US President Donald Trump is privately considering declaring the war with Iran over, even as the Pentagon quietly extends troop deployments in the Middle East, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The newspaper reported on Wednesday that Trump has discussed with senior aides "whether to declare the Iran war over," a move the president reportedly "favours." He believes that maintaining intense economic pressure will eventually force Tehran to "either dismantle its nuclear programme or collapse."

The US launched Operation Economic Outcast last week, targeting Iran’s key economic lifelines, including its oil, shipping, aviation, gold, technology and digital asset sectors.

Despite the private discussions, the Pentagon is extending deployments, a sign that the war could drag on "well into next year.”

Iran has claimed that it laid additional naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, while dismissing US claims of control over the strategic passage.

"During last night's operation, more naval mines were laid along the illicit routes south of the Strait of Hormuz," Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, wrote on US social media company X.

Kuwait’s army says its air defence systems are responding to missile and drone threats from Iran, describing the attacks as part of what it called “Iranian aggression.”

The military urged the public to follow official safety instructions as tensions continue to rise across the region.

The US military has escorted 40 commercial vessels carrying 18 million barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, US media reported, marking a wartime high for such operations.

US forces struck nearly 60 Iranian military targets around the waterway during the operation, two US officials familiar with the operation told CNN.

Before the war began more than six months ago, roughly 20 million barrels of oil transited the strait daily. On Monday, more than 17 million barrels passed through, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC.

Oil prices edged lower on Thursday as markets assessed uncertainty surrounding renewed military strikes between the US and Iran and their potential impact on regional supplies.

Brent crude futures fell 43 cents, or 0.45%, to $95.20 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 24 cents, or 0.26%, to $90.77.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “deeply alarmed” by reports of civilian casualties in Iran, including an attack reportedly targeting a wedding ceremony, his spokesperson said.

Speaking at the UN’s daily briefing on Wednesday, Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, said Guterres condemned attacks on civilians and expressed serious concern over the renewed fighting between the US and Iran.

Dujarric said Guterres was calling for an immediate end to military action, warning that further escalation could have “devastating consequences for civilians and the wider region.”

US President Donald Trump has said that the US is confronting Iran to protect the Middle East, Israel and Western nations from potential attacks.

"We're doing it to help the Middle East. We're doing it to help Israel. We're doing it to help ourselves because after they annihilate Israel, which they would have done very gladly, and then the Middle East, then they come after Europe and they come after some of our cities," said Trump.

He said the US is "doing really well with Iran."

Israel has accelerated airstrikes, demolitions and artillery shelling in several areas of southern Lebanon after an escalation that began earlier in the day, killing one person and injuring another, according to the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA).

It reported a series of Israeli airstrikes on towns and areas across southern Lebanon.

At around 7.40 pm local time (1440GMT), an Israeli warplane struck the outskirts of Nabatieh al-Fawqa.

About 30 minutes later, Israeli aircraft carried out two strikes on the outskirts of the town’s al-Deir neighbourhood before another strike hit the Ali al-Taher heights, said the agency.

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, has warned that US efforts to sustain its military campaign against Iran will fail, saying Tehran has adopted a new strategy to counter Washington’s actions in the region.

In a post on X, Rezaei said the conflict had entered its seventh month without the United States achieving its stated objectives. He said Iran’s strategy would combine military, diplomatic and economic measures, and warned that Washington would face the consequences of its actions.

Beirut says fabricated claims are part of an effort to weaken confidence in the military as tensions persist in southern Lebanon and security arrangements remain under discussion.