US submarine sank Iranian warship, Hegseth says – as it happened - The Guardian

Spain 'has agreed to cooperate' with US after Trump ire, says White House

During the White House press briefing on Wednesday, Karoline Leavitt said that Spain had agreed to cooperate with US operations in the Middle East.

“With respect to Spain, I think they heard the president’s message yesterday loud and clear,” the White House press secretary said. “And it’s my understanding over the past several hours, they’ve agreed to cooperate with the US military. And so I know that the US military is coordinating with their counterparts in Spain.”

But, shortly after, Spain’s foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, said that the Spanish government’s position “on the war in the Middle Eastthe bombings in Iran, and the use of our bases has not changed one iota”.

“She may be the White House press secretary, but I’m the foreign minister of Spain, and I’m telling her that our position hasn’t changed at all” he added.

A government spokesperson added: “It is not true. We categorically deny any change it. Spain’s position has not changed.”

A number of reporters at the White House press briefing today have asked the press secretary whether the administration should have done more, in advance of the weekend strikes, to evacuate more Americans in the Middle East.

The press secretary insisted that there were plans in place, and listed several travel advisories shared by state department in recent weeks. On Monday, Mora Namdar, the US assistant secretary of state for consular affairs, issued an advisory on Monday, urging Americans to “DEPART NOW” from more than a dozen countries, citing “serious safety risks”. However, major airlines have canceled flights to and from the region since Saturday, and several airports paused flights and scaled back operations, leaving thousands stranded.

“We gave notices to leave immediately the countries where these Americans were,” Leavitt said today, despite reports of Americans calling the state department hotline as recently as Tuesday evening and being told they couldn’t receive help to evacuate.

Leavitt said that 17,500 Americans have safely returned home from the Middle East, with more than 8,500 American citizens returning home on Tuesday. She also repeated that US citizens in the Middle East looking to return home should register with the state department to be provided with travel options.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said that he spoke with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Wednesday, as well as the Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun, and prime minister, Nawaf Salam, to discuss the situation in Lebanon.

“I reaffirmed the need for Hezbollah to immediately cease its attacks against Israel and beyond,” Macron said in a statement on X. “This strategy of escalation constitutes a major error that endangers the entire region.”

“Similarly, I called on the Israeli Prime Minister to preserve Lebanon’s territorial integrity and to refrain from a ground offensive,” he added. “It is important for the parties to return to the ceasefire agreement.”

White House pushes back against questions on US involvement in Iran school bombing

Shrai Popat

Karoline Leavitt batted down a question from a reporter about the US involvement in a strike on an Iranian girls’ elementary school, which killed 175 people.

The press secretary did not accept US responsibility for the attack, and noted that the Pentagon is investigating the strike (as Pete Hegseth noted earlier).

“I would just tell you very strongly, the United States of America does not target civilians, unlike the rogue Iranian regime,” Leavitt said. “I would caution you from pointing the finger at the United States of America when it comes to targeting civilians, because that’s not something that these armed forces do.”

The Dubai media office has said that Dubai authorities “confirm that sounds heard in various areas across the emirate were the result of successful air defense interception operations, with no injuries reported”.

They added that “relevant teams continue to closely monitor developments and are taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety of everyone”.

At the press briefing on Wednesday, Karoline Leavitt said that Donald Trump plans to attend the ‘dignified transfer’ of the bodies of the six US service members who have been killed since the war with Iran began.

“We grieve for these American patriots and their families as we continue the righteous mission for which they gave their lives. President Trump intends to attend the dignified transfer of these American heroes to stand in grief alongside their families,” she said. “I understand the Department of War is working on scheduling this transfer, and we will provide updates at the appropriate time.”

Sri Lankan authorities have said that they recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 people after a US torpedo sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka.

The Associated Press reported that Sri Lankan navy spokesperson Commander Buddhika Sampath said that “we found people floating on the water” and that the 32 people rescued were admitted to a hospital.

The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, is currently holding a press briefing for reporters, and in her opening remarks, she praised Donald Trump and touted the success of Operation Epic Fury.

“President Trump is holding these monsters accountable and permanently extinguishing their nuclear ambitions,” Leavitt told reporters at the White House. “Future generations of Americans will look to this moment as the moment where the specter of a nuclear armed Iran ended at the beginning of Operation Epic Fury launched last weekend.”

Leavitt also repeated comments by the defense secretary just hours ago that the US has significantly degraded the Iranian navy.

“So far, we have destroyed more than 20 Iranian ships, including their top submarine, last night using a torpedo,” she said. “It’s safe to say that thus far, operation, Epic Fury has been a resounding success.”

In a recent statement, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has said “we are well on our way to achieving the objectives of #EpicFury”.

“Destroy their missile launchers” he said. “Destroy their missile factories. Destroy their Navy. So they can never hide behind these things to develop a nuclear weapon.”

US Central Command has said that US forces have “struck or sunk to the bottom of the ocean” more than 20 Iranian ships.

“Last night, CENTCOM added a Soleimani-class warship to the list,” it said in a statement on Wednesday.

In another statement on Wednesday, US Central Command said that “US forces continue to aggressively hunt and destroy Iranian missile launchers with precision”.