Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday said a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports would deepen disruptions in the Gulf and fail to achieve its objectives.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written message on Thursday that the United States had been defeated in its war with the Islamic republic, as the Iranian leadership defied President Donald Trump's warnings of a prolonged blockade.

The leaders of major media companies around the world, including The Associated Press, are calling on Israel's government to lift a ban keeping foreign journalists from being able to independently enter and report from Gaza, a barrier that's been in place since the war's start in 2023 and continues even as a ceasefire has been in place for more than six months.

"Being on the ground is essential. It allows journalists to question official accounts on all sides, to speak directly with civilians and report back what they witness firsthand," said the statement from the executives, released Thursday. "That is why news organizations send their reporters into the field, often at great personal risk."

Israel's foreign ministry said Thursday that Israeli forces had arrested about 175 activists aboard 20 ships from an aid-laden flotilla bound for Gaza.

"Approximately 175 activists from more than 20 boats... are now making their way peacefully to Israel," the ministry said in a statement, including a video of the activists aboard an Israeli navy ship.

President Donald Trump said a U.S. naval blockade against Iran could last months, leading oil prices to spike to their highest level in more than four years, which held into Thursday.

Trump is expected to receive a briefing on Thursday on new plans for potential military action in Iran from Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, two sources with knowledge told Axios.

U.S. President Donald Trump warned Tehran on Wednesday that it should "get smart soon" and capitulate to Washington's demands for tight controls on its nuclear program, as a U.S. naval blockade turned the screws on Iran's economy.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth was due to testify before Congress later in the day, but U.S. press reports suggested Trump has already decided to reject Iran's latest proposed deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. President Donald Trump has told U.S. national security officials to prepare for a long blockade of Iran's ports in order to compel Tehran to give up its nuclear program, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Trump, according to the report, does not believe that Iran is negotiating in good faith and hopes it can be forced to suspend uranium enrichment for 20 years and accept tight restrictions thereafter.

European Union countries must funnel their energy aid chiefly to vulnerable households and industries or risk wasting billions of euros as the Iran war hits oil and gas prices, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Wednesday.

The U.S.-Israel war, combined with retaliation from Iran such as choking the Strait of Hormuz, is costing the EU almost 500 million euros ($600 million) a day, raising prices at the pumps and fears of a jet fuel shortage within weeks.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth will make his first testimony before Congress on the Mideast war Wednesday, as efforts to end the conflict stalled with the United States reportedly skeptical of Tehran's latest offer to unblock the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has blockaded the waterway -- a vital conduit for oil and gas shipments -- since the start of the U.S.-Israeli offensive two months ago, sending shockwaves through the global economy.

“They want us to “Open the Hormuz Strait,” as soon as possible, as they try to figure out their leadership situation,” U.S. President Donald Trump posted on social media.