US-Iran War LIVE Updates track rising West Asia tensions, US blockade actions, Iran moves on Strait of Hormuz control, and risks to global energy markets

President Donald Trump has delivered one of his most contradictory assessments of the Iran conflict yet, saying US "shouldn't have been in Iran" while simultaneously defending military strikes against Tehran.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the U.S. military is “more than capable” of renewed strikes against Iran after President Donald Trump's Situation Room meeting Friday ended without a formal announcement.

The U.S. military stopped a merchant vessel trying to break through its blockade of Iranian ports by firing a missile into its engine room, the U.S. Central Command said on Saturday. The ship

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative agreement Thursday to extend the ceasefire in the 3-month-old war by 60 days and start a new round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it has a “legitimate” right to respond to any “violation” of the ceasefire after the US military carried out what it called “self-defense strikes” targeting Iranian missile launch sites and boats.

The president met with aides for two hours at the White House about a possible cease-fire extension, according to a senior administration official. Earlier, Mr. Trump had suggested in a social media post that he was ready to make a decision.

The US affirmed that deals with Iran to safely sail through the Strait of Hormuz — even those which don’t involve paying a toll — aren’t allowed, as the conflict between the two nations grinds on.

Iran and the United States have reached a tentative agreement to turn the existing ceasefire into a more long-lasting settlement, US officials said Thursday.

“It could be a week. It could be less. It could be more. At the turn of the week, we hope to have something,” the official added.