President Donald Trump spoke with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday to discuss escalating tensions in the Middle East, with a focus on the urgent need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restore global shipping.

The leaders discussed the current situation in the Middle East, and in particular, the need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to resume global shipping, Downing Street said in a statement.

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"They agreed that reopening the Strait of Hormuz was essential to ensure stability in the global energy market. They agreed to speak again soon."

The call came amid a rapidly intensifying conflict in the region, with Iran blocking the strategically vital strait since the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes against Iranian targets on Feb. 28.

The military action triggered swift retaliation from Tehran and has since escalated into a broader regional war as Iran has sent missiles into numerous neighboring countries not directly involved in the initial conflict.

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On March 21, Trump issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Iran demanding the reopening of the key maritime route, through which approximately 20% of the world’s oil supply passes.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump warned that failure to comply would result in further U.S. action, including potential strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure.

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Sunday's conversation between Trump and Starmer perhaps reflected a thaw in the tense relationship between the two leaders.

Trump had publicly criticized the U.K. government, stating that Britain "should have acted a lot faster" in allowing the U.S. to use British military bases for strikes targeting Iranian missile sites.

Starmer had also maintained that the use of U.K. bases could only be justified under the principle of "collective self-defense" in the region.

He had initially declined to support the U.S.-Israeli military operation, drawing repeated criticism from the White House.

Meanwhile, Trump appeared to apply public pressure, sharing a "Saturday Night Live" clip Sunday mocking the British prime minister’s handling of the crisis.

Iran is poised to strike critical desalination infrastructure across the Middle East within days, escalating tensions with the U.S. and Israel and triggering global economic fallout, a U.N. official warned Sunday.

Kaveh Madani, an Iranian scientist and U.N. official, said desalination plants across the region could be hit "within the next few days," raising the prospect of a broader regional water crisis and affecting global markets.

The strike threats made by the regime on Sunday came in response to President Donald Trump's warning that the U.S. would hit Iranian power infrastructure unless the Strait of Hormuz was opened within 48 hours.

A spokesperson for the Central Headquarters of Hazrat Khatam al-Anbiya (PBUH) said, "Following previous warnings, if Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure is attacked by the enemy, all energy, information technology, and desalination infrastructure belonging to the US and the regime in the region will be targeted."

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"The desalination plants might be targeted again within the next few days," Madani told Fox News Digital.

"The driest region of the world might see a real water war, but the knock-on effects on the world’s economy, including the U.S., will be both immediate and lasting," Madani said, pointing to what he described as a "new phase in the conflict" involving such critical civilian infrastructure.

"Now, add the possibility of damage to the already fragile water infrastructure, including treatment plants, pumping stations, and distribution networks," he said. "The consequences would be catastrophic and lasting."

Kaveh’s warning comes as the conflict — now in its fourth week — has expanded beyond military targets. Desalination facilities, including a plant on Iran’s Qeshm Island and another in Bahrain, have allegedly already been struck.

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Desalination, the process of creating drinkable water from seawater, is critical to supplying water across Israel and many of Iran’s Gulf neighbors, particularly in such arid regions where natural freshwater is scarce.

Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament, echoed the regime’s threats in a post on X on Sunday, warning that "critical infrastructure, energy, and oil across the region will be irreversibly destroyed, and oil prices will rise for a long time" if Iran’s power plants are struck.

"With a blackout, water treatment and distribution systems will also collapse in some parts of the country," Madani clarified.

"Iran will retaliate by attacking desalination, energy, and other energy-related infrastructure in all countries in the region that are parties to the war, including Israel," he added. "The price of oil and gas will increase further, and the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed, while a humanitarian disaster is created as millions of people lose access to water and electricity in the region."

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"The U.S. has allegedly already attacked a desalination plant in Qeshm Island, and the Iranians have allegedly responded by striking a plant in Bahrain," he said.

"Iran is the least reliant on desalination plants, so it is explicitly including them as legitimate targets for retaliation because this is the biggest vulnerability of the other parties to the war across the Middle East," he added.

Despite that relative advantage, Iran itself has faced years of severe drought, mismanagement of water resources, and declining groundwater levels, leaving parts of the country increasingly water-stressed.

"If Iranians run out of water and/or electricity, they won’t rise up," Holly Dagres, Libitzky Family Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said.

"The unfortunate truth is that the Islamic Republic would rather allow the country to burn than appear weak while it is facing an existential threat," she said.

An autopsy of the body of a 20-year-old University of Alabama student who disappeared last week while on spring break in Barcelona shows he likely died from an accidental drowning, according to a preliminary report filed by local police.

The body of James "Jimmy" Gracey, whose disappearance in the wee hours last Tuesday set off a frantic search by Catalan police forces, was found floating in the Mediterranean Sea days later. The report police filed with a local judge found no signs of foul play, but final results will be available on Thursday, according to Spanish newspaper El Periódico.

The Elmhurst, Ill., native had been out with friends at a world-famous nightclub at the city’s Port Olímpic district, which flanks a promenade on sea. 

A police spokesman told Fox News that Gracey’s phone had been found on an individual known to local authorities for past charges. The individual was ultimately determined to not have come into contact with Gracey and instead was charged with "illegal possession of another person’s belonging."

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On Thursday, Gracey’s wallet was found floating in the water. Police finally recovered Gracey’s body from the water near the nightclub where he had been on Friday afternoon.

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According to the newspaper, security camera footage shows Gracey walking by himself onto a dock near the Shoko club and falling in the water. 

The preliminary autopsy report points to drowning as the cause of death with multiple injuries to the body consistent with repeated hitting against breakwater rocks, possibly during a swell.

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The police spokesman told Fox News that the investigation is ongoing and that their first line of investigation is accidental death. He noted that Gracey’s wallet was found intact with money, credit cards and documents, which lessen the likelihood of foul play.. They also confirmed the preliminary autopsy report did not indicate Jimmy suffered injuries prior to drowning. 

Fox News is still waiting on confirmation of Spanish media claims and on whether Gracey’s body was found with his gold chain and rhinestone cross. 

A Hungarian tourist reported being robbed of her gold necklace in the same area where Jimmy was last seen alive the night before the American student went missing.

A British nuclear-powered submarine has been deployed to the Arabian Sea amid rising tensions in the region and came ahead of Iran’s failed ballistic missile attempt targeting Diego Garcia, a key U.S.-U.K. military base in the Indian Ocean, according to reports.

HMS Anson — a Royal Navy Astute-class submarine armed with Tomahawk Block IV cruise missiles and Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes — traveled about 5,500 miles from HMAS Stirling, near Perth, Australia, to the region earlier in March.

The submarine is reportedly operating in the northern Arabian Sea, positioning Britain to respond quickly if the conflict escalates.

HMS Anson periodically surfaces to maintain communications with the U.K.’s Permanent Joint Headquarters in London, GB News reported.

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The outlet reported that Anson is typically based at Faslane in Scotland, where an Iranian man has been charged with attempting to gain entry.

The deployment was said to have come shortly after the U.K. government authorized the United States to use British military bases for defensive operations targeting Iranian missile capabilities that have threatened shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement, Downing Street said the aim of those operations was to "degrade the missile sites and capabilities" used in attacks on ships, while emphasizing that Britain does not want to be drawn into a wider regional conflict.

Tensions intensified Sunday after Iran launched two ballistic missiles toward Diego Garcia, according to multiple reports. Neither missile reached its target; one reportedly failed in flight, while the other was intercepted.

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The attempted strike has raised concerns about Iran’s missile range, as Diego Garcia is roughly 2,485 miles from Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi had warned Britain against supporting U.S. or Israeli military action, saying such involvement could further escalate the conflict.

Araghchi told U.K. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper that Iran views Britain’s decision to allow U.S. forces to use its bases as "participation in aggression," according to his account of the call, the BBC reported.

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He also criticized what he described as the U.K.’s "negative and biased" approach and demanded that it cease cooperation with the United States.

The U.K. did not allow the U.S. to use its bases for initial offensive strikes against Iran but later granted permission for defensive operations in response to Iranian missile threats.

Downing Street said: "We didn’t participate in the initial strikes, and we’re not getting drawn into the wider war."

Tehran has said it would exercise what it calls its right to self-defense if threatened.

Meanwhile, the U.K. Ministry of Defence said Sunday that Royal Air Force assets, including Typhoon jets, remain engaged in defensive operations in the region.

The ministry added that British forces have helped counter Iranian drone threats while coordinating closely with allies.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.K. Ministry of Defence for comment.

The Iranian regime is charging some tankers $2 million to pass through the Strait of Hormuz in a bid to further its control over the global shipping choke point, according to reports.

Iranian lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi told state broadcaster Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) on Sunday that the massive toll marks the start of a new approach to controlling the waterway, Iran International reported.

"Collecting $2 million as transit fees from some vessels crossing the strait reflects Iran’s strength," Boroujerdi said during a television program cited by Iranian media.

The member of parliament’s national security committee also said the measure has already been implemented and reflects what he called a new "sovereign regime" in the strait after decades, the outlet said.

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"Now, because war has costs, naturally we must do this and take transit fees from ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz," he said.

Boroujerdi’s comments came after President Donald Trump warned Saturday that the United States could target Iran’s power infrastructure if the strait is not reopened within 48 hours.

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"If Iran doesn’t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 hours from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!" Trump said in a post shared on Truth Social.

The strait is "open to everyone" except Iran’s adversaries, Tehran’s permanent representative to the International Maritime Organization, Ali Mousavi, also told the Mehr News Agency on Sunday, while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also set out Iran’s policy on X.

"The Strait of Hormuz is open to all except those who violate our soil," he said.

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According to Lloyds List, Iran has set up a de facto ‘safe’ shipping passage in the Strait of Hormuz and is offering vetted tankers passage in exchange for approval — and in "at least one case, a reported $2m payment," it said.

Several governments, including China, India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Iraq are in talks with Tehran over ship transit, as Iran’s Revolutionary Guard sets up a new system to register "approved" vessels for safe passage, the outlet reported.

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Maritime intelligence firm Windward AI reported Sunday that Strait of Hormuz traffic was "near collapse", with only "16 AIS-visible crossings recorded over the past seven days."

Transit is controlled increasingly stringently, with vessels rerouting via Iran's territorial waters, the firm said, noting that Gulf energy exports continue to decline, with crude and LPG flows at recent lows.

"Iranian exports remain active, supported by alternative routing and sustained on-water volumes," Windward said.

The strait normally handles about 20 million barrels of oil per day and roughly 20% of global liquefied natural gas trade. The closure has driven up shipping and insurance costs, pushed oil prices higher, and raised global economic concerns.

Russian crude volumes remain elevated, reinforcing continued reliance on maritime energy transport, Windward said.

Cuba is preparing for possible U.S. aggression even as Trump administration officials have recently signaled they are not planning an invasion, Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío said Sunday.

"Our military is always prepared, and in fact it is preparing these days for the possibility of military aggression," Fernández de Cossío told NBC News’ "Meet the Press" in an interview that aired Sunday.

"We would be naive if, looking at what’s happening around the world, we would not do that."

"But we truly hope that it doesn’t occur. We don’t see why it would have to occur, and we find no justification whatsoever — why would the government of the United States force its country to take military action against a neighboring country like Cuba."

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The Cuban official’s remarks come just days after President Donald Trump said it would be "a big honor" to be the president that has the "honor of taking Cuba."

"Taking Cuba in some form, yeah, taking Cuba – I mean, whether I free it, take it: I think I can do anything I want with it, you want to know the truth," Trump said, despite the fact Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed diplomacy with the failing regime over any talk of an invasion as Trump's statement might suggest.

"They’re in a lot of trouble, and the people in charge, they don’t know how to fix it," Rubio said this week. "So they have to get new people in charge."

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But Fernández de Cossío said Cuba is "absolutely" opposed to regime change, signaling defiance of Trump and Rubio's public statements and setting the stage for potential military action down the road.

"Our country has historically been ready to mobilize, as a nation as a whole, for military aggression," Fernández de Cossío told NBC's Kristen Welker. "We truly always see it as something far from us. We don’t believe it is something that is probable. But we would be naive if we do not prepare. That’s what I can tell you."

Asked whether Cuba was bracing for the United States "to take it in some form," Fernández de Cossío answered: "Truly, we don’t know what they’re talking about."

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"But I can tell you this: Cuba is a sovereign country and has the right to be a sovereign country and has the right to self-determination," he added. "Cuba would not accept to become a vassal state or a dependent state from any other country or any other superpower."

Fernández de Cossío said Cuba was prepared to negotiate with Rubio despite the secretary of state’s longstanding criticism of the Cuban government.

"We are ready to negotiate with the person that the U.S. government, as a sovereign nation, designates as their spokesperson, as their lead negotiator, and we’re ready to negotiate with whoever is designated by the U.S. government," he said. "They’re a sovereign nation. We don’t interfere with that."

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Throughout the interview, the Cuban diplomat cast Havana’s position as defensive, saying Cuba "has no quarrel with the United States" and wants "a respectful relationship," while blaming the island’s worsening energy and economic crisis on U.S. pressure, including efforts to choke off fuel supplies. Recent reporting has documented Cuba’s deepening blackout crisis and the Trump administration’s increased efforts to isolate the government economically.

"What does ‘on its own’ mean when it’s being forced by the United States?" Fernández de Cossío said when asked about Trump’s claim that Cuba could collapse on its own. "It’s a very bizarre statement."

His closing message to Trump was conciliatory, even as he warned that Cuba was preparing for the worst.

"Cuba has no quarrel with the United States," Fernández de Cossío said. "We do have the need and the right to protect ourself. 

"But we are willing to sit down, we’re open for business, and we’re all being open to having a respectful relationship that I’m sure the majority of Americans would support and I’m sure the president of the United States would support if we could sit down and talk meaningfully about it."

As Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) publicly claim their dead, new research shows that many previously counted as civilians were in fact members of the terrorist organizations, undermining accusations that Israeli forces deliberately targeted civilians in Gaza.

Researchers monitoring the Hamas-run health ministry’s death reports told Fox News Digital that a growing number of 'martyrs' were exposed as terrorists by their own groups such as Hamas, despite maintaining public identities as healthcare or media workers.

Gabriel Epstein, senior policy associate at Israel Policy Forum, told Fox News Digital that he has tracked multiple individuals named by Hamas and PIJ as martyrs killed in battle in Gaza who held positions in the health industry, including nongovernmental organizations (NGOs.)

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Epstein found several individuals labeled as medical staff who are also members of terrorist groups. The most serious revelation from the martyr list is Fadi al-Wadiyya, a physiotherapist for Médecins sans frontières, who was killed by Israel Defense Forces in June 2024. MSF responded to the death, saying they were "outraged" and "strongly condemn[ed] the killing of our colleague."

When the IDF claimed that al-Wadiyya was a member of PIJ, MSF said they had "no prior knowledge" of his "alleged involvement in military activities" and said they had "not received any formal explanation" of "the circumstances of his killing."

In a Telegram account claiming to be the media reserve for the Al-Quds Brigades, a post mourning al-Wadiyya’s martyrdom on Feb. 24 lists the physiotherapist as an assistant to the military manufacturing unit of PIJ’s Al-Quds Brigades.

Fox News Digital asked MSF whether they were aware of al-Wadiyya’s PIJ connections prior to the martyr announcement. A spokesperson said, "We would not knowingly employ people engaging in military activity" as it "would pose a danger to our staff and patients by compromising our neutrality."

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The spokesperson said that "MSF had no indication that Fadi Al Wadiya might have been involved in military activity of any kind prior to the Israeli authorities’ online posts in June 2024. In the immediate aftermath of Al-Wadiya's killing, we asked for explanations from the Israeli authorities, but never received an official response. If the Israeli authorities were aware of Al-Wadiya's links with militant activities, they never shared this info with us until after he was killed. To this day, the only information they shared and that we are aware of is what was shared through public social media posts."

The IDF banned MSF operations in Gaza from the beginning of March because the organization refused to provide a list of its Palestinian employees. In response to Fox News Digital’s questions about whether they would consider providing this list to the IDF presently, MSF’s spokesperson said, "We did not share our staff lists with Israel because we did not receive concrete assurances to ensure the safety of our staff or the independent management of our operations. This is a place where humanitarian workers have frequently been detained, attacked, and killed. We have a responsibility to protect our colleagues from harm."

Epstein shared several other cases of healthcare workers who played prominent roles in terror groups.

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Mohammed Akram Abdullah al-Kafarna was mourned by the Palestinian Nursing and Midwifery Association’s Facebook page as the nursing supervisor at Kamal Adwan Hospital and by the Institute for Palestine Studies as head of the Gaza nursing system.[v] A Telegram account that lists members of Hamas’ best-outfitted Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, al-Kafarna is described as one of Beit Hanoun’s "Qassam Martyrs."

Ayman Suleiman Aliyan Abu Tayr was listed as martyred in Khan Younis in June 2025. The Institute for Palestine Studies labels him as a nurse and head of the clinical nutrition department at Nasser Hospital. According to a Telegram account linked to PIJ’s Al-Quds Brigades, Abu Tayr was a Commander in the Central Operations Unit of the Al-Quds Brigades.

Jaber Abdulhamid Diab Mohammedin was mourned on the Palestinian Ministry of Health General Directorate of Nursing’s Facebook page as an Intensive Care Unit nurse at the Al-Rantisi Specialized Children’s Hospital. A Telegram account linked to the Islamic Jihad Movement lists Mohammedin as a commander in the military manufacturing unit of the PIJ’s Al-Quds Brigade.

Nidal Jaber Abdulfattah al-Najjar is labeled as an administrator at the Palestinian Ministry of Health, according to the Institute for Palestine Studies, while a mourner on Facebook noted that he worked in the Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital. He is labeled on a Telegram account emblazoned with Hamas’ distinctive red triangle as a martyr commander of Hamas’ Al-Radwan Battalion.

Salo Aizenberg, director of media watchdog group HonestReporting, told Fox News Digital that he is tracking at least ten "virtually indisputable" examples of journalists who are actually combatants, working with Hamas and other terrorist groups.

David Adesnik, vice president of research for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that he has also been tracking the disclosures. "With PIJ, the number of commanders who operated with civilian cover is striking," Adesnik said. "We’re at a point where the evidence indicates that this duplicity was a routine part of a strategy to infiltrate civilian organization, especially humanitarian ones. This provides access and protection while ensuring outrage when these supposed humanitarians are killed."

Adesnik said he believes it "likely that Hamas also employed this strategy in a systematic way, but right now we mainly have the PIJ disclosures. Given that Hamas is many times larger, if it were to disclose this kind of information, the effects could easily ripple across the humanitarian sector in Gaza."

Among the cases Aizenberg is tracking are media workers. He said that his list is "based solely on admissions by those groups and other Gazan sources," and "does not include the many additional examples identified through Israeli evidence."

Though the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) cites Yacoup Al-Borsch as a journalist and the executive director of Namaa Radio, Aizenberg has found "numerous social media posts and martyr notices identifying him as a fighter and ‘mujahid.’" This includes a Facebook post from an account affiliated with the Al-Omari Mosque in Jabalia.

Ahmed Abu Sharia was a freelancer who worked for outlets like Iranian Tasnim News Agency, the CPJ says. According to the "official" Telegram site of the Mujahideen Brigades, the Palestinian Mujahideen movement’s military wing, he was also a member of the Mujahideen Brigades.

Rizq Abu Shakian was a "media worker and administrator for the pro-Hamas Palestine Now Agency," according to CPJ. Shakian also appears in Hamas uniform on a Telegram site that shares images of Palestinian martyrs. According to Aizenberg’s research, he was a member of the Al-Qassam Brigades.

In response to questions about whether CPJ would update listings of journalists who have been claimed as terror affiliates, the group directed Fox News Digital to its policy for updating listings, which states, "CPJ has a long-standing policy of updating its data and the accompanying narrative accounts without issuing formal corrections as new information becomes available over time. In certain cases, a record may be removed from public view when new information leads CPJ to determine that a case falls outside its mandate or for security concerns, such as the safety of the journalist and their family.  CPJ will publicly record when it has removed a journalist from the database for a reason outside of security concerns. "

As the shaky ceasefire in Gaza continues, analysts say they continue to place value in closely examining the war’s casualties. Epstein said that "reviewing cases of militants who held dual civilian roles in key sectors like media, healthcare and education is important for the historical record and underscores the information limitations press, government, and analysts face in real time during conflict." He said that "over time, militant identification can give a sense of just how deep Hamas, PIJ and other militant groups' hold over key sectors in Gaza was."