MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
President Trump says he has ordered the U.S. military to shoot and kill small Iranian boats that are helping to block traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Shortly before his post on social media, the U.S. military seized another tanker in the strait linked to smuggling Iranian oil. This followed Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guards attacking three cargo ships in the strategic waterway on Wednesday, seizing two of them. Iran is still not officially acknowledging Trump's unilateral and indefinite ceasefire declared by President Trump. In a few minutes, we'll speak with a former deputy commander of U.S. Central Command. But first, let's go to NPR's Jane Arraf in Amman, Jordan. Jane, hello.
JANE ARRAF, BYLINE: Hi, Michel.
MARTIN: So there's been a flurry of competing messages over what's happening in the Strait since U.S. warships in the Indian Ocean began efforts to intercept the traffic there. So what do we know about what's going on?
ARRAF: Well, Iran yesterday fired on three ships, seizing two of them in the Strait of Hormuz - that narrow waterway between Iran and Oman - and it released video with dramatic music swelling, an Iranian gunboat and troops boarding one of the container ships that were taken to Iranian port. It's the first time in this war that they have seized vessels. The U.S. military put out a release noting that it had 10,000 personnel and 17 warships as part of its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. It said it directed 31 vessels to change course since beginning of this month, and it said the majority complied. It wasn't clear what happened to the others.
MARTIN: So - well, it seems like that release is an effort to show that the U.S. really still is in charge. But having said that, there do seem to be attempts by the president to de-escalate. Can you tell us about those?
ARRAF: Absolutely. Earlier this week, President Trump had threatened to bomb all Iranian bridges and power plants. Yesterday, he wrote that he had been informed that eight female protesters who were to be executed in Iran last night would no longer be killed. He said four were going to be released immediately and four sentenced to short prison terms. And he also said, quote, "I very much appreciate that Iran and its leaders respected my request as president of the United States." Very different tone there. Iran's judiciary, though, disputed that. It said some of those arrested had already been released - some of those women. The others had not been sentenced, and if convicted, they would receive prison sentences rather than death sentences.
MARTIN: So there's a parallel war going on in Lebanon between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah. So what's happening with that ceasefire?
ARRAF: Yeah. Israeli airstrikes in the south killed at least five people yesterday, including a Lebanese newspaper journalist. Her name was Amal Khalil. She and another journalist were in a vehicle when an Israeli airstrike hit a nearby vehicle. They took refuge in a house. Then that house was hit by Israeli airstrikes. A Lebanese medic said they rescued the wounded journalist with her, but then came under Israeli fire and had to retreat. She died under the rubble. Israel said it was responding to an imminent threat, and the incident was under review. Hezbollah responded to those Israeli attacks with drone and rocket strikes. But this afternoon in Washington, Israeli and Lebanese diplomats are meeting for a second round of talks. Those talks are aimed at extending a truce and paving the way for future talks.
MARTIN: That is NPR's Jane Arraf in Amman, Jordan. Jane, thank you.
ARRAF: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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