US denies Iran's claim to have struck an unmanned ship, and other Mideast news

Audio By Carbonatix

The U.S. military has denied Iran ’s claim to have struck an unmanned American military vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, calling it a “total lie.” A top Iranian official said Tehran plans to announce an “exclusion zone” outside the Strait of Hormuz aimed at vessels it believes are attempting to transit the waterway.

Meanwhile, Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed seven people and leveled a vacant hospital, according to Lebanese authorities, near an area that has become a flash point in fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Here’s a look at the latest news in the Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.

State-run media in Tehran said the U.S. vessel was trying to enter an area that Iran says is restricted in the Strait of Hormuz, but Capt. Tim Hawkins, spokesperson for the U.S. Central Command, called it "a total lie."

The claim came a day after the U.S. said it struck Iranian oil tankers in retaliation for Iran launching ballistic missiles at Navy warships. Attacks resumed last week after roughly a month of quiet.

The war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28. But negotiations have collapsed after a ceasefire agreement was announced in June, and on-and-off fighting has persisted with both sides trying to inflict military and economic pain.

Iran’s parliament speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said the era of “proportionate responses” is over and Iran’s retaliation will be “faster, heavier and more painful.”

The new head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said Tehran plans to announce an “exclusion zone” outside the Strait of Hormuz aimed at vessels it believes are attempting to transit the waterway.

Mohsen Rezaei’s comments to Iran’s state broadcaster came with few details, a day after the U.S. struck three Iranian oil tankers in response to Tehran launching ballistic missiles at U.S. warships. Experts called the launches a dangerous escalation after Iran’s previous attacks at sea targeted commercial shipping.

The new zone should be announced in the coming days and weeks and “will begin from the line of the U.S. naval blockade, extend toward the Strait of Hormuz, and from this side continue into the Persian Gulf,” Rezaei said.

Israeli strikes killed at least seven people in southern Lebanon and leveled an empty hospital, Lebanon's Health Ministry said.

Strikes on the village of Arabsalim killed two, the ministry said. Two others were killed in Nabatiyeh al-Fawqa, near a strategic hill that Israel said its forces gained control over Thursday. And three people were killed in the village of Nabatiyeh al-Tahta after an Israeli drone struck a parking lot. At least 20 others were wounded in strikes, the ministry said, among them three children and five women.

Israel's military said its latest strikes came in response to a drone attack launched earlier Sunday by Hezbollah on troops in southern Lebanon. It said Hezbollah had used the empty hospital as a command center.

Since a ceasefire went into effect between Israel and Hezbollah more than two months ago, low-level skirmishes and Israeli strikes continue in the south.

Dozens of Palestinians gathered in Gaza City to mourn over 110 people, including at least 70 children, after their remains were recovered.

Rescue crews have been digging out the bodies from the Zeitoun neighborhood. They said the dead came from three families whose houses were flattened by Israeli strikes earlier in the war.

“We are witnessing a painful, heartbreaking scene,” said Mustafa Quzghat, a relative.

The bodies were wrapped in white shrouds and draped with Palestinian flags. Some shrouds bore images of the deceased, according to Associated Press footage. They were laid out in rows on the ground.

Over 73,650 Palestinians have been killed since the war in Gaza began, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and international organizations. It doesn’t give a breakdown of civilians and militants.

Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, defended the lack of progress in talks about next steps in the fragile Gaza ceasefire, saying that “it’s been a dystopian place for a long time.”

Speaking at a news conference in Ukraine, Kushner defended his work with Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, saying the militarization by the Hamas militant group in the Palestinian territory was “beyond our comprehension, so demilitarizing it is not going to be easy.”

“But we’re very determined, and we’re working through these things,” Kushner said.

He added: “We’re working through some political issues in Israel. I think we agree with them on the end state. They just have a crazy election, and that makes them a little irrational in certain regards.” Israel's election is set for Oct. 27.

An Israeli strike on a civilian vehicle in western Gaza City killed a father and his daughter and wounded at least six others, according to health officials at Shifa Hospital, where the casualties were taken.

The Israeli military said it struck a “terrorist” in Gaza City.

Israeli strikes have killed at least 1,344 Palestinians in Gaza since a ceasefire agreement was reached with the Hamas militant group in October, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Israel says it is targeting Hamas and other militants who pose a threat, and in response to ceasefire violations, including occasional attacks.

The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage.

Any Israeli plan or action to remove Palestinians from Gaza would violate international law and undermine the U.S.-backed plan for drawing down the war, the foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and five other governments said in a statement.

Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, last week published a plan to encourage Palestinian migration from Gaza. Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, has said Israel is prepared to facilitate the removal of Palestinians by sea, air or other means, and that plans remain under discussion.

The governments called the statements “inflammatory” and said they threatened the “legitimate and inalienable rights” of Palestinians and the future establishment of a Palestinian state. ___ This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.