US says Strait of Hormuz open to all vessels and American military ready to ensure freedom of navigation

WASHINGTON, July 12: The US Central Command (CENTCOM) has said that the Strait of Hormuz remains open to all vessels seeking lawful passage hours after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the closure of the strategic waterway until further notice.

The statement came after US President Donald Trump said in a press meeting that the Strait of Hormuz remains open to commercial shipping.

In a social media post, CENTCOM said maritime traffic continues to flow through the strait and that US forces are positioned to ensure freedom of navigation despite what it described as Iranian aggression, harassment, threats and arbitrary declarations. It asserted that Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz and that safe transit routes remain open. CENTCOM added that US forces have facilitated the passage of more than 800 ships and over 400 million barrels of crude oil through the waterway over the past two months.

‘1,000 Missiles Locked and Loaded’: Trump's new ‘decimate and destroy’ warning to Iran

WASHINGTON, July 11: President Donald Trump on Friday reiterated his warning to "decimate and destroy" Iran if the regime were to succeed in an assassination attempt against him.

“1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!” Trump stated on Truth Social.

“Orders have already been given, and the U.S. Military is ready, willing, and able, for a one year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran – PRAISE BE TO ALLAH! ” he added.

Since 2020, Iran has openly sought the assassination of the president in response to Trump's directive for the strike that led to the death of General Qasem Soleimani of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

On Saturday, Mojtaba Khamenei, the son and designated successor of the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a written threat directed at Trump and the United States.

“We pledge to avenge the blood of the martyred leader and all the martyrs of these two wars from the criminal and disgraced killers,” Khamenei stated in a message.

The isolated younger Khamenei, who was allegedly gravely injured in the airstrike that took his father's life on the war's inaugural day, expressed that it was the nation's demand to seek retribution for his father's demise.

This week in Tehran, banners proclaiming vengeance against Trump were prominently exhibited as Iranians made preparations for the burial of Ali Khamenei.

One sign, carried by numerous supporters of Khamenei during the burial ceremony on Thursday, stated, "WE WILL KILL TRUMP."

Trump issued a warning to Iran following the funeral of Ali Khamenei, during which there were explicit calls for his assassination. This incident further emphasizes the escalating tensions in the Middle East, particularly as a temporary agreement aimed at resolving the conflict falters amidst ongoing hostilities in the region.

Trump expressed his views on his Truth Social platform after high-ranking US officials urged Iran to publicly declare that the Strait of Hormuz is open and that vessels traversing this crucial passage will no longer face attacks.

To date, Tehran has refrained from making such a statement, maintaining instead that the strait remains under its jurisdiction and that it should be permitted to impose fees on ships passing through, thereby challenging long-standing norms that regard the strait as an international waterway.

In recent days, there have been numerous US airstrikes directed at Iran, accompanied by Iranian counterattacks against various nations throughout the Middle East. These military actions were provoked by Iran's assault on three vessels in the strait earlier this week.

Trump says US agrees to new Iran talks but ceasefire ‘over’

NEW YORK, July 10: President Donald Trump said Friday the United States has agreed to continue negotiations with Iran but reiterated that the ceasefire between the two countries is finished. "Iran has asked us to continue 'talks.' We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!" Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

Israel is willing to participate in future US military strikes on Iran if Washington seeks its support, the New York Post reported earlier in the day.

Israel had demonstrated its commitment to supporting the United States during the recent conflict.

"We've proved that we stand with the US," a source told The Post. "I'm not sure it will be the interest of them - of the US that Israel will join on this - but, you know, we realize that we need to stretch our muscles."

The United States launched fresh airstrikes on Iran early Thursday, prompting Tehran to retaliate with missile attacks targeting US-allied countries across the Middle East, escalating tensions and putting a fragile ceasefire under renewed strain.

The latest exchange followed similar attacks a day earlier that had already threatened the truce. Thursday's escalation was broader, with air raid sirens sounding at least three times in Bahrain, home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet headquarters. Iran also launched missiles towards Kuwait and Qatar.

Sirens were also heard across Jordan on Thursday afternoon, where the United States maintains troops and military aircraft

Despite two days of clashes that threatened to derail an already fragile ceasefire, technical talks between the US and Iran are continuing, a US official said.

The comments are likely to calm fears of a return to full-scale conflict after the US carried out fresh strikes on Iranian targets in retaliation for what it said were attacks by Tehran on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded by targeting US military bases in the region on each of the past two nights.

Amid the renewed violence, Trump said on Wednesday that the ceasefire was “over,” but added that he would not prevent negotiations from moving forward.

Talks between the US and Iran were postponed this week as the Islamic Republic observed several days of funeral rites for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an airstrike on the opening day of the US-Israeli military campaign.

Trump says he ‘left instructions’ should Iran assassinate him

WASHINGTON, July 10: US President Donald Trump has told the New York Post that he has “left instructions” should Iran assassinate him, in an apparent reference to banners calling for Trump’s killing displayed during a funeral ceremony for slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

“I’ve been on their list for a long time. That’s what we’re dealing with,” he told the American tabloid. “The only thing is, I’ve left instructions — if anything happens, to just literally bomb them at levels that they’ve never seen before.”

Trump said Tehran has wanted him dead for years. “I hope you’ll miss me,” he added.

24 people with links to India-based gangs arrested in US, Canada, Europe

LOS ANGELES, July 8: Law enforcement authorities in America, Canada and Europe announced the arrests of 24 individuals with links to India-based transnational organised crime groups for criminal acts like racketeering, shootings, extortion and even the 2023 assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.

In total, 37 individuals have been charged with a number of offences, including gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is currently imprisoned in India.

A statement from the US Attorney’s office in Los Angeles alleges that Bishnoi and his lieutenants directed a transnational organised crime group from his jail cell “using contraband cellphones and other voice-over internet protocol devices smuggled into his jail cell” and charges them directly with ordering the assassination of Nijjar.

The arrests came after a years-long investigation into the activities of organised crime groups with links to India, the authorities said.

“Today’s law enforcement action – “Operation Hard Ball” – is the result of a years-long federal investigation into Indian crime syndicates that engage in racketeering, targeted killings, shootings, extortion, the trafficking of bulk quantities of narcotics across international borders, and other crimes around the world whose impact is especially felt in the Indian diaspora,” said a statement from the US Department of Justice.

Enforcement authorities are still looking for 10 fugitives, seven of whom are in the United States, two in India, and one in Europe.

The indictments focus heavily on the activities of Lawrence Bishnoi and lieutenants like Goldy Brar as well as the Bhagwanpuria gang, which is headquartered in India with members reportedly across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

Many of the defendants charged could face a mandatory minimum prison sentence between 10 years in federal prison and life imprisonment, and a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison if convicted.

According to the Department of Justice, the Bishnoi gang is accused of engaging in violent activities in the countries in which it operated and using violence to “cultivate a climate of fear, in particular in India and among Indian diaspora communities worldwide.”

Bishnoi and Brar have also been charged for ordering the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a pro-Khalistan figure, as he left a Sikh temple in Canada on June 18, 2023.

Investigators have said that Anmol Bishnoi (arrested in the US in 2024) and Goldy Brar run the activities of the gang headed by Lawrence Bishnoi, who is in prison in Gujarat’s Sabarmati since August, 2023.

In recent years, the gang has been accused of carrying out several high-profile murders, such as former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique and Punjabi rapper Sidhu Moosewala. It routinely carries out extortion in collaboration with other gang leaders who terrorise celebrities, industrialists, political functionaries and sportspersons.

“Their syndicate is spread across the states (and union territories) that include Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar and Jharkhand and recruitment, payments to gang members, supply of weapons etc is managed from abroad, mostly by Anmol, Goldy Brar and few other close aides of Lawrence,” according to a law enforcement officer.

The Bishnoi gang is also closely associated with pro-Khalistan groups including Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and agencies feel that Anmol Bishnoi and Goldy Brar run those operations as well.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has called this entire network the new underworld.

In a charge sheet filed in March 2023 into the gangsters’ activities, NIA said the nexus of gangsters and pro-Khalistani elements and their links with the music industry, singers, kabaddi players and advocates was working on the lines of the pre-1993 Mumbai blasts era when extensive linkages of the underworld with the business people and the film industry had surfaced.

According to NIA, a considerable amount of money generated by Lawrence Bishnoi through his activities is sent to Canada, USA, Thailand and Australia for the use of gang members. His gang has 700 members, who, NIA says, have generated crores of rupees over the years. Overall, close to 300 gangsters and mid-level criminals have been arrested by the NIA and the Delhi Police as part of a larger crackdown since August last year.

According to the US law enforcement, the Bishnoi gang is also accused of engaging in international drug trafficking and stealing drug shipments from rival gangs. Similar drug trafficking charges were unveiled against members of the Punjab-based Bhagwanpuria gang and a group led by Canada-based Ravinder Singh Dhanda.

“Transnational criminal gangs who spread fear, drugs, and violence will face the full force of justice and the weight of the federal government,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli.

“Working together, law enforcement in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia are determined to target and dismantle these criminal organisations wherever they operate. There is no safe harbour for these thugs,” he added.

'Will either make deal, or finish the job': Trump's fresh warning to Iran amid Khamenei funeral

WASHINGTON, July 6: US President Donald Trump threatened Iran with a ‘will either make deal, or finish the job’ warning on Monday. This comes at a time when Iran is busy with dayslong funeral for its slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the beginning of the US-Iran war on February 28.

"We're going to win one way or the other. We're going to either make a deal or we're going to finish the job—and it won't be tough to finish the job," Trump said at the White House. He said he would rather make a deal.

“I'd rather make a deal because I don't want to affect 91 million people. We can knock down their bridges in one hour,” Trump said.

Trump added that the US is going to get the ‘nuclear dust’ and that there will be no nuclear weapons, referring to the Iran-US deal.

“Oil is is now at a level that, I think it's even lower, on a barrel basis, than it was before we started. We’ve gotten concessions, and they have to hold those concessions, but there'll be no nuclear weapon. We’re going to be getting the, as I call it, dust; the enriched material—nuclear dust,” Trump said.

Trump also said that he is not looking for a regime change in Iran.

Trump offers to broker Ukraine peace deal; Speaks with Putin, Zelensky

WASHINGTON, July 5: US President Donald Trump held separate phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday, using the conversations to push his offer to help broker an end to the war in Ukraine.

The calls, held ahead of a key NATO summit in Turkey, touched on battlefield developments, peace negotiations and the role Washington could play in reviving talks between Moscow and Kyiv.

According to the Kremlin, Trump reiterated his willingness to help bring an end to the conflict during a 90-minute phone call with Putin, according to reports.

Putin used the call to congratulate Trump on the 250th anniversary of US independence, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said.

“The presidents naturally touched on the topic of a Ukrainian settlement, including in light of Trump’s upcoming participation in the NATO summit in Turkey on July 7-8,” news agency Bloomberg quoted Ushakov as saying.

“The American president reaffirmed his readiness to facilitate a swift end to hostilities and the search for solutions to overcome the crisis.”

Putin briefed Trump on the latest battlefield developments and stressed Moscow's preference for resolving the conflict through political and diplomatic means while taking into account what he described as Russia's fundamental positions, the Kremlin aide added.

Trump later spoke with the Ukrainian counterpart, who also congratulated him on the US anniversary. Zelensky said the two leaders reviewed the situation on the front lines and ongoing diplomatic initiatives.

Writing on Telegram, Zelensky described the conversation as “very good”.

“There is a real prospect to end this war and American resolve will have a crucial meaning,” he said.

Zelensky added that he and Trump agreed to continue discussions during the upcoming NATO gathering.

Ushakov said Trump indicated that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would continue efforts to mediate a settlement between Moscow and Kyiv.

According to the Kremlin aide, the envoys remain prepared to travel to Moscow if needed as part of the ongoing diplomatic push.

The renewed outreach comes at a time when US-led negotiations have largely stalled. Diplomatic attention in Washington has recently shifted toward the conflict involving Iran, slowing momentum in efforts aimed at securing a Ukraine settlement.

Ushakov also said Putin expressed hope that US diplomatic engagement in the Iran crisis would help produce "mutually acceptable long-term solutions" and reminded Trump that he remains welcome to visit Moscow, the news agency's report added.

The calls took place just days before NATO leaders gather in Turkey for a summit beginning Tuesday.

Support for Ukraine is expected to be a major agenda item after Russia launched one of its deadliest aerial assaults of the year on Kyiv on Thursday, killing 30 people. Russian forces also struck several other regions, including Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia and Cherkasy.

At the same time, Ukraine has intensified drone and missile attacks inside Russia, targeting infrastructure including oil refineries. The strikes have disrupted operations at several facilities and contributed to fuel shortages in some areas.

Trump is expected to arrive at the summit after repeatedly urging NATO allies to shoulder a greater share of Europe's defense burden while also pushing for reductions in the US military footprint on the continent.

Trump takes jibe at Iran as US grants ‘week off’ for Ali Khamenei's funeral

WASHINGTON, July 4: President Donald Trump declared that he was granting Iran a "week off," coinciding with the Islamic Republic's extended mourning period for its deceased supreme leader Ali Khamenei, which is anticipated to attract between 10 million and 15 million attendees.

“We knocked the hell out of Iran and they’re dying to settle,” Trump stated during his address at Mount Rushmore on the eve of America's 250th anniversary. “They want to settle so badly.”

“We gave them a week off for a funeral, isn’t that nice,” he added.

Negotiations between the two nations are scheduled to recommence in Pakistan on July 11, as reported by sources to the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya news network on Saturday.

The discussions are anticipated to concentrate on Iran's nuclear program, the sanctions imposed on Tehran, and the billions of dollars in Iranian assets that are currently frozen overseas.

According to the outlet, Iran will determine its representatives for the talks following the conclusion of Khamenei's state funeral.

The United States and Iran have reached an agreement to cease hostilities against one another, following several days of strikes and counterstrikes that ensued after an Iranian projectile struck a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on June 25, despite an interim peace agreement that was signed on June 17.

Iran has agreed to just about everything we need in talks: Trump

WASHINGTON, July 3: United States President Donald Trump said he believes that Tehran has "agreed to just about everything" his administration had sought, while appearing to acknowledge that efforts to end the Iran war remain fluid.

In an intervie, he said, "We're negotiating, and we'll see whether or not. I think they've agreed to just about everything we need."

Trump also claimed Iran had been "totally defeated militarily." He said, "They (Iranians) have some missiles left, we could wipe them out too."

The leader added, "I hit them three times last week very hard, because they sent a drone into a ship, I hit them. Then they did something else, and I hit them. I hit them three nights in a row, the week before I hit them two nights in a row, very hard."

The remarks came roughly a day after the US and Iran concluded a round of indirect talks in the Qatari capital of Doha with no sign they had made headway toward a lasting peace, focusing instead on issues that they said had been resolved when an interim agreement was announced two weeks ago.

According to sources, the negotiators from both sides spent two days in Doha discussing maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and unfreezing Iran's funds, two critical issues under the initial agreement.

The next meeting will take place after funeral processions for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is due to be buried on July 9, Qatar's Foreign Ministry said.

The Doha discussions produced "positive progress" on issues related to the memorandum that halted the war in June and were "building on the outcomes" of a summit in Switzerland, the ministry spokesperson said in a post on X.

Meanwhile, in Washington, Trump said the two sides were making progress on possible limits to Iran's nuclear programme — the main reason he says he launched the war along with Israel in February. "The denuclearisation of Iran is moving along well," he told reporters.

"They've had very good meetings, and we'll see." However, sources said the nuclear programme did not come up in the talks, which were technical in nature.

US Vice President JD Vance said that matter would be addressed later. "Obviously, we're worried about the nuclear issue, we're going to start talking about that," he told reporters. American and Iranian negotiators held separate meetings with Qatari and Pakistani mediators, according to Doha.

Trump says record number of vessels leaving Strait of Hormuz

WASHINGTON, July 2: President Donald Trump said that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had reached record levels and predicted further declines in oil prices.

"Those boats are coming out of the Hormuz Strait. They're coming out by numbers that nobody ever saw. We're setting records actually," Trump said while dedicating the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora on Wednesday.

"The oil is dropping," he said. "I don't give a damn if they're happy or sad, I want the prices to go down. And the oil is dropping like nobody thought possible. But I told you it would. Total control of everything."

Trump also briefly referred to Iran while discussing US foreign policy.

"We're actually doing equally as well with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Maybe you've heard of it," he said, without elaborating.

US and Iran enter technical talks to secure peace deal, shipping restart

DOHA/DUBAI/WASHINGTON, July 1: The U.S. and Iran held indirect technical talks in Doha on Wednesday as they seek to agree on the flow of shipping through the ‌Strait of Hormuz and secure a lasting ceasefire, a source with direct knowledge of the talks and an Iranian official said.

The talks are based on a 14-point interim accord signed last month that was meant to halt the war that began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in February and reopen the strait, while setting up 60 days of negotiations for a permanent peace deal.

However, the U.S. and Iran ​have sparred publicly over the meaning of the interim pact, leading to tit-for-tat military strikes over the past week and leaving little sign of progress ​on more complex issues, including on Iran's nuclear programme.

Iran is determined to win international recognition of its control over the strait and its ⁠ability to levy fees on ships entering or leaving the Gulf, even if it has to do so by force, according to two senior Iranian sources.

Traffic has partially resumed ​through the waterway, which handled one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade before the war.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said removing Iran's highly enriched uranium is a ​top priority, told reporters on Wednesday that "the denuclearization of Iran is moving along well", without giving details.

"They've had very good meetings, and we'll see," he said of the talks in Doha, where there was no evidence the nuclear issue had yet been discussed.

The indirect talks, mediated by Qatar and Pakistan, began on Tuesday night and were continuing on Wednesday, the Iranian official ​said.

They are structured as sessions between chief negotiators and specialists, the source with knowledge of the talks said, adding that Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff met ​Qatar's prime minister to lay groundwork for the talks but would not be attending.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi headed a delegation of representatives from Iran's foreign ministry, central bank and ‌agriculture ministry, ⁠meeting Qatar's prime minister and holding talks with mediators.

Iran has stated publicly that its priorities include agreeing on management of the strait and the release of $6 billion in Iranian frozen assets, and the Iranian official said the current round of discussions would focus on those two issues.

The stated priority of the U.S. is to ensure the free flow of traffic through the strait, the source with knowledge of the talks said.

Iran's state media said on Wednesday a foreign container ship had run aground in the Strait of Hormuz after ​entering shallow waters outside the shipping route ​designated by Iranian authorities.