US President Donald Trump speaks during an event after signing an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, August 27, 2026. REUTERS
US 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 News host 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.
Trump 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.
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, according to data from ship tracker 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 QatarEnergy-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 QatarEnergy-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.
QatarEnergy did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside business hours.
US vice president gathered unfiltered views of Iran war behind closed doors
US 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 Times reported on Thursday.
According to current and former US 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 told colleagues within days of 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, according to the report.
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,” according to the official Saba news 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.
