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Iranian state media airs video purportedly showing soldiers seizing container ships in Strait of Hormuz
0:56 • Source: CNN
Iranian state media airs video purportedly showing soldiers seizing container ships in Strait of Hormuz
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• Timeline uncertain: US President Donald Trump said there is no deadline for ending the war with Iran, the ceasefire, or Tehran’s response to his request for a peace proposal.
• Maritime standoff: Iran’s president said the US blockade on Iranian ports is a major obstacle to talks. The blockade is also what is preventing the Strait of Hormuz from reopening, Iran’s top negotiator said.
• Israel-Lebanon talks: The US will host a second round of talks between the Middle Eastern neighbors today amid a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon that has seen strikes by Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Secretary of the Navy John Phelan was ousted from his position Wednesday, six sources told CNN. The shakeup comes as the US Navy continues its blockade of Iranian ports during the ceasefire.
CNN’s Zachary Cohen reports:
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Navy secretary ousted as US naval blockade of Iran continues
Secretary of the Navy John Phelan is leaving his position “effective immediately,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced. CNN’s Zachary Cohen reports.
0:43 • Source: CNN
Navy secretary ousted as US naval blockade of Iran continues
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As the US military intercepts and redirects vessels in its ongoing naval blockade of Iranian ports, the war’s timeline remains uncertain as diplomacy stalls.
While peace talks between the US and Iran were canceled in Pakistan this week, eyes are now on Israel and Lebanon as they prepare to meet for a second round of negotiations in Washington later today.
Here’s what else to know on Thursday:
- Diplomacy in limbo: A deadline for Iran to send a peace proposal to the US remains unsettled, with US President Donald Trump asserting Wednesday that there is “no time frame” for the conflict. Trump extended the ceasefire, after diplomatic efforts with Tehran stalled, and has pushed back on assumptions that political considerations are influencing his approach. A spokesperson for Trump said he doesn’t view Iran’s assertion that it seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz as a ceasefire violation.
- US blockade holds: Late Wednesday night, US Central Command said that it redirected 31 vessels to return to port, or turn around, as part of the ongoing US Navy blockade against Iran. Most vessels have been oil tankers.
- Navy shakeup: And as the maritime standoff continues, US Navy Secretary John Phelan was ousted from his position, six sources told CNN. It was “effective immediately,” per a Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell.
- Strait of Hormuz timeline: A source said Pentagon officials briefed lawmakers on an intelligence assessment that found it could take up to six months to fully clear the Strait of Hormuz of mines after the war with Iran ends. A Pentagon spokesman said a six-month closure would be “unacceptable.”
- Israel and Lebanon: Later today, Washington will host a second round of talks between Israel and Lebanon in hopes of extending a fragile truce. The talks come a day after Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities.
- Rejected again: For the fifth time this year, the Senate rejected a measure aimed at restricting Trump’s war powers by requiring congressional approval for any future military action in Iran. The measure failed to advance, 46 to 51.
CNN’s Tori B. Powell, Charbel Mallo, Clay Voytek, Elise Hammond and Morgan Rimmer contributed reporting.
Since peace talks between the United States and Iran were canceled, US President Donald Trump has offered little clarity on negotiations. On Wednesday, he said there is “no time frame” for the conflict and “no time pressure” for the ceasefire extension.
“It’s really hard to take the president at his word on anything these days because he is shifting his position every day on the hour it feels like, so it’s very hard to take what he’s saying seriously,” former Naval intelligence officer Rep. Maggie Goodlander told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
Watch the conversation below:
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Rep. Goodlander on Trump’s shifting timeline for the Iran war: ‘It’s very hard to take what he’s saying seriously’
4:19 • Source: CNN
Rep. Goodlander on Trump’s shifting timeline for the Iran war: ‘It’s very hard to take what he’s saying seriously’
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