U.S. forces are pressing ahead Tuesday with an effort to guide commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, but so far only two vessels, both of them American-flagged merchant ships, are known to have passed through. Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine said the safety corridor in the key waterway for oil and gas transport involves guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft and 15,000 service members.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the forces prefer a peaceful effort to “guide” the more than 22,500 mariners stuck on more than 1,550 vessels out of the Persian Gulf, but are ready if needs change. “This is a temporary mission for us,” Hegseth said. “We expect the world to step up.”
It is unclear what will follow. The U.S. Central Command said Iran earlier launched multiple cruise missiles, drones and small boats at civilian ships under the U.S. military’s protection, and that U.S. helicopters sank six small boats involved in the attacks. It denied Iranian reports that American vessels had been struck. Caine and Hegseth said the ceasefire is not over. Shortly thereafter, the United Arab Emirates said it was defending against more Iranian strikes.
Trump Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Rome and Vatican City this week in a bid to ease rising tensions between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV, Trump has lashed out at the pope again, misrepresenting the pontiff’s laments about the Iran war and accusing him of “endangering a lot of Catholics.”
Here is the latest:
Rubio says war with Iran is over, but also says peace is still elusive
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the major U.S. military operation against Iran is over but is stopping short of saying the conflict is over or cannot be restarted.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Rubio said that “Operation Epic Fury” — the attack the U.S. and Israel mounted on Iran on Feb. 28 — “is concluded” because the objectives of the mission were all successfully concluded.
“We’re not cheering for an additional situation to occur,” he said. “We would prefer the path of peace.”
In order for that to happen, Rubio said Iran must agree to Trump’s demands on its nuclear program and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Rubio says he hopes Chinese officials talk to Iran about the strait during foreign minister’s visit
As Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi prepares to visit China on Wednesday, Rubio says that he hopes Tehran’s allies in Beijing reiterate the need for Iran to release its chokehold on the critical waterway as the fragile ceasefire continues.
“I hope the Chinese tell him what he needs to be told,” Rubio said in response to a reporter’s question about the upcoming visit. “And that is that what you are doing in the strait is causing you to be globally isolated. You’re the bad guy in this.”
The secretary went on to argue that China, more than the U.S., is suffering for Iran’s actions in the strait, saying that the world power is an export-driven economy that depends on shipments going through Hormuz.
“It is in China’s interest that Iran stop closing the strait,” he added.
Rubio opens briefing with statement on Iran, then mixes it up
Not being as familiar with who is in the White House press corps, Rubio said to one reporter, “I wish I knew your name” and asked if they could put on name tags to help him out. He pointed at reporters instead of calling on them by name.
Rubio at another point said the White House press office had given him a seating chart to help him but joked that some outlets has been marked with a red X. The comment prompted laughter from the packed room of journalists.
He answered questions with his typical rapid-fire delivery and alternated between laughter and more sober comments.
As he answered a question about Iran, Rubio prefaced his response with, “I can’t tell you what to write.” That amounted to a change from Trump and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who regularly tell the press corps what they should write about.
Rubio says many countries want to help open US open Hormuz but some lack the capabilities to do so
Asked what the global appetite is for the U.S. effort to reopen the strait, Rubio says the issue has not been a lack of interest but that not many are able to provide the assets and resources needed.
“The capabilities is the issue. A lot of countries would love to do something about it. But they don’t have a navy, right? Or they can’t get there in time ...” he said.
He said the onus is on the U.S.
“The primary responsibility for this Project Freedom is on the United States, because we’re the only country that can project power in that part of the world,” he said. “This is a favor to the world because it’s their ships that are stranded.”
Rubio downplays rift between Trump and Pope Leo ahead of visit to Vatican
Rubo is downplaying the rift between President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV over Iran ahead of a key visit the top U.S. diplomat will make to Vatican City this week.
Rubio told reporters at the White House on Tuesday that Trump’s recent criticism of the first American pontiff was rooted in his opposition to Iran potentially obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could be used against millions of Catholics and other Christians around the world.
Trump “doesn’t understand why anybody leave aside the Pope, the president and I, for that matter, think most people cannot understand why anyone would think that it’s a good idea for Iran to ever have a nuclear weapon,” Rubio said.
Rubio says Iran claims of not wanting a nuke are not backed up by actions
Rubio says Iranian claims of not wanting to develop nuclear weapons are belied by their actions.
Rubio said Tuesday that Iran must make a choice between war and peace but that peace will require a convincing demonstration that the Iranian government won’t attempt to pursue atomic arms.
Rubio told reporters at the White House that Iran’s development of advanced centrifuge technology, its enrichment of uranium and construction of underground bunkers made clear the government was not serious about its no-nukes pledge.
‘We’re not attacking them’: Rubio echoes US message that Strait of Hormuz operation is defensive only
Rubio on Tuesday reiterated that U.S. efforts to reopen the strait is not an offensive operation despite clashes with Iran in the last several days.
“There’s no shooting unless we’re shot at first, OK? We’re not attacking them. We’re not,” Rubio told reporters. “If they pose a threat to our forces, we’ll shoot down drones, we’ll shoot down missiles. But it’s defensive in nature.”
So far, only two merchant ships are known to have passed through the new U.S.-guarded route, with hundreds more bottled up in the Persian Gulf. Shippers are still wary, and it’s unclear whether U.S. military action can reassure them without reigniting the conflict that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.
US coming to aid of civilian sailors ‘left for dead,’ Rubio says
Rubio said about 23,000 civilian sailors are stranded in the Persian Gulf and “left for dead” as Iran chokes the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking at a White House press briefing on Tuesday, he said the U.S. military effort to guide ships through the strait aims to help those sailors.
“They’re sitting ducks, they’re isolated, they’re starving, they’re vulnerable,” Rubio said. “At least 10 sailors have already died as a result.”
He the sailors come from 87 countries and are innocent bystanders.
“It’s criminal for sure, but it’s desperate and destructive to block the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
Pope Leo calls out Trump’s misrepresentation of his views on Iran and nuclear weapons
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Leo said the Catholic Church “for years has spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt there.”
Trump again accused Leo in an interview Tuesday of being “OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.” Leo has said no such thing and Catholic Church teaching says the mere possession of nuclear weapons is “immoral.”
Leo doubled down on his insistence that his call for peace and dialogue in the U.S-Israeli war in Iran is Biblically inspired.
“I’ve spoken from the first moment of being elected, and we’re near the anniversary: I said ‘Peace be with you,’” Leo said as he left his country house in Castel Gandolfo.
“The mission of the church is to preach the Gospel, to preach peace. If someone wants to criticize me for announcing the Gospel, let him do it with the truth,” Leo said. “And so I hope simply to be listened to about the value of the Word of God.”
Italy defends Pope Leo XIV against Trump criticism
Italy is again defending Pope Leo XIV and his call for peace and dialogue in the Iran war against President Donald Trump’s latest criticism.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in a social media post Thursday that
President Donald Trump’s attacks “are neither acceptable nor helpful to the cause of peace.”
“I reaffirm my support for every action and word of Pope Leo; his words are a testament to dialogue, the value of human life, and freedom. This is a vision shared by our government, which is committed through diplomacy to ensuring stability and peace in all areas where conflicts exist,” Tajani wrote.
Trump on Tuesday renewed his criticism of Leo’s peace message over the Iran war and warned Leo was “endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people.”
Trump’s criticism, in an interview with conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt, came even as his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, prepares to visit Italy and the Vatican ostensibly to ease tensions with Washington.
Rubio is due to meet with Leo on Thursday and is due to see Tajani and Premier Giorgia Meloni on Friday.
Trump offers an optimistic take on China’s position on Iran
The president in an exchange with reporters said that China hasn’t “challenged” him as he continues to press Iran even as Beijing has repeatedly criticized the U.S. and Israel military action against Iran.
“You know, in all fairness, he gets, like, 60% of his oil from (the Strait of) Hormuz,” Trump said of President Xi Jinping.
China, in fact, imported about half of its crude oil and almost one-third of its liquefied natural gas from the Middle East, according to China’s General Administration of Customs.
Trump offered a more measured take than Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who a day earlier said the administration wants to see Beijing “step up” and pressure Iran to open the strait. Bessent in an interview with Fox News said Iran would be high on Trump’s agenda when he travels to Beijing next week for a summit with Xi.
Pakistan military urges restraint as US-Iran tensions rise
Pakistan’s top military leadership on Tuesday urged restraint to help ease rising tensions between the United States and Iran.
The call came during a Corps Commanders Conference chaired by army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Munir since last month has been in contact between the U.S. and Iranian officials as part of Pakistan’s efforts to end the conflict.
In a statement, the military said participants reviewed the evolving security environment amid Pakistan’s outreach to Washington and Tehran, adding that lasting peace depends on collective restraint, responsibility and respect for sovereignty.
French president says Trump’s tariff threats are wasting time
Europe and the United States have more important things to do, Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday, after Trump announced higher duties on European vehicles.
Trump said on Friday that he would increase the tariffs charged on cars and trucks from the European Union this week to 25%, a move that could further harm the global economy as it reels from war in the Middle East. EU and U.S. trade officials were due to meet in Paris on Tuesday to discuss the issue.
“Especially in the geopolitical period we are experiencing, allies like the United States of America and the European Union have much better things to do than to stir up threats of destabilization,” Macron told reporters in Armenia, adding that he hopes “reason will prevail soon.”
JD Vance woos Republican voters, including farmers who want the war to end
Vice President JD Vance heads to Iowa on Tuesday, his first visit since taking office to the state where Republicans in less than two years will cast the initial votes to pick their party’s next presidential nominee.
Seen as one of the GOP’s strongest potential candidates for president in 2028, Vance stopped first in Cincinnati to vote in the primary, saying he picked Vivek Ramaswamy for governor. He’s also holding a fundraiser in Oklahoma City as finance chair of the Republican National Committee.
Higher prices for gas and fertilizer and Trump’s tariffs have been hitting voters hard, and Vance’s political prospects are complicated by the war in Iran. Vance has seemed a reluctant defender of the 9-week-old war, for which Trump has struggled to find an off-ramp.
Iowa’s farmers have steadfastly supported the president, but they’ve been looking for assurances that the troubles won’t last.
Rubio to brief at White House with press secretary on maternity leave
The secretary of state is putting on yet another Trump administration hat — White House spokesperson.
Rubio is scheduled to fill in Tuesday for White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who is on leave awaiting the birth of her second child. His briefing is scheduled for 3 p.m. EDT.
The nation’s top diplomat already doubles as Trump’s national security adviser and for a while was the acting archivist of the United States and the acting administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
His last formal briefing for reporters was at the State Department briefing room in December.
Scuttlebutt around the White House has been that Rubio will be among a handful of high-level administration officials leading the press briefings while Leavitt is away.
Proposed UN resolution demands Iran halt attacks on ships in Strait of Hormuz and stop `illegal tolls’
The proposed Security Council resolution, co-sponsored by the United States and Gulf nations, threatens Iran with sanctions or other measures if it doesn’t restore freedom of navigation and immediately disclose where sea mines have been placed in and around the vital waterway.
The draft, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, also demands that Iran “immediately participate in and enable the United Nations efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor in the strait” to enable vital aid, fertilizer and other goods to transit.
The proposed resolution was drafted under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which can be enforced militarily. It threatens “effective measures that are commensurate with the gravity of the situation, including sanctions” if Iran doesn’t comply.
A previous resolution aimed at opening the Strait of Hormuz, where about 20% of the world’s crude oil had transited, was vetoed by Russia and China.
Oracle is one of 8 firms providing AI capabilities to the US military
Software behemoth Oracle really is among the tech firms providing artificial intelligence capabilities to the U.S. military over classified computer networks.
The Defense Department has been ramping up its use of AI to fight wars and to more efficiently perform other operations. The Pentagon announced Friday that it’s contracting with seven companies to use their infrastructure. Oracle was not initially on the list. The others are Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Nvidia, OpenAI, Reflection and SpaceX.
Oracle, now based in Texas, said the military’s use of its AI over classified systems will “enhance situational awareness and strengthen warfighter decision-making in complex operations.”
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to an email seeking clarity on why Oracle was left off Friday’s news release announcing the contracts. The news release was later updated to include Oracle.
Former military officers say reopening the strait remains a daunting task
Former military officers who have served on the Strait of Hormuz have said opening it would be dangerous and highly challenging, even with military escorts, which the U.S. isn’t providing now.
There’s little room to maneuver in the narrow waterway, and Iran can reach all of the strait and its approaches with anti-ship cruise missiles. It also can target vessels with longer-range missiles, drones, fast attack craft and naval mines.
Experts say reducing the threat would involve targeting offensive installations on the ground inside Iran and having constant surveillance and patrols.
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Insurance broker says it’s too early to know how US military effort will affect shipping through the strait
Marcus Baker, global head of marine, cargo and logistics for insurance broker and risk adviser Marsh Risk, said it would take a few days to see how the insurance market reacts.
“We just have to see what happens, whether the Iranians keep the peace, whether the Americans keep the peace, and exactly what that’s going mean for shipping,” he said.
“There’s rhetoric from both sides on this, and we’ve just got to be mindful of that,” he added. But he said “anything that starts to increase certainty around safety has got to be a good thing.”
One of the world’s largest container shipping companies says Hormuz transits not yet possible
“At this point in time our risk assessment remains unchanged,” the Hamburg, Germany-based shipping company Hapag-Lloyd AG said in a statement. “Transits through the Strait of Hormuz are for the moment not possible for our ships.”
With another boat strike, death toll in Latin American waters reaches 188
The Trump administration’s campaign of blowing up alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters has persisted since early September.
Despite the Iran war, the strikes have ramped up again in recent weeks to stop what the administration calls “narcoterrorism” in the Western Hemisphere. The U.S. military has not provided evidence that any of the vessels were carrying drugs.
In the latest attack Monday, U.S. Southern Command repeated previous statements by saying it had targeted the alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. It posted a video on X showing a boat moving along the water before a massive explosion engulfs the vessel in flames.
UAE is under Iranian attack again, defense ministry says
The United Arab Emirates is “actively engaging” with missile and drone attack from Iran, the country’s defense ministry said on X Tuesday evening.
It said sounds heard in parts of the Gulf federation are related to the interception of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones.
US job openings were unchanged at 6.9 million in March but hiring improved
U.S. job openings were essentially unchanged at 6.9 million, another sign the American labor remained sluggish even before the full impact of the Iran war hit the economy.
The job market has been up and down so far this year after a dismal 2025. And the Iran war has clouded the outlook for the economy and hiring.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed that layoffs rose in March. But hiring improved, and more people quit their jobs — a sign of confidence in the economy.
Trump’s drugmaker deals may save economy $529B over 10 years, White House says
White House economists estimate the deals with pharmaceutical companies to drop some U.S. prescription drug prices to what they charge in other countries could save $529 billion over the next 10 years.
The analysis obtained by The Associated Press includes the first economy-wide projections behind a policy at the core of Trump’s pitch to voters going into November’s elections for control of the House and Senate. Democratic lawmakers have doubted Trump’s claims, and these new numbers are likely to trigger additional questions about the data.
Cost-of-living issues are at the forefront of voters’ concerns and higher energy prices tied to the Iran war have deepened the public’s anxiety. Few of the details of the deals struck by the Trump administration and 17 leading pharmaceutical companies have been made public, making it hard to independently verify the projected savings.
Death toll in Lebanon reaches 2,702 since Israel-Hezbollah war began
The Health Ministry in Beirut said Tuesday that 8,311 people were wounded during the same period.
The latest Israel-Hezbollah war started on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel following the U.S. and Israel’s attacks on Iran.
A ceasefire has been in place since April 17 but both Israel and Hezbollah have been carrying out daily attacks since then.
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