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.
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led Tehran’s negotiating team in peace talks with the U.S., told the Iranian parliament on Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the U.S. accepts Tehran’s demands.
“The Strait of Hormuz will not open until the blockade is lifted, frozen assets are released, the oil embargo is lifted and threats and military operations on all fronts end, as well as other terms of the memorandum,” Ghalibaf said, as quoted by the semi-official Mehr News Agency.
Ghalibaf was referring to the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the combatants in June, which has thus far failed to produce a full peace settlement.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization (UKMTO) Centre said in an alert on Tuesday that it received a report of a vessel being struck by an “unknown projectile” while transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
“The impact caused damage to the engine room and resulted in a crew casualty. The remaining crew are currently being assisted by the Omani Coast Guard,” the alert read.
Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on Monday reported an “alarming and concerning intensification of violence” in southern Lebanon over the weekend.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon — UNIFIL — recorded what Dujarric said were “intense kinetic activities across its area of operations over the weekend,” including several Israel Defense Forces airstrikes, helicopter attacks, indirect fire and maritime actions in Lebanese waters.
“Meanwhile, UNIFIL peacekeepers discovered and neutralised several unexploded ordnance. Peacekeepers also continued to encounter restrictions on their freedom of movement and incidents of aggressive behavior,” Dujarric said.
Mohammed Zaatari/AP Photo – PHOTO: People and rescue workers gather on a destroyed house that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Zahrani village, southern Lebanon, on, Aug. 15, 2026.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
While President Donald Trump said on Monday that the U.S. has “total control” over the Strait of Hormuz, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Fox News that the Strait is still a “conflict zone” where disruptions to ship traffic remain, acting as hurdles to transporting oil and gas.
Wright said that trackers of the ships going through the Strait have been turned off due to the conflict, meaning public data does not accurately reflect the true number of vessels transiting the Strait. He asserted that 30 ships went through the waterway on Sunday and that “millions” of barrels have been moving through per day.
Wright said that U.S. military escorts of commercial shipping demonstrate the control the U.S. has over traffic in the strait, but did not acknowledge the Iranian threat that necessitates those escorts and that continues to keep traffic low.
Wright was pressed over the fact that these numbers of ships moving through the Strait are still lower than pre-war levels. He said he couldn’t predict the future when asked when he thinks those traffic levels would rise.
“We’re fixing a 47-year-old problem with this government in Iran and the threat of nuclear weapons, but it does cause some disruption in the short term. President Trump’s policies have made us ready for that disruption,” Wright said.
When asked about a timeline for the end of the war, Wright said Trump is “playing the long game.”
-ABC News’ Isabella Murray and Michelle Stoddart
Masrour Barzani, the prime minister of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government in northwestern Iraq, said in a post to X on Monday that his personal office was targeted by Iranian drone attacks.
Drones also targeted the home of the head of the region’s security and intelligence agency, Barzani said in his post.
“I condemn these reckless and unacceptable attacks in the strongest terms. This is a dangerous escalation and a direct threat to the security and stability of the Kurdistan Region,” he wrote. “These attacks will not deter us from carrying out our duties and protecting our citizens.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said in a statement that he had ordered a probe into “the sources and origins of the attack.”
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and special envoy Jared Kushner told Fox News of what he called a “very, very” good meeting about the Trump administration’s Gaza peace plan.
The meeting came amid deep skepticism from Netanyahu about the next steps in pursuing peace with Hamas. Kushner separately met with Hamas officials over the weekend.
“I think there were some valid concerns that they raised that we were able to address, and we were able to go through some of the misunderstandings and misinformation that’s been out, as well,” Kushner said of his meeting with Netanyahu.
Kushner said he urged Netanyahu to give Hamas the chance to prove themselves — “and if they don’t follow through now on their commitment, everyone will see that they’re not genuine about peace and that Israel will have a lot more support from the U.S. and others to go on and finish the job in an appropriate way.”
Jehad Alshrafi/AP Photo – PHOTO: People walk past tents sheltering displaced Palestinians amid the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City, on Aug. 17, 2026.
Kushner insisted that Hamas will need to hand over its weapons and suggested the group could do so in as little as 30 days. He said tunnels built by Hamas could be filled up within the next 60 to 90 days.
“We’re very committed to the fact that we have the plan to rebuild Gaza, but we will not allow Gaza to be rebuilt until the demilitarization occurs. Nobody wants to put more money into a place that’s gone on for so long, if it’s just going to be taken over by terrorists or blown up again,” Kushner said.
On his meeting with Hamas leaders, Kushner said “they said all the right things,” but the U.S. remains skeptical until they see real action on the ground.
“It’s very, very hard to trust a terrorist organization that committed these terrible atrocities. We had a very cordial meeting, and they said all the right things. We’re going to give them a chance to perform, and it’s going to be based on actions and steps. And I hope it will be true,” Kushner said.
-ABC News’ Mariam Khan
Asked at an Oval Office event whether he’s run out of “patience” with Oman, President Donald Trump responded, “I don’t think they’ve behaved very well, but we’d handle them very easily, just like we do others.”
Trump said again on Monday that U.S. control of the Strait of Hormuz — a pitch he floated last week — is a “great idea,” while continuing to insist that Iran’s military is “totally defeated.”
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images – PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office, at the White House in Washington, August 17, 2026.
Trump also claimed that the U.S. controls the Strait already.
“We control it with the blockade. And, I like the idea of declaring it a territory,” Trump said.
Asked whether he was seeking an extension on the 60-day memorandum of understanding the U.S. signed with Iran on June 17– an agreement now expiring — Trump shook his head and mouthed “no.”
Asked whether he’s any closer to reaching a deal with Iran that would end their nuclear program, Trump said the Iranians “want to make a deal, but they’re not going to make the kind of a deal that I feel is necessary.”
-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart
A reporter asked President Donald Trump on Monday if there was enough food aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, a Navy aircraft carrier deployed to the Middle East, after reports surfaced suggesting the families of the servicemembers have raised concerns.
Trump responded there is enough food and blasted the reports as “fake news.”
US Navy – PHOTO: U.S. sailors carry chocks and chains on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, May 24, 2026.
Trump also claimed that the Lincoln, which is marking a near-record-setting modern deployment as it has been out for over 260 days, hasn’t been out as long as ships have been in the past.
“The Lincoln has been out there for a period of time, good period of time. But over the years we’ve had them out there much longer,” Trump began.
US Navy – PHOTO: An F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron and an EA-18G Growler, attached to Electronic Attack Squadron 133, launch from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, May 9, 2026.
“I was at a group meeting and an admiral came up to see me over the weekend, and it was at a big group, and he happened to be an admiral, retired. He said, ‘I’ve been on ships. They’re out there much longer than that, sir.’ And I know people on the Lincoln. They say it’s beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of,” he said.
On Friday, Trump said the Lincoln hasn’t been deployed for “nearly long enough.”
Democrats are demanding an investigation into the conditions aboard the Lincoln after reports of low morale among sailors during the extended mission.
-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said he believes the U.S. is “in the process” of “resolving” the Iran war.
“The Iran conflict has been the cause, of course, of gas prices going up. It’s drug on,” Johnson said during a campaign visit in Virginia.
“I believe ultimately that we’ll be, there’ll be a coalition of nations, a combination of allied NATO allies and Arab states in the region. Everybody in the world has an interest in the Strait of Hormuz being open for commerce, and so I believe we’ll be getting into a new phase of that, where we can calm this down,” Johnson said.
“That will hold gas prices down to planet Earth, and that will also bring down grocery prices,” he said.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
The Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen said on Monday they launched a series of new attacks against the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government forces of Yemen.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in statements posted to Telegram that Houthi forces struck several Saudi military boats off the coast of the Red Sea port of Mocha, which is held by the Saudi-backed Yemeni forces.
Saree said the group used ballistic missiles to target, “a military landing craft belonging to Saudi enemy forces — along with four accompanying gunboats.”
Saree later said that the Houthis had also targeted an arms depot in the Marib region, east of the capital Sanaa, using drones.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule