An Iranian army commander has threatened to break Donald Trump’s legs over remarks made about the Strait of Hormuz.
As the US and Iran continue their conflict and dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, the American president has threatened to declare the vital waterway a US territory.
Responding to his remarks, major general Amir Hatami said: “Joking about such remarks is a major mistake, because this is Iran, and it has defenders who will break your legs,” according to Iranian broadcasters IRIB.
He added that the US forces had “effectively been driven out” and no longer had permission to enter the Gulf, the Sea of Oman or the Strait of Hormuz.
Hatami also said US bases would not be allowed to return to their previous status, adding that “Iran will never allow this”.
Iranian officials previously told Trump to “accept the reality of defeat” after declaring that it would not resume talks with the US with the Strait of Hormuz set to remain closed.
His comments come as Jared Kushner, Trump’s envoy and son-in-law, held rare talks with Hamas to discuss the implementation of the Gaza peace plan.
Comments surface showing Israel's Ben-Gvir advocating for killing '30 to 40' people in Gaza each night
An extremist Israeli lawmaker in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition publicly advocated for killing “30 to 40” people in Gaza each night, comments that surfaced Sunday and were quickly shared by Palestinian media.
Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir made the statement while speaking to a former Gaza-held hostage, Rom Braslavski, on Braslavski's podcast.
The two were discussing Israel's recovery from the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023, when Ben-Gvir criticized Israel's recent drawdown of strikes in Gaza.
“It’s no secret, I disagree with the prime minister," he said. “I think targeted assassinations should be carried out in Gaza, taking down 30 to 40 every night. Not just those who pose an immediate threat — there are people there who are not worthy of life. They shouldn’t live. They’re not even people.”
In the past, similar statements by Ben-Gvir and other Israeli officials were widely condemned. Many have been presented to the UN’s world court as evidence of genocidal intent. Israel denies it has committed genocide in Gaza.
Israel’s domestic media has made scarce mention of the statement, highlighting how once-fringe ideologies like Ben-Gvir’s are surging in the leadup to Israeli elections Oct. 27. Figures like Ben-Gvir have become more popular among Israelis since Hamas’ brutal attack in 2023, when the militants killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostage.
Many hostages have recounted long-term starvation, physical and psychological abuse and, in some cases, sexual abuse.
Israel continues strikes on Gaza
The Israeli military said on Sunday that its aircraft struck two Islamic Jihad and Hamas militants in Khan Younis and Nuseirat.
At least five Palestinians were injured in the strike which hit a tent encampment, medics in the enclave said. One of the injured in the strike on Khan Younis in southern Gaza died from their wounds, medics at Nasser hospital said later.
A separate airstrike, which the Israeli military said targeted another militant, hit an apartment in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, wounding several people, medics said.
Earlier, Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya met with Egypt's intelligence chief Hassan Rashad in Cairo. Hamas spokesperson in Gaza, Hazem Qassem, said Al-Hayya would brief mediators on what he said were Israel's ceasefire violations.
US Central Command chief says visit to Abraham Lincoln was 'awe-inspiring'
The leader of US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, wrote on Sunday that his recent visit to the USS Abraham Lincoln was "awe-inspiring" and hailed the crew's "resilience" following reports of concerns about mental health and deteriorating conditions aboard the aircraft carrier.
The ship has not made a port call in more than 200 days, setting a modern-day record for consecutive days at sea, according to Democratic lawmakers who have called for answers after sailors' families raised concerns about worsening conditions on the Lincoln.
Cooper wrote in a statement posted on social media on Sunday that the Lincoln had the lowest number of mental health cases of the Navy's 11 active aircraft carriers.
He praised the carrier's leadership for prioritizing mental health and crew resilience. The Lincoln left its home port of San Diego in November and was later redirected to the Middle East to support US military operations in the war with Iran. The carrier has roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines aboard.
Recap: Trump's envoys meet mediators in Egypt
Donald Trump's envoys met with Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators in Cairo on Sunday, a diplomatic source said, in a bid to advance the US president's Gaza peace plan, even as Israel pressed on with airstrikes in the enclave.
Hamas officials were present at some of the meetings between mediators and with Trump's envoy and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Nickolay Mladenov, Trump's Board of Peace envoy for Gaza, the diplomat said. A senior Israeli official said Kushner and Mladenov were scheduled to meet on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who on August 9 said Trump's latest roadmap for Gaza peace was 'unacceptable'.
Kushner to meet Netanyahu on Monday - reports
US president Donald Trump’s envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner is expected to meet with Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to discuss Gaza and other regional issues, two Israeli sources have told ABC News.
US oil reserves are so low amid Trump’s Iran war the caverns holding them could be damaged
America’s emergency oil stockpile has dropped to its lowest level in 40 years, with experts warning that ongoing withdrawals for the war with Iran could permanently damage the underground caverns holding the crude, writes**Jasmine Fernández.
The warnings arrive as American drivers face unprecedented gas prices for late summer. Today’s AAA National Average for a gallon of regular gasoline sits at $4.07, marking the highest levels on record for mid-August.
Concerns over the physical limits of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve center on the unique geology of its storage network. The crude is held within 60 salt caverns thousands of feet below ground at four sites across Texas and Louisiana.
To extract crude, operators pump fresh water into the bottom of a cavern to force oil up to pipeline intakes. However, petroleum engineering professor Siddharth Misra of Texas A&M University told CNBC that repeated rapid drawdowns wash away salt walls.
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Recap: Iran says Qatar delaying probe into fate of Iranian pilots
An Iranian military official said on Sunday that Qatar should let an Iranian team in to investigate the fate of Iranian pilots who Tehran says are being held there, Iranian media said on Sunday. Qatar denies holding any pilots.
Mohammad Baqerzadeh, commander of the Committee for the Search for Missing Persons of Iran's Armed Forces General Staff, said the air force and fact-finding team had been waiting for months to enter Qatar, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Baqerzadeh accused Qatari officials of repeatedly delaying the investigation and preventing the pilots' return to Iran. He called for the International Committee of the Red Cross to urgently follow up on the case.
In full: Jared Kushner holds rare meeting with Hamas chief over stalled Gaza peace plan
In a renewed diplomatic effort to advance the stalled Gaza ceasefire, US negotiator and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner held a rare meeting with the Hamas chief on Sunday.
Kushner is slated to meet with Israel's prime minister on Monday in discussions aimed at saving a 15-point, US-backed roadmap that requires Hamas to disarm in Gaza and Israel to pull back its forces from the war-torn Palestinian territory.
At stake is the survival of approximately 2 million people in Gaza and the rebuilding of the densely populated enclave, which remains mostly under the control of Israeli forces more than 10 months after the ceasefire halted major military operations. A meeting last year between Kushner, fellow envoy Steve Witkoff, and Hamas leaders in Egypt helped secure the original ceasefire, which has since stalled over the key requirement of Hamas’ disarmament.
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Pope renews calls to end to violence in West Bank
Pope Leo XIV issued a call on Sunday for the end of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
In a post on X on Sunday afternoon, Pope Leo said: “I renew my appeal for an end to the ongoing violence against the Palestinian civilian population in the West Bank, and I urgently call on the international community to work toward advancing the two-state solution, for a just and lasting peace.”
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White House officials this week pushed Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to openly condemn a settler-led siege of a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank.
The pressure comes as settlers pitched another tent in the area before military forces intervened to dismantle it.
For nearly a week, settlers have blockaded homes in the village of Qusra. Human rights organizations report that the siege is part of an organized attempt to claim additional territory intended for a future Palestinian state.
The blockade drew rare public criticism from Washington on Thursday, with Mike Huckabee, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel and a prominent proponent of Jewish settlement in the West Bank, labelling the settlers surrounding a Palestinian residence as "Israeli terrorists.”
Egypt welcomes Trump's son-in-law for Gaza talks
Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah El Sisi has welcomed US president Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner for talks on Gaza.
Mr Kushner will also meet a Hamas delegation in Cairo on Sunday, according to reporting from Al Jazeera.
Mr Kushner has made the trip in a bid to advance plans for an end to the conflict in Gaza after a deal recently announced by the Trump administration was rejected by Israel.
According to the Associated Press, Mr Kusner will be joined by Board of Peace high representative Nickolay Mladenov, and executive board member and former British prime minister Tony Blair. However Tony Blair was not pictured in a photo of a meeting in Egypt on Sunday.