US strikes oil tankers, Tehran claims attacks on US-linked vessels
Trump said the U.S. has 'essentially' taken over Iran.
President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.
Delegations from the U.S. and Iran entered negotiations in June aimed at a war-ending deal based on a memorandum of understanding signed by both countries.
The U.S. and Iran have nonetheless continued to exchange strikes, with the strategic Strait of Hormuz as the primary flashpoint.
Key Headlines
'Actually treasonous': Trump pushes back on reports munition stockpiles are dwindling as war drags on
President Donald Trump is protesting reports that say U.S. munition stockpiles are dwindling as the Iran war drags on, suggesting the media outlets that are publishing the story are "100% wrong" and "actually treasonous."
"The people and Media Outlets that keep harping on the fact that we have no ammunition (And they are 100% wrong!), are actually treasonous," Trump said in a post on his social media platform Thursday.
He said the U.S. has "virtually unlimited amounts of Mid to High Grade Ammunition," adding that it’s "far more than we could ever use for this, or for any other War (which is highly unlikely!), that could improbably take place."
He also pushed back on reports that the U.S. is struggling to produce munitions, saying the U.S. is currently stockpiling weapons and "preparing for any contingency that could happen."
Trump said weapons sales to allies would begin again "soon."
"We are producing Munitions at levels never seen before. We are stockpiling and preparing for any contingency that could happen. We are taking them for ourselves, the U.S.A., rather than selling them to others, but the sales to Allies will soon again, begin," Trump wrote on social media.
He also repeated his position from earlier this week that the war in Ukraine, not in Iran, is where most U.S. munitions have been used– again blaming former president Joe Biden for providing aid to Ukraine.
Trump excuses Lutnick for saying there have been no US deaths in Iran war
President Donald Trump posted to social media on Thursday defending Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who erroneously said on Wednesday that no Americans had been killed in the ongoing war with Iran.
In an interview with CNBC, Lutnick touted the administration's strategy of attempting an "economic choke out" of Iran and said that "there haven't been American deaths."
Eighteen Americans have been killed so far in the conflict, which has now been active for more than six months.
Trump wrote on social media on Thursday that Lutnick had "Venezuela on his mind" when he made his remarks.
Also on Thursday morning, Lutnick posted to X saying he "misspoke" and offering his condolences to the families of the 18 dead servicemembers.
"I was thinking about the Venezuelan military operation where no service members died," Lutnick wrote.
-ABC News' Mary Bruce and Jennifer Pereira
Iran claims attacks on US bases in Kuwait, UAE
Iran's army claimed Thursday morning that it conducted overnight strikes on U.S. military bases in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
In statements carried by official and semiofficial Iranian news agencies, Iran's army said it used missiles and drones to target satellite communication systems, equipment depots and fighter jet hangars at Ahmed al-Jaber Air Base in Kuwait.
The statements also claimed attacks on troop positions and radar systems at Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE.
-ABC News' Morgan Winsor
Kuwait reports incoming Iranian missiles and drones
The Kuwait Army said in a post to X on Thursday morning that its air defenses were "confronting hostile missile and drone attacks" launched from Iran.
-ABC News' Will Gretsky