The fragile Iran ceasefire faced a fresh test Thursday as reported ship attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, a continuing U.S. blockade and rare Israel-Lebanon talks in Washington pushed the Middle East to another high-stakes diplomatic crossroads.

U.S. Keeps Pressure On Iran At Sea

U.S. forces continued maritime enforcement against Iranian oil shipments, including boarding the sanctioned stateless vessel M/T Majestic X in the Indian Ocean.

The Department of War said U.S. forces conducted “a maritime interdiction and right-of-visit boarding of the sanctioned stateless vessel M/T Majestic X transporting oil from Iran, in the Indian Ocean within the INDOPACOM area of responsibility.”

“We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate,” the department said.

“International waters cannot be used as a shield by sanctioned actors. The Department of War will continue to deny illicit actors and their vessels freedom of maneuver in the maritime domain,” it added.

Meanwhile, Iran reportedly fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz and seized two, raising new fears over one of the world’s most critical oil corridors.

Trump later declared: “I have ordered the United States Navy to shoot and kill any boat, small boats though they may be (Their naval ships are ALL, 159 of them, at the bottom of the sea!), that is putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz,”

“There is to be no hesitation. Additionally, our mine ‘sweepers’ are clearing the Strait right now. I am hereby ordering that activity to continue, but at a tripled up level! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he added.

Trump Rejects Nuclear Option

Trump also rejected the idea of using a nuclear weapon against Iran.

“No, I wouldn’t. We don’t need it. Why do I need it? Why would a stupid question like that be asked?” Trump said.

“Why would I use a nuclear weapon, when we’ve totally, in a very conventional way, decimated them without it. No, I wouldn’t use it. A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody,” he continued.

Still, he kept a hard line on Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

“They’re not doing well economically, financially, and they’re not doing any business because of the blockade. They want to make a deal,” Trump said.

“We have been speaking to them, but they don’t even know who’s leading the country.

“They’re in turmoil. So we thought we’d give them a little chance to get some of their turmoil resolved,” he said, adding that he “took a little break” and “gave them a break.”

Iran, Trump said, “cannot have the nuclear bomb,” and “they’re not going to have the nuclear bomb.”

“So we’ve taken out their military. We’ve hit about 75% of our targets,” he said.

He added that the campaign paused “because they wanted to have some peace.”

Rare Israel-Lebanon Talks Open In Washington

At the same time, Israel and Lebanon moved toward another round of rare talks in Washington over extending a ceasefire involving Hezbollah.

Trump said the meeting was “historic.”

“The President of the United States, DONALD J. TRUMP, Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, and Ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, met today with high-ranking representatives of Israel and Lebanon in the Oval Office,” Trump said.

“The meeting went very well! The United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah.

“The ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended by THREE WEEKS,” he added, saying he would “look forward in the near future to hosting the prime minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, and the president of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun.”

“It was a great honor to be a participant at this very historic meeting!” Trump added.

Hezbollah Remains The Central Obstacle

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee framed the conflict in neighborhood terms.

“The people of Lebanon, the people of Israel are neighbors and they want to get along,” Huckabee said.

“They can get along,” he said. “But it’s like neighbors who have a rough little kid living in the neighborhood who keeps throwing rocks at everybody’s window. And if the kid will quit throwing rocks, the neighbors can get along and start actually working together.”

Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said, “Israel wants peace with Lebanon, and Israel wants security for its citizens.”

“We’re united with the Lebanese government in wanting to rid the country of this malign influence called Hezbollah,” he added.

“And now that, under your leadership, Iran has been so degraded, the possibility of degrading Hezbollah and liberating Lebanon from their occupation is real,” Leiter said.

“We hope that together, under your leadership, we can formalize peace between Israel and Lebanon in the very near future.”

Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi also warned: “Hezbollah continues to gamble with the fate of the southern villages and their people for agendas that have nothing to do with Lebanon’s national interest,”

The Israeli military said it found a Hezbollah command center inside a clothing store. “Inside it were weapons and rooms used for managing terror operations by the terrorist organization’s operatives,” the IDF said.

Iran’s Leadership Pushes Back

Iranian officials rejected Trump’s claim that Tehran’s leadership had fractured.

“Due to the strange unity created among compatriots, a fracture has occurred in the enemy,” Khamenei said.

“With practical gratitude for this blessing, cohesion has become even greater and more steel-like, and the enemies will become more wretched and diminished.

“The enemy’s media operations, by targeting the minds and psyches of the people, intend to undermine national unity and security; may our negligence not allow this sinister intent to come to fruition,” he said.

Trump had written: “Iran is having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is! They just don’t know! The infighting is between the ‘Hardliners,’ who have been losing BADLY on the battlefield, and the ‘Moderates,’ who are not very moderate at all (but gaining respect!), and it is CRAZY!”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian answered bluntly.

“In Iran there are no ‘hardliners’ or ‘moderates.’ We are all Iranians and revolutionaries,” he said.

“With ironclad unity of nation and state and obedience to the Supreme Leader, we will make the aggressor regret.”

“One God, one nation, one leader, one path; victory for Iran, dearer than life,” he said.

In another post, he wrote: “In Iran, there are no radicals or moderates,” and added, “We are all ‘Iranian’ and ‘revolutionary,’ and with the iron unity of the nation and government, and complete obedience to the Supreme Leader of the Revolution, we will make the aggressor criminal regret his actions.”

Iran has only “the path” of victory, he added, which is “more precious than life.”

Nuclear Dispute Deepens

Iran rejected pressure over its enriched uranium.

“Iran’s enriched uranium is not going to be transferred anywhere under any circumstances,” Esmael Baqaei said.

Trump said Iran had agreed to “give us back the nuclear dust that’s way underground.”

Andrea Stricker argued: “The United States should insist on a permanent ban of Iranian enrichment and its full dismantlement in negotiations.

Iran retaining any enrichment infrastructure in anticipation of the end of a moratorium would allow it to cheat as soon as Trump leaves office and resume its path to nuclear weapons,”

Iran also rejected claims about “10 nuclear bombs.”

“The claim that Iran wants to build a nuclear bomb has never been raised by us; these narratives are more of a projection by the other side, and even calculations about 10 bombs are products of their own analysis,” Baghaei said.

Diplomacy Faces A Narrow Window

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said: “This evening, a meeting will be held in Washington to extend the ceasefire, which also includes stopping the destruction of homes, attacks on civilians, places of worship, journalists, medical personnel, and educational institutions — this is what Lebanon’s Ambassador to the United States, Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad, will carry to the meeting, and she will do everything in her power to secure these items,”

“The positive aspect lies in the fact that, for the first time, the Lebanon file is returning to the American table, and specifically to the table of the Secretary of State who also holds the position of National Security Advisor, which opens the door for us — if things proceed as they should — toward economic recovery, reconstruction, and more,” he added.

Aoun said he wanted to meet Trump “to brief him in detail on the true situation in Lebanon, as a phone call is not sufficient for such a matter or to reach an understanding; however, he was sympathetic to Lebanon and stated that he loves this country, and this is what we must build on for the future.”

“As President of the Republic, I am responsible toward my country and people, and I will adopt any means capable of ending the war and destruction,” he said.

He also floated “raising the transportation allowance for public sector employees, given the rise in oil prices due to current developments, in addition to granting them an exceptional one-time assistance.”