Two Iran-linked ships reverse course after US Hormuz blockade - BBC Verify

Israel’s defense minister said the removal of enriched uranium from Iran is a precondition for ending the US-Israel war against Tehran.

“What remains is the issue of the enriched material, which could serve as a basis for an attempt to restart the project,” Israel Katz said in a video statement.

“Therefore, the United States and Israel have defined removing this material from Iran as a precondition for ending tIsrael’s defense minister said the removal of enriched uranium from Iran is a precondition for ending the US-Israel war against Tehran.

“What remains is the issue of the enriched material, which could serve as a basis for an attempt to restart the project,” Israel Katz said in a video statement.

“Therefore, the United States and Israel have defined removing this material from Iran as a precondition for ending the campaign,” he added.

Iran-linked ships seized by the US military as part of its blockade of Iranian ports will be taken to temporary holding areas in the Arabian Sea or Indian Ocean while a permanent location is determined, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials.

The US is looking at vessels for potential seizure, even as multiple tankers reversed course near the Strait of Hormuz after the operation began, the report added.

The US may target Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps speedboats with drones but otherwise there are no plans for firing at any tankers sailing out of Iranian ports, the report said citing the officials.

US President Donald Trump said in an interview with the New York Post that talks with Iran could take place in Pakistan within the next two days.

“Something could be happening over the next two days, and we're more inclined to go there,” New York Post quoted Trump as saying in a phone interview on Tuesday.

Earlier, the New York Post reported that Trump had said in a previous phone interview that the United States would not return to Pakistan for future peace talks with Iran.

"Look, things are happening, but, you know, a little bit slow," The Post quoted Trump as saying in the previous phone interview on Tuesday. "Things are happening, but I don't think, I don't think it'll be there that we have our meeting. We'll probably go to another location. We have another location in mind, OK?"

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the International Monetary Fund and World Bank had likely “overreacted” in cutting global growth forecasts and raising inflation projections in the wake of developments in the Middle East.

“I think that they probably overreacted, but we’ll see,” Bessent told reporters on Tuesday.

He added that subsidies adopted by some countries in Europe and Asia to address supply disruptions could fuel more persistent inflation, while expressing confidence that the United States would move through higher prices quickly.

The United States is enforcing a blockade on ships entering and departing Iranian ports, with no vessels breaching it in the first 24 hours, US Central Command said in a post on X.

“More than 10,000 US Sailors, Marines, and Airmen, along with over a dozen warships and dozens of aircraft, are executing the mission to blockade ships entering and departing Iranian ports,” United States Central Command said.

CENTCOM said six merchant vessels complied with US directives to turn around and re-enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman during the initial 24-hour period.

“US forces are supporting freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports,” CENTCOM added.