The United Arab Emirates foreign ministry has announced a travel ban on Emirati nationals going to Iran, Lebanon and Iraq, citing regional developments including the Middle East war.

Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi received a call from U.S. President Donald Trump, who congratulated him on his nomination and invited him to the U.S. once his government is formed, his office announced Thursday.

Israel's defense minister on Thursday said Israel may soon have to "act again" against Iran, to ensure the Islamic republic "does not once again become a threat to Israel."

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.