Iran, US, Israel War Ceasefire News Live Updates: US Draws Up Strike Plans for Iran’s Hormuz Defenses if Ceasefire Collapses
President Donald Trump said Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House on Thursday. (AP Photo)
Iran, US, Israel War Ceasefire News Live Updates: US military officials are developing new plans to target Iran’s capabilities in the Strait of Hormuz if the current ceasefire with Tehran collapses, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter, reports CNN.
Among the options under consideration are strikes focused on “dynamic targeting” of Iranian assets around the Strait of Hormuz, the southern Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, the sources said. Potential targets include small fast-attack boats, mine-laying vessels and other asymmetric maritime assets that Tehran could deploy to disrupt or block the key waterways and use them as strategic leverage against the United States
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US President Donald Trump says that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House on Thursday. Trump said the meeting between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States went “very well.”
The strategic Strait of Hormuz has become the latest flashpoint in this escalating ‘Tanker War’. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump, in a social media post, ordered the US military to “shoot and kill” Iranian small boats choking the Strait of Hormuz. Trump also said the military is intensifying its mine-clearing efforts in the critical waterway.
The US Defence Department also said it seized the oil tanker Majestic X in the Indian Ocean. “We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate,” the Defence Department said.
The seizure comes after Iran attacked three cargo ships on Wednesday in the Strait of Hormuz, capturing two of them. Iranian forces fired on three merchant vessels and seized two others, effectively tightening a noose around a waterway responsible for 20% of the world’s oil trade.
The move follows Trump’s decision to maintain a strict blockade on Iranian ports, a move Tehran has decried as “armed piracy”. Despite the seizure, the White House has offered a measured response, stating the actions do not constitute a ceasefire violation as the vessels were neither American nor Israeli.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian cost continues to mount in southern Lebanon. Even as negotiators meet in the US capital to extend a tenuous 10-day truce, Israeli strikes have claimed at least six more lives, including journalist Amal Khalil. Lebanese officials are expected to confront their Israeli counterparts today over reports of widespread home demolitions in southern border villages—actions Israel maintains are necessary to neutralise Hezbollah outposts.
Iran-US war ceasefire: Here are the latest developments
Strait of Hormuz Standoff: Iran’s seizure of two commercial ships has sent shockwaves through global energy markets, with the US blockade effectively choking off Iranian exports.
Washington talks: Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors meet on Thursday to discuss extending a fragile ceasefire, amid Lebanese allegations of “systemic destruction” of civilian infrastructure by the IDF.
Diplomacy stalled: The White House has suspended VP JD Vance’s planned mission to Pakistan after Iran failed to confirm its participation in proposed peace talks.
Iran executions: Tehran has hanged another member of the exiled opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK), the ninth such execution since the conflict began, citing alleged links to Israeli intelligence.
Casualties in Lebanon: Local authorities report at least six dead in three separate Israeli strikes in the south, further complicating the atmosphere for today’s diplomatic efforts.
Stay with The Indian Express Global Desk for real-time updates, geolocated footage of the crash sites, and live reactions from the Pentagon and Tehran.
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