Pete Hegseth says US ‘knows exactly what Russia and China are doing’ amid claims they are supporting Iran – live updates

The US is aware of what China and Russia are doing to help Iran and are confronting those efforts where necessary, Pete Hegseth said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Russia has been supplying Iran with drones and intelligence to help Tehran.

Asked about reports of Russia and China aiding Iran, Hegseth said: ‘As far as Russia and China, we know exactly what they’re doing, what they are or are not doing.

‘We don’t have to air publicly what all of that is, but where necessary, we’re addressing it, we’re mitigating it or we’re confronting it head on.’

Here’s all the latest developments on the US-Israel war with Iran:

• Donald Trump told countries including the UK ‘go get your own oil’ as he challenged nations to get supplies straight from the Strait of Hormuz
• Fears are growing the UK faces a jet fuel shortage in days as the ‘last shipment’ from the Middle East arrives in the next 48 hours
• Trump also lashed out at France describing the nation as ‘very unhelpful’ over the Iran war amid claims Emmanuel Macron blocked US planes from French airspace
• The President has reportedly signalled to aides he is willing to leave the Iran war without reopening the Strait of Hormuz
• Pete Hegseth has said the US ‘knows exactly’ what China and Russia are doing amid claims the countries are supporting Iran
• Hegseth told a Pentagon briefing the US would ‘much prefer’ a deal to end the war with Iran’s leadership
• An Iranian drone has stuck a fully loaded Kuwaiti tanker anchored at Dubai port
• Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have claimed an Israeli-owned ship has been struck in the Persian Gulf and US marines have been targeted with drones in the UAE
• Israel’s emergency services say eight people have been injured after an Iranian missile strike in central Israel
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war on Iran had achieved more than half its aims without putting a timeline on when it would end
• Italy denied US bombers access to an air base in Sicily last week after pilots apparently failed to ask for permission to land
• China has expressed its ‘gratitude’ after ships pass Strait of Hormuz

Stick with us for the latest developments throughout the day.

The state visit by King Charles and Queen Camilla to the United States at the end of April will be a ‘momentous occasion’, President Donald Trump has said.

Trump revealed the royals will visit America from April 27 to April 30 and include a banquet dinner at the White House.

He said he was looking forward to spending time with Charles ‘whom I greatly respect’.

Read Trump’s Truth Social post below:

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has rejected claims Iran fired missiles at Turkey and offered to jointly investigate the issue.

In a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, Araghchi said the statements from Nato and the Turkish defence ministry were ‘completely baseless’ and warned against ‘false-flag operations by enemies’.

He said Iran was ‘ready for joint technical cooperation to examine any possible claim’, according to a statement by the Iranian foreign ministry.

On Monday, Turkey’s defence ministry said NATO forces had intercepted a new missile fired from Iran – the fourth since the start of the Middle East war.

General Dan Caine says US strikes are focused on Iranian naval targets and defense industrial sites.

‘We’ve taken out again more than 150 ships,’ Caine said, adding that attack helicopters are now joining in the effort targeting Iranian naval targets.

Another key objective of the war is disabling Iran’s defense industrial base, including nuclear research sites, Caine said.

‘This includes factories, warehouses, nuclear weapons research and development labs, and the associated infrastructure required for Iran to reconstitute its combat capability,’ Caine said.

Pete Hegseth declined to tell reporters whether or not the US military will deploy ground troops against Iran.

‘You can’t fight and win a war if you tell your adversary what you are willing to do or what you are not willing to do to include boots on the ground,’ he said.

Hegseth added: ‘Our adversary right now thinks there are 15 different ways we could come at them with boots on the ground. And guess what? There are.’

Pete Hegseth appeared to take a swipe at the Royal Navy as he spoke about the Strait of Hormuz in his Pentagon briefing.

Asked about the waterway, the Defense Secretary said: ‘I think the president was clear this morning in his Truth that there are countries around the world who ought to be prepared to step up on this critical waterway as well.’

He then continued: ‘Last time I checked, there was supposed to be a big, bad Royal Navy that could be prepared to do things like that as well. So he’s pointing out this is an international waterway that we use less than most, in fact, dramatically less than most.’

It comes as the Wall Street Journal reports Donald Trump told aides he would be prepared to leave the war without reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Pete Hegseth has insisted the US would ‘much prefer’ to agree a deal with Iran instead of taking further military action.

Echoing Trump’s remarks that there had been regime change in Iran, he said it is ‘our job’ to make the leadership reach a settlement.

‘That’s the goal. We don’t want to have to do more militarily than we have to. But I didn’t mean it flippantly when I said, in the meantime, we’ll negotiate with bombs,’ he said.

‘Our job is to ensure that we compel Iran to realise that this new regime, this regime in charge, is in a better place if they make that deal. And so we’ll continue.’

US troops in the Middle East are showing an ‘urgency to finish the job’ and are ‘moving as fast possible’ to win the war in Iran, Pete Hegseth said.

Hegseth started his Pentagon briefing by speaking about his time with soldiers in the Middle East over the weekend.

He said he witnessed first hand an ‘urgency’ in the military which was the ‘exact opposite’ of the rotational units in Iraq and Afghanistan where troops never knew ‘exactly what the mission was’.

‘Not with Epic Fury. I witnessed urgency to finish the job, urgency to achieve mission success, not looking at the next rotation, only moving as fast as possible to win,’ he said.

‘What I witnessed was motivation. It was sheer mission focus’.

The next days of the Iran war will be ‘decisive’, Pete Hegseth has declared.

The US Defense Secretary revealed he visited US troops in the Middle East over the weekend as he spoke at a Pentagon briefing, his first in nearly two weeks.

‘The upcoming days will be decisive. Iran knows that, and there’s almost nothing they can militarily do about it,’ Hegseth said.

by Rebecca English, Royal Editor

Buckingham Palace has finally announced the much-anticipated – but highly controversial – State Visit by King Charles and Queen Camilla to the United States.

After weeks of calls for the trip to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence to be called off over President Trump’s war against Iran, a formal notice was issued this morning.

It states: ‘On advice of His Majesty’s Government, and at the invitation of The President of the United States, The King and Queen will undertake a State Visit to the United States of America.

‘Their Majesties’ programme will celebrate the historic connections and the modern bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States, marking the 250th anniversary of American Independence.’

The visit will take place ‘at the end of April’ and will include a glittering State Banquet at the White House thrown by Trump, who has made no secret of his admiration for the British monarch and his desire for the trip to go ahead.

Earlier this month France confirmed it had temporarily allowed the US Air Force to use one of its bases for missions in Iran.

But the military said it had received guarantees only planes not involved in carrying out strikes will use the country’s facilities.

It is understood US planes landing at Istres, near Marseille were military support jets that had stopped to refuel.

French President Emmanuel Macron has previously insisted France will take a ‘strictly defensive’ stance in relation to the war.