Bahrain joins international call to safeguard Strait of Hormuz

The Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) on Friday raised the overall maritime threat level to “critical” for commercial shipping across the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman, citing repeated attacks on vessels, ongoing interference with navigation systems and heightened risk to port infrastructure.

In its latest advisory note covering JMIC said there have been more than 20 incidents involving commercial vessels and offshore facilities since the escalation of regional hostilities on 28 February, maintaining that the risk of further attacks, electronic navigation interference and operational disruption remains high.

Mariners are urged to stay in close contact with reporting centers and exercise extreme caution when operating in the region.

JMIC said that while commercial traffic continues in international waterways, the volatile security environment requires enhanced risk assessments, careful adherence to maritime safety protocols and vigilant reporting of suspicious activity.

Israel's Ambassador to the United States said on Friday that dismantling Iran's ballistic missile program, nuclear capabilities, and proxy support requires regime collapse, as change must come from the Iranian people themselves.

"There are primary objectives and secondary objectives. The primary objectives are absolutely in tandem. The primary objective is, as I said, No more ballistic missiles, no more nuclear tipped enriched uranium, no more support for proxies," Yechiel (Michael) Leiter told NBC News.

"Can that be achieved without a regime collapse? We don't think so. So we need at least for the regime to collapse. Change must come by the Iranian people themselves. So we're not into regime change. We're into regime collapse," he added.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that American military operations against Iran's "terrorist regime" are nearing completion, with key strategic goals nearly achieved as the US considers winding down its efforts in the Middle East.

"We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Terrorist Regime of Iran," Trump posted on Truth Social.

"Completely degrading Iranian missile capability, launchers and related infrastructure; destroying Iran's defense industrial base; eliminating its navy and air force, including anti-aircraft weaponry; permanently preventing nuclear capability while maintaining rapid US response readiness; and protecting Middle Eastern allies such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait" were the objectives Trump listed.

"The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not!" Trump added. "If asked, we will help these Countries in their Hormuz efforts, but it shouldn’t be necessary once Iran’s threat is eradicated. Importantly, it will be an easy Military Operation for them."

The Federal Bureau of Investigation warned that cyber actors linked to Iran’s intelligence services are using Telegram to deploy malware against dissidents, journalists and opposition figures around the world.

In an alert issued on Friday, the FBI said operatives tied to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) used the messaging platform as a command-and-control system to infiltrate victims’ devices, steal data and carry out “hack-and-leak” operations aimed at damaging targets’ reputations.

The agency said the campaign, active since at least 2023, relies on social engineering to trick victims into downloading malicious files disguised as common applications, allowing attackers to gain remote access, extract files and monitor activity.

"We've been hitting them (Iran leaders) awfully hard. I don't know if you can possibly get hit harder. These are thugs, and animals, and horrible people," President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday.

"I'm not surprised, they executed 3 young people for protesting," he added.