US Iran war live updates: Centcom posts on Twitter saying USS George HW Bush deployed to Indian Ocean
US Iran War Live Updates: US military has deployed USS George HW Bush, the third aircraft carrier to the Middle East in the Indian Ocean. The construction comes amid a fragile ceasefire that has halted US-Israeli attacks against Iran. At the same time, US President Donald Trump announced that after talks in Washington, Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend their ceasefire by three weeks.
Trump also ruled out the use of nuclear weapons against Iran and said the US has already weakened Iran’s military through conventional means. He warned that any rearmament by Iran during the ceasefire could quickly be neutralized.
America deploys third carrier near Middle East
The US military confirmed on Thursday that the USS George HW Bush aircraft carrier has arrived in the Middle East, bringing to three the number of US warships operating in the region.
Bush “was sailing in the Indian Ocean in the U.S. Central Command area of ​​responsibility on April 23,” the military command responsible for the Middle East said in a post on Twitter. The post also contained an image of the carrier, its deck filled with warplanes.
The second carrier, USS Gerald R. The Ford was operating in the Red Sea on Thursday, while a third carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, is also in the area.
The third aircraft carrier deployment to the Middle East comes during a more than two-week ceasefire that halted a devastating US-Israeli air campaign launched against Iran in late February.
Israel Lebanon extends ceasefire
US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend the ceasefire by three weeks after talks at the White House.
Trump said the second meeting in the past week between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States went “very good”, but during a gathering in the Oval Office he acknowledged that “they have Hezbollah to think about.”
Trump denies use of nuclear weapons on Iran
Trump said on Thursday that he would not use nuclear weapons in a war against Iran. Speaking to reporters at the White House, he said, “Why would I use nuclear weapons? We have completely destroyed them without it, in a very conventional manner.”
The US President also said that no one should ever use nuclear weapons. When Trump was asked how long he was willing to wait for a long-term peace deal with Iran, he said, “Don’t rush me.”
Trump says Iran’s weapons could be ‘eliminated’
Trump said Iran may have increased its arsenal “a little bit” during the two-week ceasefire, but he said U.S. forces could eliminate it in about a day.
“Their Navy is gone. Their Air Force is gone, their anti-aircraft aircraft are gone… They may have packed a little stuff in over a two-week period, but if they did that we would knock them out in about a day,” Trump said.
Meanwhile, potential peace talks in Pakistan remain in limbo, with no sign of a return to diplomacy to end the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz. The second round of talks could not begin as Iran refused to participate in talks in Pakistan regarding its demands, including insisting on nuclear rights.
…read more
Trump also ruled out the use of nuclear weapons against Iran and said the US has already weakened Iran’s military through conventional means. He warned that any rearmament by Iran during the ceasefire could quickly be neutralized.
America deploys third carrier near Middle East
The US military confirmed on Thursday that the USS George HW Bush aircraft carrier has arrived in the Middle East, bringing to three the number of US warships operating in the region.
Bush “was sailing in the Indian Ocean in the U.S. Central Command area of ​​responsibility on April 23,” the military command responsible for the Middle East said in a post on Twitter. The post also contained an image of the carrier, its deck filled with warplanes.
The second carrier, USS Gerald R. The Ford was operating in the Red Sea on Thursday, while a third carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, is also in the area.
The third aircraft carrier deployment to the Middle East comes during a more than two-week ceasefire that halted a devastating US-Israeli air campaign launched against Iran in late February.
Israel Lebanon extends ceasefire
US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend the ceasefire by three weeks after talks at the White House.
Trump said the second meeting in the past week between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States went “very good”, but during a gathering in the Oval Office he acknowledged that “they have Hezbollah to think about.”
Trump denies use of nuclear weapons on Iran
Trump said on Thursday that he would not use nuclear weapons in a war against Iran. Speaking to reporters at the White House, he said, “Why would I use nuclear weapons? We have completely destroyed them without it, in a very conventional manner.”
The US President also said that no one should ever use nuclear weapons. When Trump was asked how long he was willing to wait for a long-term peace deal with Iran, he said, “Don’t rush me.”
Trump says Iran’s weapons could be ‘eliminated’
Trump said Iran may have increased its arsenal “a little bit” during the two-week ceasefire, but he said U.S. forces could eliminate it in about a day.
“Their Navy is gone. Their Air Force is gone, their anti-aircraft aircraft are gone… They may have packed a little stuff in over a two-week period, but if they did that we would knock them out in about a day,” Trump said.
Meanwhile, potential peace talks in Pakistan remain in limbo, with no sign of a return to diplomacy to end the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz. The second round of talks could not begin as Iran refused to participate in talks in Pakistan regarding its demands, including insisting on nuclear rights.
Follow all updates here:
April 24, 2026 7:21:01 am First
US-Iran war live updates: Lebanon-Israel ceasefire extended for three weeks after Oval Office meeting
US Iran war live updates: US President Donald Trump on Thursday said Lebanon and Israel have extended their ceasefire by three weeks after a high-level meeting at the White House.
A day after Israeli attacks killed at least five people, including a journalist, Trump hosted Israeli Ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Mouawad in the Oval Office for a second round of US-facilitated talks. “The meeting was great! The United States is going to work with Lebanon to help protect itself from Hezbollah,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
April 24, 2026 7:11:03 am First
US Iran war live updates: Mojtaba in touch with Iranian regime through letters, reports say
US Iran War Live Updates: Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has been somewhat missing from the public sphere since taking over as the country’s top leader. The New York Times quoted an Iranian official as saying that Mojtaba was doing this deliberately because he did not want to appear weak or vulnerable in his first public address.
According to the report, to avoid being tracked by the US and Israel, messages to Mojtaba are handwritten, sealed in envelopes and sent from one trusted courier to another through a human chain, traveling on highways and back roads, in cars and on motorcycles until they reach his hideout.
April 24, 2026 7:06:09 am First
US Iran war live updates: US says Iran allowed to play in World Cup but people linked to IRGC will not be allowed
US Iran war live updates: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said Washington has no objection to Iranian players participating in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but added that the players will not be allowed to bring with them people associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“Nobody from the United States has told them they can’t come,” Rubio told reporters. President Donald Trump also said in comments made at the White House that his administration would “not want to influence athletes”.
April 24, 2026 6:54:48 am First
US Iran war live updates: Iran seizes ship in Hormuz, defying US naval superiority
US Iran war live updates: Iran demonstrated its grip on the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday with video of commandos in a speedboat attacking a huge cargo ship after peace talks failed, in a move that Washington had hoped would open up one of the world’s most vital shipping corridors.
US President Donald Trump dismissed the threat posed by Iran’s “little intelligent ships” and told reporters he believed Tehran wanted to make a deal but its leadership was in turmoil.
April 24, 2026 6:53:33 am First
US-Iran war live updates: Trump orders ‘shoot and kill’ Iranian small boats sinking in Hormuz
US Iran war live updates: President Donald Trump has ordered US forces to “shoot and kill” small Iranian boats deploying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, a move announced on Thursday a day after Iran demonstrated its ability to disrupt traffic through the channel.
“I have ordered the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any boats, small boats, that are laying mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump posted.
April 24, 2026 6:39:38 am First
US Iran war live updates: USS George HW Bush aircraft carrier deployed to Middle East region
US Iran war live updates: The US military said on Thursday that the USS George HW Bush aircraft carrier has arrived in the Middle East, bringing the number of US warships operating in the region to three.
The military command responsible for the Middle East said in a post on Twitter that Bush was sailing “on April 23 in the Indian Ocean in the U.S. Central Command area of ​​responsibility,” which included an image of the carrier with its deck filled with warplanes.
