Live NewsMiddle East Conflict

U.S. President Donald Trump said early on Tuesday that the pilots of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter that went down near the Strait of Hormuz “are fine.”

Speaking on the runway at John F. Kennedy International Airport before returning to Washington, D.C., Trump ⁠said there was “nobody injured.”

The administration would issue a report later on Tuesday, he added.

The New York Times reported late on Monday that a U.S. Army Apache helicopter gunship went down near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and its two crew members ⁠were safely rescued, citing two people briefed on the incident.

It was not immediately clear whether the Apache was shot down by Iranian ⁠fire, experienced mechanical failure or encountered some other problem, the report said.

The U.S. Department of State ⁠and U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment from ⁠Reuters.

Source: Reuters

– Agencies

US President Donald Trump suggested that the United States would be declaring “total victory” over Iran in the next two weeks in a tele-rally for South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is on the primary ballot Tuesday.

“We’re negotiating now, and they want to make a very good deal. They’re willing to give us everything, they’re willing to give us no nuclear weapon,” Trump said.

“I think we are winning that battle, but you’re really going to win it over the next two weeks when we declare total victory, it’ll be a total victory, it’ll happen very soon, and oil prices will come tumbling down,” Trump said.

It’s not the first time he’s made promises about significant progress in “two weeks.” The ceasefire with Iran, announced on April 7, was initially supposed to last two weeks while the two sides finished a deal to end the war.

Asked on Meet the Press why Iran hasn’t agreed to a deal if they are desperate to make one, as he has said repeatedly, the president said, “Because they’re strong. They’re proud. There are things they never thought they’d be doing that they’re going to have to do. They’ve got no choice. And it takes a little while.”

Source: CNN

– Agencies

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called on “all sides to exercise restraint and give peace a little more chance” after Israel and Iran traded strikes in the worst escalation since the April truce.

“The recent surge in violence in the Middle East is a stark reminder of the dangers associated with a tenuous ceasefire and the unbearable consequences it may lead to,” Sharif posted on X.

Islamabad has emerged in recent months as a key mediator between the US and Iran during the conflict in the Middle East, playing a leading role in negotiating the temporary ceasefire in April. In an apparent reference to recent talks between Washington and Tehran aimed at turning that ceasefire into a lasting peace, he said “the final objective is just about to be achieved.”

“As we work earnestly and painstakingly, together with our brothers and partners, to find a peaceful diplomatic solution to the conflict, and especially when the final objective is just about to be achieved, we sincerely urge all sides to exercise restraint and give peace a little more chance,” he said.

The Pakistan Prime Minister added on X that diplomacy still has “prospects of success instead of violence and destruction.”

Source: CNN

--Agencies

A vessel sanctioned by the United States was attacked off the coast of Oman on Monday, according to the crew’s union, the Forward Seamen’s Union of India, which said 24 Indian seafarers on board are in distress.

The vessel, Motor Tanker Marivex, was sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury in December in relation to sanctions on Iran.

In a transcript of the distress call from the tanker on Monday, the crew says there’s a fire on board following what they claim was “a US Navy attack.”

CNN has reached out to US Central Command for a response.

“We are (on) fire on board, and (the) vessel is sinking. US Navy attack, the missile on our engine room,” the distress call transcript obtained by CNN said. “Please help. We are (on) fire on board… 24 crew. All crew Indian.” The distress call also noted that one of the vessel’s lifeboats had caught fire.

Images of the Marivex oil tanker posted on social media, which were verified by CNN, show smoke billowing from the tanker’s engine room.
The oil tanker sails under the flag of Palau and its registered owner, Arihant Shipping Inc., appears on the US list of blocked persons and vessels for activity involving Iran.

Source: CNN

– Agencies

Iran’s top military command Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters has announced the end of current attacks on Israel.

But they have warned that if Israeli attacks continue, "including in southern Lebanon," Iran will respond “more severe and forceful than before.”

Israel and Iran exchanged strikes last night and into today after Iran announced military operations in response to Israel's air strikes on Beirut in Lebanon on Sunday.

Hezbollah said this morning that it had fired rockets at a group of Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon, where the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is carrying out ground operations in what it says is an attempt to stop Hezbollah firing rockets at northern Israel.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) claimed it launched a missile attack on a petrochemical plant in northern Israel, according to state media, after the Israeli military said it launched strikes on "several targets" at an Iranian petrochemical facility.

The IDF also said it had completed a large-scale strike on "strategic defence systems" in Iran, while the IRGC said it had targeted two Israeli air bases in Israel, according to Iranian media.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei says the US bears responsibility for aggression from Israel and that consequences of escalating tensions will "also be on the US".

He also said that the exchange of messages between Iran and the US "had not stopped", but did not clarify whether the exchange of messages has been happening since yesterday or not.

Earlier today US President Donald Trump said Israel and Iran are looking to do an "immediate ceasefire" and that things should move quickly. He previously said that Iran and Israel must stop "shooting" immediately.

Source: BBC

– Agencies