US-Iran war highlights: Vance claims 'progress' in peace talks with Iran; UAE denies Netanyahu's ‘secret visit’ claim

US-Iran war LIVE: The dollar held near a one-week high on Wednesday as risk sentiment soured after a hot US inflation reading sent Treasury yields higher, while oil stayed elevated on renewed uncertainties in the Middle East.

The euro stood at $1.1735 and sterling traded at $1.3533, both down roughly 0.05% against the greenback.

US-Iran war LIVE: US President Donald Trump said he would consider his “red lines” regarding the ceasefire with Iran while travelling to China for talks with President Xi Jinping.

Trump’s remarks came shortly after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a House committee that the Pentagon required a $1.5 trillion “war-fighting budget”.

Hegseth made the request during discussions on defence spending as tensions linked to the Iran conflict continued to dominate Washington’s agenda.

US-Iran war LIVE: Israel is concerned that US President Donald Trump may strike an agreement with Iran before addressing some of the key issues that drove the two countries to launch the war in the first place, multiple Israeli sources have told CNN.

A deal that leaves Tehran’s nuclear program partially intact while bypassing issues such as ballistic missiles and support for regional proxies would lead to Israel viewing the war as incomplete, the sources said.

-CNN

US-Iran war LIVE: Saudi Arabia launched multiple covert strikes on Iran in response to attacks in the kingdom, according to a Reuters report citing two Western officials briefed on the matter and two Iranian officials.

The Western officials assessed the attacks were carried out in late March, according to Reuters.

The attacks mark the first time Saudi Arabia is known to have directly carried out an attack on Iranian soil.

Reuters says it was unable to confirm the specific targets.

-CNN

US-Iran war LIVE: Despite US President Donald Trump touting of 'decimating' Iran's missile capabilities in the recent conflict in West Asia, a recent US intelligence assessment gives a different picture to the claims made by the US President, stating that the Islamic Republic has restored operational access to 30 of the 33 missile sites that it currently maintains along the strategic Strait of Hormuz, The New York Times reported.

According to The New York Times, citing senior US officials' classified assessments on the matter, around 90 per cent of Iran's underground missile facilities are now considered "partially or fully operational".

The intelligence assessments suggest that Iran has retained a substantial portion of its missile infrastructure and military capabilities despite months of claims by the Trump administration that Tehran has lost most of its firepower during the joint US-Israel strikes.

The classified assessments, prepared earlier this month and reviewed by US policymakers, indicate that Iran still possesses nearly 70 per cent of its mobile missile launchers and roughly 70 per cent of its pre-war missile stockpile, including ballistic and cruise missiles, The New York Times reported.

-ANI

US-Iran war LIVE: Responding to posts made by Trump on Truth Social, Iran said, “You cannot match us in humor.”

“We have the Iranian sense of humor. We are patriots. We are on the right side of history. We are champions. You are nothing like us,” wrote the official handle of Iranian embassy in South Africa.

US-Iran war LIVE: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday posted two AI-generated images that showed US air force attacking Iranian boats in Strait of Hormuz.

He captioned one the post, “Bye bye, fast boats." Another picture he posted showed US air force attacking an Iranian boat with a “laser beam.” He captioned the post, “Lasers: Bing Bing, gone.”

US-Iran war LIVE: Ahead of his visit to China, US President Donald Trump backed Pakistan and its role as a mediator with Iran. Speaking to reporters, the Republican leader added that Washington is not reconsidering finding another mediator.

“They’re great. I think the Pakistanis have been great. The field marshal and the prime minister of Pakistan have been absolutely great,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House.

US-Iran war LIVE: US President Donald Trump called a reporter “stupid” for suggesting that Iran should be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.

"We had a choice. Let these lunatics have a nuclear weapon. If you want to do that, then you're a stupid person. And you happen to be! I mean, I know you very well."

"Anybody that wants them to have a nuclear weapon is a stupid person."

US-Iran war LIVE: Speaking to reporters before leaving for China, US President Donald Trump said he doesn't think about Americans' financial situations as he negotiates with Iran, "not even a little bit.”

"The only thing that matters when I'm talking about Iran, they can't have a nuclear weapon. I don't think about Americans' financial situation, I don't think about anybody," Trump said.

US-Iran war LIVE: US President Donald Trump said that the American blockade of Iranian ports on the Strait of Hormuz was "100% effective".

"The blockade is very effective; it's been 100% effective. And one way or the other, it's going to work out very well. I think you're going to have so much oil, you're going to have a gusher of oil like you've never had before", he told reporters ahead of his visit to China.

US-Iran war LIVE: Iranian Ambassador to China Rahmani Fazli said that Beijing is viewed as a potential mediator between Washington and Tehran, CNN reported citing state media.

US-Iran war LIVE: Responding to ANI's question regarding whether he would extend the waiver on sanctioned Russian oil to help ease crude prices, US President Donald Trump said, “...We are going to whatever is necessary, including this war over will not be long. You're going to see oil prices drop, and you're going to see a stock market, which is already at the highest point in history... You're going to see the golden age of America, frankly, and you're seeing it now... Hundreds of ships that are loaded up with oil want to come out.”

“As soon as they come out, we're to have a gush of oil, and you're to have inflation that goes way down. Now, with all of this, inflation is much lower than it was under Biden. Biden had the highest inflation in the history of our country. Inflation is nothing by comparison, but our inflation is short-term. Because if you go from before, just before the war, we were, for the last three months, 1.7%. And now, what you have is, as soon as this war is over, given the inflation, will go down to probably 1.5%.”

US-Iran war LIVE: US has spent at least $29 billion in the 74 days of its war with Iran, said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. During his congressional hearing on Tuesday, Hegseth appealed to Congress for more money, at least around $1.5 trillion, so that the US can “maintain its posture as the most effective military in the world.”