Live! US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth ousts Army Chief Randy George amid Iran war

UN set to vote on watered-down proposal to open Strait of Hormuz

The UN Security Council is scheduled to vote Friday on a proposal to secure the Strait of Hormuz after it was significantly watered down in the face of opposition from China and Russia about allowing force to reopen the critical waterway that Iran has largely cut off to global shipping.

The final draft of Bahrain's resolution, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, authorises the use of defensive — but not offensive — action to ensure vessels can safely transit the strait. One-fifth of the world's oil typically passes through the waterway where Iran's stranglehold during the war has sent energy prices soaring.

Bahrain's initial draft resolution would have allowed countries “to use all necessary means” — UN language that would include possible military action — “in the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman” to secure passage and deter attempts to interfere with navigation.

Russia, China and France, all veto-wielding countries of the 15-member Security Council, had expressed opposition to approving the use of force. The final draft eliminates any reference to allowing offensive military action, but the three countries' views on the changes are not known, so Friday's vote will be closely watched.

The proposal now authorises countries “to use all defensive means necessary and commensurate with the circumstances in the Strait of Hormuz and adjacent waters” to secure passage and deter attempts to interfere with international navigation “for a period of at least six months.” It says countries acting alone on in “multinational naval partnerships” can take defensive means provided advance notification is given to the Security Council.

Iran claims to be drafting proposal with Oman to 'monitor' Strait of Hormuz

 Iran on Thursday claimed its drafting a proposal with Oman to 'monitor' Strait of Hormuz. The comments by Kazem Gharibabadi, an Iranian diplomat, quoted by the state-run IRNA news agency, described the proposal as “intended to facilitate and ensure safe passage and provide better services to ships passing through this route.” Iran's attacks on shipping in the region, as well as reportedly demanding as much as USD 2 million for passage through the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, have created a stranglehold on the route.

It is unclear what the proposal would mean. Oman did not immediately acknowledge it. The strait runs through Iranian and Omani territorial waters but is considered an international waterway that should freely allow ships to pass.

“Naturally, when we face an act of aggression, navigation encounters serious problems, and this is the result of the aggressive act,” Gharibabadi said. “We are currently at war and cannot expect pre-war rules to govern wartime conditions.”

Oil prices rise again even as Trump suggests war could end soon

The conflict is driving up prices for oil and natural gas, roiling stock markets, pushing up the cost of gasoline and threatening to make a range of goods, including food, more expensive.

Oil prices remained elevated, however, at USD 111.54 for a barrel of US crude, having soared following Trump's address. That's up about 50 per cent from February 28.

Though the oil and gas that typically transits the strait is primarily sold to Asian nations, Japan and South Korea were the only two countries from the region joining Thursday's call about the strait. The supply of jet fuel has also been interrupted, with consequences for travel worldwide. 

Iran continues to strike Israel, Gulf countries

Iran responded defiantly to Trump's speech, in which the American president claimed US military action had been so decisive that “one of the most powerful countries” is “really no longer a threat.”

A spokesman for Iran's military, Lt Col Ebrahim Zolfaghari, insisted Thursday that Tehran maintains hidden stockpiles of arms, munitions and production facilities. He said facilities targeted so far by US strikes are “insignificant.” Trump, in his address, said US “core strategic objectives are nearing completion.” Iran state media reported the attack on the B1 bridge, which was still under construction, citing authorities in Alborz province.

Trump posted footage on social media showing what he said was the collapse of Iran's biggest bridge and threatening, “Much more to follow.” It was not immediately clear if the footage Trump shared was the B1 bridge.

No sign of war winding down as Friday dawns with attacks across region

There was little sign Friday of the war in the Middle East winding down as Israel said it faced incoming fire from Iran, Kuwait and Bahrain reported being under attack, and Iran said eight people were killed while celebrating the close of Persian new year near a major bridge hit by a US strike.

Tehran continued to demonstrate its ability to strike its neighbours even as US President Donald Trump claimed the threat from the country was nearly eliminated and cheered the collapse of the bridge on Thursday, reportedly the tallest in the Middle East.

Iran decried the strike on the bridge, which also injured 95 people celebrating Nature Day, when Iranians gather for picnics and other celebrations outdoors on the last day of Nowruz, the Persian new year.

“Striking civilian infrastructure only conveys the defeat and moral collapse of an enemy in disarray,” Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote Thursday in a post on X.

Iran's attacks on Gulf states along with its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted the world's energy supplies with effects far beyond the Middle East. That has proved to be Iran's greatest strategic advantage in the war. Britain held a call with nearly three dozen countries about how to reopen the strait once the fighting is over.

Trump has insisted the strait can be taken by force — but said it is not up to the US to do that. In an address to the American people Wednesday night, he encouraged countries that depend on oil from Hormuz to “build some delayed courage” and go “take it.” 

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth ousts Army Chief Randy George amid Iran war

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has ousted Army Chief of Staff General Randy George and two other generals, the Pentagon said on Thursday without giving a reason for the departures while the United States is waging a war against Iran.

Gen Randy George “will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately,” said Sean Parnell, the Pentagon's top spokesman. George has held the post of Army chief of staff, which typically runs for four years, since August 2023 under the Biden administration.

The ouster, reported earlier by CBS News, is just the latest of more than a dozen firings of top generals and admirals by Hegseth since he took office last year. Like many of those other firings, Pentagon officials are not offering a reason for George's departure, which comes nearly five weeks into US-Israel attacks on Iran and with no clear timeline from President Donald Trump on when the war may end.

Hegseth also has ousted Army Gen David Hodne and Army Maj Gen William Green, according to a Pentagon official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive leadership changes. A reason for their departures also was not given.

While the Pentagon has confirmed that Hegseth has asked the Army’s top uniformed officer to step down, as the US wages a war against Iran, there were discussions about FBI Director Kash Patel, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll and Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer also leaving the Trump administration, the Atlantic reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with White House plans.

US-Israeli strikes hit key Karaj bridge near Tehran, partially destroy major project

US-Israeli strikes partially destroyed the tallest bridge in the Middle East after President Donald Trump warned of bombing Iran "back to the Stone age". Several people were injured in the strike.

The bridge that was still under construction was supposed to link Iran's capital Tehran to the western city of Karaj. The bridge is 136 metres high and is presented as an engineering masterpiece of the Middle East. The footage shows heavy smoke rising from the site and the bridge collapsing.

"A few minutes ago, the American-Zionist enemy once again targeted the B1 bridge in Karaj," a city west of Tehran, state TV said, adding that the first strike had caused two civilian casualties. It said the later attack took place as emergency teams were deployed to the site to help victims of the first strike.

Trump posted the visuals of the attack on Truth Social and said, "The biggest bridge in Iran comes tumbling down, never to be used again - Much more to follow!"

Iran claims strike on Amazon AWS facility in Bahrain after warning US firms in Gulf

Days after warning 18 US firms in the Gulf regions of attacks, Iran has claimed it targeted an Amazon building in Bahrain on Thursday. As per state media, Iran's IRGC stated it launched a targeted attack on the Amazon AWS building in the neighbouring country.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated thet carried out the attack on the Amazon building as part of the third phase of the 90th wave of Operation True Promise 4. Mehr news agency also confirmed the attack on the cloud computing centre in Bahrain.

Bahrain's Interior Ministry had said earlier in the day that civil defence teams were extinguishing a fire at a company facility following what authorities described as an Iranian attack, reported FT.

The attack on the Amazon building comes two days after Iran warned it will target American firms in the Gulf region which are not affiliated with the US military. Citing the use of artificial intelligence in warfare and espionage, the IRGC listed out 18 companies in danger, which included big names such as Amazon, Microsoft, Apple and more.