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Pentagon seeking $80 billion for Iran war, other costs
A Pentagon official said in April that the Iran war had cost about $25 billion, but the full cost of the war has remained unclear.
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The U.S. Department of Defense needed $80 billion to cover costs from the Iran war, as well as other expenses unrelated to the conflict, Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg told lawmakers in phone calls this week, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
A broader U.S. supplemental funding request could be sent to lawmakers in the coming days, the newspaper said. It would include money for the Pentagon and for non-defense priorities, including farm and disaster relief.
The conflict began on Feb. 28, and an initial $200 billion request for additional funding faced opposition from lawmakers.
White House budget director Russell Vought told an April hearing of the House Budget Committee that he had no estimate for the cost of the war, while defending a request for a $1.5 trillion annual military budget.
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Israel strikes southern Lebanon, Vance delays Switzerland trip
The fighting came a day after the United States and Iran signed an agreement to end the Middle East war on all fronts, including in Lebanon.
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Israel’s military said Friday that its forces struck targets across southern Lebanon overnight as Hezbollah reported intense fighting, raising pressure on a new U.S.-Iran agreement that calls for an immediate halt to military operations “on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”
Talks planned for Friday in Switzerland between the United States and Iran were postponed as mediators worked to calm the fighting, regional officials said. Vice President JD Vance had been scheduled to attend.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said at least 18 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes. Israel’s military said the strikes were ongoing. Israel also said four soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel, were killed in fighting in southern Lebanon, and that five others were wounded in an explosive drone attack.
The Israeli military said it also struck targets in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley on Friday. Lebanese media said the village of Douris was hit.
Israel and Hezbollah are not parties to the U.S.-Iran agreement. Iran has said Israel must withdraw from the area of southern Lebanon it occupies, but the interim deal does not explicitly require that. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israeli forces would remain in a “security zone” in southern Lebanon as long as “Israel’s security needs require it.”
President Donald Trump criticized Netanyahu’s recent moves before the agreement was signed, saying: “Without me, there would be no Israel because no other president was willing to do what I did — I have had a great relationship with Bibi. Now Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon.”
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee defended Israel on Friday in a post on X, writing: “Israel strikes when struck … Ceasefire happens when Hezbollah stops shooting & killing.”
Two regional officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door diplomacy, said mediators were focused on Lebanon. One said Iran withdrew from the Switzerland meeting over the fighting and Netanyahu’s comments, which Iran viewed as violating the interim deal.
The agreement reopened the Strait of Hormuz to shipping and returned Washington and Tehran to talks over Iran’s nuclear program. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in his first public reaction, said direct negotiations would not mean “accepting the enemy’s opinion.”
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Vance defends Iran deal amid GOP, Israeli criticism
Vance also warned Israeli critics to be cautious in attacking Trump, saying, “Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time.”
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Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that the United States was not giving Iran money under President Donald Trump’s interim peace deal, and that any economic benefits depended on Iran fully complying with the agreement.
“The United States isn’t giving up a cent of money to Iran,” Vance said at a White House news conference.
His comments came as the White House faced criticism from some Republicans and Israeli officials over a 14-point memorandum of understanding that included sanctions relief, access to frozen funds, and a proposed $300 billion reconstruction plan.
Vance said, “The only way the Iranians get any of these resources … is if they comply fully” with the deal. He also said Iran was already selling oil despite U.S. sanctions, which he described as ineffective by the time of the agreement, and argued that easing sanctions could give the U.S. more insight into Iran’s financial activity.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, also described the deal as conditional. In a statement Thursday, he said he approved the memorandum after receiving assurances that Iran’s rights and the “resistance front” would be protected, and after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accepted responsibility for safeguarding Iran’s interests.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that “we encourage everyone in the Middle East Region to maintain their commitment to allowing our negotiations to beautifully unfold.” He added that markets were responding positively and said, “We expect a complete Ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon, Hezbollah, and Israel.”
Vance said Iran’s “nuclear program has been completely destroyed” and described the agreement as the next stage of Trump’s pressure campaign. The deal, signed by Trump and Pezeshkian, paused military operations and reopened the Strait of Hormuz for at least 60 days to allow negotiations on a final agreement. Vance said that period began Thursday and could be extended.
Lawmakers in both parties criticized the agreement. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., called it “one of the worst follies” of Trump’s term. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said, “History demonstrates that giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is an exceptionally bad idea.” Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said the memorandum could undercut recent U.S. military gains.
Vance said members of Congress received, or would soon receive, a copy of the signed document, and that the administration planned a formal briefing “very soon.” He also said the administration believed it could temporarily lift some sanctions without congressional approval.
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Hormuz traffic resumes, Lebanon strikes cloud accord
Brent crude fell another 2% to below $78 a barrel, its lowest since Feb. 28.
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About 12.5 million barrels of crude passed through the Strait of Hormuz overnight, Vice President JD Vance said Thursday, hours after President Donald Trump signed an agreement with Iran aimed at ending a war that had disrupted energy supplies.
The memorandum of understanding, also signed Wednesday by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, took effect two days earlier than expected. It called for the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the lifting of a U.S. blockade on Iran’s ports.
Shippers said traffic through the strait could take time to return to prewar levels because safe access still needed to be confirmed and mines cleared.
The agreement explicitly called for a “permanent termination” of the war in Lebanon and for Lebanon’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty” to be ensured. But Israel, which invaded Lebanon in March and has said it was targeting Hezbollah fighters in the south, was not part of the talks.
Trump had recently criticized Israel’s operations in Lebanon. Still, Israel said it did not intend to withdraw and on Thursday released a new map showing an expanded area in southern Lebanon occupied by its troops as a buffer zone.
Vance said one goal of the deal was to allow Lebanese authorities to police the south. “What we want to see is the Lebanese government, the elected representatives of the people of Lebanon, who are able to police southern Lebanon, so that Hezbollah has not taken over the country, the Israelis are not threatened, and then consequently the Israelis are not attacking southern Lebanon or Beirut either,” he said.
Two Israeli officials, including one close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told Reuters Israel was negotiating with Washington to keep troops in Lebanon. One described the talks as “stubborn” and said the outcome would depend on whether Trump chose to press Israel.
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Trump, Pezeshkian sign interim U.S.-Iran accord
Tehran agreed to dilute its enriched uranium in exchange for economic relief.
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President Donald Trump and Iran’s president signed a memorandum of understanding Wednesday aimed at ending the Middle East war, according to U.S. and Iranian officials.
A U.S. official told Agence France-Presse that Trump signed the document during a dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palace of Versailles after a Group of Seven summit. “Just signed it,” Trump told reporters.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, quoted by the state news agency IRNA, said the document “was finalized with the signatures of the presidents.”
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Thursday on X that the memorandum “shall enter into force with immediate effect and as a first step, Islamic Republic of Iran will instantly reopen the Strait of Hormuz and the United States of America will immediately lift the naval blockade.” He said Pakistan, with Qatari support, would host a ceremony in Switzerland on Friday to “commemorate this landmark event and commence with the technical level talks.”
Baqaei said, “Now it is time to test the implementation of the agreement.”
The deal says Washington would immediately waive oil sanctions on Iran and, once a final agreement is reached on Iran’s nuclear program, facilitate the release of a $300 billion reconstruction fund backed by regional countries.
The agreement was presented as an effort to end fighting that began Feb. 28, when the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran, prompting Iranian missile and drone attacks across the region and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
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Trump Iran deal tests ties with Netanyahu on Lebanon
Reports indicated Netanyahu was seeking a meeting with Trump after international meetings in Switzerland this week.
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A U.S.-Iran agreement expected to be formalized in Switzerland on Friday highlighted differences between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Iran’s nuclear program and Israel’s military operations in Lebanon.
Trump was expected to sign a memorandum of understanding with Iran that administration officials described as a framework for possible new direct talks on Iran’s nuclear program and other disputes.
Speaking Tuesday, Trump said the agreement would block Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, that’s what it says,” Trump said. “It won’t have one to buy, to develop. They will not have a nuclear weapon.”
Many details had not been made public, including possible limits on uranium enrichment, inspection mechanisms, and whether sanctions relief could follow.
Netanyahu expressed doubt about the agreement.
“With or without an agreement, Iran will not have nuclear weapons, not today and not tomorrow,” Netanyahu said Monday. “As long as I am Prime Minister of Israel, it will not happen.”
The disagreement also extended to Lebanon, where Israel continued operations against Hezbollah. On Tuesday, Trump said the campaign had gone on too long and was complicating efforts to stabilize the region.
“Israel is fighting Hezbollah for too long and too many people are being killed,” Trump said. “And you don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody.”
Trump also singled out Netanyahu.
“I’ve had a great relationship with Bibi, but now Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon,” Trump said.
The dispute grew after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reportedly said any Israeli troops remaining in southern Lebanon, or future Israeli strikes there, would violate the agreement.
Israeli officials rejected that interpretation and said operations would continue. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Monday that “Trump’s agreement does not bind us.”
Retired Israeli Defense Forces Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi defended Israel’s position, saying Hezbollah still threatened communities near the border.
“We are not going to let Hezbollah endanger our towns, endanger our soldiers,” Avivi said. “We are a sovereign country. We have a right to defend ourselves.”
Still, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Leiter played down suggestions of a broader split.
“We began this process together and we’ll end it together,” Leiter said.
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Draft U.S., Iran memorandum outlines 60-day talks
Pending a final deal, Iran would maintain the status quo on its nuclear program, and the U.S. would not impose new sanctions or strengthen its forces in the region.
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The U.S. and Iran were expected to sign a memorandum of understanding on June 19 in Switzerland that would begin 60 days of negotiations on ending their war and setting new limits on Iran’s nuclear program.
Under the draft, Iran, the U.S., and their allies in the war would declare an immediate and permanent end to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon, and commit not to take hostile action or threaten or use force against each other. Both sides would also agree to respect each other’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and internal affairs.
The draft set a 60-day period for negotiating a final agreement, with the option to extend by mutual consent. It said the final agreement would be approved through a binding United Nations Security Council resolution.
The U.S. would lift its naval blockade immediately and restore shipping traffic to full prewar capacity within 30 days. Iran would take steps to resume merchant shipping between the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman within 30 days, subject to removal of technical obstacles and mine clearance by Iran. The U.S. also would withdraw its forces from surrounding areas within 30 days after a final agreement.
The draft said the U.S., with regional partners, would create a plan for Iran’s economic rehabilitation and development with at least $300 billion in financing. It also said the U.S. would end sanctions on a timetable to be set in the final agreement, including U.N. Security Council measures, International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors measures, and U.S. primary and secondary sanctions.
Iran reiterated in the draft that it would never produce nuclear weapons. The two sides said the fate of enriched material and other nuclear-related issues, including Iran’s nuclear needs, would be addressed in a final agreement.
The draft also said the U.S. Treasury Department would issue waivers for exports of Iranian crude oil, petrochemical products, related services, and banking, insurance, and transportation. It said frozen or restricted Iranian funds would be released and made fully available as negotiations progressed, and that an implementation mechanism would be created to oversee compliance with a final agreement.
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U.S., Iran reach deal, signing planned Friday
Israel said it was not party to the planned U.S.-Iran deal.
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The United States and Iran reached an agreement to end their war and planned an official signing ceremony for Friday in Switzerland, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on social media early Monday.
Shortly after Sharif’s announcement, President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social: “The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete.”
The terms were not immediately known. Sharif said the pact called for “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.”
Multiple sources told reporters the draft deal would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, end the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, and extend a ceasefire, while leaving Iran’s nuclear program to be addressed during a 60-day period of additional talks. The United States would also reportedly release $25 billion in frozen Iranian assets, while Iran would agree not to produce or acquire nuclear weapons. Iran also allegedly agreed to maintain the nuclear status quo, including no uranium enrichment or expansion of nuclear facilities, until a final deal is reached.
Trump said on Sunday that the strait would be open “toll free” and that the U.S. naval blockade would end. “Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” he wrote.
The agreement was reached despite an Israeli strike on Lebanon on Sunday that drew criticism from Iran and Trump.
Earlier Sunday, Iranian negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Israel’s latest attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs, which Israel said targeted Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, showed the United States lacks “the will and ability to fulfill your commitments,” in a post on X.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it held the United States responsible for the attack. Iran warned of a “strong response,” and its top joint military command said the “finger (is) on the trigger” ready to fire at the “enemy’s heart.”
Trump wrote on Sunday: “This morning’s attack on Beirut should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran.”
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Moulton criticizes reported U.S.-Iran deal terms
“It’s basically a surrender document from Donald Trump to the supreme leader of Iran.”
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Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., criticized the reported terms of a U.S.-Iran agreement after President Donald Trump said the United States and Iran planned to sign a peace framework Sunday.
“This is a terrible deal,” Moulton told MS NOW on Saturday. “It’s basically a surrender document from Donald Trump to the supreme leader of Iran.”
Moulton, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, pointed to the war’s cost.
“I mean, $100 billion of taxpayer money already put into this war, 14 Americans dead, and we get a deal that just reopens the strait that was already open before he started the war? How is that a win?” he said.
A senior U.S. official said Friday that the deal included provisions to prohibit Iran’s nuclear building capabilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping route.
Trump said Saturday that a peace framework would be signed Sunday and that the strait would reopen “immediately” afterward. Pakistan, which has mediated the talks, said the agreement would be signed electronically, followed by technical-level talks next week to work toward a peace deal.
“This is just lose, lose, lose across the board for Trump and the United States of America,” Moulton said after Trump’s announcement.
He added, “And yet, I will still say that stopping this war and getting out of it is the best that we can do at this point. And so that’s why we are still hoping for a deal, even though we have to admit it’s a losing deal for America.”
Moulton also said Trump had previewed imminent agreements with Iran “countless times.”
“It really sounds like Donald Trump wants a deal,” he said. “It sounds like the Iranians are pretty content dragging out negotiations because guess what? They have a stranglehold on the world economy by closing the strait.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei gave a different timeline. Baghaei told Iran’s Tasnim News Agency on Saturday that a signing of the framework deal would “not be tomorrow.”
“The possibility that it will happen in the coming days is not ruled out,” Baghaei said. “However, due to the other party’s instability, we must be cautious about any statements regarding this process.”
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U.S. science lead narrows as China, India, Iran rise
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Iran, despite broad international sanctions and limited access to Western research infrastructure, has emerged as one of the fastest-rising scientific producers, according to Amir Faghri, founder and chief executive of ScholarGPS.
Faghri wrote that Iran’s gains, along with China’s leadership in several fields and India’s rapid expansion, showed a broader shift in global science and engineering. He said the United States remained the leading research power overall and continued to lead medicine, life sciences, and biology in ScholarGPS lifetime and recent five-year rankings, which are based on research output, effect, and quality.
But he said China led recent five-year rankings in engineering, physical sciences, and agriculture. Iran, he wrote, moved from outside the top 20 in lifetime rankings to inside the top 10 in recent five-year rankings in engineering, agriculture, and public health.
Faghri said data from the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute pointed to a broader redistribution of scientific capacity with implications for U.S. competitiveness, technology, and national security.
He attributed the shift to sustained investment in education and research, and to stronger integration into global research networks. In Iran, decades of expansion increased the number of universities from about 20 before the 1979 revolution to more than 600, with thousands of additional higher education and research institutes, according to UNESCO and the World Bank. Student enrollment rose from about 150,000 to nearly 4 million, he wrote.
Faghri said women now make up a majority of university students in Iran and have significant representation in scientific and technical fields, citing UNESCO and World Bank data. He contrasted that with the United States, where women remain underrepresented in some science, technology, engineering, and math fields.
Iranian researchers continued to collaborate internationally, especially with peers in China and, to a lesser extent, Russia, while ties to the United States persisted through diaspora networks, he wrote.
Faghri said recent political pressure on major U.S. research universities and federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, along with funding cuts and uncertainty in higher education, could weaken U.S. research leadership if sustained.
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Iran-held U.S. journalist sought urgent medical care
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An attorney for Iranian American journalist Reza Valizadeh said his client and other Americans held in Iran were being denied medical care.
Valizadeh is among at least 15 reporters jailed in Iran, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. He was detained in 2024 after returning to Iran to visit his elderly parents and was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of collaborating with the U.S. government.
In recent appeals to the Trump administration, Valizadeh sought medical assistance for himself and other prisoners.
“Truthfully, we don’t know exactly what conditions are like inside the prison,” attorney Ryan Fayhee told “Elizabeth Vargas Reports,” adding that several protesters had been added to the prison population.
Fayhee said he knew little about Valizadeh’s condition or the health of other prisoners. He said Valizadeh had developed respiratory problems after a strike on the prison itself, along with serious dental problems and persistent back pain.
“We have to imagine that Reza isn’t getting the nutrition he needs,” Fayhee stated. “He can’t see a doctor. He can’t leave the walls of that prison.”
Fayhee said Valizadeh should be released, arguing he had exercised his rights as an American journalist by reporting on events in Iran.
“Reza is a U.S. citizen, just like you and I, no different,” Fayhee said. “He’s a journalist. And he’s being held in Iran, in Evin Prison, for nothing more than being a journalist.”
Fayhee also referenced Valizadeh’s statement that the U.S. had released and returned more than 60 Iranian sailors since the conflict began as a “humanitarian gesture,” and said Iran should do the same.
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Iran oil exports fell sharply after U.S. blockade
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Iran exported less than one-sixth of the oil it had been shipping before a U.S. naval blockade began in April, according to shipping data that suggested a steep drop in revenue from Tehran’s main source of income.
The United States began the blockade of Iranian ports on April 13 as part of President Donald Trump’s push for terms in a peace deal. Tehran called the move illegal and described U.S. seizures of ships near its ports as “piracy.”
The action followed Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz to ships from most countries after U.S.-Israeli attacks began on Feb. 28. The strait normally carries about 20% of global oil and gas supplies, and the disruption reduced exports from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates while pushing up energy prices.
Iran was initially able to keep exporting through the strait.
At an estimated $90 a barrel, exports of 300,000 barrels a day would generate about $27 million a day, or about $837 million in May. In March, when exports averaged 1.84 million barrels a day, Iran was earning an estimated $165.6 million a day, or about $5.13 billion for the month. In April, exports averaged 1.34 million barrels a day, generating about $3.62 billion for the month.
Iran’s oil revenues in May were about 84% lower than in March. If March-level monthly revenue was the benchmark, Iran lost about $5.8 billion across April and May.
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Pentagon raised Israel espionage risk to critical
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The Pentagon recently raised its counterintelligence threat assessment for Israel to “critical” amid concerns that Israel has stepped up efforts to gather information on U.S. officials and internal Trump administration deliberations on the Middle East, according to two current U.S. officials and one former U.S. official.
The Defense Intelligence Agency issued the assessment in recent weeks as tensions rose between the United States and Israel over the war with Iran, the officials said. One current official said an internal message and a seven-page document assessed Israel’s human espionage and technical collection capabilities at a “critical level” and cited several incidents that increased concern.
The officials said they did not know whether one specific incident prompted the change. They said the concern centered on efforts to monitor senior U.S. officials and administration decision-making.
An Israeli Embassy spokesperson in Washington said in a statement that it is “completely false” that Israel spies on the U.S. “Israel does not gather intelligence on American entities, let alone US government officials,” the spokesperson said. “Israel intelligence collection efforts are aimed at its enemies, not its allies. Any claims to the contrary are either misinformed or politically motivated.”
A White House official said, “This entire story is false and sourced to someone who doesn’t have any knowledge of what’s going on.”
Current and former U.S. officials said spying among allies is common, but they described Israel’s recent activity as beyond what is typically expected. They said the higher alert had not disrupted daily intelligence sharing between the two countries, including on the war with Iran, but could lead U.S. officials to take added precautions when traveling to Israel or meeting Israeli officials.
The assessment came as President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disagreed over Iran and Israeli military operations in Lebanon. Since a ceasefire took effect in early April, Trump has pursued a diplomatic deal with Iran to end the war that Israel and the U.S. launched on Feb. 28, while Netanyahu has publicly questioned whether Tehran would honor such an agreement.
Israel has long had a reputation among current and former U.S. diplomats and national security officials for aggressive intelligence collection, including against the United States. The issue has periodically strained ties, including after U.S. Navy analyst Jonathan Pollard was convicted in the 1980s of selling top-secret documents to Israel.
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U.S. House backs measure to limit Iran war action
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The U.S. House of Representatives voted 215-208 on Wednesday for a resolution seeking to halt U.S. military action in Iran, in a symbolic rebuke to President Donald Trump as talks with Tehran remained deadlocked. Four Republicans joined Democrats in support.
Weeks of talks had not produced an agreement to end the war or reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for oil and gas shipments. Trump said at the White House that “it could happen… over the weekend,” while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said “no tangible progress” had been made.
At a congressional hearing, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpiles were central to the discussions. Washington has said any peace agreement must include Iran handing over its near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, curbing its nuclear activities, and reopening the strait.
Kuwaiti officials said renewed hostilities on Wednesday included an Iranian drone strike on a passenger terminal at Kuwait International Airport that killed one person and wounded 63. Kuwait’s military called it an act of “criminal Iranian aggression.” India’s foreign ministry said the person killed was an Indian national.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards denied attacking the airport and said it was “an error in the American Patriot systems, which landed on the terminal after failing to intercept Iranian missiles.” They also accused U.S. forces of targeting a tanker and a communications tower on Qeshm Island.
Kuwait suspended air traffic and diverted inbound flights after the strike, then later resumed Kuwait Airways flights. The airport had fully resumed operations only on Monday after earlier disruptions during the war.
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Iran says talks stalled, Trump says deal is near
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Iran’s foreign minister said Wednesday that there had been “no tangible progress” in talks to end the Middle East war as President Donald Trump said that talks with Iran could produce a result “over the weekend.”
Kuwaiti officials said an Iranian drone struck a passenger terminal at Kuwait International Airport, killing one person and wounding 63. India’s foreign ministry said the person killed was an Indian national. Kuwait suspended air traffic and diverted incoming flights before later resuming Kuwait Airways service.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard denied attacking the airport. It said the damage was caused by “an error in the American Patriot systems, which landed on the terminal after failing to intercept Iranian missiles.”
“I hear the negotiation itself is going very well actually,” Trump said. “It could happen…over the weekend.”
Trump also said he wanted to separate talks on the conflict in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah from talks on the war between the United States and Iran. “I’d like to separate it, I’d like to have a separate thing, because it is, it is separate,” he said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpiles were central to the discussions with Tehran. Washington said Iran must give up its near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, curb its nuclear activity, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz for any peace agreement to hold.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said contacts with the United States continued, but he warned that any Israeli attack on Beirut would lead to a “full-scale resumption” of the conflict. “Communications with the Americans have not been cut off … but no tangible progress has been made in the negotiation process,” Tasnim news agency quoted him as saying.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran was “playing with fire.”
The latest violence followed talks in Washington among U.S., Israeli, and Lebanese officials on the parallel conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Lebanon’s embassy in Washington said a U.S. proposal would initially cover Israeli strikes on Beirut and Hezbollah attacks on Israeli territory.
Senior Hezbollah official Mahmud Qomati told AFP the group “will not accept a partial ceasefire.” Lebanon said Israeli strikes killed at least nine people in the south, including two paramedics. Hezbollah said it fired rockets at troops in northern Israel in response to Israeli ceasefire violations.
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Iran says Kuwait attack answered latest U.S. strikes
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Kuwait said Wednesday that an Iranian missile and drone attack hit Kuwait International Airport, killing one person and wounding at least 63 others.
Iran said it targeted U.S. military bases in Kuwait in retaliation for overnight American strikes. U.S. Central Command said those strikes were “self-defense strikes” on Iranian military targets, including a ground control station on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said its forces tracked and engaged 13 ballistic missiles and 17 drones launched by Iran since dawn. It said debris from intercepted weapons fell in residential areas and at the airport, causing damage. Kuwaiti authorities said the person killed was an Indian national.
Kuwait’s health ministry said 63 people were injured, including seven who underwent major emergency surgery. The civil aviation authority said flights later resumed at Terminals 4 and 5 after safety checks, while Terminal 1 sustained heavy damage.
Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry said it summoned Iran’s acting chargé d’affaires, Hamid Hamid Yaqoubi Far, delivered a formal protest, and ordered two Iranian diplomats to leave within 24 hours. The ministry said Iran’s allegations that it was targeting U.S. bases did not justify attacks on Kuwaiti territory or civilian facilities.
Bahrain’s military said its air defenses intercepted three missiles and several drones fired by Iran. Earlier, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had targeted the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain and another country it did not name.
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Trump confirms criticism of Netanyahu, cites Iran talks
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President Donald Trump said in an interview released Wednesday that he had criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call Monday, saying he was “a little bit perturbed” that Israel’s fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon was hindering peace talks with Iran.
Still, Trump said his relationship with Netanyahu remained strong.
“We’ve worked very well together. I like Bibi a lot. And I work very well with him,” Trump told The New York Post’s “Pod Force One,” adding that they connected in part because they are both “wartime” leaders.
Asked whether the Strait of Hormuz could remain closed through Labor Day on Sept. 7, he said: “I don’t know. I mean, I think it could be (closed through Labor Day), but I think it’s unlikely. I think that we’ll have it. I think this will resolve itself fairly quickly.” He has said Iran must stop efforts that could lead to a nuclear weapon and that the strait be reopened to oil and natural gas shipments.
Trump also said Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his late father, was “involved” in talks to end the war. “They have a lot of respect for him,” Trump said. He added that Khamenei was not doing well because of injuries from an airstrike, but “they say he’s giving approval because that’s the way it has been for a long, long time.” Khamenei’s father was killed in airstrikes when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran at the end of March.
In Lebanon, fighting continued as U.S.-backed talks between Lebanon and Israel moved forward in Washington. An Israeli strike Wednesday hit a car on a highway in Khaldeh, south of Beirut, hours before a second day of talks. It was not immediately clear whether the target was killed.
Israel and Lebanon agreed Monday that Israel would not strike Beirut’s southern suburbs and Hezbollah would halt attacks on northern Israel. The State Department said progress was made during Tuesday’s talks. Lebanon wants the ceasefire expanded nationwide. Israel wants Hezbollah disarmed before ending operations in Lebanon and withdrawing from dozens of villages and towns.
Israeli strikes also continued in southern Lebanon, including near Tyre, where overnight strikes killed four Syrians and two Palestinians. Israel said it intercepted a hostile aircraft from southern Lebanon, but did not immediately blame Hezbollah.
The latest fighting has killed 3,468 people in Lebanon and displaced 1.2 million, while at least 27 Israeli soldiers, a defense contractor, and two civilians in northern Israel have been killed, according to Netanyahu’s office and Israel’s military.
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Rubio says Khamenei more active in Iran talks
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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei appeared to be playing a larger role as negotiations between Washington and Tehran continued after an April 8 truce.
Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio said there were signs Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since U.S. airstrikes killed his father and predecessor on the first day of the war, was alive and more engaged in state affairs.
“I think there are indications out there that he is increasingly engaging at some level, although all of his communications have been in writing and through intermediaries,” Rubio said.
Rubio said Iran had agreed to discuss “aspects of their nuclear programme” that it had refused to address as recently as a month ago. He said that included talks on Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, but cautioned that “that is not a guarantee it will ultimately lead to a deal that’s acceptable.”
“There is the prospect before us, which could happen today, it could happen tomorrow, it could happen next week,” he added.
Rubio, who also serves as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, said the first condition in the talks was that Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He said sanctions relief had not been offered in exchange for that step alone.
“That’s not been discussed. That’s not been offered,” Rubio said, adding that sanctions relief would require major concessions on Iran’s nuclear program and enriched uranium.
Trump said Tuesday on Truth Social that talks had not paused. “Conversations between us have been going on continuously,” he wrote. “Where they lead, one never knows, but as I told Iran, ‘It’s time, one way or another, for you to make a Deal.’”
Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency, citing a source close to Iran’s negotiating team, said Tehran was still reviewing the latest U.S. proposal and had not communicated with Washington for several days. The source said Iran was taking a “stern” approach because of what it viewed as U.S. noncompliance with the ceasefire and broader mistrust.
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said, according to Reuters, that Iran had halted many nuclear activities previously underway and that any agreement should include strong verification and monitoring.
The war, which began Feb. 28, has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and raised global energy prices after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, which had carried about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
Iran said ongoing Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon remained a major issue in the talks. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tehran could halt negotiations with Washington if Israel’s “aggression against Lebanon continues.”
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Pentagon schools in Bahrain to stay closed this fall
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U.S. military families will not be able to return their children to Defense Department schools in Bahrain this fall, according to an email sent Monday to parents and teachers.
Department of Defense Education Activity Director Paul Craft said the two schools on the island, which serve prekindergarten through 12th grade, will not open in August for the 2026-27 school year. A small number of staff members will remain assigned to Bahrain schools, while most will be reassigned elsewhere, according to the email.
Bahrain, an island nation in the Persian Gulf, hosts Naval Support Activity Bahrain, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, and the 5th Fleet. The base typically supports about 8,300 service members, civilians, and family members, but most evacuated shortly after Operation Epic Fury began in February.
The U.S. base in Bahrain sustained damage in Iranian drone and missile attacks, including hits to Naval Forces Central Command headquarters, warehouses, satellite dishes, barracks, and the galley.
Some evacuees who relocated to Kaiserslautern, Germany, were later told by the Pentagon that they must move to the United States by the end of June.
Since then, the status of the schools has been seen as a possible signal of whether military families might return and whether the broader U.S. presence in Bahrain could be restored.
Craft did not indicate any long-term decision in his email, but said the agency was prepared to offer options if the Pentagon decided to return dependents to Bahrain. In the meantime, he told parents to enroll their children in a local Department of Defense school or public school.