Iran war news highlights: Iran strikes fully loaded Kuwait oil tanker after Trump’s Kharg island warning

Iran war news highlights: US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to “completely obliterate” Iran's Kharg Island if no deal is reached on ending the conflict in West Asia “shortly.” "…If for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately “Open for Business,” we will conclude our lovely “stay” in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet “touched,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Iran confirmed on Monday the death of Revolutionary Guards navy commander Alireza Tangsiri after he suffered severe injuries, Iranian media reported, citing a statement from the Guards. Israel said last week that it had killed Tangsiri in a “precise and lethal operation”.

The conflict has put global oil and gas supplies at risk, led to shortages of fertilisers, and affected air travel. Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz has unsettled markets and pushed up prices, as the route carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil trade.

ALSO READ | Donald Trump reveals his favourite thing to do in US-Iran war

The involvement of the Houthis could add further pressure on global shipping if they resume attacks on vessels in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the Red Sea. This route handles roughly 12% of global oil shipments and a significant share of international trade.

Trump says deal with Iran could be “very soon”

Trump said on Sunday that the US-Israel war had achieved regime change in Iran. He also said he was confident he could reach a deal with the Iranians “soon”.

"I think we'll make a deal with them, pretty sure...but we've had regime change," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, pointing to the number of Iranian leaders killed during the month-long war.

"We're dealing with different people than anybody's dealt with before. It's a whole different group of people. So I would consider that regime change," Trump said.

Indian worker killed in Kuwait

An Iranian strike on a power station in Kuwait killed one Indian worker and damaged a building at the site, the Gulf country’s electricity ministry said on Monday.

"A service building at a power and water desalination plant was attacked as part of the Iranian aggression against the State of Kuwait, resulting in the death of an Indian worker and significant material damage to the building," said Fatima Abbas Jawhar Hayat, a spokesperson for the ministry.

Qatar strongly condemned the Iranian strikes on a power station and desalination plant in Kuwait that killed an Indian worker.

US-Iran war rages on

The US and Israel have carried out strikes on Iran for four weeks, while Iran has hit back in Israel, on US military targets, and at industrial sites in US-allied Gulf countries such as the UAE and Bahrain.

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei spoke publicly for the first time in about a week on Saturday. He thanked Iraqi religious authorities for their support, according to the state-run Hamshahri newspaper.

On Sunday, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that Iran “gave” the US most of the 15 demands it had sent to Tehran to end the war. Iran had earlier rejected the proposal and put forward its own terms, including keeping control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has reduced traffic through the waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to global markets to a small fraction.

The Washington Post reported that the US Defense Department was getting ready for possible ground operations in Iran that could last weeks, quoting unnamed US officials. Any such move would likely begin by trying to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

A strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on Friday injured 15 US troops and also damaged a US E-3 Sentry aircraft, according to media reports.

The war has killed more than 4,500 people, based on figures from governments and non-governmental agencies. About three-quarters of the deaths have been in Iran, while over 1,200 people have died in Lebanon. Dozens have been killed in Israel and Gulf Arab states, and 13 US troops have also died.