Hormuz remains war zone for shipping, unions say

The US Navy said it was searching for a missing aircrew member after an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the USS George H.W. Bush made an emergency water landing in the Arabian Sea on Wednesday.

US Naval Forces Central Command said there was “no indication” the incident was caused by hostile action.

Three of the helicopter’s four crew members were recovered and were in stable condition aboard the USS George H.W. Bush, the command said, adding that US Navy assets in the region were searching for the fourth crew member.

US Vice President JD Vance said Washington "has options" if Iran rebuilds its nuclear program, threatens its neighbors or supports terrorism.

“If the Iranians want to rebuild their nuclear program, the president has options,” Vance told troops at Naval Air Station Oceana on Wednesday.

"If the Iranians try to threaten their neighbors or fund terrorism, we've got options," he added.

Vance said that President Donald Trump was negotiating with Iran from a position of strength after the destruction of its nuclear and conventional military capabilities, while defending recent US strikes as targeted and justified.

“We dropped some bombs a couple of days ago. You know why? Because the Iranians were shooting at commercial ships,” Vance said. “So we dropped some bombs. We applied some leverage, and we've had free commercial transit for the last three days.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday said Israel had twice carried out “proactive preemptive attacks” against Iran and would strike a third time if necessary.

“We crushed the nuclear program it was advancing and removed an existential threat from over the citizens of Israel,” Katz said.

“We thwarted its leaders, headed by (former Supreme Leader Ali) Khamenei, who led the plan to destroy Israel,” he added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel would "remain in the protective strip in southern Lebanon for as long as necessary."

Netanyahu called Lebanon a “beautiful and miserable country” that was “being captured by a fanatical sect,” referring to Hezbollah.

He added that Israel would “do everything” to eventually reach a peace agreement with Lebanon.

White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said negotiations with Iran were continuing toward a final deal to eliminate its nuclear capabilities, but warned that the United States would respond if Tehran fired on American forces.

“Either way, we have paved the way for denuclearization of Iran,” Kelly told Fox News on Wednesday. “Their ballistic missiles, again, are destroyed. Their military capabilities are totally demolished. And now those negotiations continue towards a final deal. So either way, the United States is safer and wins.”

“But the president's been clear. If they shoot at us, we'll shoot back,” she said. “But he feels like the United States and Iran have a good opportunity to make a deal that would eliminate their nuclear capabilities.”