US Politics As It Happened: US ‘locked into unwinnable war’, ex-defence boss says

Thanks for following along with our live coverage of US politics and the war in the Middle East.

Here’s what was in the news today:

• After days of strikes between the two, Iran and the US returned to a tense lull in hostilities, with neither side appearing to launch attacks against the other.
• However, shipping through the crucial Straight of Hormuz remains severely constrained, with just 15 vessels transiting the waterway yesterday, down from about 120 a day before the war.
• And US President Donald Trump announced a deal has been struck for the disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza, with a Palestinian government to take over administration of the devastated enclave.

A Saudi Arabian author and commentator says Trump’s post-announcement demands for the kingdom in regard to the touted nuclear power deal could see Riyadh walk away.

Trump said the two countries had reached an agreement for US companies to help develop a civilian nuclear energy in Saudi Arabia.

However, after reports of alarm within Israel and parts of the US political establishment, Trump added two key demands - for Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords and normalise relationships with Israel, and for the kingdom to commit to a “no nuclear enrichment” rule.

Writing in the Washington Post, Ali Shihabi said that in doing so, Trump might have overestimated US leverage.

“If Washington makes nuclear cooperation conditional on unrelated political concessions and a permanent Saudi surrender of its fuel-cycle ambitions, Riyadh will not necessarily abandon nuclear power,” he said.

“It may simply seek a partner that asks fewer questions: China.”

CENTCOM has not yet announced another round of missile strikes today, nor have any further attacks emerged from Israel.

Both sides appear to be holding to a return to the day-to-day ceasefire, but for how long?

A number of experts have suggested Iran’s recent surprise attack was a signal to show the US it was prepared to break the ceasefire without compunction, to illustrate the cost the US would have to pay to subdue Tehran.

Iran has accused the US of attacking civilians’ homes on Qeshm Island, resulting in innocent casualties.

“The United States soils its hands with a new crime every day; the terrorist attack on the residential homes of civilians on Qeshm Island is a continuation of the atrocities in Minab and Lamerd,” Iran speaker of parliament Mohammad Barger Ghalibaf said in a post on X.

“Americans have grown accustomed to making up for the slaps they receive on the battlefield by spilling the blood of the innocent. They will pay the price.”

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Ahmad Nafisi, deputy governor-general of Hormozgan Province, said a mother, father, and their two-year-old child had been killed in a strike on their home in Qeshm.′

The parents’ two other children, aged seven and nine, were taken to hospital, Tasnim said.

A former US defence secretary has warned that the Iran war will descend into a quagmire like Iraq and Afghanistan that will “ultimately consume” America.

“I think we’re locked into an unwinnable war that is going to continue, as other was have continued, without any kind of satisfactory conclusion,” Leon Panetta told CNN.

“That’s the kind of legacy, frankly, that in the 21st century, the United States continues to make.”

Panetta said as well as battering the US economy and consuming its resources, such wars “make us look weak to the rest of the world”.

Panetta was Secretary of Defence and CIA director under the Obama presidency.

The IDF destroyed tunnels in Lebanon it claims were dug by Hezbollah to aid an invasion of northern Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz have said.

The operation involved about 700 tons of explosives and was in retaliation for what the Israeli leaders claimed was an unspecified violation of the ceasefire by Hezbollah the day before.

The statement, obtained by CNN, said the IDF would “remain in the security zone in southern Lebanon and will continue to destroy any terror infrastructure in order to prevent any attempt by Hezbollah to rebuild its capabilities”.

The Iran war has drained the US’s supply of Patriot interceptor missiles, with the knock-on effect of leaving Ukraine increasingly open to attack.

Ukraine is now looking to secure stocks of the air defence missiles from other allies, with promises to restock them later, Bloomberg has reported.

Ukraine’s ambassador to the US Olha Stefanishyna told a media roundtable that despite a positive tone to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the White House recently, no hard commitment to a supply of new Patriots was forthcoming.Stefanishnya said it was due to “overall shortages”.

While Ukraine has seen outsize success with its home-grown drones, Russia is using increasing numbers of ballistic missiles in its regular bombardments, for which Patriot missiles are a better remedy.

The US has laid down sanctions on six “entities and individuals” in China, India, Russia, and Iran linked to the IRGC.

“These include entities that support Mahan Air, the IRGC’s airline of choice for moving weapons, military personnel, and equipment,” the US State Department said in a release.

“Today’s action also targets DadeNegar Startup Studio, an IRGC-affiliated front company supporting Iranian military targeting by soliciting locations of American and Israeli equipment in the Middle East.”

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains consistently low.

MarineTraffic data shows 15 vessels transited the strait yesterday, one up on the day before.

That’s down from an average of 120 a day before the war.

At least 48 shipped through the Bar el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea, up from 37 the day before, despite the threatened Houthi blockade of Saudi shipping.

Trump has announced that the US-led Board of Peace has reached an agreement that will involved the “complete disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza”.

“This agreement is a critical step towards Gaza finally being governed by a new Palestinian government that will work closely with the Board of Peace to help the Palestinian people,” Trump posted on Truth Social minutes ago.

“At the same time, Israel will have the security it deserves, with Gaza no longer used as a base for terror attacks.”

It had previously been announced that Hamas was pondering a proposal from the Board of Peace to disarm over a period of months.

“As disarmament is completed, Israeli forces will withdraw, and the International Stabilisation Force will work with a new Palestinian police force to take responsibility for Gaza being safe for its residents and its neighbours,” Trump said.

Trump thanked his own team as well as mediators in Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey.

“One year ago there was a violent raging war, humanitarian crisis and hostages kept in brutal captivity,” Trump said.

“We have made historic progress and there is still much work to do.

“Under this agreement, Gaza will finally be in the hands of a new Palestinian government that serves its PEOPLE.”