US Senator backs Trump push on Iran nuclear deal,

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said NATO allies failed to provide adequate support for recent US operations involving Iran, warning that Washington “will remember” their response.

In written testimony released on Wednesday Hegseth called for a “NATO 3.0” focused on warfighting and greater burden-sharing, saying allies must “step up” on collective defense commitments.

Hegseth said European partners share US interests in preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, but criticized what he described as their “unconscionable” response to recent operations.

Representative Joe Wilson on Wednesday urged Israel to turn away Russian shipments carrying what he described as stolen Ukrainian grain, warning that such purchases would indirectly support Moscow’s war effort and Iran’s regional agenda.

In a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Wilson, a Republican co-chair of the House Republican Israel Caucus, said buying the grain would “incentivize Russia’s war machine” while also benefiting Iran.

"As co-chair of the House Republican Israel Caucus, I am grateful to bring attention to war criminal Putin’s support for the Iranian regime’s Death to America, Death to Israel agenda. Blood-soaked grain, stolen from temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine, must be rejected," Wilson said.

The United States is studying and reviewing a possible reduction of troops in Germany, with a decision expected in the near term, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday.

Iran may prioritize control of the Strait of Hormuz as a key pillar of regime survival after US-Israeli strikes, a Wall Street Journal op-ed said on Wednesday.

It says Iran, which previously refrained from threatening closure of the key maritime chokepoint due to fear of US retaliation, now sees disruption of Persian Gulf shipping as a potential pathway to strategic recovery.

"Neither Iran’s nuclear program nor its ballistic missile arsenal deterred the strikes," Reuel Marc Gerecht and Ray Takeyh said in the piece, adding that maritime leverage has overtaken atomic ambitions in importance.

The commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Wednesday American forces successfully redirected 42 commercial vessels attempting to breach a maritime blockade, describing the effort as part of ongoing enforcement aimed at restricting Iranian oil exports.

Admiral Brad Cooper said the vessels were stopped from entering or exiting Iranian ports, adding that 41 tankers carrying an estimated 69 million barrels of oil are currently unable to be sold by the Iranian government, representing what he described as more than $6 billion in blocked revenue.