State Department tells Americans worldwide to 'exercise increased caution'
The war entered its fourth week on Saturday.
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.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among those killed in Tehran on the first day of strikes and his son Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen to succeed him. Iran is responding with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, regional U.S. bases and multiple Gulf nations. Iran is also attempting to block some shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Israel is also intensifying its long-running strike campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
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Key Headlines
- Strait of Hormuz 'is not closed,' Iranian foreign minister says
- Iran says Strait of Hormuz open to all except 'enemies,' state media, Iranian president say
- 'Iran endangers the entire world,' Netanyahu says
- Iran warns of retaliatory strikes if US attacks power plants, state media says
- Trump threatens to 'hit and obliterate' Iranian power plants if Strait of Hormuz not opened in 48 hours
Trump says Strait of Hormuz 'will open itself at a certain point'
President Donald Trump told reporters Friday that the Strait of Hormuz can open with a “simple military maneuver” and “it will open itself at a certain point,” without elaborating further.
“It's a simple military maneuver. It's relatively safe, but you need a lot of help in the sense of: you need ships, you need volume. And, NATO could help us, but they so far haven't had the courage to do so,” Trump said while departing the White House for Palm Beach.
“And others could help us, but we don't use it. At a certain point, it will open itself at a certain point, but we've defeated the enemy,” Trump said.
Earlier in the day, Trump blasted allies on social media, saying they “don’t want to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a simple military maneuver.”
Trump also said he doesn’t want a ceasefire with Iran when the U.S. has the upper hand and is “obliterating” the country.
"We can have a dialogue, but we don't – I don't want to do a ceasefire. You don't do a ceasefire when you're literally obliterating the other side. They don't have a navy, they don't have an Air Force, they don't have any equipment -- they don't have any spotters, they don't have anti aircraft, they don't have radar and their leaders have all been killed at every level," Trump said.
-ABC News' Selina Wang
Treasury announces sanctions against alleged Hezbollah financing network
The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against a network of 16 individuals and entities as part of an effort to cut off financing to Hezbollah, according to a Treasury Department official.
Alaa Hassan Hamieh, described as a Hezbollah "financier and former public investment official,” who the Treasury Department alleges oversaw a network that laundered and raised funds for group.
The Treasury Department alleged the network is estimated to have diverted more than $100 million since 2020 as part of a scheme to finance Hezbollah.
“Iran is the head of the snake when it comes to global terrorism, and its proxies, such as Hizballah, carry out Tehran’s mission to sow chaos and destruction beyond its borders,” Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a statement.
Some of the individuals and entities allegedly involved in the scheme are located in Lebanon, Syria, Poland, Slovenia, Qatar and Canada, according to the Treasury Department.
-ABC News' Jack Date
NATO Mission Iraq relocates all personnel to Europe
NATO Mission Iraq announced it is relocating all its personnel from the Middle East to Europe.
The last NATO Mission Iraq personnel departed the country on March 20. NATO Mission Iraq will continue from Joint Force Command Naples, according to NATO.
1,021 dead in Lebanon
At least 1,021 people have been killed and 2,641 have been injured in Lebanon as Israeli strikes continue, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
-ABC News' Ghazi Balkiz