according to the united nations’ high commissioner for human rights, at least 56 people have been executed in iran on national security-related charges since march 19.
in a statement, volker turk said the deaths include 27 whose cases were linked to the widespread anti-regime protests earlier this year.
turk urged iranian authorities to halt all executions and move towards getting rid of the death penalty, per cnn.
un experts and human rights organizations have condemned the omission of human rights protections from the memorandum of understanding the u.s. and iran signed in june. activists believe the omission has allowed iran to accelerate internal crackdowns and executions.
u.s. burns through 80% of interceptors
the american military has used close to 80% of its interceptors for its missile defence system, cnn reported, with senior u.s. military commanders warning that the stockpile of munitions is “dangerously low.”
the weapons stockpile of key air defence systems was depleted during the iran war. cnn reported the military had gone through nearly four-fifths of its thaad missile inventory and about half of its patriot interceptors since the war started.
a number of countries that rely on american air defence systems have said the shortage could hinder their ability to intercept iranian missile and drone attacks.
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trump says hormuz will reopen ‘soon’
u.s. president donald trump claims the strait of hormuz will be reopened “very soon” while also threatening iran with violent attacks at the same time.
in an interview with fox news, trump said “very good discussions” were happening with iran, but said iran would be attacked “very hard” if the country backed out of them.
“the strait’s going to be open very soon or they are going to get hit very hard,” said trump. “if they back out again, they are going to get hit really hard. they know that. they understand that. i have no choice.
“we hit them very, very hard. but the hard hit is yet to come and hopefully we won’t have to use it,” he continued. “i hope we won’t — we’re having very good discussions. they don’t like to admit that.”
iran has previously denied having discussions with the u.s. tehran said it’s having ongoing talks with oman on reopening the strait of hormuz, cnn reported.
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