UN chief urges Iran, US to halt attacks and resume talks

US forces have the capability to take control of the Strait of Hormuz if President Donald Trump chooses to pursue that course, retired Gen. Frank McKenzie, a former commander of US Central Command, said on CBS News’ Face the Nation program.

“The US Navy doesn’t love to do that, but they’re very good at it,” McKenzie said, adding that the operation would involve deploying US ships into the narrow waterway.

He said Iran’s leadership typically responds to military force and intense pressure as Trump seeks a diplomatic solution.

“If you want to gain concessions from Iran, you have to directly pressure the regime, and you have to do so in a way that perhaps is existential to them,” McKenzie said.

The spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee on Sunday praised Iran’s attack on a US base in Qatar as “right, logical and timely,” accusing Doha and Muscat of challenging Tehran’s efforts to establish sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.

“They have done more than anyone else to obstruct and undermine the establishment of Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz,” Ebrahim Rezaei wrote on X, referring to Qatar.

“Oman, too, should have understood who the region’s leading power is and should not leave its mark on the devil’s wall,” Rezaei added, before praising “the brave men of the IRGC and the army.”

US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz on Sunday rejected a claim by an unnamed US official cited by CNN that Iran had mistakenly targeted commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, saying the latest attack showed otherwise.

“Are we supposed to believe that some junior officers are going rogue and firing on ships, but yet face no consequences from a dictatorial hierarchy-based entity like the IRGC? I don’t buy it,” Waltz told ABC.

The unnamed US official told CNN on Friday that Iran had acknowledged in communications with Washington that earlier strikes on merchant ships were a mistake. US Central Command said, however, that Iran “blatantly attacked” another vessel in the Strait on Saturday.

Waltz accused Iran of violating international law by attacking neighboring countries, civilian shipping and infrastructure, but said technical talks between Tehran and Washington were continuing despite Iran’s leadership being “incredibly difficult to deal with.”

Pakistan on Sunday urged Iran and the United States to exercise restraint, take immediate steps toward de-escalation and uphold their commitments under the Islamabad memorandum of understanding, its Foreign Ministry said.

“Pakistan is following with deep concern the recent incidents that are further escalating the regional tensions,” the ministry said.

“Pakistan remains committed to providing all support towards achieving lasting peace and stability in the region through dialogue and diplomacy,” it added.

US President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States had struck Iran “very hard” overnight and insisted the Strait of Hormuz remained open.

“These people, there’s something wrong with them … We had a deal with them yesterday,” Trump told CNN. “They were giving up everything, and then all of the sudden, two hours after that, they hit a ship with a drone.”

The Strait of Hormuz is “open as far as we’re concerned,” Trump added