Trump confronted Hegseth over US munitions shortages amid Iran war: Washington Post

US President Donald Trump confronted Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth during a Cabinet meeting last week at Camp David in Maryland over severe munitions shortages that have constrained military options against Iran, US media reported Wednesday.

The Washington Post, citing two people familiar with the exchange, reported that Trump demanded answers after learning that shortages of key weapons including long-range guided missiles and air-defence interceptors had not been resolved, despite his understanding that the issue "had been fixed."

The report said the shortages have been a factor in Trump's decision to hold back from launching additional large-scale strikes against Iran in recent days.

It added that Patriot missiles can take up to two years to produce despite new production agreements.

According to the report, Hegseth defended himself during the exchange and blamed Deputy Defence Secretary Stephen Feinberg for the shortages and “for not ensuring Trump was fully apprised” about the state of US stockpiles.

The White House denied the report, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt calling it "100% fake news" and saying "President Trump has the utmost confidence in Secretary Hegseth."

The Pentagon also rejected the claims, with chief spokesman Sean Parnell saying Hegseth "did not mislead anyone about our munitions posture" and describing the allegations as "fictional."

Tanker reports hearing 2 explosions off Oman’s coast while transiting Strait of Hormuz: UKMTO

A tanker reported hearing two explosions off the coast of Oman while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center said early Thursday.

UKMTO said it had received a delayed report of an incident that occurred about 9 nautical miles (16.7 kilometers) southeast of Kumzar, Oman.

According to the report, the master of the tanker heard the blasts.

UKMTO said the crew and vessel were safe and that no environmental damage had been reported.

It advised vessels transiting the area to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity.

The incident comes amid heightened tensions around the Strait of Hormuz following recent military confrontations between the United States and Iran.

Israel weighs further strikes in Lebanon amid Rome talks: reports

Israel is considering additional military strikes in Lebanon as its army prepares for further escalation, Israeli media reported on Wednesday, despite ongoing indirect negotiations between the two sides in Rome.

Israel's public broadcaster, citing unnamed Israeli sources, reported that the Israeli army's response to what it claimed were Hezbollah violations "has not ended," adding that additional options, including what it described as "sensitive operations," are under consideration.

The report said Lebanese officials were seeking to limit the scale of any Israeli response during the current round of US-mediated talks in the Italian capital, while hoping Washington would press Israel to avoid further escalation.

Channel 13 reported that the Israeli army is continuing preparations for a possible escalation and drawing up options for additional strikes in the coming hours following the first wave of attacks on southern Lebanon.

Separately, Channel 12 reported that the military had urged the political leadership to approve what it described as a "stronger and more decisive" response in Lebanon.

The reports followed an explosion targeting an Israeli force in the Majdal Zoun area of southern Lebanon earlier on Wednesday.

Israeli media said the blast caused casualties among the force, with four seriously wounded soldiers evacuated by military helicopters to Rambam Medical Centre. The Israeli army has not issued an official casualty toll.

Iran’s president says communication with supreme leader ‘very difficult’

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Wednesday that communication with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is currently “very difficult” while describing his presence as “a major source of strength” for the country.

Speaking in an interview broadcast by Iranian state television to mark the second anniversary of his inauguration, Pezeshkian said the more openly officials present issues to the supreme leader, the easier it becomes to reach mutual understandings.

He described Khamenei as an “exceptional” figure, saying he had been impressed by his ethics, humility and reasoning.

Pezeshkian also accused some people of trying to “create divisions” inside the country under the pretext of the supreme leader’s message on the US-Iran memorandum of understanding, a 14-point framework signed on June 17, 2026 by US President Donald Trump and Pezeshkian to formalize a ceasefire, lift naval blockades and end active military operations. Khamenei publicly endorsed the memorandum despite initial reservations.

The Iranian president said Iran’s adversaries were intensifying pressure through sanctions and military confrontation in an effort to fuel public dissatisfaction and encourage protests, describing the current period as the most difficult since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Trump says he prefers deal with Iran but warns military action remains an option

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he would rather reach a deal with Iran than resort to military action while warning that the use of force remains an option if diplomacy fails.

"I'd rather make a deal because I don't want to kill people," Trump said at an event in Las Vegas.

Trump said his administration had been prepared to launch the “biggest attack since World War II," but paused those plans after Iranian officials requested talks.

"They called me and they said, 'Please don't do it. Let's talk,'" he said. “They say, 'We never said that.' You know what? The fake news knows they did say that, but we are talking. Let's see what happens, but they respect us.”

He maintained that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.

Turning to oil and gasoline prices, Trump said the prices would drop sharply once the current standoff with Iran is resolved.

"We've been bringing down prices, and as soon as this situation ends with Iran, oil is going to go down to the floor, gasoline is going to go down," he added.

Houthis claim they hit 2nd Saudi oil tanker in a day

Yemen's Houthi group claimed on Wednesday that it struck the Saudi oil tanker Daisy with a ballistic missile in the Gulf of Aden, marking its second claimed attack on a Saudi tanker in a single day.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on the US social media platform X that the attack "achieved its objective" and forced the vessel to turn back.

He said the strike was part of what the group describes as its maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and its "blockade for blockade" strategy.

Israel's Netanyahu hints at unilateral military action against Iran amid regional de-escalation efforts

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday hinted that Israel could take unilateral military action against Iran as diplomatic efforts continued to secure an agreement aimed at ending the conflict between Tehran and Washington.

“We heard today the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Ahmad Vahidi, declare that Iran intends to continue developing a nuclear weapon,” Netanyahu said.

“As Israel’s prime minister, I am determined to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” he added.

Describing the US as “Israel’s greatest ally,” the Israeli premier said, however, that he was “determined to do whatever is necessary to ensure” Israel’s security.

On Tuesday, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said mediation efforts between the US and Iran had reached “advanced stages,” with the two sides exchanging draft proposals.

Speaking at the ministry’s weekly press briefing, Al-Ansari said efforts remained underway with all parties to reach a diplomatic solution.

US military says it redirected 48 vessels while enforcing Iran blockade

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Wednesday that American forces continued to enforce a US blockade against Iran, reporting that dozens of commercial vessels had been redirected as part of ongoing maritime operations.

“A US Air Force F-16 fighter jet is refuelled during a patrol over regional waters in the Middle East while the US continues enforcement of the blockade against Iran,” CENTCOM said on the US social media company X.

“As of August 5, CENTCOM forces have redirected 48 commercial vessels, disabled 2, and boarded 2,” it added.

Iran said Wednesday that a joint statement with Oman on a proposed navigation corridor through the Strait of Hormuz was in the final stages of drafting, provided no external party interfered with the process.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei claimed that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz resulted from US and Israeli “military aggression” against Iran.

He said the factors making the waterway unsafe, including the US naval blockade and other hostile actions against Iran and its interests, remained in place.

Proposed Hormuz deal would give Iran control of inbound traffic, sources say

A proposed deal between Iran and Oman to help end five months of ​war between Iran and the United States would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian source and two regional officials told ‌Reuters on Wednesday, one of the biggest concessions yet to Iran.

There was no immediate US comment on the proposal. While President Donald Trump has said a deal reopening the strait is imminent, US officials have repeatedly insisted they would never agree to Iran controlling access to the world's most important trade route for energy supplies.

An agreement that gives Iran authority over traffic through the strait would mean the war launched by the United States and Israel in February had resulted in a major shift in ​the balance of regional power in Tehran's favour. Before the war, the strait was freely open to all ships with no fees.

Amid a wider diplomatic effort in the region, Iran and Oman ​have been engaged in bilateral talks regarding the strait that they each control through northern and southern channels. Iran reported "significant progress" in the talks and said both ⁠inward and outward journeys would pass through Iranian waters.

Meanwhile, Iran has warned Gulf states that any new US attack on its territory would trigger retaliation against critical energy infrastructure across the region, according to five sources, ​as Tehran seeks to raise the cost of military action by threatening Washington's closest regional allies.

"The Iranian warning was unequivocal: if America targeted Iran's infrastructure, they would retaliate by striking Gulf energy facilities and other regional targets," ​one Gulf source said.

Iran has been striking back with missiles and drones against Washington's allies in the region, while also targeting commercial ships transiting the strait without its permission.

While addressing supporters at a rally in Las Vegas, Trump expressed a preference for diplomacy.

"I'd rather make a deal because I don't want to kill people. I do not want to kill people, but at some point we're gonna," Trump said.

Iran has reported more than 3,400 deaths since the US and Israel launched the war ​on February 28, while the US has reported 18 military personnel dead.

Unresolved issues

Regarding any deal between Iran and Oman, the regional and Iranian sources who spoke to Reuters cautioned that significant issues remained unresolved and ​also pushed back against suggestions from Trump that a deal reopening the strait was imminent.

"The concession has already been made regarding some form of control over Hormuz," one of the regional sources told Reuters.

The other regional source said there were ‌still details ⁠to be determined about how "control" would be defined, with Gulf negotiators insisting regional countries supervise inspections of ships, and that any payment of fees be voluntary.

According to the senior Iranian official, Iran is seeking fees of between 5% and 7% of the price of cargoes from ships using the strait. Oman is discussing fees of around 3%, while Washington wants no fees at all.

The senior Iranian source said the text of an agreement already on the table envisioned Iran having control of ships heading into the Gulf through the strait, and one of the main sticking points was what role Iran would also have over ships heading in the opposite direction.

In ​comments to Iran's official IRNA news agency, Iranian Deputy ​Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the arrangement ⁠was "designed in such a way that commercial ships will pass through Iranian territorial waters, both on the inbound and outbound legs."

He said talks with Oman had "reached fundamental understandings" and added: "This progress is on the verge of being finalised."

Gharibabadi also said Iran had received messages from the United States indicating that it was "fully prepared to return ​to its commitments" under a mid-June memorandum of understanding with Iran that provided for immediate cessation of military operations.

He said this was a condition for ​reopening the strait, while adding ⁠that no talks with the United States had been held in recent days.

Trump faces voter pressure

Trump, who at the start of the war said it would end in Iran's "unconditional surrender" and with him approving the choice of its leader, has been under pressure to find a way out of a conflict US voters oppose by two-to-one ahead of crucial midterm elections in November.

Months of US military efforts, including a two-week campaign of strikes in July, have not ⁠broken Iran's ​grip on the strait. US commanders advised Trump in July that they were running low on some munitions. Reuters reported on Tuesday ​that the US Army had used up nearly all of its long-range precision missiles.

Crude prices have plunged over the past two days after Trump called off renewed attacks on Iran, citing talks he said could end the conflict.