Cost of US war on Iran mounting – as it happened

Pete Hegseth and other officials appear before House to face grilling on Iran war expenditure and military operations

Iran has expanded its definition of the strait of Hormuz into a vast operational area" far wider than before the war, according to a senior officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy in comments likely to anger the US.

The strait is no longer viewed as a narrow stretch around a handful of islands but instead has been greatly enlarged in scope and military significance, according to Mohammad Akbarzadeh, deputy political director of the IRGC Navy, the state-affiliated Fars news agency reported this morning.