Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States had "a productive week" of discussion with allies on Iran and suggested the US remained open to negotiations with the nation, despite Iranian President Hassan Rouhani hours earlier squashing any prospects of a meeting with his US counterpart.
Iran test-fired a medium-range ballistic missile late Wednesday that traveled 1,000 kilometers from its southern launch point into northern Iran, according to a US official with direct knowledge of the event.
President Donald Trump said Monday he is less inclined to make a deal with Iran as Tehran claimed to have arrested CIA operatives and US allies announced their own effort to secure shipping in the Persian Gulf, in a possible sign of division with Washington.
The US Navy has identified a missing sailor who is believed to have fallen overboard from the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier last week while it was operating in the Arabian Sea.
Britain reiterated warnings Saturday that it would take "robust" action if Iran did not release a UK-flagged oil tanker it seized in the Strait of Hormuz, the latest confrontation in a tense standoff unfolding in the important shipping route.
President Donald Trump said Friday he had authorized Sen. Rand Paul to speak with Iranian officials -- a day after denying he had done so -- but downplayed the significance of the outreach to Iran as tensions skyrocketed in the Persian Gulf.
Iran announced the capture of one British-flagged ship in the narrow Strait of Hormuz on Friday, and US officials said that a second had also been seized.
A search-and-rescue operation is underway for a US sailor who went overboard from the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Persian gulf on Wednesday, according to a statement from the US Navy.
Iran's foreign minister said the US is waging war against his country through intensifying economic sanctions that make civilians "the primary targets," but told CNN that his country "will never start a war" and that all parties should work to avoid one.
Armed Iranian boats unsuccessfully tried to seize a British oil tanker in the Persian Gulf Wednesday, according to two US officials with direct knowledge of the incident.
