Iran should counter narrative on Hormuz Strait - Shargh

President Donald Trump's administration has bypassed congressional review to approve military sales worth more than $8.6 billion to Middle Eastern allies Israel, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

The US State Department said on Friday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined an emergency required immediate action and waived congressional review requirements.

The approvals include $4.01 billion for Patriot air and missile defense support services for Qatar and $992.4 million for Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS).

Kuwait was cleared to buy an integrated battle command system worth $2.5 billion, while Israel was approved to receive APKWS valued at $992.4 million. The United Arab Emirates was approved to buy APKWS for $147.6 million.

President Donald Trump said on Friday the United States is “in a war” and, without mentioning Iran by name, said it must not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon in a video posted on Truth Social.

“We are in a war because I think you would agree we cannot let lunatics have a nuclear weapon. Wouldn’t you agree?” Trump said in a video, followed by a crowd cheering and chanting “USA.”

Iran is scrambling for ways to respond to a US naval blockade that has disrupted its oil exports and exposed weaknesses in its long-standing strategy of relying on maritime disruption and sanctions evasion, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The report cited analysts as saying the blockade is testing Tehran’s long-standing strategy of leveraging disruption in the Strait of Hormuz and evading sanctions through covert oil shipments.

The report said the pressure is fueling internal divisions within Iran’s leadership, with some officials pushing for renewed escalation while others favor negotiations to end the standoff.

US President Donald Trump defended his administration’s approach toward Iran on Friday, saying past presidents failed to act and claiming the United States had severely weakened Tehran through recent actions.

“But, you know, with all of this, and I say it again, we had to do this little excursion, because if we didn’t, if they had a nuclear weapon, this world would be a horror. It would be a world that would live in fear. And it should have been done for 47 years by other presidents and other countries, frankly, but it wasn’t. They were all afraid of Iran. It is a very strong country. It was a very strong country. We’ve blown the hell out of them, if you want to know the truth," Trump said.

The Trump administration added a new member to its Iran negotiating team amid stalled talks with Tehran, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

Nick Stewart, managing director of advocacy at FDD Action, the lobbying arm of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, joined the office of Special Envoy for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff, US officials and sources said.

Stewart previously served in the first Trump administration as chief of staff at the State Department’s Iran Action Group under then-Special Representative Brian Hook.

US Representative Claudia Tenney said Nick Stewart is an “outstanding addition” to the Office of the Special Envoy for Peace Missions, describing him as one of America’s “sharpest experts on Iran policy” in a post on X.