Iranian ballistic missile attack on Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar says

Retired Lt Gen Keith Kellogg called for maximum-effort US naval and air escorts to clear Iranian missiles, drones and mines from the Strait of Hormuz shipping lanes, comparing the operation to past “thunder runs” in Baghdad and Operation Earnest Will to test and defeat resistance.

“Put aircraft above this shipping lane. You have escort ships go there as well. Get a couple ships through there, and you’re good to go," he told NewsMax on Wednesday.

“The first couple of times you’re going to get some type of hostile action… there’s risk… but we have the capacity and the capability to punch through there," he added. “It’s sort of like what we did in Baghdad… after about the third or fourth thunder run, it was pretty easy.”

"I hate to say it, but it's, you know, kind of, my son told me, kind of telling your chief, it's sort of like Whack a Mole. Everyone is there. You just kill them. And I was asked that today on another program, just have to kill them all, and sooner or later, they get a break. You know, you start at a very senior level. You keep working your way down, and finally you're gonna have people say, I want to do the job," former 82nd Airborne commander said.

Republican Representative and Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast on Wednesday met with ambassadors from the Gulf Cooperation Council and Jordan to discuss Iran's attacks on more than a dozen nations since Operation Epic Fury.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Wednesday a vessel was struck by an unknown projectile 11 nautical miles east of Khawr Fakkan, UAE, causing a fire onboard.

Authorities are investigating, and other ships have been advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity.

Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel (Michael) Leiter, said on Wednesday Israel is systematically targeting Iran’s “terror regime,” striking its command networks, finances and weapons production as the conflict enters its third week.

“They exploit their resources, oil and gas, to hold the world hostage. They use the revenue to finance terror,” Leiter said. “We’re hitting their chain of command… and preventing them from reaching the money that they’ve accrued in order to finance terror.”

He added that Israeli operations are also targeting Iran’s intelligence and manufacturing capabilities. “We’re hitting their ammunition and technology so that they will not be able to reconstitute their manufacturing potential.”

The European Union condemned Iran’s execution of a Swedish citizen, calling it a “brutal act of senseless violence.”

In a statement on Wednesday, the EU’s High Representative said the bloc “strongly condemns” the execution and expressed full solidarity with Sweden, offering condolences to the victim’s family.

The EU said the Swedish national had been held in Iran since June 2025 and renewed its call on Tehran to halt all executions and abolish the death penalty.

It added that Iran’s human rights situation is “appalling,” pointing to what it described as an alarming rise in executions.