According to the U.S. State Department daily public schedule, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet with Venezuelan Opposition Leader María Corina Machado tomorrow at the State Department in Washington, D.C. This comes as Machado has signaled her intentions to return back to Venezuela in preparation for future elections, as U.S. decision-makers have cautioned the opposition leader from preemptively going back before stability is assured.

According to the Wall Street Journal, citing officials with knowledge on the matter, U.S. President Donald J. Trump has told aides that he is willing to conclude operations against Iran even if it means leaving the Strait of Hormuz in a deadlock. Per the report, the administration assesses that operations to forcibly reopen the strait will likely extend the conflict past the previously established 4-5 weeks and that reaching the goals of severely degrading Iranian conventional military capabilities may be the the route to go. Additionally, according to the report, other military options on the table, including ground operations, are not the priorities right now of President Trump.

Several large explosions and a significant fire, likely from munition cook-offs, observed during a wave of strikes earlier tonight on Badr Military Airport near Isfahan in Central Iran.

The U.S. Department of Defense has announced that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine with hold a press conference tomorrow at 8AM EST.

In the weeks leading up to the Iran War in February, a broker for U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the banking giant Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock about making a multimillion-dollar investment in its iShares Defense Industrials Active ETF, which contains about $3.1 billion in assets, for companies such as Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, according to the Financial Times.

The Israel Defense Force has issued an urgent warning to residents of the Vard Avar Neighborhood in the Iranian capital of Tehran, stating that the Air Force is preparing to carry out strikes against military infrastructure in the designated area and residents are advised to remain in the their homes for the next four hours.

Multiple precision strikes in the last hour near the airport in the Southern Iranian city of Shiraz.

The Pentagon is adamantly denying today’s story from the Financial Times, which alleged that a broker affiliated with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attempted to make a multimillion-dollar investment in several defense manufacturers in the lead up to the Iran War, with Spokesman Sean Parnell stating that the story is “false and fabricated,” while demanding an immediate retraction from FT. Parnell closed by saying: “Secretary Hegseth and the Department of War remain unwavering in their commitment to the highest standards of ethics and strict adherence to all applicable laws and regulations.”

The Iraqi Ministry of Interior has announced that American journalist Shelly Kittleson was kidnapped today in Baghdad.

The Nevada National Guard announces that it has deployed a contingent of Airmen with the 152nd Airlift Wing of the Nevada Air National Guard, from Nevada Air National Guard Base in Reno, Nevada, to the U.S. Central Command Area-of-Responsibility in support of Operation Epic Fury.

Fuel tanks owned by the Kuwait Aviation Fuel Supply Company (KAFAKO) at Kuwait International Airpory were targeted earlier tonight in a drone attack by Iran, with a large fire currently burning at the site of the attack as emergency teams attempt to contain the blaze, according to the Spokesman for the General Authority of Civil Aviation.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump told The Telegraph that he is strongly considering pulling the United States out of NATO after it failed to join his ongoing war against Iran, stating that the alliance is a “paper tiger” and that this is known by Russia and President Vladimir Putin.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump will give an Address to the Nation on Wednesday night at 9:00PM EST to provide an “important update on Iran,” according to the White House.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump has stated in a post on TruthSocial, right as the market opened, that “Iran’s New Regime President,” possibly talking about President Masoud Pezeshkian, has asked for a ceasefire from the United States. Trump states that the U.S. will consider a ceasefire once the Strait of Hormuz is “open, free, and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!”

The Ministry of Defense of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced that during the past 24 hours, air defenses have engaged 5 ballistic missiles and 35 one-way attack drones launched by Iran at the UAE.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO) has issued an advisory about suspicious activity 17NM to the north of Doha, Qatar, after an unknown projectile impacted a commercial vessel above the waterline, causing damage. All crew members are safe and accounted for.

According to a release from the Qatari Ministry of Defense, during an Iranian cruise missile attack today, a crude oil tanker leased to QatarEnergy was struck by a missile within Qatar’s economic exclusion zone. All 21 of the crew were evacuated without injury. Three cruise missiles were launched in total, with two out of three being shot down.

According to Axios’ Barak Ravid, citing three U.S. officials, discussions are taking place about a possible ceasefire with Iran in return for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

According to U.S. President Donald J. Trump, per an interview with Reuters, the U.S. will be “out of Iran pretty quickly,” adding that in a post conflict scenario, the U.S. may return for “spot hits.”

Per U.S. Central Command, U.S. forces have flown 12,000 combat flights in support of ongoing operations against Iran subordinate to Operation Epic Fury.