Iran and the US harden their positions as Tehran keeps its grip on the Strait of Hormuz

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran and the United States hardened their positions as diplomacy aimed at reaching a ceasefire in the war in the Middle East appeared to be faltering on Thursday. Tehran moved to formalize its control over the crucial Strait of Hormuz while Washington prepared for the arrival of U.S. combat forces in the region that could be used on the ground in the Islamic Republic.

Iran is instituting a “de facto ‘toll booth’ regime,” industry experts say, with some ships paying in Chinese yuan to pass through the strait, where 20% of all traded oil and natural gas is transported in peacetime.

Click to Gallery

An Israeli warplane flies over the city of Tyre, south Lebanon, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A woman who fled Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon sits outside a tent used as a shelter in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Members of a family, who fled Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, sit around a bonfire outside a tent used as a shelter in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Pro-government supporters wave national flags as one of them holds a picture of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei during a rally in a square in western Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Meanwhile, a strike group anchored by the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli drew closer to the Mideast with some 2,500 Marines. Also, at least 1,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne have been ordered to the region.

The troop movements don’t guarantee U.S. President Donald Trump will try to use force to compel Iran to open the strait and halt its attacks on Gulf Arab states.

Trump previously deployed a large force in the Caribbean before the American military captured former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January. In the current situation, the U.S. is seen as focused on possibly seizing Iran’s oil terminal at Kharg Island or other sites near the strait.

U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, who commands the American military in the region, said his forces have hit more than 10,000 targets since Israel and the U.S. started the war Feb. 28, destroying 92% of Iran’s largest ships and more than two-thirds of the country’s missile, drone and naval production facilities.

“We’re not done yet,” said Cooper, who heads the U.S. Central Command, in a video message. “We are on a path to completely eliminate Iran’s wider military apparatus.”

With its stranglehold on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which leads from the Persian Gulf toward the open ocean, Iran has been blocking ships it perceives as linked to the U.S. and Israeli war effort, but letting through a trickle of others.

The Fars and Tasnim news agencies, both close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, quoted lawmaker Mohammadreza Rezaei Kouchi as saying that parliament was working to formalize the process of charging fees to let ships pass.

“We provide its security, and it is natural that ships and oil tankers should pay such fees,” he was quoted as saying.

Lloyd’s List Intelligence called it a “de facto ‘toll booth’ regime.”

The shipping intelligence firm said vessels have to provide manifests, crew details and their destination to Iran’s Guard for sanctions screening, cargo alignment checks that currently prioritizes oil over all other commodities, and for what is described as ‘geopolitical vetting.’”

“While not all ships are paying a direct toll, at least two vessels have and the payment is settled in yuan,” Lloyd’s List said, referring to China’s currency.

Iran’s grip on the strait and relentless attacks on Gulf regional energy infrastructure has sent oil prices skyrocketing and concerns of a global energy crisis surging. Brent crude, the international standard, traded at US$104 early Thursday, up more than 40% from the day the war started.

“To make it crystal clear, this war is a catastrophe for world’s economies,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters during a vist to Australia.

Using Pakistan as an intermediary, Washington has delivered to Iran a 15-point ceasefire proposal, which includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump, speaking at a fundraiser Wednesday night in Washington, insisted that Iran still wants to cut a deal.

“They are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly, but they’re afraid to say it because they figure they’ll be killed by their own people,” Trump said.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview on state TV, however, that his government has not engaged in talks to end the war, “and we do not plan on any negotiations.”

Araghchi said the U.S. had tried to send messages to Iran through other nations, “but that is not a conversation nor a negotiation.”

Press TV, the English-language broadcaster on Iranian state television, said Iran has its own five-point proposal, which includes “sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.”

Israel said it carried out a wave of attacks early on Thursday targeting Iranian infrastructure, and air defenses were heard in Tehran, while heavy strikes were also reported around Isfahan, a city some 330 kilometers (205 miles) south of the Iranian capital.

Ifahan is home to a major Iranian air base and other military sites, as well as one of the nuclear sites bombed by the U.S. during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June.

Sirens sounded very early on Thursday morning in parts of Tel Aviv and cities in central Israel. Rescue workers said two people were injured in a blast in Kfar Qasim.

Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted multiple drones over its oil-rich Eastern Province, the United Arab Emirates’ air defenses also worked to intercept incoming fire, and Bahrain reported extinguishing a blaze in a neighborhood that is home to the Bahrain International Airport.

Since the war began, more than 1,500 people have been killed in Iran, its Health Ministry says. Twenty people have been killed in Israel; two Israeli soldiers have also been killed in Lebanon. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed. More than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states have also died.

Nearly 1,100 people have died in Lebanon, authorities said. In Iraq, where Iranian-supported militant groups have entered the conflict, 80 members of the security forces have been killed.

Rising reported from Bangkok. Associated Press writers Rod McGuirk in Melbourne, Australia, and Giovanna Dell’Orto in Miami, Florida, contributed to this report.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that a deal to end the Iran war is near, after Tehran dismissed his 15-point ceasefire plan and issued its own sweeping demands to stop fighting as it launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries.

Two officials from Pakistan described the 15-point U.S. proposal broadly, saying it included sanctions relief, a rollback of Iran’s nuclear program, limits on missiles and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is normally shipped.

Iran issued its own plan via state TV, which includes a halt to killings of its officials, means to make sure no other war is waged against it, reparations for the war, the end of hostilities, and Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.

“No negotiations have happened with the enemy until now, and we do not plan on any negotiations,” Iran’s foreign minister later told state TV.

Trump insisted at a Republican fundraiser Wednesday night that talks were underway with Iran’s leaders.

“They are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly, but they’re afraid to say it because they figure they’ll be killed by their own people,” Trump said.

The death toll from the war has risen to more than 1,500 people in Iran, nearly 1,100 people in Lebanon, 20 in Israel and 13 U.S. military members, as well as a number of civilians on land and sea in the Gulf region. Millions of people in Lebanon and Iran have been displaced.

Here is the latest:

An Israeli paramedic who arrived first to the scene in Kfar Qasim described it as “chaos”.

“We arrived within minutes with intensive care units and ambulances. At the scene there was chaos. We began searching inside the house and saw destruction in the center of the home. Five casualties who were inside were injured by the blast,” said Tomer Gussman, according to a statement released by Israel’s rescue services.

Gussman said the injured were evacuated to the hospital in mild condition.

Meanwhile, Israel warned of a third barrage of missiles Thursday incoming from Iran.

Oil prices gained again Thursday and Asian shares were mostly lower as a de-escalation of the Iran war remains uncertain.

Brent crude, the international standard, rose 1.5% to $98.72 per barrel. It was below $95 on Wednesday.

Benchmark U.S. crude was 2% higher at $92.16 a barrel.

The rise in oil prices came as Tehran Wednesday dismissed a ceasefire plan by the U.S., after the Trump administration offered a 15-point proposal to Iran and the American president this week delayed a self-imposed deadline to “obliterate” its power plants in order to force Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

On Thursday, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.8% to 53,343.25. South Korea’s Kospi lost 3.3% to 5,458.37. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.9% to 24,855.12.

Iran’s parliament is working on a bill to formalize the fees it is reportedly charging on some ship transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, local media reported.

The Fars and Tasnim news agencies, both close to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, quoted lawmaker Mohammadreza Rezaei Kouchi as saying that “that “parliament is pursuing a plan to formally codify Iran’s sovereignty, control and oversight over the Strait of Hormuz, while also creating a source of revenue through the collection of fees.”

“This is entirely natural, just as goods pay transit fees when passing through other corridors, the Strait of Hormuz is also a corridor,” he reportedly said. “We provide its security, and it is natural that ships and oil tankers should pay such fees.”

The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, is considered an international waterway open to all shipping. Imposing fees would end that and likely be strongly opposed by the Gulf Arab states, the United States and others.

The comment by Sultan al-Jaber, who leads the massive state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., signaled the hardening rhetoric of the United Arab Emirates as the war nears its one-month mark.

“Weaponizing the Strait of Hormuz is not an act of aggression against one nation,” al-Jaber said in a speech for an event hosted by the Middle East Institute in Washington.

“It is economic terrorism against every consumer, every family that depends on affordable energy and food. When Iran holds Hormuz hostage, every nation pays the ransom, at the gas pump, at the grocery store and at the pharmacy. No country can be allowed to destabilize the global economy in this way. Not now. Not ever.”

Sirens sounded about an hour after sunrise across a large swath of central Israel, including areas around Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and in the occupied West Bank.

Israel’s military said early Thursday morning that Iran had launched missiles toward the country.

The first such alert of the day came after an unusually long lull of more than 14 hours.

Hezbollah rocket fire, however, remained constant overnight in northern Israel, and once reached the Tel Aviv area overnight.

Iran is running a “de facto ‘toll booth’ regime” in Strait of Hormuz, controlling which ships come through and getting payment for their safe passage, a leading shipping intelligence firm said Thursday.

Lloyd’s List Intelligence published an analysis highlighting Iran’s practices through the strait.

It described vessels having to provide manifests, crew details and their destination to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

The information goes to the Guard’s “Hormozgan Provincial Command for sanctions screening, cargo alignment checks that currently prioritizes oil over all other commodities, and for what is described as ‘geopolitical vetting,’” Lloyd’s List said.

“While not all ships are paying a direct toll at least two vessels have and the payment is settled in yuan,” Lloyd’s List said, referring to China’s national currency.

Such payments likely would run afoul of American and European sanctions on the Guard, a key power center within Iran that controls its ballistic missile arsenal and was key in suppressing nationwide protests in January.

Iran has not directly explained the process for ships to go through the strait, though a Foreign Ministry spokesperson appeared to acknowledge Tehran was receiving payments for some ships in an interview.

Fuel prices in Thailand surged Thursday after the government lifted a cap on diesel prices and reduced fuel subsidies.

The majority of fuel types rose by 6 baht ($0.18) per liter.

Diesel prices jumped by about 18%.

The increase is expected to hit the industrial and transportation sectors particularly hard and has raised concerns about a ripple effect on the cost of goods.

Videos and photos shared on social media showed long lines forming at gas stations after the price hike was announced late Wednesday night.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said earlier this week the government would allow fuel prices to adjust in line with global market rates, aiming to manage demand following a surge in panic buying.

Australia has temporarily restricted some Iranians from traveling to the country for fear that they would be unwilling or unable to return to their homeland because of the war.

The restrictions apply from Thursday for six months to Iranian Visitor (Subclass 600) visa holders.

These visas have been issued to more than 7,000 Iranians who intend to visit Australia for tourism, business or to see family.

“When you get a sudden conflict like has happened with Iran, who have a large number of people who’ve been issued visas who, if they applied now, would in fact not be eligible,” Immigration Minister Tony Burke told Parliament on Thursday.

Authorities will use the six months to reassess visa applicants. An unknown number will be exempt.

Activists in Iran reported heavy strikes early Thursday morning around Isfahan, a city some 330 kilometers (205 miles) south of Iran’s capital, Tehran.

The pro-reform newspaper Ham Mihan reported online about strikes in the area.

Isfahan is home to a major Iranian air base and other military sites, as well as one of the nuclear sites bombed by the United States during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June.

The semiofficial Fars news agency, close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, described the attacks as targeting “two residential areas,” without elaborating.

Earlier, Israel’s military said it had completed “a wide-scale wave of strikes” across Iran, including in Isfahan.

A missile alert sounded on mobile phones in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Thursday morning.

Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted multiple drones over its oil-rich Eastern Province on Thursday morning.

Kuwait reported it was working to intercept incoming Iranian fire early Thursday morning.

Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens early Thursday morning.

The United Arab Emirates air defenses early Thursday also worked to intercept incoming fire.

U.S. forces have hit more than 10,000 targets so far in the Iran war, the head of the American military’s Central Command said.

U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper made the comments in a video released early Thursday by Central Command.

“If you combine what we’ve accomplished with the success of our Israeli ally, together, we have struck thousands more,” Cooper said. “Our precision strikes have overwhelmed Iranian air defenses and our combat flights are having tangible effects.”

Cooper added that the U.S. has destroyed 92% of “the Iranian navy’s largest vessels.”

“They’ve now lost the ability to meaningly project naval power and influence around the region and around the world,” Cooper said.

Iran maintains its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, through drone and missile attacks on shipping, however.

Cooper also said the U.S. has struck over two-thirds of Iran’s munitions plants.

“Today, we have damaged or destroyed over two-thirds of Iran’s missile, drone and naval production facilities and shipyards — and we’re not done yet,” he said. “We are on a path to completely eliminate Iran’s wider military manufacturing apparatus.”

Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press, though delayed by two weeks by Planet Labs PBC, have shown Israeli and U.S. strikes targeting shipyards and missile facilities.

Iran has not acknowledged any of its materiel losses through the war.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius described the Iran war as an economic “catastrophe” and said Germany did not want to get “sucked into” the conflict.

Pistorius said on Thursday Germany was ready to help secure any peace once that was achieved and appealed for a ceasefire as soon as possible.

“To make it crystal clear, this war is a catastrophe for the world’s economies,” Pistorius told reporters at the Australian Parliament House.

“From the beginning on, we have not been consulted before. Nobody asked us before. It’s not our war and therefore we don’t want to get sucked into that war,” Pistorius added.

Pistorius addressed the media in the national capital Canberra following a meeting with his Australian counterpart Richard Marles.