Hegseth says more forces arriving in Middle East, US will take all the time it needs against Iran

Missiles, drones, and airstrikes batter Iran and the wider region. Here’s the latest:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegesth said Wednesday that the U.S. is winning its military operation against Iran “decisively, devastatingly and without mercy.” Speaking from the Pentagon’s briefing room, Hegseth said more forces, including jet fighters and bombers, will soon arrive in the region. He added that the U.S. “will take all the time we need to make sure that we succeed.”

Hegesth asserts that the U.S. is winning its military operation against Iran “decisively, devastatingly and without mercy.”

He says more forces, including jet fighters and bombers, will soon arrive in the region. He adds that the U.S. “will take all the time we need to make sure that we succeed.”

US Embassies and oil in the crosshairs

With Iran’s stranglehold on tanker movement through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which about a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped, Brent crude prices hit $84 a barrel, up more than 15% since the start of the conflict and at its highest price since July 2024. Global stock markets have been hammered over worries that the spike in oil prices may grind down the world economy and sap corporate profits.

Trump’s unclear war aims

While the initial U.S.-Israeli strikes killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Trump urged Iranians to overthrow their government, senior administration officials have since said regime change was not the goal. Trump said Tuesday that “someone from within” Iran’s government might be best suited to take power once the war is over.

Hegseth says a torpedo from a US submarine sank an Iranian warship

The U.S. defense secretary says the Tuesday night strike on the warship is the first such attack on an enemy since World War II.

“The Iranian navy rests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf,” Hegeth said.

QatarEnergy declares force majeure

Qatar’s state-owned energy company says it has declared it on shipments of liquefied natural gas and related products. QatarEnergy is one of the world’s largest exporters of liquefied natural gas.

Force majeure is a contractual clause that frees organizations from liability in the event of unforeseen circumstances such as natural disasters or war.

The company on Monday halted production of liquefied natural gas and associated products after Iranian attacks on its facilities in the Ras Laffan and Mesaieed industrial cities.

A growing list of countries affected

Nearly every country in the Middle East has sustained damage from missile hits or shrapnel, and now Turkey joins the wider list of nations affected after an Iranian ballistic missile heading toward Turkish airspace was intercepted.

These are the countries: Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar, Iraq, Bahrain, Syria, Oman, Cyprus, and Turkey.

NATO condemns Iran’s targeting of Turkey

NATO spokesperson Allison Hart did not confirm whether the military organization’s air defenses were used to down the missile.

NATO has parts of a broader European ballistic missile defense system on Turkish soil, including an early-warning radar at the Kurecik base that can detect missiles from Iran.

Report of a container ship struck off Oman

An agency of the U.K. military, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, says the ship had a fire in its engine room. It says the vessel was heading east through the Strait of Hormuz when it was hit by an unknown projectile.

Turkey talks with Iran over intercepted missile

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has spoken by phone with his Iranian counterpart after an Iranian ballistic missile that was detected heading toward Turkish airspace Wednesday was intercepted.

During the call with Abbas Araghchi, Turkey stressed that “all steps that could escalate the conflict and contribute to its spread” must be avoided, a Turkish official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government protocol.

A top cleric says Iran is ‘close’ to choosing its next supreme leader

Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami is a member of the Assembly of Experts, the body charged with picking a new leader. His comments were aired on state television.

“The options have become clear,” Khatami said. Other top officials have indicated a decision may be close.

Sirens again in Israel

Sirens have gone off in Jerusalem and elsewhere for simultaneous launches from Lebanon and Iran.

Israel’s military earlier said it is seeing a decline in launches from Iran as the campaign enters its fifth day.

Iran wants Iraq to lean on opposition groups

An Iraqi official says a senior Iranian official requested that Iraq take measures to prevent Iranian opposition groups based there from breaching the border.

A statement says Ali Bagheri, deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, made the request in a call with Iraqi National Security Advisor Qassim al-Araji.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard issues most intense threat yet

The guard says it is prepared for the “complete destruction of the region’s military and economic infrastructure.” The statement came via Iranian state television.

“The continued mischief and deception by the United States in the region will come at the cost of the complete destruction of the region’s military and economic infrastructure,” it says.

It alleges, without offering evidence, that the U.S. military was using “civilian facilities … as cover.”