From Drop-Site Daily summary of the war

Trump is so full of shit:

• Trump insists Iran interested in talks: U.S. President Donald Trump again insisted Iran is interested in a deal after Tehran dismissed the claims. Writing on Truth Social, Trump said, “The Iranian negotiators are very different and ‘strange.’ They are ‘begging’ us to make a deal, which they should be doing since they have been militarily obliterated, with zero chance of a comeback, and yet they publicly state that they are only ‘looking at our proposal.’ WRONG!!! They better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won’t be pretty!”
• Thousands of American troops forced off U.S. bases by Iran attacks: Iran’s bombing of U.S. bases in the Middle East in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli war has forced many American troops to relocate to hotels and office spaces throughout the region, according to The New York Times. “Many of the 13 military bases in the region used by American troops are all but uninhabitable, with the ones in Kuwait, which is next door to Iran, suffering perhaps the most damage,” the Times wrote. “There were close to 40,000 U.S. troops in the region when the war started, and Central Command has dispersed thousands of them, some to as far away as Europe, American military officials said. But many have remained in the Middle East, although not on their original bases…The result, according to current and former military officials, is a war that is much harder to prosecute.” Iranian officials have accused the U.S. military of using civilians as human shields by putting American military personnel in hotels. “We are forced to identify and target the Americans,” the IRGC said according to the Tasnim news agency. “Therefore, it is better not to shelter them in hotels and to stay away from their locations.”
• Iran’s IRGC claims it shot down U.S. F/A-18 over Chabahar: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed Tuesday evening it downed a U.S. Navy F/A-18 fighter jet over Chabahar, a port city on Iran’s southeastern coast near the Pakistani border, using a new air defense system, with the aircraft—valued between $66 million and $75 million—reportedly crashing into the Indian Ocean. The IRGC described Tuesday’s incident as “the fourth successful hunt” for U.S. or Israeli fighter jets since the war began. U.S. Central Command denied the claim on X.
• CENTCOM: U.S. has struck more than 10,000 targets in Iran: CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper said Wednesday that American forces have struck more than 10,000 targets across Iran since the war began on February 28, including naval assets and missile sites. Cooper claimed 92 percent of Iran’s largest naval vessels have been destroyed and are “not sailing” and said the U.S. has “significantly” degraded Iran’s naval drone and missile capabilities while removing the regime’s ability to rebuild them.
• Two killed in UAE: Two people were killed by falling shrapnel from a missile interception over Abu Dhabi, according to authorities in the UAE.
• Jordan suspends residency of Iranian diplomat: Jordan suspended the residency of an Iranian diplomat and denied accreditation to another, the foreign minister told state-owned TV on Thursday, in what he said was a message to Iran. Both Saudi Arabia and Lebanon have declared Iranian diplomats personae non gratae in recent days.
• Gulf states activate air defenses amid incoming Iranian fire:
  • Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates moved to intercept incoming Iranian projectiles early Thursday, the Associated Press reported. Bahraini authorities said they were working to extinguish a fire at a site in Muharraq—home to the country’s international airport.
  • On Wednesday, Iran launched a missile strike on Israel’s largest power plant in Hadera, a coastal city in northern Israel roughly halfway between Tel Aviv and Haifa, with the missile striking a short distance from its target.
• Iran strikes chemical complex in Negev linked to white phosphorus production: An Iranian ballistic missile struck the state-owned ICL Rotem chemical complex in Israel’s Negev on Wednesday, causing a large blast and fire at the facility, according to reports and geolocated footage. The site, located near Dimona, is part of Israel’s largest chemicals company and is linked to phosphate extraction used in white phosphorus production, which Israel has used illegally in both Gaza and southern Lebanon.
• Pakistan confirms role in relaying messages from U.S. to Iran: Pakistani foreign minister Ishaq Dar confirmed on Thursday that Pakistan has been relaying messages between the U.S. and Iran. “There has been unnecessary speculation in the media regarding peace talks to end ongoing conflict in the Middle East. In reality, US-Iran indirect talks are taking place through messages being relayed by Pakistan. In this context, the United States has shared 15 points, being deliberated upon by Iran,” Dar wrote in a post on X. “Brotherly countries of Turkiye and Egypt, among others, are also extending their support to this initiative.”
• Iran’s foreign minister says no negotiations taking place: Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi flatly contradicted Trump’s claims of active diplomacy between the countries in a state television interview Wednesday. “No negotiations have happened with the enemy until now, and we do not plan on any negotiations,” Araghchi said. He added the U.S. tried to send messages to Iran through other nations, “but that is not a conversation nor a negotiation.” Araghchi said Iran has selectively allowed passage through the Strait of Hormuz only to countries it considers friends—naming China, Russia, India, Iraq, and Pakistan—and that there is “no reason” to extend that access to enemies.
• Iran fortifies Kharg Island as U.S. weighs ground operation: Iran is reinforcing defenses on Kharg Island—which handles roughly 90 percent of the country’s crude exports—including laying mines and deploying additional air defenses and forces, CNN reported Wednesday, citing sources familiar with U.S. intelligence. The Trump administration is weighing a ground operation to seize the island as leverage over the Strait of Hormuz, while U.S. officials, military planners, and regional sources warn of significant casualty risks. A senior Gulf official told CNN that Gulf allies are actively urging Washington against deploying ground forces, cautioning that such a move could trigger Iranian retaliation against regional infrastructure.
• Iran’s parliament moves toward formalizing tolls in Strait of Hormuz: Iran’s parliament is pursuing legislation to assert formal sovereignty and control over the Strait of Hormuz and charge tolls to vessels transiting it, according to Fars News Agency. “This is entirely natural, just as goods pay transit fees when passing through other corridors, the Strait of Hormuz is also a corridor,” lawmaker Mohammadreza Rezaei Kouchi was quoted as saying. “We provide its security, and it is natural that ships and oil tankers should pay such fees.” The shipping analysis firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence published a report claiming Iran is already charging fees and is running “de facto ‘toll booth’ regime” for passage through the strait.
• UAE envoy calls for “conclusive outcome” beyond ceasefire with Iran: UAE Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef Al Otaiba wrote in the Wall Street Journal Wednesday that a simple ceasefire with Iran is insufficient and that any resolution must address Tehran’s “full range of threats.” Al Otaiba announced the UAE would join international efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and keep it open, reaffirmed the country’s $1.4 trillion investment commitment in the U.S., and claimed Iran has launched more than 2,180 missiles and drones at the UAE since the war began, with over 95 percent intercepted. The op-ed marks a significant public signal of UAE alignment with Washington’s war aims at a moment when both the UAE and Saudi Arabia are reportedly weighing whether to formally join U.S. military operations against Iran.
• UN Security Council split over resolution to authorize force in Strait of Hormuz: Bahrain has put forward a draft UN Security Council resolution calling on countries to use “all necessary means” to keep the Strait of Hormuz open—including military action to “repress, neutralize and deter” attempts to obstruct international navigation—but the proposal is facing significant resistance, according to three council diplomats who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The draft, placed under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter which authorizes measures up to the use of force, is being reworked after multiple countries raised concerns; China and Russia, both veto-wielding members, are among those opposed to the current text. France separately introduced a competing resolution Monday that makes no mention of Iran, carries no Chapter Seven authorization, and instead urges all parties to de-escalate and return to diplomacy. Neither draft is expected to come to a vote this week.
• Trump is receiving curated, daily “highlight reel” of Iran war strikes: Each day since the war on Iran began, U.S. military officials compile a roughly two-minute video of the biggest U.S. strikes on Iranian targets over the previous 48 hours for President Donald Trump—a montage one official described as “stuff blowing up”—but the briefing format is fueling concerns among some of Trump’s own allies that he is not absorbing the full picture of the conflict, three current and one former U.S. official told NBC News. The concerns echo a pattern from previous wars: former National Counterterrorism Center director Joe Kent said recently that “key decision-makers were not allowed to come express their opinion to the president” and that “there wasn’t a robust debate.”