Iran keeps targeting American bases as U.S. interceptor stockpiles dwindle

The U.S. military said Friday it disabled a commercial ship that attempted to evade the blockade on Iranian ports. Iran claimed new drone strikes Friday against U.S.

military facilities in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait, as explosions were heard near a military base hosting U.S. forces in northern Iraq and video showed dramatic drone interceptions. The attacks came hours after the U.S.

military said it completed a 13th consecutive night of strikes on Iran aimed at halting attacks on ships in and around the Strait of Hormuz , which the Trump administration insists is open despite few ships risking passage. President Trump departed the NATO summit in Turkey earlier this month on the old Air Force One jet — rather than the newer plane donated by Qatar — following a credible threat to the president from Iran and allied proxy groups, U.S. officials told CBS News.

The officials told CBS News that the U.S. detected a credible plot to fire a missile at the plane. Upon receiving the intelligence, the U.S.

Secret Service swiftly swapped to a backup strategy. The news of threats from Iranian proxies was first reported by The New York Times. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-hormuz-middle-east/#post-update-3e7d179e link copied The U.S.

military disabled a ship that was allegedly sailing toward Iran, in violation of a blockade of Iranian ports reinstated by President Trump last week, U.S. Central Command said. "We disabled the tanker after the crew attempted to run the blockade at least four times prior.

The crew was repeatedly warned, didn't comply, and U.S. forces on scene disabled the ship after firing into its engine room. The ship is no longer transiting to Iran," Navy Capt.

Tim Hawkins, a CENTCOM spokesperson, told CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-hormuz-middle-east/#post-update-d7c9d545 link copied After posting that he takes Chinese President Xi Jinping "at his word" when he said he wouldn't sell weapons to Iran, President Trump said he trusts both Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin that they wouldn't assist Iran. That's despite Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying China and Russia, "at different levels," are "enabling what Iran is doing." "Well, I don't know that they're enabling," the president said Friday.

"I will tell you that President Xi said he will not partake, and President Putin said the same thing. I think you know, I trust them. They've had a long-term relationship, there could be some things they do.

But thus far, at least, it has not been major. I don't think they'd want to have me disappointed." https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-hormuz-middle-east/#post-update-fa9a1244 link copied In the Oval Office Friday, President Trump declined to say when asked if blowing up power plants and bridges – something he's threatened to do in Iran – is a war crime. A reporter asked: "You're talking about blowing up civilian power plants and bridges.

Much of the civilized world would consider that a war crime. Do you?" "Uh, I won't respond to that question," Mr. Trump said.

"Who are you with?" "The New York Times," the reporter responded. "Figured so," Mr. Trump said.

"Failing New York Times." https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-hormuz-middle-east/#post-update-229ddc7a link copied Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to a trickle on Thursday, but the number of commercial vessels passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait increased, according to data from intelligence firm Kpler. Only six ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday after 15 passed through a day earlier, according to the data. Five used the northern route designated by Iran, as opposed to the U.S.-sanctioned route to the south, Kpler said.

Traffic was better in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which is the southern exit to the Red Sea that passes by Yemen. The Iran-backed Houthi militia based in Yemen targeted two Saudi-flagged ships in the strait late Wednesday into Thursday after threatening to shut down traffic. Forty-nine vessels traveled through the Bab el-Mandeb on Thursday, according to Kpler, just below the number of ships that previously traveled through the waterway on an average day.

Only 29 transited the strait on Tuesday after the Houthis threatened to target ships, Kpler said. "Several ships that had previously reversed course in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea completed their crossings, while others remain on hold following earlier U turns," Kpler said on X . "The data points to a cautious but selective return to transit activity as operators continue to assess security conditions." On Friday, the Houthis said they were only targeting Saudi vessels.

https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-hormuz-middle-east/#post-update-d827e836 link copied The cost of Brent crude, the international benchmark price for oil, fell back under $100 on Friday after a rough rise throughout the week. The cost dipped about 4% as of 2 p.m. ET to about $96.

The cost had reached $101 on Thursday, its highest level since May. Costs were still up about 8% this week. The continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to Iranian threats on shipping vessels combined with the Iran-backed Houthis targeting two Saudi-flagged oil tankers in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, at the southern end of the Red Sea, had caused further panic in the industry.

But the Houthis have not targeted any ships since the initial two, possibly bringing some calm back to investors. Prices had fallen from well over $100 into the $70 range after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a memorandum of understanding in June and reopened the Strait of Hormuz.

Americans are currently paying $4.11 per gallon of regular on average nationwide, according to AAA, up from $3.16 at this time a year ago. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-hormuz-middle-east/#post-update-f1b67b36 link copied Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Trump in Washington next week, according to the prime minister's office. Netanyahu will leave for Washington, D.C., on Monday and meet with the president at the White House on Tuesday, his office said.

The prime minister will also attend the funeral for Sen. Lindsey Graham, who he described as "a friend of Israel." Graham often served as a conduit on behalf of the U.S. to the Israeli government and wider Middle East.

Netanyahu last visited the U.S. in February. He met with Mr.

Trump at the White House on that visit as well, just days before launching the initial strikes on Iran. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-hormuz-middle-east/#post-update-e1a7d1de link copied The U.S. has issued new sanctions against Babak Zanjani, an infamous Iranian billionaire who is now allegedly helping Iran avoid previous sanctions and fund the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

"Today's action targets four individuals and nine entities tied to Zanjani's operations," Tommy Pigott, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said in a press release. "Zanjani's re-emergence as a regime-linked financier — despite previously receiving a death sentence in Iran for embezzlement — demonstrates the lengths to which Iranian state-affiliated elites will go to preserve access to the international financial system so that they can enrich themselves, even as they mismanage the Iranian economy." Zanjani was sentenced to death for allegedly embezzling millions from the National Iranian Oil Company, but that sentence was commuted in 2024 and he emerged as a major backer of the regime last year, according to the U.S.

Treasury Department . "The Iranian regime continues to pay a steep economic price for its reckless behavior, with the rial plunging to another record low and inflation up massively," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. "Under President Trump's leadership, Treasury will continue cutting off economic access for corrupt...