Valuable assets may still be hidden at Iran nuclear site despite US-Israeli raids - CNN

A high-level Trump administration official informed Iran on Sunday of the impending US operation to “guide” ships through the Strait of Hormuz and warned Tehran not to interfere, Axios reported, citing a US official and a source with knowledge.

The private message suggested the White House wanted to try to mitigate the risk of potential escalation, the report said.

Some US and Israeli officials believe President Donald Trump could give an order to resume the war with Iran later this week if the diplomatic stalemate continues, the report added.

Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, warned sailors aboard the USS Tripoli that their deployment in the Persian Gulf would become a “nightmare.”

“You are extras to a movie show for Trump next Presidential election,” Velayati said on X.

“Now you are assigned to save the money boxes of our region but you will end up in an abattoir,” he said.

“Tripoli will not be repeated in the Persian Gulf but rather it will become a nightmare and will demolish your security,” he added.

Germany is sending a naval minesweeping vessel to the Mediterranean ahead of a possible future mission to help clear the Strait of Hormuz, Der Spiegel reported, citing the German defense ministry.

The minesweeper Fulda left the Kiel-Wik naval base on Monday, breaking off a previous deployment as part of a NATO mission, the report said.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said repositioning the vessel would save time if the government decided to join an international effort to clear the waterway, though any deployment would depend on an end to hostilities between Iran and the US and Israel.

UAE’s Defense Ministry said the country’s air defense systems are dealing with missile and drone attacks coming from Iran.

"The UAE's air defenses are currently dealing with missile and drone attacks originating from Iran," the ministry said in a statement.

"The Ministry of Defense confirms that the sounds heard in scattered areas of the country are the result of the UAE's air defense systems intercepting ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones," the statement added.

French President Emmanuel Macron will speak with his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian later on Tuesday as he pushes for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported.

“I will be speaking with the Iranian president shortly,” Macron told reporters at a press conference in Yerevan.

He added that France has long advocated for “the restoration of freedom of navigation” in the waterway.