{"id":716417,"date":"2026-06-21T00:16:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T00:16:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/716417\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T00:16:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T00:16:23","slug":"iran-us-war-latest-trump-threatens-guardian-angel-tolls-on-strait-of-hormuz-after-tehran-declares-it-shut-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/716417\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran-US war latest: Trump threatens \u2018Guardian Angel\u2019 tolls on Strait of Hormuz after Tehran declares it shut again"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Pentagon used Elon Musk\u2019s Grok AI to fire 2,000 missiles at Iran, official says<\/p>\n

Donald Trump\u2019s administration turned to Elon Musk\u2019s Grok chatbot to launch thousands of missiles in Iran, according to a top defense official.<\/p>\n

In court filings this week, the Pentagon\u2019s artificial intelligence chief said the chatbot\u2019s continued operation is \u201ca matter of paramount national security\u201d \u2014 and was used to fire more than \u201c2,000 munitions at 2,000 distinct targets within 96 hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grok, a generative artificial intelligence chatbot developed by xAI, is among four AI models \u201ccurrently capable of supporting national security applications,\u201d according to Cameron Stanley, the Pentagon\u2019s chief digital and artificial intelligence officer.<\/p>\n

Alex Woodward21 June 2026 01:00<\/p>\n

<\/a>Iran negotiating team arrives in Zurich<\/p>\n

An Iranian negotiating team has arrived in Zurich, according to state media IRIB.<\/p>\n

The delegation is led by Iranian parliament speaher Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, along with foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, national security council deputy scretary Ali Bagheri, and foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei.<\/p>\n

Vice President JD Vance is on his way, and talks are expected to begin Sunday.<\/p>\n

\"\"(Reuters)<\/p>\n

Alex Woodward21 June 2026 00:31<\/p>\n

<\/a>Recap: Iran closes Strait of Hormuz after accusing US and Israel of breaching ceasefire<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared the Strait of Hormuz closed again on Saturday after accusing the US and Israel of violating the newly-signed peace deal.<\/p>\n

The top joint military command, \u200bKhatam al-Anbiya Central \u200cHeadquarters, said that the closure was the “first step” in response to what it described as breaches of commitments to the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Donald Trump on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Maira Butt21 June 2026 00:00<\/p>\n

<\/a>55 merchant ships transit through Strait of Hormuz, US says<\/p>\n

US officials have denied that Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz, which Iranian military insists the passage will be closed in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon.<\/p>\n

US Central Command said 55 merchant ships passed through the waterway on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cSafe passage through the international waterway remained intact today as 55 merchant ships transited, moving large amounts of cargo and more than 17 million barrels of oil to global markets,\u201d according to a statement.<\/p>\n

Alex Woodward20 June 2026 23:30<\/p>\n

<\/a>Italy\u2019s Meloni delivers savage blow to Trump and questions his popularity in latest attack<\/p>\n

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni delivered a sharp rebuke to President Donald Trump and attacked his popularity on Saturday, intensifying an ongoing feud that erupted during the G7 Summit.<\/p>\n

Brendan Rascius20 June 2026 23:00<\/p>\n

<\/a>JD Vance departs for Switzerland<\/p>\n

US Vice President JD Vance is on his way to Switzerland where he expects to spend \u201ca day or two.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re going to hopefully make progress on the nuclear issue, make progress on the Lebanon ceasefire issue,\u201d he told reporters before boarding a small jet bound for Switzerland<\/p>\n

\u201cThose are the two big things that I think we\u2019re to be focused on. I\u2019m sure the Iranians are going to have issues they\u2019d like to discuss as well,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

He claimed \u201cthings are actually getting better\u201d and \u201cslowing down\u201d when it comes to Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon. \u201cThe big problem is that you have somebody will shoot and then somebody will respond, and you kind of have a chicken and egg problem where you\u2019ve just got to stop the shooting for long enough to get the ceasefire to keep hold, that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to try to do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"(AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n

Alex Woodward20 June 2026 22:20<\/p>\n

<\/a>Iran’s negotiators arrive in Switzerland for US talks – reports <\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s negotiating delegation has arrived in Switzerland for talks with the US, the country\u2019s media has reported. <\/p>\n

US vice president JD Vance has said that he may be able to get to the European country for a day or two as the countries iron out the details of the peace deal. US negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are already there. <\/p>\n

The US and Iran had agreed to a 60-day ceasefire while negotiations take place. <\/p>\n

Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Saturday declared the Strait of Hormuz shut, appearing to raise the stakes ahead of the talks as both sides seek to advance an interim deal brokered by Pakistan and signed on Wednesday by US. <\/p>\n

Holly Bancroft20 June 2026 21:45<\/p>\n

<\/a>US President Donald Trump insists there will be no tolls on Strait of Hormuz<\/p>\n

US president Donald Trump has taken to social media platform Truth Social to insist that there will be no tolls on the Strait of Hormuz unless they are imposed by America, after Iran claimed they would close the crucial waterway to tankers. <\/p>\n

In a post on Truth Social on Saturday evening, Mr Trump said: \u201cThere will be NO TOLLS in the Hormuz Strait for 60 days during the cease fire period, and there will be NO TOLLS after the 60 day period has expired, unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America, should the deal not be completed, for services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East for the purposes of both past, present, and future reimbursement of costs. <\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for your attention to this matter!!! President DJT\u201d. <\/p>\n

\"\"(Reuters)<\/p>\n

Holly Bancroft20 June 2026 21:12<\/p>\n

<\/a>Israeli strikes on Lebanon reportedly kill 20 people<\/p>\n

Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed at least 20 people on Saturday, according to Lebanon\u2019s state news agency. <\/p>\n

Israel said the strikes were a response to projectiles fired overnight by Hezbollah. An Israeli military official said Hezbollah launched more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, prompting attacks on what the official described as “Hezbollah targets”. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that Israeli warplanes and drones had struck multiple locations in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Hezbollah accused Israel of committing hundreds of ceasefire violations, and warned that continued attacks “will not pass without a response”.<\/p>\n

Holly Bancroft20 June 2026 20:33<\/p>\n

<\/a>Row between Italian PM Giorgia Meloni and US president Donald Trump<\/p>\n

Italian \u2060Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told US President Donald Trump on Saturday to look after his own popularity after he accused his NATO ally of trying to boost her domestic ratings by repairing ties with Washington.<\/p>\n

Mr Trump had alleged that Ms Meloni had “begged” him for a photo with her during this week’s Group of Seven summit in France. He repeated the assertion \u2060on Saturday, misspelling her name as “Gigiorgia” as he posted on his Truth \u200bSocial \u2060platform that “she wants to be \u200cfriends again in order to get her ‘numbers up'”.<\/p>\n

Ms Meloni responded, posting on Instagram in English: \u201cPresident Trump, these constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy popularity is none \u200cof your concern,” she added. “I suggest you focus \u200con yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Meloni\u2019s government, which took office in 2022, has seen public approval rise in opinion surveys to around 35 per cent after a steady decline in 2025.<\/p>\n

Italys first female prime minister told Mr Trump on Saturday that being his friend has certainly not helped her popularity. Mr Trump repeated earlier \u200ccriticism of Rome for not \u2060allowing the use of US military bases in Italy during the \u2060war with Iran that the US and Israel began at the end of February.<\/p>\n

Ms Meloni responded: \u201cTheir \u200cuse is governed \u200bby agreements that we have always respected \u200cand that cannot be violated. As \u200blong as I am prime minister, Italy remains a sovereign nation.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"FromFrom right, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, U.S. President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and India’s Prime Minister Narenda Modi during a group photo of G7 leaders and invited nations during the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France (AP)<\/p>\n

Holly Bancroft20 June 2026 19:56<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pentagon used Elon Musk\u2019s Grok AI to fire 2,000 missiles at Iran, official says Donald Trump\u2019s administration turned…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":716418,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,26675,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-716417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-international-relations","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=716417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/716418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=716417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=716417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=716417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}