Iran has warned that it will not allow any further US interference in the Strait of Hormuz, after Donald Trump said Tehran "better behave" amid a renewed exchange of attacks between the two sides.
Iranian forces will target infrastructure across the region if Trump carried out threats to attack Iranian infrastructure, the spokesperson warned.
When earlier asked by reporters whether he would give Tehran a deadline, the US president said: “I don't like giving deadlines, but they pretty much know, they know the story... they better behave."
He also revealed Iran had released a US citizen in a “gesture of goodwill”.
“Iran has allowed an American Citizen, who was wrongfully detained in December of 2024 under the ‘presidency’ of Sleepy Joe Biden, to leave the Country”, the US president wrote on Truth Social Wednesday. “She is now safely outside of Iran, and in good condition”.
On Wednesday, the US launched multiple rounds of airstrikes against Iran to degrade the country’s ability to attack commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump held an emergency meeting in the Situation Room Tuesday to discuss a massive offensive against Iran to reopen the strait, Axios’ sources said.
Key Points
- Donald Trump tells Iran to 'better behave'
- Latest round of US strikes against Iran ends
- Trump says 'wrongfully detained' US citizen freed by Iran
- JD Vance says some Israeli officials want to keep Iran war going 'indefinitely'
- Lebanon and Israel move towards implementing withdrawal deal, US says
FULL STORY: Vance tells Joe Rogan that some Israeli leaders want conflict with Iran to continue ‘indefinitely’
07:45 , Josh Marcus
Elements within the Israeli government and society are pushing to needlessly prolong the Iran war and tank the Trump administration’s negotiations, US Vice President JD Vance claims.
“I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there have been people within the Israeli government who are trying to actually shift us away from that policy because they want to continue the military campaign”, Vance said on an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience released on Wednesday.
“There are some people within their system, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt, who are manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going on indefinitely”, he added. “Again, not towards any objective, but just indefinitely”.
Read on...
Vance tells Joe Rogan some Israeli leaders want Iran war to go on ‘indefinitely’
Iran says Hormuz is a red line, warns of attacks on regional infrastructure if US strikes Iran
07:20 , Stuti Mishra
The spokesperson for Iran's top military command said Tehran would not allow US interference in the Strait of Hormuz, calling it a red line.
Iran would target infrastructure across the region if US president Donald Trump carried out threats to attack Iranian infrastructure, the spokesperson warned.
Fresh attacks by the US in Iran - What we know
07:00 , Stuti Mishra
The US has also sharply escalated its strikes against Iran. Overnight, US forces attacked Greater Tunb Island, a strategic point in the Strait of Hormuz, targeting Iranian defence and missile sites.
A separate strike on a barracks for Iran's 388th Mechanised Infantry Brigade in Sistan and Baluchestan province killed seven people, including conscripts and career soldiers, Iranian state television reported.
Earlier today, US strikes hit around Tehran and targeted Semnan province, home to Iran's ballistic missile production and space programme.
The US military also said it fired a missile into the smokestack of the Curacao-flagged oil tanker Belma after it ignored warnings while sailing toward Kharg Island, Iran's main oil export terminal, disabling the vessel.
Iran claims attacks on US military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain
06:30 , Stuti Mishra
Iran's army claimed attacks on US radar and defence systems at military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain on Wednesday as part of what it called the tenth phase of its retaliatory operation, dubbed Operation Lightning, Iranian state media reported.
In Kuwait, themy said it targeted radar systems, the Patriot defence system and fuel tanks belonging to US forces at the Ali Al Salem base. Iran's Revolutionary Guards separately claimed they struck a C-RAM early-warning radar and a gathering point for US soldiers at the same base. In Bahrain, drones targeted communication and radar systems, including Super Hawk radars and Patriot installations, at the Sheikh Isa base, which hosts US forces.
WATCH: US launches airstrikes on Iran
06:00 , Rachel Dobkin
Trump tells Iran to 'better behave'
05:30 , Stuti Mishra
Donald Trump told reporters he doesn't want to set a deadline for Iran but warned that Tehran "better behave" amid a renewed exchange of attacks between the two sides.
“I don't like giving deadlines, but they pretty much know, they know the story... they better behave," he said.
Eight missiles targeted Jordan
05:15 , Stuti Mishra
Jordan's military says it shot down 8 missiles launched by Iran targeting the kingdom.
CENTCOM shares photos of nighttime flight operations above Arabian Sea
05:00 , Rachel Dobkin
U.S. sailors conduct nighttime flight operations aboard USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) while transiting the Arabian Sea. pic.twitter.com/uzJcrfGFXO
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 15, 2026
US airstrikes hit northern Iran as it disables ship trying to run the blockade
04:35 , Stuti Mishra
The United States intensified its strikes targeting Iran today, hitting targets further north as American forces also fired into a ship it accused of trying to break its naval blockade on the Islamic Republic. Iran retaliated with missile and drone fire targeting Bahrain and Kuwait before dawn.
Days of back-and-forth strikes by the US and Iran across the Middle East, and renewed threats to the Strait of Hormuz, have shredded the interim deal to end the Iran war and could tip the region back into all-out war. Already, Iranian officials say US strikes have killed more than 35 people and wounded more than 300 others. Strikes also reached into areas around Iran's capital, Tehran, for the first time of this latest round of violence.
Lebanon and Israel move towards implementing withdrawal deal, US says
04:04 , Jane Dalton
Lebanon and Israel took steps toward implementing "pilot zones" in southern Lebanon where Israeli forces would withdraw and turn over control to the Lebanese army, the US State Department has said after two days of US-mediated talks in Rome.
The State Department said the talks were "productive" and the parties "agreed on the structure and guidelines for the pilot zone process, to be finalised and implemented in the coming days.
"There was no immediate statement from Lebanon or Israel on the outcome of the negotiations.
Lebanon and Israel announced a "framework agreement" on June 26, laying out a plan for Israeli forces to withdraw from the large swathes of southern Lebanon they are occupying, in exchange for the disarmament of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
The deal was supposed to begin with two "pilot zones" where the Israeli military is to turn over control to the Lebanese army, which would clear the areas of any Hezbollah presence.
However, implementation on the ground had stalled.
Read on...
Lebanon and Israel move toward implementing withdrawal agreement, US officials say
WATCH: US forces strike oil tanker 'violating' blockade
03:31 , Rachel Dobkin
Latest round of US strikes against Iran ends
03:14 , Rachel Dobkin
US Central Command has announced that its latest round of airstrikes against Iran is completed.
“US forces struck Iranian command centers, air defense sites, missile and drone capabilities, and coastal surveillance facilities to further degrade Iran's ability to threaten innocent mariners crewing commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz”, CENTCOM wrote on X Wednesday night, Washington time.
JD Vance tries to clear up the 'bulls***' about Iran negotiations
03:04 , Rachel Dobkin
US Vice President JD Vance has tried to clear up what he calls the “bulls***” that has been circulating about the country’s peace negotiations with Iran.
"There's just so much bulls*** out there when what I'm actually trying to do is accomplish what the president of the United States told me to accomplish — which is a settlement of this that accomplishes our objectives. Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapon; we have the free flow of oil and gas”, Vance told podcaster Joe Rogan in an episode released Wednesday.
Strait of Hormuz traffic remains diminished
02:41 , Rachel Dobkin
Maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has remained diminished as the US continues to attack Iran.
About 41 ships transited the vital oil waterway in the past 24 hours, according to the Hormuz Strait Monitor.
Iran retaliates over US strikes by attacking Bahrain and Kuwait: report
02:23 , Rachel Dobkin
Iran has retaliated over US airstrikes on Wednesday by attacking Bahrain and Kuwait, the Associated Press reported.
Watch: Trump says 111 missiles shot by Iran were 'knocked into the sea'
02:20 , Rachel Dobkin
.@POTUS "111 missiles shot a few weeks ago were launched by our lovely friends from Iran — they were aimed at the Abraham Lincoln, which is a beautiful aircraft, by the way...
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) July 15, 2026
Out of the 111 missiles shot, 111 were knocked into the sea." pic.twitter.com/ANuJtmwO9w
Vance says some Israeli officials want to keep Iran war going 'indefinitely'
01:49 , Rachel Dobkin
US Vice President JD Vance has said that some Israeli officials want to keep the Iran war going “indefinitely.”
“I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there have been people within the Israeli government who are trying to actually shift us away from [negotiations] because they want to continue the military campaign”, Vance told podcaster Joe Rogan in an episode released Wednesday.
“There are some people within their system, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt, who are manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going on indefinitely”, Vance said. “Again, not towards any objective, but just indefinitely”.
Some ships refusing US-military guided Hormuz transits
01:28 , Jane Dalton
Shipping companies are avoiding using a US military-guided transit scheme through the Strait of Hormuz after a wave of Iranian attacks on vessels sparked safety concerns, seven maritime security and shipping industry sources said.
For decades, ships sailed into and out of the Gulf using a safe set of lanes down the middle of the strait established by the UN’s shipping agency in 1968, dubbed the Traffic Separation Scheme.
Since the Iran war began on February 28, Iranian forces have mined this area, forcing vessels to use one of two makeshift routes close to either the Iranian or Omani coast.
WATCH: JD Vance says US will strategically 'use out military force'
01:02 , Rachel Dobkin
.@VP on Iran: "What the President has done very, very capably is said we're going to use military force in this situation when it's connected to something we're trying to achieve... But we're not just going to do something open-ended, indefinitely... We're going to try to use our… pic.twitter.com/Sr1O0uQBGK
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 15, 2026
Trump says 'wrongfully detained' US citizen freed by Iran
Thursday 16 July 2026 00:21 , Rachel Dobkin
Donald Trump has said a “wrongfully detained” US citizen has been freed by Iran in a “gesture of Goodwill”.
“Iran has allowed an American Citizen, who was wrongfully detained in December of 2024 under the ‘presidency’ of Sleepy Joe Biden, to leave the Country.
“She is now safely outside of Iran, and in good condition. The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran!” Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday evening, Washington time.
