Iran live updates: Trump says US will hit Iran 'very hard tonight'

 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.

Following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire,  in Pakistan in April failed to reach a peace deal.

Trump later announced the open-ended extension of the ceasefire and the continuation of a U.S. blockade until negotiations are concluded "one way or the other.

Elon Musk companies, assets in Middle East added to Iran's target list

Elon Musk's companies and assets in the region have now been added to the target list of the Iranian military, Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency said Thursday.

The news agency, which is linked to the IRGC, added that the decision follows alleged proof that the U.S. and Israeli militaries have used infrastructure managed by Elon Musk, including Starlink.

"The Starlink ground stations located in the occupied territories, Qatar, Jordan, the UAE, and Oman, alongside SpaceX shareholders, including the infrastructure of the two companies, 'Al-Fazabi' and 'Mubadala,' are among the new locations on Iran's target list," Fars wrote.

The IRGC and Iranian authorities have not confirmed or denied Fars's report. However, on SpaceX was repeatedly circulated by Islamic Republic media outlets over the past few days, which appears to be the basis for Fars News's claim.

Trump says Americans may not have 'appetite' for ground troops in Iran, but his preference is to take Kharg Island

President Donald Trump confirmed that the U.S. will continue to bomb Iran on Thursday but speculated that Americans may not have the "appetite" for a ground operation which would see the U.S. seize pieces of Iranian territory.

"Yeah, there will be more bombing tonight. It'll be a bigger, bigger, more powerful," Trump said, in an interview with Fox News.

Trump said that his preference was “always” to try to take Kharg Island, a major Iranian oil processing site in the Persian Gulf but said that he did not want to have boots on the ground and wondered if Americans would accept such an operation.

"But, you know, look, my preference has always been take Kharg Island," Trump said. Adding, "I don't know that America has the stomach for it, to be honest with you."

Trump noted that the process of seizing Iranian territory would be "a little longer process."

“I'm not sure that America has a long time. It's a little longer process. Something that's a guarantee if I want to do it. But I'm not sure the country has the appetite for it,” he explained.

Later during the interview, Trump said that he didn’t want to use ground troops, but said that the U.S. would “walk in” to Iran tomorrow and “take over the whole place.”

Trump says US will hit Iran ‘very hard tonight,’ will take over Kharg Island, other oil infrastructure

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the U.S. would continue to bomb Iran Thursday night and teased that American forces will take over Kharg Island and other Iranian oil infrastructure points “in the not too distant future.”

Trump added that the U.S. will also assume "total control” of Iranian oil and gas markets, comparing it to the situation in Venezuela after the ouster of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Trump did not say what the timeline for such an operation would be, nor what type of force would be required to execute such a mission that would see the U.S. taking and holding Iranian territory and infrastructure.

The president’s post comes after days of tit-for-tat strikes between the U.S. and Iran, which have raised the specter of a return to all-out war amid questions about the status of the shaky, months-long ceasefire.

CENTCOM says it disabled oil tanker in Gulf of Oman on Wednesday

U.S. Central Command said in a post to X that its forces attacked the Guinea-Bissau flagged M/T Jalveer oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday, alleging that it "violated the blockade against Iran by attempting to transport Iranian oil."

"A U.S. aircraft fired two Hellfire missiles into the ship's engine room after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions from U.S. forces," CENTCOM said.

The vessel is the third commercial ship disabled by American forces this week, CENTCOM said.

Earlier this week, CENTCOM said that U.S. aircraft disabled Palau-flagged vessels M/T Marivex and M/T Settebello on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, both of which were accused of violating the U.S. blockade.

CENTCOM said its forces have disabled nine "non-compliant vessels, redirected 135 ships that complied and allowed 42 vessels supporting humanitarian aid to pass since initiating the blockade on April 13."

UKMTO reports new maritime incident off Omani coast

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre said on Thursday that a fire had been reported in the engine room of a tanker off the coast of Oman.

Local authorities reported the incident occurred about 20 nautical miles northeast of Sohar, Oman, the UKMTO warning said. There were no reports of casualties or environmental damage.

The latest maritime incident comes one day after three Indian sailors aboard the M/T Settebello oil tanker were killed by a U.S. strike.

U.S. Central Command said the Palau-flagged vessel violated its ongoing blockade by attempting to transport oil from Iran.

The U.S. fired precision munitions at the ship's engine room "after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions from American forces," CENTCOM said in a post to X.

Sarbananda Sonowal, India's shipping minister, confirmed the "deeply unfortunate" incident in a post to X and said that the bodies of the three seafarers were recovered.

No major damage at US bases after overnight strikes, official says

A U.S. official told ABC News on Thursday that initial assessments indicated that the U.S. intercepted nearly all missiles and drones launched by Iran on Wednesday night. The assessments are ongoing, the official said.

There have been no reports of harm to any U.S. personnel or major damage at U.S. bases, the official said.

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Iranian body says Strait of Hormuz 'completely closed' following latest strikes

The Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) -- a newly created Iranian entity set up to manage shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and charge fees for vessels transiting the waterway -- said in a post on X on Friday that the Strait would be closed "until further notice."

The PGSA's announcement comes after U.S. Central Command denied reports of the Strait's closure overnight.

The PGSA cited "tensions caused by the aggressive U.S. forces" and an announcement by the Iranian armed forces for the decision to close the waterway. It asked "applicants who have obtained transit permits to remain patient and await further notice."

Tehran says overnight US strikes render ceasefire 'meaningless'

Iran's Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Thursday condemning overnight U.S. attacks as a "flagrant violation" of international law that "effectively rendered the April 8 ceasefire meaningless."

According to the statement published by the official Islamic Republic News Agency, the ministry warned that the U.S. administration would bear responsibility for the "extremely dangerous consequences" resulting from any escalation.

1 child injured, fires reported in Bahrain after reported drone interception

Bahrain's Interior Ministry said in a post to X on Thursday that an 11-year-old girl sustained "minor injuries" caused by falling drone debris after air defenses intercepted the latest Iranian attack on the Gulf kingdom.

Vehicles caught fire and houses were damaged in Hamad Town and the capital Manama due falling debris, the ministry said in a post to X.

US intercepts Iranian missiles, no immediate reports of damage to US facilities: Official

The U.S. has intercepted Iranian missiles fired in the region overnight but at the moment there does not appear to have been any major damage or impacts at U.S. facilities, according to a U.S. offi

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Latest round of US strikes completed, CENTCOM says

U.S. military strikes against Iran on the second night in a row have been completed, U.S. Central Command said.

In a statement, CENTCOM said U.S. forces "completed additional self-defense strikes against multiple targets," including against Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems and air defense sites.