Iran live updates: Trump considering 'massive attack' on Iran but hasn't made final call
https://abcnews.com/International/live-updates/iran-live-updates-kuwait-attacked-bahrain-sounds-sirens/?id=134907987
Iran live updates: Trump considering 'massive attack' on Iran but hasn't made final call
CENTCOM launched a 12th consecutive night of strikes on Iran on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.
Delegations from the U.S. and Iran entered negotiations in June aimed at a war-ending deal based on a memorandum of understanding signed by both countries.
The U.S. and Iran have nonetheless continued to exchange strikes, with the strategic Strait of Hormuz the primary flashpoint.
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US struck site near Iraq-Iran border crossing, US official says
The U.S. struck a security building near the Iraq-Iran border crossing at Shalamche that was determined to be a "legitimate military target," according to an official.
The U.S. official who said that an initial look video showing explosions near the Iraq-Iran border said it was not from a U.S. airstrike, now says there was a U.S. airstrike near the border crossing.
The building targeted was located on the Iranian side of the border, about 8 meters from the border with Iraq, according to the official
-ABC News' Luis Martinez
Omani delegation visits Tehran for Strait of Hormuz talks
An Omani diplomatic delegation visited Tehran for talks on the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency reported Friday.
The delegation will discuss mechanisms for governing the Strait of Hormuz, IRNA said.
Iran has shown it will not 'succumb to US bullying,' Araghchi says
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters that, "Iran has shown that it will not succumb to U.S. bullying and will not respond to the language of force, pressure, or threats in any way."
"We are neither afraid of threats nor will we succumb to pressure and will not tolerate the language of threats. We have a principled policy and we will continue to do so. Protecting the Iranian people and protecting Iran's interests in the Strait of Hormuz are among our principles and we will follow them," Araghchi said at the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Kyrgyzstan.
On negotiations, Araghchi said there was no issue with mediators, but that the problem lies with the United States' approach.
Netanyahu to travel to Washington, meet Trump Tuesday
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will head to Washington, D.C., on Monday, at President Donald Trump's invitation, according to Netanyahu's office.
Netanyahu will meet with Trump at the White House on Tuesday and attend Sen. Lindsey Graham's funeral, Netanyahu's office said.
Iran continues to fire projectiles at Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain
Iran continued to fire projectiles toward Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain on Friday, with the countries confirming aerial attacks, military officials said.
Kuwait's armed forces said it is dealing with "hostile drones" from Iran.
In Jordan, air defense shot down seven missiles and six drones coming from Iran Friday, the armed forces said in a statement.
Bahrain's military said it "intercepted and destroyed several treacherous Iranian aerial attacks" on Friday.
-ABC News' Ayat Al-Taway and Ghazi Balkiz
Iran retaliating against US assets in the region
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced Friday morning that it had launched another wave of drone attacks against U.S. assets in Kuwait, after the U.S. carried out strikes against Iran for a 13th consecutive night.
The IRGC claimed that it had targeted and destroyed an Amazon data center in Bahrain, according to Iranian state media.
Meanwhile, sirens sounded in Bahrain on Friday morning, according to the country's Ministry of Interior, and a journalist with the Associated Press reported hearing at least seven blasts in the city of Irbil, the capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, and afterwards observing at least four plumes of black smoke rising into the sky from areas near or inside a base hosting U.S. forces.
ABC News could not independently confirm the AP report.
-ABC News' Morgan Winsor
US strikes on 13th straight night conclude
U.S. strikes on Iran for the 13th straight night concluded at 9 p.m. ET, U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
"CENTCOM targeted Iranian military command centers, drone storage facilities, communication networks, coastal surveillance sites, and maritime capabilities to further diminish the threat Iran poses to civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM said.
State Department considering relaunching Middle East task force: Officials
The State Department is actively considering relaunching a 24/7 task force to help Americans stranded in the Middle East due to rapid escalation, two U.S. officials tell ABC News.
The task force would be similar to the one formed in the opening weeks of the conflict, when the department rushed to respond to requests from thousands of Americans suddenly stranded in the Middle East.
This comes as more airlines are cancelling planned flights and expressing to the department that they may extend suspensions. The State Department does not appear to be doing anything to dissuade carriers from taking these steps, but rather, it seems to be acknowledging the risk and focusing its attention on dealing with the potential fallout.
-ABC News' Shannon Kingston
13th straight night of US airstrikes on Iran: CENTCOM
The U.S. is conducting airstrikes against Iranian military targets for the 13th consecutive night, U.S. Central Command said Thursday.
The strikes are "aimed to hold Iran accountable and diminish threats from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to commercial shipping," CENTCOM said.
Trump: Any damage done to ships will be paid for in Iranian assets
President Donald Trump claimed in a social media post that any further damage done to "Ships, Cargo, or anything related thereto" will be paid for by Iranian assets seized by the U.S.
"Please let this statement serve to represent, until further notice, that from this point forth, any and all damages done to Ships, Cargo, or anything related thereto, will be paid for by Iranian Money that the United States has in its possession, and controls," Trump said in the post Thursday.
The president did not specify locations where his new decree applies, nor did he specify which seized assets will be used to pay for the damages.
"These damages may be very substantial but, nevertheless, this is the fair and equitable thing to do," Trump added in the post.
-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart
Trump considering range of options to escalate strikes on Iran: Officials
President Donald Trump is considering a range of options to dramatically escalate American military strikes on Iran, two senior administration officials told ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl on Thursday.
The officials said that among options the president is considering is a return the level of full-scale attacks seen during the opening days of Operation Epic Fury -- and possible even more so.
The officials point to Secretary of State Marco Rubio's comments earlier Thursday, in which he said Iran would pay a disproportionate price for their actions -- far beyond "an eye for an eye," referencing remarks he said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made recently.
"The president's policy is a head for an eye. I mean, honestly, that's what it's going to be. I mean, they will pay a very heavy price," Rubio said Thursday morning at the ASEAN Summit in the Philippines.
US forces have redirected 12 vessels since resuming blockade
U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces have redirected 12 commercial vessels and disabled one to prevent ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports or coastal areas since resuming the naval blockade nine days ago.
UN secretary general says 'the situation in the Middle East is getting out of control'
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Thursday that the situation in the Middle East is "getting out of control."
Addressing the United Nations Security Council in New York, the Secretary-General said the situation is "teetering on the edge of the unimaginable."
"The region is being pulled into an ever-widening circle of confrontation. One crisis feeds another. One escalation triggers the next," he added.
Guterres called for international rights and freedoms around the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb to be "fully restored," stressing "there is no military solution to the conflict."
"Diplomacy is the only way forward," Guterres said.
IRGC says UK airbase is 'legitimate target'
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the Fairford Air Base in England is now a "legitimate target," since the base has been used to fly B1 aircrafts on Wednesday, according to the Islamic Republic state media.
"The US aggressor army, which used to launch cruise missiles from its ships in the Indian Ocean in its aggressions after the official resumption of the war, turned to using B1 aircraft flying from the Fairford Air Base in England [on Wednesday], as the missile reserves of the aforementioned ships ran out," the statement reads.
"As the Foreign Ministry officials also stated, any base used to invade Iranian territory is our legitimate target," the IRGC added.
RAF Fairford is located 82 miles north west of London.
A U.K. government spokesperson told ABC News in a statement that its Armed Forces are "ready to keep the United Kingdom safe from any kind of attacks, whether it's on our soil or from abroad."
“This includes through operating a layered approach to air and missile
defence, provided by Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force assets
equipped with a range of advanced capabilities, working closely with
our NATO allies," the U.K. said.
“The UK's approach to the conflict remains the same - we are committed
to defending our people, our interests and our allies, acting in
accordance with international law and not getting drawn into the wider
conflict," the U.K. said.
Iranian plot to target senior officials in Israel thwarted
Israeli intelligence recently thwarted an Iranian plot to recruit individuals to carry out attacks against officials in Israel, Israeli authorities said Thursday.
Iran's Ministry of Intelligence allegedly used its connection with criminal enterprises in Iran to recruit an individual who lived in France who was then tasked with coordinating others to carry out the attacks against senior Israeli officials, according to a statement released by the Israeli Prime Minister's office and the Mossad.
"The cooperation of the Mossad and Shin Bet with intelligence services around the world, and the investigations carried out in several countries, combined with analytical capabilities, led to the dismantling of the criminal proxy infrastructure and the Ministry officers who were behind its operation," according to a statement.
The person identified as Terut Ozkur, known as "Philippe," who lived in France, allegedly visited Iran multiple times and was paid to recruit "an operational squad composed of foreign nationals for the purpose of introducing it into Israel," by two individuals linked to Iranian intelligence, the statement said.
On "Philippe's" whereabouts, the statement said, "he paid a heavy price for his involvement in planning terrorist activity directed by Iran, which led to his expulsion from France."
-ABC News' Jordana Miller
Trump says he is considering 'massive attack' on Iran but hasn’t made a final call
President Donald Trump told Axios that he is "considering a massive attack" on Iran, saying the U.S. is "all set" for strikes "bigger than ever before."
"I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it," Trump reportedly told Axios.
According to Axios, the president has not set a deadline for when that decision might be made.
The president also said that Iranians "want to negotiate." Despite Trump’s claims that Iran is eager to negotiate, he also said "they haven't received enough pain yet,” according to Axios.
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