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

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

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.

Mar 13, 2026, 8:51 AM EDT

'Don't need to worry' about Strait of Hormuz, Hegseth says

Speaking about the Strait of Hormuz, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said we "don’t need to worry" about it.

Reading news headlines, Hegseth commented on claims the "Trump administration underestimated the Iran wars impact on the Strait of Hormuz," saying that is "patently ridiculous."

"For decades, Iran has threatened shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. This is always what they do, hold the strait hostage," he said.

Mar 13, 2026, 8:25 AM EDT

US ramping up strikes on Iran again, planning highest volume of strikes Friday, Hegseth says

The U.S. is planning to continue showing "no mercy" as the war with Iran continues and it ramps up strikes once again.

"Today will be yet again, the highest volume of strikes that America has put over the skies of Iran and Tehran," Hegseth said.

Mar 13, 2026, 8:20 AM EDT

US 'decimating' Iranian military, Hegseth says

The U.S. and Israel have struck over 15,000 targets in Iran since the beginning of their joint military operation, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters Friday.

The U.S. is "decimating" the Iranian military, leaving it with no air defenses, no navy and no air force, according to Hegseth.

"We're shooting down and destroying what missiles they still have in stock, but more importantly, ensuring that they have no ability to make more. Their production lines, their military plants, their defense innovation centers: defeated," Hegseth said at a Pentagon briefing.

Mar 13, 2026, 6:22 AM EDT

Trump says US 'totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran'

President Donald Trump said that the United States is “totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran, militarily, economically, and otherwise,” in a post on social media Friday.

“Iran’s Navy is gone, their Air Force is no longer, missiles, drones and everything else are being decimated, and their leaders have been wiped from the face of the earth,” Trump said in his post on Truth Social early Friday. “We have unparalleled firepower, unlimited ammunition, and plenty of time.”

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