Iran-US war latest: Trump says there is ‘no timeframe’ for ending conflict as standoff in Strait of Hormuz continues

Iran has said that it is “impossible” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz due to alleged ceasefire violations by the US and Israel.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament and lead negotiator, wrote on X on Wednesday: “A complete ceasefire only makes sense if it is not violated by the maritime blockade and the hostage-taking of the world’s economy…. reopening the Strait of Hormuz is impossible with such a flagrant breach of the ceasefire.”

The status of a two-week-old ceasefire, due to have expired earlier this week, remained unclear on Thursday. Iran seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday and escorted them to Iranian shores, according to statements by the shipping companies.

Iran has executed a man convicted of links to both the exiled opposition group Mujahideen-e-Khalq and Israel’s intelligence service, according to Mizan, the news outlet for Tehran’s judiciary.

Mizan identified the man as Soltanali Shirzadi Fakhr, alleging he had been a long-time member of the MEK and was found guilty of cooperating with Israeli intelligence.

His death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court and carried out after legal procedures were completed, Mizan added.

Britain’s leading supermarkets are voicing concerns over how the Iran war may begin to impact its customers, with the company’s profits expected to drag lower than last year.

Sainsbury’s and Tesco have bot voiced concerns over their financial outlook as the Iran war squeezes the global economy. In the UK, inflation rose to 3.3 per cent on Wednesday in the first clear sign of the Iran war affecting official figures.

Tesco, which has a 28 per cent share of the UK grocery market, forecast adjusted operating profit of £3.0 billion to £3.3 billion for its year to end-February 2027.

That compares with 3.152 billion pounds in 2025/26, which was up 0.6% on the year before and slightly ahead of forecast.

Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said that “many” US allies in the Persian Gulf have sought financial support in the form of currency swap lines due to economic strain caused by the Iran war.

He said: “Many of our Gulf allies have requested swap lines. Swap lines, whether it’s from the Federal Reserve or the Treasury, are to maintain order in the dollar funding markets and to prevent the sale of the US assets in a disorderly way.”

“The swap line would both benefit the UAE and the US, and as I said, numerous other countries, including some of our Asian allies [who] have also requested them,” he said, without specifying which other countries.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps released footage claiming it seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz for alleged maritime violations. IRGC accused the vessels of “attempting to exit the Strait of Hormuz covertly”.

The vessels were identified as the MSC Francesca and Epaminondas, and the incident marks the first such seizure since the war began in late February.

At the same time, the US played down the escalation. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Donald Trump did not view the incident as a ceasefire violation “because these were not US ships, these were not Israeli ships. These were two international vessels”.

US officials have reportedly indicated it could take up to six months to clear sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

The estimate was reportedly shared by Pentagon officials during a classified briefing to lawmakers at a House Armed Services Committee meeting on Tuesday.

According to an AP report, the briefing left lawmakers with “more questions than answers” as key concerns – ranging from the cost of the war and its strategic objectives to details about an early attack on a school in Iran that killed around 165 people, mostly young girls – remained unresolved.

US navy secretary John Phelan has left the Trump administration, marking another high-level departure in US security leadership amid the ongoing war with Iran.

A Pentagon spokesman said the department is “grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service to the Department and the United States Navy”.

Phelan was appointed by Donald Trump in late 2024 and had limited prior military experience.

His departure comes as a significant portion of the US navy remains deployed in the Middle East due to the ongoing war.

Hung Cao will step in as acting secretary.

Lebanon is expected to seek a one-month extension of its ceasefire with Israel during fresh talks in Washington, as the current truce nears its Sunday deadline.

The negotiations, only the second direct engagement between the two sides in decades, come amid ongoing tensions, with Israel saying it has no “serious disagreements” with Lebanon and urging cooperation against the Iran-backed Hezbollah, which is not part of the talks.

The meeting will be led by Marco Rubio, bringing together Israeli ambassador Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad, alongside US envoys.

An unnamed Lebanese official told AFP news agency that, besides a month-long extension of the truce, Lebanon will also request “an end of Israel’s bombing and destruction in the areas where it is present, and a commitment to the ceasefire”.

The Donald Trump administration has not set a firm deadline for Iran to reach a deal, according to Karoline Leavitt.

She said: “He [Trump] is maintaining and is generously offering a bit of flexibility to a regime who has been completely tarnished,” while describing internal divisions in Iran.

“This is a battle between the pragmatists and the hardliners in Iran right now, and the president wants a unified response.”

Leavitt added that no fixed timeline has been imposed, saying: “Ultimately, the timeline will be dictated by the commander-in-chief and the president of the United States.”

She added that “Operation Economic Fury” was continuing with what she called an “effective and successful” naval blockade and claimed that the US is “completely strangling” Iran’s economy.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that the US-Israeli war against Iran is “starting to weaken Europe” in remarks to his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Speaking on Wednesday, Erdogan said: “The war in our region is likewise starting to weaken Europe, and if we do not address this situation with an approach that prioritises peace, the damage caused by the conflict will be far greater.”

He added that the country was working to end the Russia-Ukraine war through negotiations – just as it is doing in the Iran conflict – with the goal of achieving a lasting peace.