Trump says no rush to end Iran war, Iran gets 1st toll revenue from Hormuz

U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Thursday that he has no "rush" to end the weeks-long U.S.-Israeli war with Iran as negotiations have been stalled, while expecting U.S. citizens to spend more money on gasoline "for a little while," reported Xinhua.

"I don't want to rush myself," Trump told reporters at the White House, adding that U.S. citizens would anticipate paying more for higher prices with the payoff being "Iran without a nuclear weapon."

"I am possibly the least pressured person ever to be in this position. I have all the time in the World, but Iran doesn't -- The clock is ticking!" Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier on Thursday. "Time is not on their side!"

He insisted that any peace deal with Iran would be made on U.S. terms and his timeline. "A deal will only be made when it's appropriate and good for the United States of America, our Allies and, in fact, the rest of the World," he wrote.

Trump said Wednesday there is "no time frame" for ending the war and "no time pressure" on the ceasefire he extended Tuesday or on stalled talks.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday there was no "firm deadline" for Tehran to submit a proposal for a peace deal with Washington.

US intercepts Iran-linked oil tanker in Indian Ocean

The U.S. forces intercepted and boarded an Iran-linked oil tanker in the Indian Ocean overnight, the Department of War said Thursday.

The vessel, named "Majestic X," was reportedly transporting oil from Iran.

"We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate," the department said in a post on X. "International waters cannot be used as a shield by sanctioned actors."

Earlier this week, the U.S. military boarded another vessel, M/T Tifani, which had been sanctioned for transporting Iranian oil.

The U.S. Central Command said Thursday its forces in the Middle East had "directed 31 vessels to turn around or return to port as part of the U.S. blockade against Iran."

Trump orders US forces to strike boats laying mines in Hormuz

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he has ordered the U.S. Navy "to shoot and kill" any boat putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial global energy waterway bordering Iran.

There is to be "no hesitation" for U.S. forces to attack Iran's "small boats" putting mines, and the U.S. minesweepers are clearing the Strait of Hormuz right now, Trump said on his Truth Social.

Trump added that U.S. minesweepers are currently clearing the strait, and ordered the operation to continue "at a tripled level."

U.S. defense officials briefed lawmakers this week on an intelligence assessment that it could take up to six months to fully clear the Strait of Hormuz of mines deployed by the Iranian military, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

3rd U.S. aircraft carrier arrives in Central Command area

The third U.S. aircraft carrier, Nimitz-class USS George H.W. Bush, and its accompanying warships, has arrived in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East, the command announced Thursday.

The Bush, which left Naval Station Norfolk in the U.S. state of Virginia in late March, is currently in the Indian Ocean, the command said on X.

The other two aircraft carriers already deployed in the Middle East, USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford, are located in the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea, respectively, according to media reports.

As of Monday, when the Bush was on route, the U.S. Navy had 19 warships in the Middle East, including two aircraft carriers, and seven ships in the Indian Ocean, CNN reported on Thursday, citing a U.S. official.

U.S. forces have redirected at least 33 ships to or from Iranian ports near the Strait of Hormuz as of Thursday since they started enforcing a blockade on April 13. They have also boarded at least three ships, including two in the Indian Ocean, roughly 2,000 miles from the Persian Gulf.

Iran gets 1^st toll revenue from Strait of Hormuz

Iran has received its first revenue from tolls imposed on the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Thursday, citing a senior Iranian lawmaker.

A member of the parliament's presiding board told the agency that he had learned from reliable sources that Iran has imposed fees on passing ships.

The charges vary by ship type, cargo volume, and associated risks, he said, adding that Iran sets the rules for assessing and collecting these fees.

According to him, revenues previously collected from these charges are currently being transferred into the unified treasury account.

In a separate report, Hamidreza Haji-Babaei, a deputy speaker of the parliament, said the first revenue received from the Strait of Hormuz tolls was deposited into the Central Bank account.

Iran tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz after Israel and the United States launched their joint strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. The United States also imposed a naval blockade targeting ships going to and from Iran, after peace negotiations in Islamabad collapsed.

Trump says he would not use nuclear weapon in Iran war

US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) said he would not use a nuclear weapon in the conflict with Iran, stating that such weapons should never be used by anyone, reported ANI.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, when asked whether he would use a nuclear weapon against Iran, Trump said, "Why would a stupid question like that be asked?... No, I wouldn't use it. A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody."

Further, Trump said the United States has a strong economy and sufficient oil supply, added that several ships are now heading to the US instead of the Strait of Hormuz, amid efforts to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions.

" ... We have this unbelievable economy... I called JD, Marco, Howard and Scott and told them that I hate to tell you, but we have to do a little bit of a detour. We have to go to Iran and make sure that they are out of nuclear weapons... A lot of ships are coming to the United States, and they are using the United States instead of the Hormuz Strait... We don't have an oil shortage... We are right now producing more oil than Saudi Arabia and Russia combined... We are taking in millions of barrels of oil from Venezuela," he said.

He also said the United States has "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz and is deliberately keeping it closed to pressure Iran into a deal, adding that he wants a lasting agreement and will not rush the process despite claiming significant progress.

"... I gave them a break. I want to make the best deal. I could make a deal right now. Do you know that if I left right now, we had a tremendous success. It would take them 20 years to rebuild, but I don't want to do that. I want to have it everlasting... What I am doing, I can't tell you that. I don't want to put that kind of timetable on it, but it will go pretty quickly. We will have the Strait opened up. Right now, we have it closed. We have total control of the Strait," he further said.

"They would have opened it up 3 days ago. They came to us, and they said, 'We will agree to open the Strait.' All my people were happy except me. I said, 'One minute, if we open the Strait, that means they are going to make $500 million a day.' I don't want them to make $500 million a day until they settle this thing. So I am the one that kept it closed. We have total control of it. It will open when they make a deal or something else happens that is very positive," he said.

Trump said he is under no pressure to end the West Asia conflict, claiming that the United States has already struck a majority of its targets and that Iran is facing urgent pressure due to its oil situation.

He added that further military action remains an option if a deal is not reached, while also noting that Iran has agreed to halt the execution of several women following a request from the US.

"...How many years was Vietnam?... I took the country out militarily in the first 4 weeks. Now what we are doing is sitting back and seeing what deal. If they dont want to make a deal, then I will finish it up militarily with the other 25% targets. We have hit 78% of the targets that we wanted to hit... It is amazing what we have done... You know who is under time pressure? They are. If they dont get their oil moving, their whole oil infrastructure is going to explode because they have no place to store it. Because they have no place to store it, if they have to stop it, something happens underground that essentially renders it in very poor shape, and you never recover fully... They have a matter of days before that event takes place," Trump said.

"I am not under any pressure whatsoever... Our ships are locked and loaded, and they are ready to go... They are very disorganised right now... 8 young women were going to be executed yesterday afternoon at 6 o clock. I asked them, call it a favour or just a moral request, that they not be executed. They came back with an answer that they will not be executing them... They are releasing 4 of them very shortly, and they are going to keep 4 of them in jail for a period of one month and release them. So they will not be executed," he said.

When asked whether Iran will have to cut off its funding to Hezbollah, Trump said, "Yeah, they will have to cut that off. That is a must."