Today would be the most intense day of strikes on Iran but, says Hegseth as he claims Tehran is ‘badly dropping’ – dwell updates

Pete Hegseth has declared the US will unleash the ‘most intense day of strikes’ inside Iran at a Pentgaon press briefing in Washington.

The Defense Secretary said the US will ‘not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated’.

His comments come after Tehran threatened Donald Trump after the President said he did not believe the new Supreme Leader can ‘live in peace’.

Here are the latest developments on the US-Israel war as it entered its 11th day.

• Donald Trump said the war could be over ‘very soon’ and claimed the US has ‘already won’ but Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was ‘not done’ with Iran
• Trump threatened to bring ‘death, fire and fury’ down on Iran if it were to cut off the passage of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz
• Iranian security chief Ali Larijani warned Donald Trump to ‘be careful not to be eliminated’
• Oil prices dipped following Trump’s announcement as the President indicated he will waive some sanctions on oil due to market turmoil
• Iran’s Revolutionary Guard forces said Tehran will not allow the export of oil from the region to US and Israeli allies as long as the war continues
• Britain is preparing to send a second ship, RFA Lyme Bay, to the Mediterranean to potentially help with evacuations from the Middle East
• Pakistan has deployed its navy to escort tankers through the Gulf amid increasing threats between the US and Iran surrounding the Strait of Hormuz
• Australia has granted asylum to some of Iran’s visiting women’s football team over fears they faced persecution at home for not singing the national anthem before a match.
• Turkey said a US-made Patriot missile defence system would be deployed a day after NATO shot down a second ballistic missile fired from Iran

Stick with us throughout the day as we bring you the latest developments.

by James Tapsfield

Donald Trump dismissed Keir Starmer’s justifications for staying out of Iran strikes in an apparently frosty call.

The US president is said to have given short shrift to the PM’s arguments that the action was against international law.

Sir Keir’s attempts to switch the topic to the King’s impending state visit also seem to have had limited impact, as the pair had their first conversation since the military campaign was launched.

Details have been leaking out of the chat on Sunday amid concerns about long-term damage to the Special Relationship.

Sir Keir initially refused to allow the use of UK bases for strikes, but later shifted position to permit ‘defensive’ operations to stop Iranian reprisals.

Mr Trump has sniped that Sir Keir ‘is not Winston Churchill’ and refused to deny calling him a ‘loser’ in private.

Wall Street stocks showed little change today as markets prepared for volatility in oil trading as Pete Hegseth spoke of intensified strikes on Iran.

The US Defense Secretary said today would be ‘our most intense day of strikes inside Iran’ as he pointed to Donald Trump as the person who would decide the war’s course.

A few minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1 percent at 47,689.23.

The broad-based S&P 500 was unchanged at 6,795.18, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.1 percent at 22,722.94.

Trump on Monday boosted equity markets with comments to CBS that the war was ‘pretty much’ over.

While oil prices declined today, investors are bracing for more uncertainty.

Thousands of Iranians braved airstrikes and packed a public square in Tehran to pledge allegiance to new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

The son of the late Ayatollah was named on Sunday as the man to succeed his father who was killed on the first day of US-Israeli airstrikes last month.

A UK Foreign Office minister warned his appointment ‘suggests no change in direction from Iran’. The comment was mirrored by many Iranians in the country.

One, named Mohammed, said: ‘We are sick of the Mullahs controlling us and we really hope Israel and America kill him as well soon. We are not happy about this new leader, he’s as bad as his father.’

So is the son worse than the father? Watch below as Daily Mail reporter Lettice Bromovsky discusses:

More than 45,000 British nationals have returned to the UK from the Middle East since the start of Iran war, Downing Street has said.

Giving an update on evacuation efforts, the Prime Minister’s spokesman told reporters that on Monday a total of 32 flights carrying 7,400 British nationals returned to the UK from the Middle East.

He added: ‘Today, Tuesday, 36 flights, are scheduled to land in the UK today, with eight flights I think landing so far.

‘As of this morning, 173,000 British citizens have registered their presence with the FCDO.’

It comes as the Ministry of Defence announced the UK is preparing to send RFA Lyme Bay, to the Mediterranean to potentially help with evacuations.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has voiced concerns the United States and Israel appear to have ‘no common plan’ for bringing the war against Iran ‘to a swift and convincing end’.

‘The United States and Israel have been waging war against Iran for over a week. We share many of these goals, but with each day of the war, more questions arise,’ Merz said.

‘We are particularly concerned that there is apparently no common plan for how this war can be brought to a swift and convincing end.’

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has shut its Ruwais refinery, it has been reported after a fire broke out at a facility following a drone strike.

Abu Dhabi authorities were responding to a blaze at the Ruwais industrial complex, the emirate’s government media office said, adding there were no injuries.

They did not identify the facility.

The complex is the site of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) facilities that can refine up to 922,000 barrels of oil per day and serves as the central hub for the emirate’s downstream operations, including significant chemical, fertilizer, and industrial gas plants.

The refinery has been shut as a precautionary measure, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, adding all other operations at the complex were continuing normally.

ADNOC, the Abu Dhabi Media Office and the UAE foreign ministry did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.

Pete Hegseth insisted the US does not target civilians and is thoroughly investigating reports of a deadly strike on an Iranian girl’s school.

‘No nation takes more precautions to ensure there’s never targeting of civilians than the United States of America, from the boat strikes in the Caribbean – where every single strike is assessed – to this campaign here. And frankly, that’s a point that just isn’t appreciated enough,’ he said.

‘Where things happen that need to be investigated, we will investigate. Open source is not the place to determine what did or did not happen.

‘We take things very, very seriously and investigate them thoroughly, which takes time.’

Pete Hegseth said Donald Trump had a ‘good call’ with Putin yesterday, but added Russia ‘should not be involved’ in the Iran conflict.

‘The president, as I’ve said before, maintains strong relationships with world leaders, which creates opportunities and options for us in very dynamic ways. So the president said it was a good call,’ he said.

‘I was not on it, but those that were, said it was a strong call reaffirming, hopefully the opportunity for some for some peace in Russia-Ukraine and also, a recognition that as it pertains to this conflict, they should not be involved.’

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine said the US is looking at ways to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

‘We’re looking at a range of options there, and we’ll figure out how to solve problems as they come to us,’ he said.

Pete Hegseth said the US military’s will is endless, but insisted the war in Iran will not be endless.

‘We’re in a strong place, giving the President of the United States maximum options from the beginning. We have not stated how long it will take. Our will is endless, and the president gets to determine the end state of those objectives,’ he said on Tuesday.

‘What [Trump’s] said continually, and I want the American people to understand, is this is not endless. It’s not protracted. We’re not allowing mission creep.

‘It’s not for me to posit whether it’s the beginning, the middle or the end. That’s his, and he’ll continue to communicate that.’