Iran war live: Surveillance drone downed near US embassy in Baghdad – The Independent
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Trump urged Tehran to ‘get smart soon’ and reach an agreement
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A surveillance drone flying near the US Embassy in Baghdad was shot down, Iraqi security sources have said.
Sources told Reuters that the drone had been shot down early Thursday, local time after embassy and Iraqi defence systems were activated.
The embassy has been attacked twice since the beginning of the war, most recently on March 14. It remains unclear where the drone was flown from and by whom.
US President Donald Trump urged Tehran on Wednesday to “get smart soon” and sign a deal.
He said Iran can call if it wants to talk and, in a post on Truth Social earlier in the day, said Tehran “couldn’t get its act together”.
Oil prices rose more than 6 per cent Wednesday amid the US naval blockade of Iranian ports.
The US military announced Wednesday it has redirected 42 ships trying to pass its blockade.
“There are 41 tankers with 69 million barrels of oil that the Iranian regime can’t sell”, US Central Command said. “That’s an estimated $6 billion-plus from which Iran’s leadership cannot financially benefit”.
Iran has pledged to continue disrupting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz as long as it is threatened.
The US military has announced it has redirected 42 ships trying to pass its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
“Right now there are 41 tankers with 69 million barrels of oil that the Iranian regime can’t sell”, US Central Command said in a statement. “That’s an estimated $6 billion-plus from which Iran’s leadership cannot financially benefit”.
Trump has announced that the US is considering reducing troops in Germany amid growing tensions between the two countries over the Iran war.
“The United States is studying and reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time”, Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Monday that Iran was “humiliating” the US by “letting the Americans travel to Islamabad [for peace talks] and then leave again without any result”.
“I hope that this ends as quickly as possible”, the chancellor said about the Iran war while speaking with students in Marsberg.
One of the biggest revelations to emerge from Wednesday’s congressional hearing was that the war in Iran has so far cost an estimated $25 billion.
“Approximately, of this day, we’re spending about $25 billion on Operation Epic Fury,” Jules Hurst, a Pentagon budget official, told the hearing.
Most of that has been spent on munitions, he said.
President Donald Trump issued an astonishing new threat against Iran Wednesday, posting a mocked-up picture of himself brandishing an assault rifle with the strapline: “No more Mr Nice Guy!”
“Iran can’t get their act together,” the President wrote on Truth Social. “They don’t know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They better get smart soon!”
The threat was accompanied by a meme of Trump, stood against a Middle Eastern backdrop of explosions devastating a hillside, wearing a dark suit and sunglasses and holding the heavy-duty firearm.
President Donald Trump has claimed that King Charles “probably would have helped us” in Iran as he launched another attack on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and NATO.
Speaking during the King’s state visit, the president said the royal was a “phenomenal representative for his country” and suggested he would have differed in his approach to the conflict from the prime minister.
“The King loves his country, and he’s a great king, and he’s a great friend of mine. And I think if that it were up to him, he would have probably helped us with Iran,” Trump said.
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was grilled by lawmakers for six hours, mostly about the war in Iran.
The hearing is now adjourned after nearly six hours.
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