President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he did not direct Vice President JD Vance to initiate peace negotiations with Iran, amid reports that Vance had sent a letter to Tehran to kick-start new talks.
When pressed on the matter ahead of traveling to a rally in Ohio and Trump replied, "No."
“No, they need help with medical supplies and various things," he told reporters.
“He asked me what I thought. I said, if you want to do that, that's okay. Basically, it's getting supplies in to help people that are not well,” Trump clarified.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Vance had sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, in an effort to revive peace negotiations.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Thursday that the United Kingdom is "doing everything we can" to get the Strait of Hormuz opened during the U.S.-Iran War.
"We are doing everything that we can to de-escalate the situation, to support the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz," Burnham said, noting that he raised the issue with President Donald Trump last week, according to Reuters.
"But, of course, it's without any nuclear capability in Iran," Burnham reportedly added.
The remarks come as U.S. Central Command is enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports in the region.
"More than 3,000 commercial vessels have successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz with support from CENTCOM forces over the last six months," CENTCOM said earlier this week.
U.S. Central Command pushed back Thursday after Iran claimed it captured an American surveillance drone near the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian state television reported Thursday that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in an “electronic warfare operation,” detected and identified the MQM-170 Outlaw drone, and took control of its control systems before landing it in Iranian territory, according to The Associated Press.
It did not say when the drone was allegedly seized.
“In the past weeks and months, the IRGC has repeatedly lied out of desperation, and today is no different,” U.S. Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, CENTCOM's spokesperson, told the AP.
The Associated Press contributed to this post.
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The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) said Thursday that a ship was spotted "on fire" in the Strait of Hormuz.
The incident was reported about nine nautical miles north of Khasab, Oman.
"The Master of a third-party vessel has reported sighting another vessel on fire," the UKMTO said.
"Status of crew is unknown," it added. "There is no damage assessment or environmental impact report at present."
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth fired Army Lt. Gen Brett Sylvia, a key war planner in the Pentagon, alleging that Sylvia met with journalists to leak classified information, the Department of War said.
A Department of War official said Sylvia, despite having the title of Directorate for Strategy, Plans, and Policy at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, otherwise known in the military as the J5, was not a central planner for Operation Epic Fury against Iran, a campaign that is under the responsibility of U.S. Central Command and its leader, Navy Adm. Brad Cooper.
Sylvia is being investigated for leaking classified information about the Iran war, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and more, the official told Fox News.
The official alleged Sylvia started meeting with journalists outside the Pentagon to leak classified information because of a Pentagon media policy mandating that journalists have escorts while inside the building.
The official also said the investigation into Sylvia remains active and has been referred to the Department of Justice, noting Hegseth took immediate action and fire Sylvia in order to protect national security.
The Atlantic first reported the firing and said Sylvia did not respond to a request for comment.
Fox News' Jennifer Griffin contributed to this post.
U.S. Central Command released a photo Thursday showing an Air Force F-16 fighter jet flying over the Middle East.
More than 50,000 U.S. service members are stationed across the region, U.S. Central Command spokesperson and U.S. Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins told Fox News Digital earlier this month.
"They are highly vigilant, they are highly dedicated and they're serving with courage and bravery. And they're doing so alongside our regional allies and partners," Hawkins said. "It shouldn't be forgotten that we continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Gulf allies and partners to help them defend their airspace from unjustified and unwarranted attacks from Iran, and we have been highly successful in working together. And will continue to do that."
{{#rendered}}Brigadier Gen. Hossein Mohebi, the spokesperson for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) called on U.S. Central Command Thursday to "prove" that the Strait of Hormuz has been cleared out of mines.
In a post on X yesterday, CENTCOM said, "Over recent days and weeks, Iranian-controlled media have reported Iranian claims that commercial vessels are hitting sea mines while transiting the Strait of Hormuz. These claims are FALSE."
“All internationally recognized primary transit routes through the Strait of Hormuz have been cleared of sea mines by U.S. forces and remain so,” CENTCOM said, adding that thousands of commercial vessels have “safely used the transit lanes and continue today.”
In response, Mohebi told CENTCOM on Thursday to "prove your Hormuz mine-clearing claim with independent evidence, not statements!"
"The reality of the Strait of Hormuz is shaped in the sky, on land, and at sea; not in cyberspace and America's media war rooms," he added in a post on X.
Fox News Digital's Emma Bussey contributed to this post.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday described Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's directive to end the current state of “neither war nor peace” between Washington and Tehran as an important step in shaping Iran's future, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
Khamenei had reiterated Iran’s conditions for ending the war with the U.S. during a meeting with his security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, a day earlier.
The meeting focused on reinforcing national unity and moving beyond the current state of uncertainty and tension. According to the Mehr News Agency, Khamenei described the situation as a “crossroads.”
As mediation continues, Iran has said the U.S. must lift its blockade of Iranian ports before peace talks can begin. Washington wants Iran to make concessions on its nuclear program.
Official and military sources told Fox News on Wednesday that movements are being made in the Middle East to give President Donald Trump options if he decides to resume strikes against Iran.
The development comes after The Wall Street Journal reported this week that "the U.S. has told several Gulf Arab countries to be prepared for a short, intense military campaign after the U.S. midterm elections," citing people familiar with the conversations.
When asked by a reporter about the possibility of the U.S. striking Iran after November's midterms, Trump said late Tuesday, "I can't tell you that... but anything's possible."
The Wall Street Journal report said an additional aircraft carrier strike group and Marine expeditionary unit are being repositioned, while the U.S. is bringing a Patriot missile defense system from Texas into Israel to help the Middle Eastern ally bolster its defenses and U.S. forces in the region are restocking their munitions, among other moves.
The sources told Fox News that the movements being reported are to make sure the U.S. military is ready if asked to do something by Trump, but there is no indication the president has made a decision yet.
Trump has telegraphed possible likely targets in Iran, such as its Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site and Kharg Island, although Trump also has called off major strikes six times since July.
Yesterday's Fox News Digital live blog offers additional coverage of the conflict with Iran.
Fox News' Jennifer Griffin contributed to this post.
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