US President Donald Trump defended his handling of the Iran war on Wednesday after the NATO summit in Ankara, saying he remained Tehran’s “number one target.”
“They had leaders, they’re gone... Now they have another set of leaders. They may be gone,” Trump told reporters.
“And you know what, I may be gone too, because I’m their number one target,” he added.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for the United States and Iran to return “back to the ceasefire” and implement a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking at the NATO summit in Ankara, Starmer warned that the economic situation in the United Kingdom and elsewhere would worsen if the violence continued.
“Household bills are likely going to be impacted if we don’t get that situation as quickly as possible,” he said.
Eight members of Iran’s army were killed in US attacks on southern Iran early Wednesday, including in Bandar Abbas and Bushehr, state media reported, citing the a statement by the army’s public relations department.
The servicemen were members of Iranian army's air force and navy and were killed after being hit by “enemy projectiles,” the statement said, adding that the army would “avenge" their blood.
Hamas says it is stepping away from governing Gaza. But is it actually giving up power or turning away from its longtime backers in Tehran?
The group’s announcement that it is dissolving the governing body that administered Gaza for nearly two decades has been presented as a significant political concession under a US-backed roadmap for the enclave’s future.
But analysts who spoke to Iran International say the move is largely cosmetic, leaving Hamas’s military structure intact and doing little to alter its long-standing relationship with Iran.
Rather than abandoning Hamas, Iran has simply shifted its priorities, they argue, placing Hezbollah and Lebanon ahead of Gaza while quietly maintaining ties with the group.
"It's not even symbolic, it's a lie," said Beni Sabti, an Iran researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS). "The real thing is not even the disarmament. The ideology is still there."
The announcement dissolves Hamas’s civilian governing body, but leaves unanswered whether the group is willing to surrender its weapons and relinquish control over Gaza’s security apparatus.
For Sabti, that omission is the entire story.
"Iran is acting behind the curtains, also for Hamas," he said.
Recent developments suggest the relationship remains active despite Tehran’s muted public rhetoric.
Before the Iran-US memorandum was signed, a Hamas military spokesman said Iranian officials had pledged to help secure a ceasefire in Gaza.
Hamas representatives also traveled to Tehran for Ali Khamenei’s funeral, where they met senior Iranian officials, including Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
To Sabti, those contacts suggest Tehran has not changed its long-term strategy. Instead, it has temporarily reordered its priorities.
"Hezbollah is the most important," he said, arguing Iran has historically never abandoned its proxy groups.
The timing of Hamas’s announcement also reflects mounting pressure on the group.
It comes amid a US-backed political process for Gaza’s future, sustained pressure from Egypt and Qatar, renewed political competition from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and growing anti-Hamas protests inside Gaza itself.
Dalia Ziada, a Middle East analyst with ISGAP, argues Hamas’s announcement was designed to respond to those pressures without making the one concession demanded by Israel and much of the international community.
"They were forced to say something, not to do something," she said.
According to Ziada, Hamas has not agreed to disarm, dismantle its military wing or remove the network of loyalists embedded throughout Gaza’s civilian institutions.
"The international community is dealing with Hamas as a political entity," she said. "But no. This is a terrorist militia."
Ziada believes Tehran’s current restraint reflects pragmatism rather than a strategic break.
"Hamas is not profitable anymore," she said, arguing the group has become more of a liability than an asset following Israel’s campaign against its leadership. "If Hamas survives this situation... of course Iran will snap back."
Former Israeli intelligence official Avi Melamed agrees Hamas’s announcement should not be mistaken for a genuine transfer of power.
"I don't think that anyone really takes it seriously," he said.
Melamed argues Iran views Hamas primarily as a strategic instrument rather than an ideological partner.
"The relationship has been always clear. Hamas is a useful servant for the Iranian regime."
For Tehran, he says, Hezbollah remains the crown jewel of its regional network, while Hamas occupies a lower place in what he describes as the "food chain."
"Hamas and Islamic Jihad know their place in the food chain," Melamed said.
That hierarchy helps explain why Lebanon featured prominently in the Iran-US memorandum while Gaza did not.
The announcement may ease diplomatic pressure and create space for negotiations over Gaza’s future. But without disarmament, analysts argue, it changes little about the balance of power on the ground.
Hamas may be stepping away from civilian administration. Its military structure remains intact. And despite Tehran’s public silence, few expect Iran’s relationship with Hamas to disappear.
US President Donald Trump said Israel would have been “blown to pieces” by Iran if Benjamin Netanyahu had not been prime minister, praising the Israeli leader as “a great wartime prime minister” during the US-Israel war with Iran.
“If you had other prime ministers, you know what? There wouldn’t be an Israel right now,” Trump told reporters alongside Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa. “It would have been blown to pieces by Iran.”
“If you had a weak prime minister ... And if you had a different president, I guarantee there wouldn’t be an Israel. Israel wouldn’t exist today if you didn’t have me as president,” he added.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States may take over Iran's Kharg Island and warned Washington was prepared to carry out more strikes if needed.
"We may take over Kharg Island," Trump said while speaking in Ankara.
Trump said US forces had targeted drones, missiles, coastal defense sites, radar and surveillance systems that he said Iran had used to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
"Anything they thought they had rebuilt or capability they were using was a target last night," he said. "Tonight, if we need to... we will hit even more and even deeper."
Trump also said the United States had struck Iran's electricity infrastructure and other military-related facilities.
"We hit their electricity. We hit the things they need to operate," he said, adding that more infrastructure could be targeted if Iran continued its actions.