Trump calls Strait of Hormuz 'something that we don't need'

Trump told reporters that he is talking to countries about policing the Strait.

ByKevin Shalvey, Meredith Deliso, Jon Haworth, and Nadine El-Bawab
Last Updated: March 15, 2026, 9:09 PM EDT

President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israel strikes attack targeting military and government sites, officials said.

Iranian state television confirmed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among those killed in Tehran on the first day of strikes. His son Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen on Sunday to succeed him.

Iran is responding to the operation with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, regional U.S. bases and multiple Gulf nations. Israel is also intensifying its long-running strike campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.

(Read previous Iran live updates here.)

Watch special coverage on Nightline, "War with Iran," each night on ABC and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Mar 09, 2026, 4:00 PM EDT

Trump says Iran war is 'very complete, pretty much'

President Donald Trump said in a phone interview with CBS News on Monday that the war with Iran is "very far ahead of schedule," before adding that the war "is very complete, pretty much."

U.S. Sailors prepare ordnance on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury, Mar. 4, 2026.
US Navy

“They have no Navy, no communications, they've got no Air Force. Their missiles are down to a scatter. Their drones are being blown up all over the place, including their manufacturing of drones. If you look, they have nothing left. There's nothing left in a military sense," Trump said, according to CBS News.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in an interview with 60 Minutes on Sunday that "we haven't even really begun to start that effort of the campaign, which is going to showcase even more how we will execute on those objectives.”

-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart

Mar 09, 2026, 3:54 PM EDT

Trump, Putin discuss Iran in phone call: Kremlin

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Iran as well as Ukraine in a phone call on Monday, according to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Mar 09, 2026, 2:31 PM EDT

At least 486 killed in Lebanon

At least 486 people have been killed and another 1,313 have been wounded amid Israeli strikes in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli air strike in the Bir al-Abed neighbourhood of the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut on March 9, 2026.
Ibrahim Amro/AFP via Getty Images

The Israel Defense Forces has been issuing evacuations as it continues strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Mar 09, 2026, 2:16 PM EDT

36,000 Americans have returned from Middle East, State Department says

The State Department says it’s aware of 36,000 Americans who have returned to the U.S. from the Middle East via commercial and charter travel options since Feb. 28.

Americans board a U.S. Department of State flight on a plane chartered from a company that manages the New England Patriots team plane that left the Middle East bound for Washington, Mar 5, 2026.
U.S. Department of State/X

Assistant Secretary Dylan Johnson said that while the department has carried out over two dozen charter flights and that its evacuation operations continue, “most” Americans who had asked for help were now declining assistance and the availability of seats on charters has outpaced demand.

The State Department also said its 24/7 task force had provided some level of assistance to over 23,000 Americans abroad.

-ABC News’ Shannon Kingston

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