US sanctions Canadian currency-exchange firms over alleged Iran and drug-ring links

▲ Escalating

Iran says five tankers and a tugboat burned in Hormuz as Trump warns of more force

On Thursday, Iranian forces said five oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire in separate incidents in the Strait of Hormuz, amid fears of a new US attack. Trump said the US may have to "destroy" the rest of Iran and that people will "know soon enough". The US also announced further sanctions, this time on Canadian currency-exchange firms accused of helping the Iranian regime. Reports say Iran is reviewing "concrete proposals" on its nuclear programme, and indirect talks were described as continuing earlier in the week.

• Iran's IRGC said on Wednesday that four vessels struck naval mines on a prohibited route in the strait. That is the IRGC's own account.
• Trump confirmed a US strike on an Iranian anti-aircraft facility on Tuesday, and Iran called Washington's reply to its Hormuz plan unconvincing.
• The BBC reports satellite images from November show digging and new buildings near Iranian missile bases.
• Iraq's prime minister spoke with Trump, and Iraq's top diplomat urged armed groups not to join any Iranian retaliation. South Korea will send patrol aircraft and a bomb-disposal team near Hormuz but rules out military intervention.