Live: Trump says he will 'soon' declare Hormuz strait US territory
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Three Palestinians were injured in firing by the Israeli army and settlers in the occupied West Bank on Friday evening, Wafa reported.
A Palestinian resident of Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem, was wounded when Israeli troops fired live ammunition and concussion bombs at the residents.
In the al-Edisa area of Bani Na’im town, east of Hebron, Israeli settlers shot and injured two Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), which treated the injured.
One of the injured sustained gunshot injuries to the head and back, and the other to the back, Wafa reported.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has warned of the “grave risks” posed by Israeli announcements aimed at annexing West Bank areas.
In a statement, the 57-member OIC said: “The Israeli occupation and colonial settlement enterprise, as well as all measures, entities and institutions associated with it, are illegal”.
“And all acts emanating from them constitute flagrant violations of international law, relevant resolutions of international legitimacy, and the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice,” the statement added.
The OIC called upon the international community, particularly the United Nations Security Council, to pressure Israel to stop killings, settlements, annexation, “systematic terrorism, blockade and forcible displacement”.
Crude oil futures climbed over $1 a barrel on tanker attacks and a lack of progress on a peace agreement between the US and Iran.
Reuters reported that Brent futures settled at $88.52 a barrel, up $1.45, or 1.67percent. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures finished at $82.40, up $1.15, or 1.42 percent.
Brent and WTI were on track for weekly gains of 6.0 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively.
"We're getting a rally going into the weekend after new attacks on tankers and lack of progress on a cease-fire agreement," said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, told Reuters.
A "day of reckoning" may come if traffic in the strait of Hormuz remains constrained, Lipow said.
"Crude oil prices might be $80 a barrel, but diesel prices are $180 a barrel and gasoline is $130 a barrel and that's what's hitting the consumer," he added.
US President Donald Trump has urged Americans to accept slightly higher gasoline prices as the cost of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
The comments underscore the growing political risk for Trump as higher fuel prices collide with his campaign promise to lower energy costs, with Democrats already seeking to make the economic fallout from the Iran war an issue heading into the November midterm elections.
In a speech in Garden City, Trump said Americans who had to "pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline" should remember that this was the cost of ensuring "a very evil country" could not have a nuclear weapon.
"What we're doing is a great service for the world, not only for ourselves ... and we're really doing a great job," said Trump, adding he would never apologize for attacking Iran.
Around roughly 20 percent of global oil and LNG shipments usually pass through the Strait of Hormuz and the potential for long-term disruption has pushed up oil prices. (Reporting by Reuters)
Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz increased on 13 August, with 13 confirmed vessel crossings, up 44 percent from nine crossings recorded the previous day, according to maritime tracking firm Kpler.
Nine vessels used Iran's unilateral transit scheme, while no vessels were confirmed on the Hormuz Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS). The routes of four other vessels remained undetermined.
Activity through the Bab el-Mandeb was steadier, with 29 confirmed crossings, up 4 percent from 28 the previous day.
Eighteen vessels entered the Red Sea and 11 exited, while two dark transits were recorded. No new confirmed vessel attacks were reported during the day, Kpler added.
Hormuz Traffic Rebounds Sharply
— Kpler (@Kpler) August 14, 2026
Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz picked up on 13 August, with 13 confirmed crossings, a 44% day on day increase from nine. Of these, nine vessels used the Iranian Unilateral Scheme, none were confirmed on the Hormuz TSS and four… pic.twitter.com/KXUlbFySsu
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that negotiations between Iran and Oman “may reach a conclusion soon,” Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) reported.
Araghchi said the talks with Oman regarding the shared management of the Strait of Hormuz between the two countries “are ongoing, but this is a completely separate discussion” from ceasefire talks with the United States.
He added that “a technical discussion related to determining the maritime routes of the Strait of Hormuz for ship traffic” is continuing.
“This is a technical work that is being done between experts from the two countries and the armed forces are also involved in it,” Araghchi said.
“In any case, they are the main opinion leaders on this issue.”
Israeli settlers shot and wounded two Palestinians in Bani Na’im, east of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on Friday evening, the Wafa news agency reported, citing the Palestine Red Crescent Society.
Red Crescent crews treated the two men and transferred them to hospital after settlers opened fire in the town’s al-Edisa area. One man was shot in the head and back, while the other was wounded in the back.
UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said on Saturday that one of its vessels came under attack while transiting the Strait of Hormuz a day earlier.
The state oil company said no injuries were reported, with the situation now under control.
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said early Saturday that Tehran would not be intimidated by threats or a show of force by Washington after US President Donald Trump said he would declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory.
“The Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by tweet, nor by aircraft carrier, nor by issuing an order, nor by an election speech. Iran neither fears threats nor cowers before displays of power,” Kazem Gharibabadi said in a post on X.
Gharibabadi also said that the strategic waterway would only be opened or closed under Iran's authority.
ترامپ گفته بعد از شکست ایران، بزودی تنگه هرمز را قلمرو آمریکا اعلام خواهد کرد!
— Gharibabadi (@Gharibabadi) August 14, 2026
تنگه هرمز را نه با توییت میتوان تصاحب کرد و نه با ناو هواپیمابر، نه با صدور فرمان و نه با سخنرانی انتخاباتی. ایران نه از تهدید می هراسد و نه با نمایش قدرت مرعوب میشود. (۱)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said no decision has yet been made to resume negotiations with the United States, the Iranian Student News Agency reported.
Araghchi added that mediator Qatar and Pakistan were in contact with Iran and exchanging messages, but that this did not amount to negotiations.
Vice President JD Vance said on Thursday that the top US priority in the Iran war was keeping oil and gasoline prices low for Americans, with preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon ranking second.
The remarks contrasted with President Donald Trump's repeated framing of the fight: that entering the war had the sole objective of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, even if that meant short-term economic sacrifices for Americans.
Vance's comments also underscored the growing reality that the war now centres on control of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has forced to the top of the negotiating agenda.
"I know that oil is down today and it's way down from the highs in the early days of the conflict," Vance said on Fox News. "That's goal number one - keep oil and gas cheap for Americans all over our country."
"And then obviously goal number two is ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon," he added.
The US-Israeli war on Iran has depleted or destroyed more than $1.3bn worth of the US's MQ-9 Reaper drones, roughly translating to 25 percent of the country's pre-war fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles, according to a report by The Washington Post published on Friday.
The report underscores how Iran's air defences have continued to be operational despite claims by President Donald Trump and his aides that they have been obliterated.
The Washington Post story reveals a slightly higher number of MQ-9 Reaper drones destroyed compared to a Bloomberg report published in May, which put the figure at 20 percent of the pre-war inventory.
The MQ-9 Reaper drone is valued between $30m and $50m, depending on its sensor, radar, and ordnance configuration. The unmanned aerial vehicle serves as a high-altitude platform for surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeted precision strikes, as documented by the US Air Force.
Read more: US has lost roughly 25 percent of its Reaper drones in Iran war: Report
President Donald Trump on Friday said he would "soon" declare the Strait of Hormuz waterway part of US territory after defeating Iran.
"After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated - pretty soon I'll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States," he said with a chuckle during a political rally at a police academy in New York state.
"It's true," he added.
US President Donald Trump told Fox News on Friday that the United States will hit Iran hard economically, as Washington and Tehran struggle to reach a deal to end a nearly six-month war.
His comments came a day after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US would impose measures on Tehran that have "never been seen" as soon as next week.
Yemen's Houthi rebels said on Friday that they had targeted an oil facility belonging to Saudi Arabia's state petroleum company Aramco with a drone, the group's Saba press agency reported.
A military source quoted by the agency said the group had attacked a site in Najran, in southwest Saudi Arabia, "by means of a drone, and the operation achieved its objective".
