Trump says 'I like our position' after US trades strikes with Iran for first time in a month

Video released by Reuters showed the aftermath of an alleged U.S. strike that Iranian state media said hit a home where a wedding ceremony was being held.

Iran claimed the strike on Kuhestak, a small town on the country's southern coast, killed four people, including two women and two children, ages 4 and 16, according to The Associated Press. Iranian media said 68 others were wounded.

The AP initially said Iranian state media initially claimed at least five people had been killed but later updated the reported death toll to at least four.

The video of the damage, shot on Wednesday, showed multiple severely damaged buildings and debris strewn all over the ground.

The video also showed a downed telecommunications tower that was reportedly destroyed during the strike. The tower was about 450 feet away from the building said to be the wedding venue, according to Reuters.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) previously said in an update on the latest waves of attacks against Iran that "communications sites" were among the sites targeted.

CENTCOM spokesman, Navy Cmdr. Tim Hawkins, said in an updated statement Wednesday that the U.S. military is "looking into" the strikes in Kuhestak.

"We're aware of the reports, which originated from Iranian state media, and we are looking into them. The U.S. military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC." Hawkins said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this post.

Iran's currency has dropped to a record low of 2.2 million rials per U.S. dollar, Reuters reported, citing two websites tracking currency rates.

The rial has dropped about 10% in the past week. So far this year, the currency has lost about half its value amid U.S. and Israeli attacks and tightening U.S. sanctions.

In 1979, the year of the Iranian revolution, 70 rials equalled one U.S. dollar, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Reuters contributed to this post.

During an appearance on "Fox & Friends" Wednesday morning, Retired General Jack Keane praised Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's "unprecedented" plan to completely isolate Iran economically.

"What Secretary Bessent is doing is unprecedented. He's attempting to isolate from Iran all of their revenue sources, cause true economic peril to them on a scale we've never seen," Keane said.

Keane said the goal of Operation Economic Outcast, announced by Bessent in late August, is not to bring Iran to the negotiating table.

"I love the objective he's trying to achieve here. It's economic collapse of the nation," he said.

Keane argued that that the Iranians did not abide by the Memorandum of Understanding, which stipulated that upon its signing, Iran was to restore pre-war levels of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and other vital regional shipping lanes.

In exchange, the U.S. began lifting the naval blockade while still keeping ships in the region. On June 25, just over a week after the MOU was signed, Iran launched a drone strike against a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

"I think there's a realization that even if you do negotiate with this regime and they make a deal, which they did in the MOU, both presidents signed it, they're not going to comply with it," Keane said.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Center reported that an oil tanker was struck on Monday in the Strait of Hormuz, killing two people on board.

The UKMTO did not offer specifics about the "security incident." It comes around the same time as an attack reported on Sidr, a Saudi oil tanker.

The UKMTO noted that the report of the strike came in at 12:20am local time on Tuesday. The Sidr was hit at around 11:40pm on Monday, according to the Saudi Arabian government.

Saudi Arabia also said that two Filipino sailors were killed in the strike, which it blamed on Iran. Iran has not taken responsibility for the attack.

In a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump said that since the U.S. controls the Strait of Hormuz, a claim disputed by Iran, the waterway should be renamed after him.

"Now that we have it under U.S.A. control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT??? Like America itself, it would be 'hotter' than ever before!" Trump wrote late Wednesday morning.

The remark comes after Trump just days ago ordered Lake Ontario to be called “Lake America” in U.S. federal references. He previously renamed the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” in January 2025.

Kuwait's foreign ministry condemned the attack Monday on a Saudi oil vessel, which led to the deaths of two Filipino sailors.

Saudi Arabia blamed Iran for the attack on Sidr, the oil tanker. The Iranian military has not taken responsibility for the strike.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses the State of Kuwait's condemnation and strong denunciation of the heinous Iranian aggression that targeted the Saudi tanker (Sedr) while it was passing through the Strait of Hormuz, and the resulting fatalities among the tanker's crew," Kuwait's foreign ministry said Wednesday.

"The Ministry emphasizes the necessity of an immediate halt to all escalatory actions, and adherence to the rules of international law that guarantee freedom of navigation," the foreign ministry said, adding that it stands in full solidarity with Saudi Arabia.

U.S. Central Command posted a photograph Wednesday of two U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jets flying over the Middle East.

"Two U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jets patrol the skies over the Middle East. U.S. forces remain vigilant and ready," CENTCOM wrote on X accompanying the photo.

On Tuesday, CENTCOM announced it had completed a wave of strikes on Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets throughout Iran.

CENTCOM added Tuesday that more than 50,000 U.S. service members are currently operating across the Middle East "and remain vigilant, lethal, and prepared to continue executing operations directed by the Commander in Chief."

Chinese President Xi Jinping said countries should reject "external interference" in the Middle East during a state visit in Egypt, according to the Jerusalem Post, citing Chinese state media.

Xi touched down in Cairo on Tuesday evening and received a warm welcome from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

On Wednesday, Xi said Middle Eastern nations should be "masters of their own destiny" and explore a new "security architecture" for the region, Reuters reported, as quoted from China's state news agency Xinhua.

He added that Beijing and Cairo should jointly oppose "unilateralism and acts of bullying,” according to The Associated Press, adding that the two nations should “work together for a more just and equitable global governance system."

Xi also said China is prepared to help safeguard shipping routes in the region, a notable statement as the Iran war has repeatedly disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandeb.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this post.

Two Filipino sailors aboard a Saudi oil tanker were killed Monday after the vessel was attacked by Iranian forces while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported, citing an announcement from Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry.

Sidr, the oil tanker, was hit just before midnight local time on Monday, according to Bahri, the state-backed company that owns the ship.

"Bahri remains in continuous contact with the vessel and is coordinating closely with the relevant authorities and maritime industry stakeholders, while continuing to closely monitor developments," the company said in a statement.

In July, another Bahri vessel, the Wedyan supertanker, was struck while passing near the Omani coast.

The Houthis, a Yemen-based terrorist organization aligned with Iran, also attacked two other vessels owned by Bahri in Masa and Amzan.

Reuters contributed to this post.

A residential complex in Kuwait City, the capital city of the Persian Gulf country, caught fire after an Iranian drone attack, according to the Kuwait Fire Force.

Fire crews were able to put out the blaze which was caused by a "a hostile drone as part of the criminal Iranian aggression," said Brigadier General Mohammed Al-Gharib, a spokesman for the Kuwait Fire Force.

Al-Gharib said firefighters from the Al-Hilali and Al-Madina fire stations immediately dealt with the fire. No one was injured, he added.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that the U.S. government's wide-ranging sanctions on Iran will ultimately "asphyxiate the regime."

"The currency is collapsing. Inflation is over 100%. They're not able to pay their troops," Bessent said during an appearance on "Fox & Friends."

"We had the six weeks of successful kinetic strikes. Then we have imposed the blockade, which is quarantining and isolating the country, and now we are applying sanctions like they've never been seen before that are going to asphyxiate the regime," he said.

Bessent added that new authorities under the Treasury Department will explore putting sanctions on airlines, maritime operators and digital assets with ties to the regime.

Bessent also warned other nations to stop providing support to Iran, a message that came a day after President Vladimir Putin said the Russian people would stand with Tehran.

"We are telling friends and foes: do not deal with this evil regime. We know who you are, you know who you are, and if we have to, we will put you out of business," Bessent said, echoing warnings he has issued since unveiling Operation Economic Outcast in late August.

"My message to everyone is stay away. We all want this conflict to end, and the fastest way for the conflict to end is for no one to provide any support to this regime," he continued.

President Donald Trump nominated Hung Cao, the acting secretary of the Navy, to permanently lead the military branch, calling him a "true WARRIOR."

"We need Patriots like Hung leading our Navy and Marine Corps, and I can think of no one better than him to make sure our Great Navy and Marine Corps remain the FIERCEST and BEST Force the World has ever seen," Trump wrote Tuesday evening on Truth Social.

"The Senate needs to confirm this Warfighter, ASAP, so he can continue the fantastic work he has been doing over the past 4 months," Trump added.

Cao's appointment comes as the U.S. Navy continues to enforce a strict blockade of Iran's ports.

Cao has served as acting Navy secretary since April, when War Secretary Pete Hegseth fired John C. Phelan, a GOP donor who is friends with Trump's family.

Cao thanked Trump for nominating him to a permanent post, saying it's the "honor of a lifetime to lead the great warriors of the Navy and Marine Corps team."

"I’m grateful for your leadership and support as we continue to get after shipbuilding and ensure the defense of the homeland," Cao said in a Tuesday night post on X.

Cao served in the U.S. Navy from 1989 to 2021, when he retired at the rank of captain.

In 2024, Cao was the Republican nominee for Senate in Virginia. He was defeated by Sen. Tim Kaine.

Iranian state media is reporting that a U.S. strike struck a home where a wedding ceremony was being held in Kuhestak in southern Iran.

Ahmad Nafisi, Hormozgan Province’s deputy governor, told Iranian state TV in a phone call that the strike killed five people, including a child, and wounded at least 68 others, according to The Associated Press.

“Make no mistake: these crimes will not go unpunished,” Ebrahim Azizi, chairperson of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said on X. "Nothing will protect them from the crushing will of Iran’s Armed Forces."

"Iran will respond to these savage crimes with firmness," Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry, also wrote on X.

U.S. Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said in a statement obtained by the AP that CENTCOM is aware of the reports of civilian casualties, adding that they “originated from Iranian state media.”

“The U.S. military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC,” Hawkins said, referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The Associated Press contributed to this post.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he likes where the U.S. stands in the Iran war, claiming America is exerting "total control of the Hormuz Strait" and that Iran's economy is "totally collapsing."

Iran denies that the Strait of Hormuz is under total American control and has routinely struck oil tankers attempting to transit through the waterway.

Iran's economy was already under significant strain before the latest U.S. sanctions campaign, with the International Monetary Fund projecting consumer inflation of nearly 69% this year.

Trump has also denied reports that the latest string of military strikes were meant to bring Iran to the negotiating table.

"I couldn’t care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "They are just playing out the inevitable. When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?"

All American personnel are accounted for after Iran’s retaliatory attacks, and the U.S. intercepted “the majority of” missiles fired by Tehran, a senior U.S. official told Fox News.

Most of the missiles and drones Iran launched were headed toward Jordan before being shot down, the U.S. official said. The official added that there has been no major damage to any U.S. bases in the Middle East.

Asked who authorized continued Iranian attacks on commercial ships, the official said Iran’s command-and-control structure is not centralized and it remains unclear who within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is alive or dead.

Fox News' Liz Friden contributed to this post.