Iran live updates: US blockade of Iran's Strait of Hormuz ports to begin Monday

Two U.S. Navy destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday in what appears to be a first since the war began, according to U.S. Central Command.

CENTCOM confirmed President Donald Trump's announcement that the U.S. military had begun mine-clearing operations to ensure safe passage through the strait.

The USS Frank E. Peterson and USS Michael Murphy "conducted operations" as part of "a broader mission to ensure the strait is fully clear of sea mines previously laid by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps," according to the statement. Additional U.S. forces -- including underwater drones -- will join mine-clearing operations "in the coming days," according to CENTCOM.

"Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the free flow of commerce," said Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also confirmed the ships' movement in a post on X.

"USS Frank E. Peterson (DDG 121) and USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) transited the Strait of Hormuz and operated in the Arabian Gulf as part of a broader mission to ensure the strait is fully clear of sea mines previously laid by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps," Hegseth wrote.

Iran denies claims that US vessels entered Strait of Hormuz

A spokesperson for Iran's joint military command denied a claim by the United States that two Navy destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz, saying "the initiative for the passage and movement of any vessel is in the hands of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran," according to Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.

-ABC News' Morgan Winsor

At least 10 people were killed and 9 others injured by Israeli military action in three incidents in the Nabatieh district, according to Lebanon's Ministry of Health.

The Israel Defense Forces said more than 200 Hezbollah terrorists were hit in the past 24 hours.

Paramedics and members of the Lebanese Health Authority are among the dead and injured, the ministry of health said.

"It has become clear that the Israeli enemy adopts a systematic method based on making health workers a military target, as they fall martyrs in every rescue action they carry out, which constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law," the ministry said.

"The Israeli Air Force continues to strike Hezbollah infrastructure and aid the ground forces operating in southern Lebanon," the IDF said Saturday.

Four people were killed and four others wounded in an Israeli raid in the town of Kfarsir, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said in statement Saturday. Among the dead was a paramedic with the Lebanese Health Authority, the statement said.

Three people were killed and two others injured in an Israeli airstrike, the Ministry of Health said in a separate statement. One member of the Lebanese Civil Defense was among the dead, the ministry said.

An Israeli airstrike also killed three people, including a member of the Health Authority in the town of Tul, the ministry said. Three others including a paramedic were wounded in the incident, the statement said.

-ABC News' Guy Davies

As Vice President JD Vance and top White House officials travel to Islamabad for peace talks with Iran, President Donald Trump projected confidence for how the negotiations would go, saying: "We'll be able to finish it off. One way or the other. It's going well."

"I wish him luck, he's got a big thing -- we'll find out what's going on," Trump told reporters on the tarmac as he departed D.C. for a political fundraiser in nearby Charlottesville. "Have a good team, and they meet tomorrow. We'll see how it all works out."

Trump downplayed the fact that his top condition for the ceasefire -- that the Strait of Hormuz must be open -- has not been met, saying he anticipated progress in opening the Strait "with or without" a deal. He later said that the Strait would open "fairly soon."

Asked to articulate what a good deal looks like, he said, "No nuclear weapon -- number one."

As Vice President JD Vance heads to Islamabad, Pakistan, for peace talks with Iran, President Donald Trump is standing firmly by his side.

In a phone interview with the NY Post on Friday, Trump said that his vice president is doing a "very good job" and that he has "nothing to prove."

"He doesn't have to prove anything because he's doing a very good job," Trump reportedly said, after the NY Post asked if Vance's negotiating abilities are being tested.

ABC News previously reported that Vance internally expressed reservations about the strikes. Trump has also said that he and Vance are "philosophically a little bit different" when it comes to U.S. war with Iran.

The president continued to cast doubt over the Iranian's credibility, despite his insistence that regime change has occurred and that the new leaders are more "reasonable."

"You're dealing against people that we don't know whether or not they tell the truth. To our face, they're getting rid of all nuclear weapons, everything's gone. And then they go out to the press and say, 'No, we'd like to enrich,'" Trump said to the NY Post.

"So we'll find out. But no, he's done a great job. He has nothing to prove," Trump added.