Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei warned South Korea of potential “serious consequences” on Monday following reports that the country is considering sending forces to the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post written in Korean on X, Baghaei said, “Iran places great importance on its friendly relations with the Republic of Korea.”
“However, at present, the Iranian people are defending themselves against America's aggressive actions, and in the situation where they are resolutely responding to America's war crimes against women and children, any other country maintaining a military presence or participating in operations in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz can only be regarded as directly supporting the perpetrators of the aggression, and it will lead to serious consequences,” he added.
South Korea’s presidential office said Friday that it is reviewing options, including military measures, the support freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, which remains down during the U.S. was with Iran, Reuters reported.
Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. John Teichert told “Fox News Live” on Monday that U.S. Central Command’s latest strikes against Iranian oil tankers demonstrate how at “any time of our choosing,” the U.S. military can “permanently and irreversibly harm the regime’s ability to fund itself.”
"I think these strikes over the weekend sent the biggest signal with respect to the ship that was struck off of Kharg Island, because it's a not-so-subtle reminder to the Iranian regime that any time of our choosing, we can strike Kharg Island and permanently and irreversibly harm the regime's ability to fund itself,” Teichert said.
Kharg Island is a tiny but strategically vital island that handles roughly 90% of the Islamic Republic's crude oil exports and has become the centerpiece of Washington's economic pressure campaign against Tehran.
CENTCOM said Saturday that a “U.S. aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer successfully evaded multiple unprovoked Iranian attacks.”
“Following Iran’s failed attacks, CENTCOM permanently disabled the IRGC crude oil carriers M/T Downy off the coast of Kharg Island and M/T Stark 1 near Jask. American forces also completely destroyed the unladen crude oil carrier M/T Kylo (also known as the “Noxen”) in the Gulf of Oman, striking the vessel in multiple critical locations to render it inoperable after the crew was directed to abandon ship,” it added.
Fox News Digital’s Efrat Lachter contributed to this post.
The average number of ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen to the lowest levels since May, a report said.
Analytics firm Kpler said as of Sunday, a moving average of 10 commodity ships moved through the key waterway over the past 10 days, down from more than 15 on Friday and nearly 13 on Saturday, according to Reuters.
Only two ships crossed the Strait on Saturday and six on Sunday, the report added.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) said in a recent report that “Southern Omani route remains the highest-risk corridor, accounting for 21 of 24 projectile strike incidents reported by UKMTO” since July 6.
“Despite a brief recovery in late June, vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains significantly reduced, AIS transit information suggests operators favoring the Northern route following projectile attacks, ongoing security concerns ,and heightened enforcement activity,” it added.
{{#rendered}}U.S. Central Command released new images Monday showing Marines conducting live-fire training onboard the USS Boxer, one of the Navy ships stationed in the Middle East in support of the Iranian port blockade.
The photos show multiple marines opening fire at human targets positioned onboard the amphibious assault ship.
CENTCOM said last week that more than 2,600 sailors and Marines are deployed on the USS Boxer.
It added that "More than 50,000 U.S. service members are currently operating across the Middle East and remain vigilant, lethal, and prepared to continue executing operations directed by the Commander in Chief."
The Israel Defense Forces announced Monday that it killed a Hamas commander in the Gaza City area.
The IDF said Yusuf Aqila was part of Hamas’ Nukhba force, and in recent weeks, he “advanced attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians while working to restore Hamas’ terrorist capabilities, in systematic violation of the ceasefire.”
“The strike was conducted to remove the immediate threat he posed,” the IDF said.
The IDF previously has described the Nukhba force as consisting of “terrorists selected by senior Hamas operatives, designated to carry out terrorist attacks such as ambushes, raids, assaults, infiltration through terror tunnels, as well as anti-tank missile, rocket, and sniper fire.”
"The Nukhba elite forces were one of the leading forces that infiltrated the State of Israel in order to carry out murderous acts of terror against its civilians,” according to the IDF.
Fox News Digital’s Lawrence Richard contributed to this post.
A senior United Arab Emirates official vowed Monday that "no single state" should control the Strait of Hormuz.
Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the United Arab Emirates' president, made the remark in Abu Dhabi after a top Iranian official said on Sunday that Tehran will release maps showing a “new international corridor” through the Strait of Hormuz and establish a restricted zone for ships traveling in the Persian Gulf.
“Our energy exports will not be held hostage, nor will our trade and economic activity,” Gargash said.
Gargash said Iran should face consequences for threatening oil tankers and commercial vessels in the strait with mines, drones or missiles, according to The Associated Press.
“Using an international waterway as an instrument of coercion is unacceptable,” he added.
Rebuilding trust between Iran and the Gulf countries could take decades, Gargash also warned, because by targeting its neighbors, Tehran has “demolished” any presumption of good faith.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
{{#rendered}}Diplomats from Bahrain and the United States are seeking to strengthen ties Monday as Iran continues to threaten countries across the Middle East.
The Bahrain News Agency reported that Ahmed bin Salman Al Musallam, speaker of the Council of Representatives, met with U.S. Ambassador to Bahrain Stephanie Hallett.
"The meeting discussed current regional and international developments, developments in the region, and the repercussions of the Iranian attacks on the Kingdom of Bahrain, Gulf Cooperation Council countries and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, as well as the risks of closing the Strait of Hormuz to international navigation," it said.
"It also discussed means to strengthen parliamentary cooperation and coordination, and efforts to achieve security, stability and comprehensive development," the report added.
Iran's Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh vowed that “the responsibility of reforming Iran’s economy is with its government and people, not with the U.S. Treasury,” following the latest actions announced during Operation Economic Outcast, a report said.
“They speak of economic pressure and isolation, of breaking off financial ties and they think that by pressuring the economy of a country they can change the decisions of its people,” Madanizadeh also told state media, according to Reuters.
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned the Turkey-based Golden Global Bank on Friday.
“The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Turkey-based financial institution Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi (Golden Global Bank) and its subsidiaries, which have facilitated tens of millions of dollars’ worth of transactions for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and provide the Iranian regime with key correspondent banking access that allows it to move its funds internationally,” the Treasury Department said.
“Financial institutions continue to find out the hard way that we are serious about Operation Economic Outcast," added Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a statement. “While we hope no more banks will need to be sanctioned, that ultimately depends on how quickly the international community comes to its senses and ceases support of the murderous Iranian regime. We know who you are, we know where you are, and we will continue to take action together with our allies and partners until we have buried the head of the Iranian snake.”
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said Monday that the U.S. and Iran should immediately return to the negotiating table following the latest strikes between both sides.
“I am alarmed by the resumption of attacks between the United States and Iran, affecting the entire Gulf region,” Türk said during a session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
“Recent reports of civilian deaths and injuries, including at a wedding in Hormozgan province, are particularly concerning. The geopolitical and economic impacts of this entirely avoidable crisis are again reverberating around the world, and I appeal for an immediate return to negotiations,” he added.
{{#rendered}}The Israel Defense Forces said Monday that it struck “Several Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure sites across southern Lebanon, including a weapons storage facility,” after the Iran-backed terrorist group launched explosive drones at its soldiers.
“Additionally, the IDF struck terrorists who were identified transferring weapons in the area of Kfar Reman, in order to remove the threat they posed,” the IDF said on X.
“The strikes were in response to Hezbollah’s launch of 2 explosive drones toward IDF troops in the Security Zone,” it added.
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf threatened fresh strikes on American energy assets in the Middle East on Monday following a warning from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth against opening fire at U.S. ships.
After U.S. Central Command struck three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday, Hegseth wrote on X: “It’s simple: if Iran shoots at U.S. ships, we will destroy (and sink) their oil tankers. All they have to do is not shoot at [the] U.S. Navy.”
CENTCOM said Saturday that its forces “struck three Iranian crude oil carriers, Sept. 5, after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched ballistic missiles toward two U.S. Navy warships patrolling regional waters.”
“It’s simple: the oil and gas production chain here is sprawling, accessible, and exposed. American oil and gas companies across these waters and facilities share that exposure. Strike our assets and you get struck,” Ghalibaf wrote in a response to Hegseth on Monday.
“We’ve already proven it. Ask the bases that are no longer viable,” he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a fresh warning to Iran on Sunday, saying Tehran would face a devastating response if it attacks Israel as he vowed to complete the mission of toppling the Iranian regime.
"That regime in Iran, its end is near," Netanyahu said at a government Rosh Hashanah toast in Jerusalem, according to a translation from Hebrew. "It is weak. It is fighting for its life. It is faltering. There is another mission to complete, and we are determined to achieve it.
"This will permanently change the face of the Middle East and the history of our people. We know we are determined to do it, and we know we are capable of doing it."
Israel is “stronger than ever,” he hailed, claiming the military campaign, carried out with U.S. support, has removed the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program and ballistic missiles.
"We are determined to defend ourselves," Netanyahu continued. "We are determined to strike our enemies. They are not attacking us. Iran is refraining from doing so, and it knows why.
"Of course, it could make the mistake of attacking us. If it does, it will suffer a blow beyond anything it can even imagine."
Netanyahu’s remarks came as he praised Israeli forces and security services for ongoing operations in Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank, and told his enemies: “Do not mess with us.”
Yesterday's Fox News Digital live blog offers additional coverage of the conflict with Iran.
Fox News' Yonat Friling contributed to this report.
{{#rendered}}A top Iranian official said Tehran will release maps showing a “new international corridor” through the Strait of Hormuz and establish a restricted zone for ships traveling in the Persian Gulf, a report said.
"The maps of a new international corridor which lies in Iranian and Omani waters and in which Iran will have management have been agreed and should be signed in the coming days," Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told state TV, according to Reuters.
"We will only commit to the Strait of Hormuz being open when they [the Americans] stop the sabotage, threats and attacks on Iran," Rezaei reportedly added.
Rezaei also said the restricted zone will begin where the U.S. military blockade of Iranian ports starts, and that any ship entering that area would be added onto a sanctions list, Reuters reported. He did not add further details.
Iran and Oman have been discussing a deal to jointly manage the Strait of Hormuz.
The developments come as energy prices remain elevated on Labor Day, due in part to the disruption of maritime traffic in the key waterway.
The average gallon of gas is $4.15 across the U.S., the highest-ever figure on Labor Day, according to AAA.
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