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Trump Seeks Warships To Open Hormuz Strait

West Asia
14 March 2026 6:25 AM IST

US Prez says Iran military is 100% destroyed

Trump Seeks Warships To Open Hormuz Strait
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Smoke rises from the U.S. embassy building in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, March 14, 2026. AP/PTI

Washington, March 14: US President Donald Trump stepped up calls to reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz, saying war ships will “hopefully” be sent to the area near Iran’s coast to help commercial vessels sail through safely. His comments on Truth Social — which didn’t provide a timeline — came hours after he ordered a strike on military sites on Kharg Island, from which Iran exports almost all its oil, upping the ante in a Middle East war that’s raged for more than two weeks. As he urged nations to send ships to the strait, he added that “the United States will be bombing the hell out of the shore line, and continually shooting Iranian Boats and Ships out of the water. One way or the other, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait OPEN, SAFE, and FREE!” The president said military facilities on the Persian Gulf island had been “obliterated,” adding that he chose not to hit oil infrastructure “for reasons of decency.”

He threatened to do just that should Iran “do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz.” “Many Countries, especially those who are affected by Iran’s attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe,” he wrote in his latest post. He gave little detail beyond saying he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea and the UK would also send war ships. He stated that even though Iran’s military was “already destroyed 100%,” it was “easy” for Tehran to continue threatening ships with drones, mines and shortrange missiles.


Baghdad: Israel said the war against Iran was entering its "decisive phase" on Saturday, as explosions rocked cities across the Middle East, with strikes on the US embassy in Baghdad and a major Emirati energy facility.
Black smoke rose above Washington's embassy in Iraq, AFP journalists saw, the second time it has been targeted since February 28, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran and plunged the Gulf into a conflict that has sent shockwaves through the global economy.
Millions have been displaced by waves of drone, missile and aerial bombing, while more than 1,200 people have reportedly been killed in Iran, with little sign of the conflict slowing down as it entered its third week.
Clouds of dark black smoke were also rising Saturday from Fujairah, home to a major Emirati oil storage and export terminal, shortly after Iran's military warned UAE civilians to avoid port areas.
Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz said the war was entering a "decisive phase", even if he cautioned that it would "continue as long as necessary".
Yet, despite facing superior US and Israeli firepower, Iran appears determined to fight on. It has launched missile and drone attacks against at least 10 of is neighbours and has choked off traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Israel's army warned people in an industrial zone of Tabriz in northern Iran to evacuate, signalling an imminent attack.
The hit on the US embassy in Baghdad followed strikes against the powerful Iran-backed group Kataeb Hezbollah, killing two members including a "key figure", security sources said.
President Donald Trump said Friday that US forces had struck Iran's Kharg Island, its biggest oil export hub, and "obliterated every MILITARY target" while sparing its energy facilities.
Iranian media confirmed the island's oil facilities were unaffected. Iran had threatened US-linked oil and energy firms would be "turned into a pile of ashes" if they were hit.
Hormuz escorts 'soon'
Iran's threats to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz have brought traffic to a virtual halt on a route that normally carries one fifth of global oil supplies.
Trump said the US Navy would start escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz "very soon", but governments around the world fear a prolonged blow to their economies with crude oil prices up more than 40 percent since the war began.
The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas called on Saturday for Iran to refrain from targeting neighbouring countries, in a rare breach between the allies, though it affirmed Tehran's right to defend itself.
Qatar said it intercepted two missiles over the capital's downtown area on Saturday and evacuated key areas after blasts were heard by AFP journalists in Doha.
Saudi Arabia's defence ministry said its forces had intercepted dozens of drones on Friday.
'Defeated'
Strikes have continued in Iran, with heavy blasts shaking Tehran late Friday.
Iran's health ministry says more than 1,200 people have been killed by US and Israeli attacks, numbers that could not be independently verified.
The UN refugee agency has estimated that up to 3.2 million people have been displaced inside Iran since the war started.
Trump described Iran as "totally defeated" and in search of a deal he was unwilling to consider.
The Pentagon says more than 15,000 targets in Iran have been hit by the US and Israel in two weeks.
A report on Thursday said the first six days alone cost the US $11.3 billion and it has lost 13 military personnel.
Israel's military said it conducted 7,600 strikes on Iran, mostly against its missile programme.
US media raised the possibility of a ground invasion, with the New York Times and Wall Street Journal reporting the Pentagon had dispatched the Japan-based amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli to the region with some 2,500 Marines.
Iran's rulers appear intent on showing they will survive the war and maintain control, despite their supreme leader Ali Khamenei being killed on day one.
Khamenei's son Mojtaba Khamenei was named the new supreme leader, but has been absent from public view and is reportedly wounded.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards have threatened a heavy crackdown on any anti-government protests.
Thousands were killed in mass demonstrations in January, and a near-total internet blackout has been imposed since since the war began.
'Existential battle'
Beyond the Gulf, Turkey said NATO forces shot down a ballistic missile launched from Iran -- the third such interception in the war.
Lebanon has also been drawn into the war.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel from Lebanon after Khamenei's death and its leader, Naim Qassem, has called the current conflict an "existential battle".
Israel has responded with air and ground assaults, killing at least 773 people according to the Lebanese authorities, and issuing evacuation orders that have displaced hundreds of thousands.
An overnight strike in southern Lebanon killed a dozen doctors, paramedics and nurses at a healthcare clinic, health authorities said Saturday.

Live Updates

2026-03-14 00:55:37
  • 14 March 2026 11:12 AM IST

    Trump: Iran ‘Defeated’, Wants Deal I Won’t Accept

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  • 14 March 2026 11:11 AM IST

    Sri Lanka Repatriates Remains of 84 Iranian Sailors Killed in US Strike

    Sri Lanka has repatriated the remains of 84 Iranian sailors who were killed when their frigate was sunk by a US submarine, an official said. Last week on Wednesday, Sri Lanka said it had recovered 84 bodies of Iranian sailors after the US submarine attack sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off Galle on the island's southern coast.


  • 14 March 2026 10:03 AM IST



  • 14 March 2026 10:02 AM IST

    Pakistan has informed Iran that if it is ever forced to choose between Iran and Saudi Arabia, it will stand with Saudi Arabia. Iran should not make any miscalculation.



  • 14 March 2026 9:17 AM IST

    Israeli Air Force (IAF) said on Saturday that missiles were launched from Iran toward Israel, prompting the activation of air defence systems to intercept the threat. Read More:


  • 14 March 2026 7:54 AM IST

    Trump says he’s discussed Mideast war with China’s president

    Asked by a reporter if he had discussed the war with Xi Jinping, the president said, “I have, and we’re discussing a couple of different things with him. Not only that, but other things.”
    Trump did not offer any specifics on what they discussed.


  • 14 March 2026 7:53 AM IST

    Qatar’s defense ministry says it intercepted missile attack, evacuations carried out

    It announced the interception early Saturday. AP journalists in Doha heard explosions consistent with possible interceptions.
    The ministry said earlier that authorities were evacuating “a number” of areas as a temporary precaution, without identifying the locations. Emergency alerts were sent to people’s phones.
    Evacuations have been rare in Qatar since Iran started targeting it with drones and missiles. In early March, authorities evacuated residents near the U.S. Embassy in Doha.

  • 14 March 2026 7:42 AM IST

    The Iranian administration released pictures of coffins of fallen IRIS Dena sailors who lost their lives in the attack by US forces on the IRIS Dena warship. In a post on X, the Iranian embassy in India said, "The pure and honoured bodies of the naval martyrs who lost their lives in the terrorist attack by US forces on the IRIS Dena warship."




  • 14 March 2026 6:42 AM IST

    Iran's Plans to Take Over Middle East are Dead: Trump

    US President Donald Trump on Saturday said that Iran had ambitions to dominate the entire Middle East region and destroy Israel, but claimed that those “plans are now dead.”




     


( Source : Deccan Chronicle with agency inputs )
Middle East tensions West Asia Crisis West Asia tensions Donald Trump US-Israel-Iran war 
Iran 
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