Israel prepared to deliver deeper strike on Iran, military chief says

Britain wants ongoing US-Iran talks to produce a swift agreement that fully reopens the Strait of Hormuz without tolls or charges, UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told parliament on Tuesday.

"We want to see a swift and successful conclusion to the ongoing talks between the US and Iran," Cooper said. "We need an agreement that gets the Strait fully open with no tolls or charges."

"Every country has a stake in freedom of navigation," she said, adding that Britain, "in partnership with France and other countries," stood ready "to support demining and provide reassurance to shipping through a multilateral maritime mission" once an agreement is reached.

Cooper called for urgent de-escalation between Iran and Israel, saying a return to conflict was in no one's interest.

She said she spoke to Iran's foreign minister on Sunday evening to convey the message directly, adding: "Both Israel and Iran have indicated that they have ended their strikes and that is welcome."

"It's vital that we have a diplomatic way forward, both to end the conflict in Lebanon, to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, to restore regional stability and prevent Iran ever developing or obtaining a nuclear weapon," she said.

US Vice President JD Vance said he was "confident" the war in Iran would not become a "quagmire."

"I feel extremely confident that we are not going to be talking about America's involvement in Iran even a year down the road, but certainly not years down the road," Vance told USA Today.

"If this diplomacy ultimately falls apart, then the president has further tools at his disposal," Vance said. "But so long as we keep this thing anchored to the core mission — prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon — it's not going to become a quagmire," he added.

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf marked 100 days since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran, praising what he described as the Iranian nation's resistance in defending the country.

"One hundred days have passed since the struggle of a nation that rose up to protect beloved Iran," Ghalibaf said in a post on X.

He praised Iranians for standing behind the country, thwarting their enemies and preventing what he described as efforts to force Iran into submission.

Hezbollah praised Iran’s missile attacks against Israel as an act carried out “in defense of the Lebanese people” and described them as a message of Tehran’s commitment to Lebanon.

“The Iranian response came to emphasize that the interest of the stability of the region and its countries lies in exerting every effort to ensure that the agreements are upheld and that the Zionist enemy, before anyone else, adheres to them,” Hezbollah said.

“This is the message that Iran wanted to send clearly and forcefully to all those concerned.”

The group also praised Yemen’s Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah.

“This coincided with the appreciated support from the Ansar Allah movement in Yemen, within the framework of joint action to deter the Zionist entity,” it said, using the formal name for the movement.

An investigation is under way into whether Iranian forces shot down a US Apache helicopter that crashed near the Strait of Hormuz, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials.

The AH-64 Apache went down near the coast of Oman on Monday evening. The helicopter's two crew members were rescued after a US unmanned surface vessel located them in the water and brought them to shore in what the military described as a first-of-its-kind rescue operation at sea.

US Central Command said earlier that the crew members were rescued within about two hours and were in stable condition.