Iran opened fire on U.S. warships in the Middle East on Monday and the U.S. military retaliated, destroying six Iranian small boats, according to U.S. Central Command (Centcom) leader Adm. Brad Cooper.

The U.S. military intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones as the Trump administration launched an effort to help ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively choked off during the conflict, Cooper said in a call with reporters Monday.

Cooper told reporters he “strongly advised” Iran to steer clear of U.S. military assets as the Pentagon proceeds with “Project Freedom.” He added that the U.S. naval blockade, which has been barring vessels departing from Iranian ports from leaving the region, will remain in effect.

Multiple U.S. Navy destroyers are positioned in the Persian Gulf, Cooper said, adding that the U.S. has cleared an “effective pathway” through Iran’s mines for commercial ships attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

The vessels in the Persian Gulf represent 87 different countries, Cooper said. He added that the U.S. military has reached out to dozens of ships and shipping companies in the last 12 hours to “encourage traffic flow” through the Strait of Hormuz as part of President Trump’s Project Freedom.

Cooper’s comments come as two cargo ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, with U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers protecting vessels in the Persian Gulf.

Tensions have been simmering between the U.S. and Iran, threatening the ceasefire that has been in effect since last month.

Iran also fired on U.S. allies along the Persian Gulf on Monday.

The United Arab Emirates reported missile and drone launches over its airspace, with its defense ministry saying it intercepted three cruise missiles while a fourth one landed in the sea.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said Monday that it carried out “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and boats placing mines, even as President Donald Trump said on social media that negotiations were “proceeding nicely.”

The strikes were done “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” but the military was “using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire,” Capt. Tim Hawkins, U.S. Central Command spokesman, said in a statement.

Further details were not immediately available, including more specifics on the threats from Iran and what this means for negotiations. Earlier, Trump said any agreement to end the Iran war should include a requirement for several additional countries, including Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, to join the Abraham Accords, the U.S.-brokered agreements from Trump’s first term aimed at normalizing relations with Israel.

The proposal came as the emerging Iran deal faced criticism from fellow Republicans who favor a harder line on Iran, and it could add new diplomatic complications to the negotiations.

Trump pointed to Saudi Arabia and Qatar as countries that should “immediately” sign on, alongside Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates became the first countries to join in 2020.

He wrote that “after all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords.”

Trump has long hoped Saudi Arabia would join, but the kingdom has maintained that any normalization deal requires first establishing a clear path for Palestinian statehood. That's also key for Pakistan, which is among the countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

Islamabad-based analyst Syed Mohammad Ali said Pakistan’s position on Israel remains unchanged despite Trump’s latest proposal.

The president said he brought up the Abraham Accords plan with leaders during negotiations on Saturday. He said he would accept “one or two” countries declining to sign, but said most should be willing. Egypt and Jordan already formally recognize Israel and have long-standing peace treaties. Turkey first recognized Israel in 1949.

Masood Khan, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States, said it remains to be seen how workable the proposal might be for the countries on Trump's list.

“The invocation of the Abraham Accords at this stage gives an altogether new dimension to the diplomatic and mediatory processes because this issue was not on the agenda,” he said, pointing to the domestic pressure Trump is facing to strike a favorable deal.

Still, Khan said, “the diplomatic track is still working, and I believe Pakistan is very much at the center of it, supported by regional countries.”

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It remains unclear when or how any deal with Iran might be completed. Trump suggested even Iran could eventually sign on to the accords, if an agreement is reached.

The accords are a series of diplomatic, economic and security agreements created with U.S. influence during Trump’s first term, originally between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, followed by Sudan, Morocco, and, more recently, Kazakhstan.

They were framed as an effort to promote cooperation among countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and the administration saw them as partly paving a path toward full ties with Israel.

___

Ahmed reported from Islamabad.

RadarOnline.com reports that President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit the Walter Reed Medical Centre in Maryland on Tuesday for a routine medical and dental checkup.

This marks the president’s third hospital visit in the last 13 months, sparking questions about the 79-year-old’s health and fitness to run the presidency.

Donald Trump will visit Walter Reed Medical Centre on Tuesday as health concerns mount

Trump went to Walter Reed in April 2025 for his physical exam, then returned in October for what the administration called a “scheduled follow-up,” sparking debates about his health. The White House initially dodged inquiries, finally confirming that the president had undergone a CT scan to “definitively rule out any cardiovascular issues.” The reports reportedly came out normally.

The upcoming health examination is placed against growing public concerns about his bruised hands. The office had declared that the bruising is in line with “tissue damage from frequent handshaking” combined with aspirin use. However, Trump has since then been observed with bruising on both hands.

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Though the White House is repeating that the president “is in excellent health,” visible symptoms regarding his slurred speech and often falling asleep mid-session have sparked unrest among the public, who are uneasy about the president’s fitness to keep office.

Soon to turn 80, President Donald Trump will become the oldest sitting president of the U.S., and there is wide speculation that the president’s health is not as pristine as is being reported. Doctors have expressed a plethora of possible conditions, like dementia and even a stroke, to explain his visibly deteriorating condition.

Ironically, the president himself had mocked his predecessor, Joe Biden, as “Sleepy Joe” and often compared his frail health to his own vigor. However, Trump is now facing the same kind of microscopic health scrutiny that he subjected Biden to.

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The post Donald Trump Returns to Hospital for Third Time in 13 Months as Health Concerns Grow appeared first on Reality Tea.

The US and Iran have agreed in principle to a deal that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and see Tehran surrender its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, a US official has said.

It is hoped that the agreement will end the US and Iranian blockades of the vital waterway, restoring stability to the Middle East and ending the global energy crisis triggered by the war.

A US official stressed that, while the broad framework had been decided, final sign-off was still needed from Donald Trump and Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader.

Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, expressed cautious optimism that a deal could materialise as early as Monday, while reiterating Israel’s right to defend itself against attacks.

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“We thought we might have some news last night, maybe today, I wouldn’t read too much into it,” Mr Rubio said in New Delhi, referring to the potential agreement.

“We have what I think is a pretty solid thing on the table in terms of their ability to open up the straits, get the straits open.

“It has a lot of support in the Gulf... every country that we’ve walked through it (with) understands it’s not just very reasonable, but it’s the right thing for the world to get done.”

Iran said there were still details to be worked out, and that the deal could be cancelled at any time. Mr Trump said: “It isn’t even fully negotiated yet.”

The agreement is expected to come in the form of a memorandum of understanding that gives both sides another 60 days to sign a final deal and negotiate an end to Iran’s nuclear programme. It does not address Tehran’s missiles.

However, Iran will have to commit to never pursuing nuclear weapons. It will also have to enter negotiations to suspend its uranium enrichment programme entirely.

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Tehran will surrender its stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium, although the method and timeline remain unclear.

Nuclear talks in the coming weeks or months will focus on how to dispose of the stockpile and address Iran’s enrichment programme, with the US pushing for a 20-year moratorium. Iran has proposed a much shorter pause.

The two main sticking points appear to be over the timing of the release of Iran’s frozen assets and the conflict between Israel and Lebanon.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, wants to retain the right to continue the conflict, which the deal is expected to end.

Iran also wants its $25bn (£18.6bn) in frozen assets to be released before an agreement is reached on its nuclear programme.

US officials hope to motivate Tehran to agree to a final nuclear deal by promising to release billions in frozen assets abroad into an economic reconstruction fund.

There was hope that a deal could be signed over the weekend after Mr Trump said on Saturday that an agreement “would be announced shortly”.

But expectations were tempered on Sunday when he wrote on Truth Social: “The negotiations are proceeding in an orderly and constructive manner, and I have informed my representatives not to rush into a deal when that time is on our side.

“The blockade will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed. Both sides must take their time and get it right. There can be no mistakes!

“Our relationship with Iran is becoming a much more professional and productive one. They must understand, however, that they cannot develop or procure a nuclear weapon or bomb.”

Iran agreeing to give up its uranium would represent a major win for Mr Trump, who faces immense pressure to end the war.

US forces, mobilised in recent months, are expected to remain in the region for 60 days, withdrawing only when the final deal has been signed.

The US wants the frozen Iranian assets released at the end of the process, as long as Tehran commits to a final nuclear agreement.

Mr Rubio said details on Iran’s nuclear programme were still being negotiated.

“You can’t do a nuclear thing in 72 hours on the back of a napkin,” he said.

“The straits have to be immediately reopened, and then we will enter, under agreed-to parameters, into very serious talks about enrichment, about the highly enriched uranium and about their pledge to never have nuclear weapons.”

However, he said that Iran would “enter into a very real, significant, time-limited negotiation on the nuclear matter”.

Though short of an actual peace deal, the memorandum of understanding would bring regional stability to the Middle East.

Oil markets, which have swung violently since the conflict began on Feb 28, are expected to be buoyant when markets reopen.

Mr Trump has promised repeatedly to reach an agreement that would impose stricter controls on Iran’s nuclear programme than the 2015 nuclear deal signed by Barack Obama.

That agreement, which took years to negotiate, included 15-year caps on the amount and purity of enriched uranium Tehran could produce.

The White House has also pushed for measures to curb Iran’s ballistic missile programme and support for regional proxies, such as Hezbollah and the Houthis, but those appear to remain unaddressed.

The memorandum – if it comes – will be a relief for the president, whose approval ratings have sunk to record lows and who faces difficult midterm elections later this year.

However, Mr Trump still has to sell the deal to his party, some of whom believe it falls short of the war’s objectives.

Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, attacked Mike Pompeo, the former secretary of state, for criticising the deal, which he said was not “remotely America first”.

In a post on X, Mr Cheung said that Mr Pompeo had “no idea what the f--- he’s talking about”.

The US and Iran made significant progress this week after a push by negotiators, including JD Vance, the US vice-president, and Mr Rubio.

On Saturday, Mr Trump spoke with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain to discuss the deal.

A Gulf source told The Telegraph that all the regional leaders urged the president to accept the proposal, saying it would would bring stability to the region.

Mr Trump then spoke to Mr Netanyahu. The agreement is expected to make clear that the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon will end, something the Israeli prime minister is said to have expressed concern about.

On Sunday, Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, said: “President Trump and I agreed that any final agreement with Iran must eliminate the nuclear danger. That means dismantling Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites and removing its enriched nuclear material from its territory.”

Mr Trump said in his Truth Social post that Iran could join the Abraham Accords, the US-brokered normalisation agreements between Israel and several Arab countries.

Only last week, military officials drew up potential plans to strike Iran’s nuclear stockpile, much of which is believed to be housed at the Isfahan nuclear facility. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran’s stockpile is made up of some 440kg of uranium enriched to 60 per cent.

Before details of the deal broke, Sir Keir had said that any agreement between the US and Iran had to ensure “unconditional and unrestricted” access to the Strait of Hormuz.

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BEIRUT (AP) — Israel’s air force targeted sites belonging to Hezbollah in Lebanon, including in the country's eastern Bekaa Valley, late on Monday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to intensify attacks on the Lebanese militant group.

Netanyahu's warning came as Hezbollah has been firing fiber optic drones — a weapon used widely in the war in Ukraine — at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon and northern Israel in recent weeks.

“We will hit them. It’s true that they are shooting drones at us, fiber optic drones. We have a special team working on that and we will solve that too,” Netanyahu said in a video posted on social media. “What this requires of us now is to increase the blows, to increase the intensity. We will smite them hip and thigh.”

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said that after Netanyahu's post, some residents started leaving Beirut’s southern suburbs where Hezbollah has large presence. The agency also said several airstrikes hit the eastern town of Mashghara in the Bekaa region on Monday night.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said that it carried out eight attacks earlier in the day, including a drone attack on Israeli troops in Misgav Am in northern Israel.

The daily attacks between Israel and Hezbollah have been ongoing despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in place since April 17.

A U.S. State Department official said earlier on Monday that Hezbollah has ignored repeated requests to stop firing at Israel, including a recent ultimatum. The official, who was not authorized to talk to the media and therefore spoke on condition of anonymity, added that Israel will never be expected to passively absorb attacks on its forces and civilians.

Since the ceasefire went into effect, Hezbollah has fired over a thousand drones and over 700 rockets to try and derail ongoing negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, the official said, adding that “the status quo is untenable.”

Last month, Lebanon and Israel began their first direct talks in more than three decades with meetings held in Washington. Lebanese and Israeli military officials are to meet again on Friday, at the Pentagon, to discuss the ceasefire. Israel and the United States are seeking to have Hezbollah disarmed.

The State Department official said the direct Lebanon-Israel talks and the implication that Lebanon stands to get significant support from the U.S. is a threat to the Iran-backed Hezbollah, along with a challenge to its narrative of resistance against Israel.

“A successful ceasefire led by the government of Lebanon would strip Hezbollah of their power and their narrative,” the official said.

Earlier Monday, an Israeli airstrike on the southern village of Kfar Rumman killed four people and wounded three, the Lebanese NNA reported. It said Israeli drone strikes on other parts in the south — including one on a road near the municipality of Kfar Rumman — killed three people.

The Israel military said that throughout the day, it struck more than 70 Hezbollah infrastructure sites.

The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel, two days after the U.S. and Israel began their attacks on Iran.

More than 3,000 people have been killed in Lebanon in the latest fighting, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Also, 22 Israeli soldiers and a defense contractor have been killed in or near southern Lebanon, and two civilians have been killed in northern Israel, according to Netanyahu’s office.

___

Lee reported from New Delhi. Associated Press journalists Isaac Scharf in Jerusalem and Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel contributed to this report.