US-Iran war live updates: Trump orders navy to ‘shoot and kill’ minelayers in Strait of Hormuz; US forces board oil tanker; talks between Lebanon and Israel at White House

Thank you for joining our continuing live coverage of the war in the Middle East.

Here’s a recap of the latest developments:

• The Pentagon released video of US forces boarding the Guinea-flagged oil tanker Majestic X, which was seized in the Indian Ocean “transporting oil from Iran”.
• US President Donald Trump said he had ordered the navy to “shoot and kill” any mine-laying boats in the Strait of Hormuz, claiming the waterway was “sealed up tight” until Iran makes a deal as a ceasefire continues indefinitely.
• Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf dismissed comments by Trump about infighting and confusion over their leader, stating Iran “will make the aggressor regret”.
• Israel and Lebanon were set to resume talks in Washington on Thursday (Friday AEST) amid a 10-day ceasefire due to expire on Sunday.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is also Iran’s parliamentary Speaker, have dismissed comments by US President Donald Trump about infighting, stating there “are no hardliners or moderates” in Iran.

“We are all Iranians and revolutionaries. With the ironclad unity of nation and state, we will make the aggressor regret,” the statement, posted by the pair on X, reads.

The comments came hours after a post on social media by US President Donald Trump, who said Iran was “having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is”.

“They just don’t know!,” Trump said on Truth Social. “The infighting is between the ‘Hardliners,’ who have been losing BADLY on the battlefield, and the ‘Moderates,’ who are not very moderate at all (but gaining respect!), is CRAZY!”

Speaking ahead of talks in Washington amid a 10-day ceasefire, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he hoped the US would “continue exercising their leverage over Israel”.

“We are entering these negotiations convened by the US convinced that the US is the party that can have leverage over Israel,” Salam told The Washington Post.

The prime minister said Lebanon “cannot live with a so-called buffer zone” in the south of the country where Israeli forces remain, and said any deal would require a full withdrawal of troops.

Salam said disarming the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah was “not something that’s going to happen overnight”.

On Thursday afternoon (Friday morning AEST), a White House official said: “The ambassador-level talks between Israel and Lebanon will now take place at the White House. President Trump will greet the representatives upon their arrival.”

The Pentagon released video footage on Thursday of US forces on the deck of the Guinea-flagged oil tanker Majestic X, which was seized in the Indian Ocean “transporting oil from Iran”.

“We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate,” the Department of War said.

Ship-tracking data showed the Majestic X in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia, roughly the same location as the oil tanker Tifani, earlier seized by American forces.

It comes a day after Iran attacked three cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz, capturing two of them.

with AP

US President Donald Trump said he had ordered the navy to “shoot and kill” any boats laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, claiming total control of the strategic waterway until Iran makes a deal.

“I have ordered the United States Navy to shoot and kill any boat, small boats though they may be (Their naval ships are ALL, 159 of them, at the bottom of the sea!), that is putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Thursday. “There is to be no hesitation. Additionally, our mine ‘sweepers’ are clearing the Strait right now. I am hereby ordering that activity to continue, but at a tripled up level!”

In a separate post, Trump claimed the US had “total control over the Strait of Hormuz” and that no ship could enter or leave without the approval of the navy.

“It is ‘Sealed up Tight,’ until such time as Iran is able to make a DEAL!!!” he said.

Iran considers a US blockade on Iranian ports in the strait to be a violation of the current ceasefire.

Thank you for joining our continuing live coverage of the war in the Middle East.

Here’s a recap of the latest developments:

• The Pentagon released video of US forces boarding the Guinea-flagged oil tanker Majestic X, which was seized in the Indian Ocean “transporting oil from Iran”.
• US President Donald Trump said he had ordered the navy to “shoot and kill” any mine-laying boats in the Strait of Hormuz, claiming the waterway was “sealed up tight” until Iran makes a deal as a ceasefire continues indefinitely.
• Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf dismissed comments by Trump about infighting and confusion over their leader, stating Iran “will make the aggressor regret”.
• Israel and Lebanon were set to resume talks in Washington on Thursday (Friday AEST) amid a 10-day ceasefire due to expire on Sunday.