Iran welcomes US admission of damage to 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain

The American people deserve better than footing the bill for Israel’s wars.pic.twitter.com/notnk7hWUK— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi)September 11, 2026“Our powerful Armed Forces did indeed ‘blow the hell out of the 5th Fleet HQ in Bahrain,’ as well as other bases supporting US aggression,” he said. “The American people deserve better than footing the bill for Israel’s wars,” Araghchi added.

Cao reportedly acknowledged that Iranian attacks caused extensive damage to US naval facilities in Bahrain,. Iranian forces "blew the hell out of Bahrain," the outlet quoted Cao as saying in an interview, in a rare high-level acknowledgement of the extent of damage sustained by Naval Support Activity Bahrain, headquarters of the US 5th Fleet.

Cao said damage to the base also affected operations involving the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, leaving the crew with “no place for them to pull in.”Open-source and satellite imagery analyses previously indicated substantial damage to US facilities in Bahrain during Iranian attacks early in the war. The Navy’s top uniformed officer, Adm.

Daryl Caudle, said earlier this month that the service would not return to Naval Support Activity Bahrain “anytime soon” because of the damage. The USS Abraham Lincoln had spent nearly nine months on an extended deployment, including about 200 days in a combat zone, before docking at Laem Chabang, Thailand, earlier this month.

The extended deployment drew scrutiny from lawmakers and sailors’ families amid reports of food and water shortages, plumbing problems and deteriorating morale, as well as concerns about sailors’ mental health and the risk of self-harm.

Trump says he does not regret Iran war despite impact it may have on midterm electionsUS President Donald Trump said he did not regret going to war against Iran despite the impact the conflict may have ​on the November US midterm elections. "I don't believe in the word 'regret.

' ‌You can always question yourself a little bit," Trump said in an interview with. Fox Newshost Laura Ingraham when asked if he regretted the Iran ​war due to the impact it may have on the ​elections.

"If I had it do again, I would do exactly ⁠as I did," Trump said in the interview broadcast on Thursday ​on "The Ingraham Angle" show.🚨@POTUS: "I don't believe in the word 'regret. '"pic.twitter.com/snh4hO8WWG— Laura Ingraham (@Ingraham.

Angle)September 11, 2026Trump dismissed suggestions that some of his supporters were ​upset and demoralised about the war. "I don't think they're demoralised. I think they're very proud of the fact that I'm not letting Iran have a nuclear weapon," ​Trump said.

Trump reiterated his thinking that the war will end immediately ​after the midterm election. "It ends right after the election," Trump said in the interview. ‌He ⁠made similar comments on Wednesday, alleging Tehran was trying to influence the elections that will determine whether.

Trump's Republican Party retains control of Congress. The rise in oil and gas prices due to the US-Israeli ​war on Iran ​has become a ⁠major issue for Republicans in the lead-up to the elections. The US and Israel attacked Iran on February ​28, and Iran responded with its own strikes on ​Israel and ⁠Gulf states that host US bases.

US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions. Read:Trump says Iran war could end before US midterms, revising forecast. Trump has cited weakening Iran's nuclear ⁠capabilities ​as one of his war objectives.

Iran does ​not have nuclear weapons and reiterates that its uranium enrichment program is for peaceful purposes. South Korean, Iranian foreign ministers discuss Strait of Hormuz, Seoul says.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun discussed the situation in the Middle East, including freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, in a telephone call on Friday with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

Cho expressed deep concern over the situation and voiced his hope for the restoration of lasting peace and stability in the region, the ministry said in a statement. Cho had consistently supported free and safe navigation for all vessels and participated in international efforts to support maritime security, it said.

Araghchi outlined Iran's position on regional developments, and the ministers agreed to maintain open communication,. The call, which the foreign ministry said was arranged at Iran's request, came after Seoul sent an inspection team to the Middle East to assess whether to send troops to the region.

South Korea's presidential office said last week that Seoul was reviewing its options, including military measures, to support freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

The move follows President Donald Trump's decision in August to scale back US-South Korea joint military exercises, criticising Seoul for not joining US efforts during the Iran war and citing the cost of the drills.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said on ​X earlier ⁠this week that any South Korean military presence or participation in operations in the Gulf and ⁠the Strait ​of Hormuz would be considered ​support for US "aggression" and would have serious consequences. South Korea's government has said no decision had been made on a deployment.

Hormuz shipping traffic falls to single digits, data shows. Vessel transits at the Strait of Hormuz fell to seven on Thursday from 11 the previous day, preliminary ship-tracking data showed on ​Friday, well below the 10-day average of 15.

Of the seven vessels, two Panamax ‌ships exited the strait, one carrying fertiliser and the other sailing in ballast, Kpler as of 0806 PKT.Five vessels entered the strait, including a Panamax vessel carrying dry ​bulk cargo, a Handysize vessel laden with steel, a Handysize vessel carrying grains, ​a medium-range tanker loaded with dirty petroleum products, and a Supramax vessel ⁠carrying dry bulk cargo.

The figures exclude any vessels that might have crossed the strait ​with their Automatic Identification System transponders turned off to avoid detection. Meanwhile, two ballast Qatar.

Energy-linked vessels, ​the Al Ghashamiya and the Al Daayen, appeared inside the Strait of Hormuz this week on September 9 and 6, respectively, after last being seen outside the waterway on September 6 and 3. Read more:Iran attack on base in Jordan damaged American military aircraft, US official says.

Another Qatar. Energy-controlled vessel, ​Al Marrouna, also exited the Strait of Hormuz this week, delivering a cargo from ​Ras Laffan to Pakistan on September 10. The voyage marked the first known LNG shipment aboard a ‌Qatar-linked tanker since ⁠late July, when Al Areesh carried a cargo from Ras Laffan also to Pakistan.

Qatar. Energy did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside business hours. Renewed nuclear allegations are ‘political’: Iranian ambassador to UNIranian ambassador and charge d’affaires to the UN Gholamhossein Darzi said renewed accusations over Tehran’s nuclear program were “political” rather than technical, in a letter to the UN Security Council president, Al Jazeerareported on Friday.

Iran's UN envoy dismissed an IAEA resolution accusing Tehran of violating nuclear commitments, referring it to the Security Council for the first time in 20 years. Envoy Gholamhossein Darzi called it "political, not technical".🔴 LIVE updates:https://t.co/8ZjmgXB8i.

Hpic.twitter.com/TAgS7KESby— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish)September 11, 2026He said Iran rejected accusations raised at a Security Council meeting on Thursday, adding that Resolution 2231 had expired in October 2025. “The renewed accusations against Iran’s peaceful nuclear program are political in nature, not technical.

"US vice president gathered unfiltered views of Iran war behind closed doorsUS Vice President JD Vance reportedly gathered unvarnished assessments of the Iran war behind the scenes that differed from the picture publicly presented by the administration, The.

New York Timesreported on Thursday. officials, Vance contacted US military commanders in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia throughout the spring and summer to seek their unfiltered assessments of the war in Iran. He reportedly sought commanders’ individual judgments in their own words before they were consolidated into a broader Pentagon assessment.

The discussions focused on various issues, including the war’s objectives and tactics, casualty estimates, Iran’s actions in the Strait of Hormuz, and how adaptable Iranian forces had become. Vance also reportedly asked for detailed accounts of what remained in commanders’ stockpiles and how transferring weapons to the Middle East could affect their ability to deter China, Russia, and North Korea.

The commanders were particularly concerned about depleted stocks of Patriot interceptor missiles, with some warning that supplies of critical munitions were at their lowest levels ever. Also read:US faces missile shortages amid ongoing US-Israeli offensive on Iran: Report.

Some of Vance’s conversations also involved concerns over the administration’s overall strategy and the prospects for success. Private assessments said to differ from public picture. The report said the private assessments Vance received differed significantly from the picture presented publicly by senior US administration officials, including Trump.

The report, however, said Vance’s calls were made with the knowledge of Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement that “to ensure the president’s team receives all available data points regarding ongoing operations in the Middle East, the secretary has facilitated direct access to combatant commanders for the vice president and other senior White House leaders.”Vance reportedly the war’s start that he wanted detailed briefings to inform his views and better advise Trump, seeking military officers’ unfiltered opinions that could then be incorporated into his counsel to the president.

Vance reportedly tracked the daily details of the conflict, including military operations, the internal dynamics of Iran’s political system, and the sourcing of intelligence assessments. John Ratcliffe, the CIA director, also reportedly gave Vance direct access to agency analysts.

Vance called some analysts at their desks to ask about raw intelligence and items included in morning briefings,. Pentagon officials also said Hegseth had the Office of Naval Intelligence prepare daily reports for Vance on the Strait of Hormuz, which Trump’s other senior aides now receive as well.

The reports described which ships were transiting the strait, their flags, and their cargo. US issues new sanctions targeting Iran’s proxies. The United States on Thursday announced sanctions targeting Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah, Hezbollah, and financial networks that it accused of supporting Tehran’s regional activities.

"Today, the United States is taking action under Operation Economic Outcast targeting Kata'ib Hizballah (KH), Hizballah, and the broader financial networks that sustain Iran's campaign of regional destabilisation," the State Department said in a statement. Also read:Trump says Iran war will end right after US midterm elections.

It said Kataib Hezbollah "has intensified its threat to US interests," citing a “recent plot to attack Jewish institutions” in the US and continued attacks on US and coalition forces in Iraq.

“The United States remains committed to supporting a sovereign, stable Iraq free from malign external influence, and to protecting Lebanon's institutions from Hizballah's corrosive financial and political interference,” the statement added. Any Houthi gains temporary, will not become 'geographic reality': Yemen's National Defence Council.

Yemen's National Defence Council said on Thursday that any gains by the Houthis are temporary and will not turn into a "geographic reality," agency.

The council, chaired by Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi, reportedly said any attempt by Houthis "to turn a temporary field gain into a permanent political or geographic reality is merely an illusion that will be dispelled by the will of Yemenis and the bravery of their armed forces.

"Reviewing recent developments in the western coastal area of Taiz province and the redeployment of forces in the area, the council stressed that "temporary field advance will not give the militias the right to impose a fait accompli by force.

"It also said the battle to restore state institutions cannot leave any part of the republic’s territory outside its sovereignty, or allow any part of Yemen’s territory "to be turned into a platform for threatening Yemen, its neighbours, or international shipping.

"The council affirmed that "the state is continuing to fulfil its constitutional and national responsibility until the end of the coup and the threat that has affected Yemen, the region, and the world.

"It further underscored that Yemen, while defending the Bab al-Mandab Strait, its coasts, islands, and territorial waters, is not only defending itself but also protecting freedom of navigation, maritime security, global trade stability, and the interests of countries and peoples beyond its borders.