American forces in recent weeks have helped coordinate the passage of dozens of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. officials, even as travel through the waterway remains risky amid stalled negotiations to end the war with Iran.

U.S. Central Command has guided around 70 commercial ships through the strait, traveling into and out of the Persian Gulf, in the last three weeks, one of the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters.

The U.S. officials added that most of the vessels had turned off their transponders to avoid detection when going through the narrow waterway.

The officials declined to say what type of vessels were going through and what route they took, but one official indicated that at least one route was not close to the Iranian coastline. Ships passing near Iran without obtaining Iranian approval face the threat of an almost-certain attack by Iranian drones or missiles, U.S. officials said. Shipping analysts say the U.S.-guided crossings appear to follow routes that are closer to Oman.

Before the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran in late February, well over 100 commercial ships a day passed through the strait. So the U.S.-coordinated passages — an average of three a day over the three-week period — do not represent a big comeback for shipping. And because U.S.-guided crossings take place with transponders turned off, known as “dark” passages, shipping analysts say they cannot independently verify how many may have taken place.

Still, a steady passage of ships under U.S. guidance would suggest that some shipowners are willing to take the risk to get in and out of the Persian Gulf, where many vessels have been stranded for weeks, losing money and leaving their crews in trying conditions.

What you should know about anonymous sources. The Times makes a careful decision any time it shields the identity of a source. The information the source supplies must be newsworthy, credible and give readers genuine insight.

The U.S.-coordinated route is also an alternative for shipowners who don’t want to have to get permission from Iran or pay a toll to make the crossing. The conflict with Iran has led to a sharp reduction in energy supplies to world markets.

–Somali Resident in Minnesota, USA

Months after it was announced that the surge of immigration agents in Minnesota was coming to an end, fear still pervades parts of the US state.
The ongoing enforcement operation, which sparked nationwide protests after two US citizens were killed, has left some residents shaken -particularly among the largest Somali community outside Africa, found in the city of Minneapolis.

Abdi, a 23-year-old man from Somalia whose name has been changed to protect his identity, is one of those who lives in the shadows – terrified of the immigration agents still patrolling the city. “It hasn’t ended,” Abdi told the press. He said he had been told by other members of the community that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were still conducting raids on people’s homes. “I don’t know when they will show up at my house.”

He explained that he rarely stays in one place for longer than five nights – and sneaks out to go to work. He said that some of his friends had been detained even though, like him, they had documents to prove their Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
This allows people from countries affected by conflict, disaster or extraordinary conditions to live and work legally in the US for a limited period.

The administration of President Donald Trump had sought to end TPS for Somali immigrants by 17 March – thought to affect around 2,500 people – arguing that security had improved in their home country. But a federal judge has temporarily blocked the authorities from removing them.
Trump’s effort to end TPS for Somalis, the immigration enforcement operation earlier this year, as well as some disparaging comments made by the US president about the Somali community, have made them feel targeted.

At peak level, the deployment of agents in Minnesota was in the thousands, before Trump’s border tsar Tom Homan announced a draw-down. In mid-February, he said only a “small” contingent would remain.
There are about 260,000 people of Somali heritage in the US, more than half of whom are born in the country, while many more have been naturalised, according to the US Census Bureau. These numbers dwarf those who are there illegally, according to Somali community leaders.

Many arrived in the years following the collapse of the last government to control the whole of Somalia in 1991. The country has since experienced chronic droughts and known little peace – and for the past two decades has been battling Islamist militants, in particular those from al-Shabab, a group aligned with al-Qaeda.

Abdi left Somalia in 2022 – fleeing after he says al-Shabab fighters tried to recruit him. “I spent about $15,000 [£11,000] to get here. My family gave everything,” he told me when I met him in March, speaking quietly from a dimly lit apartment hallway.
He bought a Kenyan passport from smugglers and flew to Brazil and there began his long journey towards the US across the Darién Gap, a stretch of jungle between Colombia and Panama, which is widely regarded as one of the world’s most perilous migration routes. “At one point I stepped on a dead body,” he said. After reaching the US-Mexico border, he crossed into the US and applied for asylum. On legal advice, he also applied for TPS, which allowed him to live and work in the country until 2029

Those detained in the ICE raids have included some joint US-Somali citizens, though their relatives were too afraid to talk to me. Other families split up by deportations to Somalia were also fearful of going on the record – often too traumatised.
If deported, a person faces a 10-year bar on returning to the US, sometimes longer, even if they have any children in the country.

The US Department for Homeland Security (DHS) says its Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota has been a victory for public safety.
“We have arrested over 11,000 criminal illegal aliens who were killing Americans, hurting children and reigning terror in Minneapolis because sanctuary politicians refuse to protect their own people and instead protect criminals,” it told the press in a statement.

A hard line on immigration was a central plank of Trump’s re-election campaign and it remains his strongest policy in polling, even though more still disapprove than approve, according to the latest Ipsos figures.
In Adbi’s mind the situation remains an existential crisis: “I would rather live in hiding here for the rest of my life than go back to Somalia, because my life would be at risk.”

For Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, such fears point to a contradiction at the heart of US policy.
“The federal government is saying there’s no need for Temporary Protected Status in the United States, while at the same time warning people not to travel to Somalia because it’s dangerous,” he told the press.
“Which one is it?” Walking through parts of Minneapolis, home to several migrant communities, the impact of the raids is still visible – even if daily life is slowly beginning to return to some normality and schools have reopened.

A few shops and restaurants remain closed, their doors shut during what would normally be a busy time.
In a car park outside a Chinese takeaway, I met a tow-truck driver removing cars. “I heard the owner and the staff of this restaurant were detained by ICE, and that’s why it’s been shut down,” he said, adding that some vehicles had been sitting there for days because their owners were too afraid to return.

“We are living through some dark times,” Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar recently told a Democratic convention in Minneapolis. Afterwards, the first Somali-American to serve in the US Congress told the press how difficult the last few months had been – even for children. “There is still that fear that you will get stopped, that your parents might get stopped. Even our healthcare centres have been impacted.” A fierce critic of Trump, who has repeatedly been targeted in the president’s remarks about Somali immigrants, she questioned the scale of the operation and the tactics used by ICE.

“The difference between what we’ve previously seen with other administrations, including the [Barack] Obama administration that had one of the highest rates of removal, is that that process… was done without creating chaos [and] fear. “The way Operation Metro Surge was carried out was having men in our streets who are masked, who are not identifiable, in great numbers with military grade weapons drawn at people. What we saw here looked like a war zone.”

The DHS maintains those in the US legally have nothing to fear and that ICE agents wore masks to “protect themselves from being doxed by terrorist sympathisers”. Doxxing is when personal information is maliciously posted online and, according to the DHS, assaults against ICE officers have surged. The tensions have also been heightened by Trump’s comments about Somalis, calling them “garbage”. “I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you… their country is no good for a reason,” Trump told reporters.

The US president has repeatedly highlighted a long-running scandal allegedly involving members of the Somali community in Minnesota, as well as others. Dozens of people have been convicted over a scheme in which federal prosecutors say a charity fraudulently billed the Minnesota government for meals for children during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Governor Tim Walz announced he was dropping his re-election bid after criticism about the way he has handled the issue.

The investigation into the alleged fraud ramped up last week with raids on more than a dozen childcare day centres. But Omar said immigration enforcement should not be tied to separate criminal cases. “The majority of the people indicted are US citizens,” she added.

Jim Abeler, a Republican member of Minnesota’s Senate, is also critical of ICE’s tactics – but he feels it points to deeper policy failures that need fixing.
“I don’t think this is a party issue. Our national immigration policy is a mess – it’s been a bipartisan failure for a decade,” he told the press.
Trump’s comments about Somalis have dented Republican support among the community in Minnesota, where he had some fans in the socially conservative society ahead of his second term. “I voted for Trump – and regret doing that,” Foos Abe from Minneapolis told me. “If I hadn’t voted for him, he couldn’t have called us ‘garbage’,” she said.
One thing Operation Metro Surge has done is bring people together in unexpected ways.
This includes Somali-American Imam Sharif Muhammad and Jane Buckley Farley, a pastor at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
I met them at a mosque in Minneapolis, where the imam described how the crisis had strengthened ties across faith groups: “The ICE raid created more closeness and more brotherhood and sisterhood.”
The pastor agreed: “When the surge happened, people came together, asking where help was needed and how we could respond.” Together they set up informal alert systems to warn residents when immigration officers were nearby.

Two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were members of similar volunteer groups, were killed by federal immigration agents during the surge in January.
Outside the mosque I met Lisa and her husband, a retired white couple who are both volunteer observers.
Asking me not to disclose her full name, Lisa explained how residents remained on alert and used whistles to warn others if immigration agents were seen nearby.

“It’s quieter, but they’re sneakier. They’re blending in, so it’s harder to tell,” she said.
For Abdi, these volunteer networks offer some reassurance – though he admits he is despondent.
“We hoped for a future in America. Our dream has been shattered,” he said.
Source: BBC

Two men convicted of spying for Israel and its Mossad intelligence service have been executed, Iran’s judiciary said on Saturday.

Authorities identified them as Yaghoub Karimpour and Naser Bakrzadeh, saying their death sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court after legal proceedings. Officials allege Karimpour passed sensitive information to a Mossad officer during Iran’s 12-day war with Israel in June.

Rights groups have raised concerns about both cases. The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights says Karimpour was sentenced to death on charges of “corruption on earth” tied to alleged espionage, and claims he was subjected to physical and psychological pressure to extract confessions.

Bakrzadeh, about 26 years old, was arrested in January 2024, according to HRANA, the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Bakrzadeh had his death sentence overturned twice by Iran’s Supreme Court before being sentenced again, with allegations that he faced rights violations during detention, HRANA said.

Press icon checks indicate that reports from the United Nations and human rights organizations, Iran has executed at least 21 people since the start of the conflict with the United States and Israel, which began following strikes on February 28, 2026.