Middle East live: South Korea prepares for military deployment in Strait of Hormuz

Home Middle East Live Issued on: 04/09/2026 - 04:56Modified: 04/09/2026 - 05:13 (FILE) Vessels transit the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran on August 10, 2026. © Atta Kenare, AFP South Korea is considering sending military assets to the Strait of Hormuz to support freedom of navigation, media reported Thursday, though Seoul denied it had decided on a deployment. Iran launched strikes on American military targets in the Gulf, in retaliation for an attack that killed four people at a wedding on Tuesday night. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates. Yesterday's key developments: • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced confidence that Iran's Islamic republic could soon fall, saying it was "weaker than ever". • US Vice President JD Vance has said he would not categorise the Iran war as a war, despite continuing clashes with Tehran six months after the start of the conflict. • Iran's army said it targeted US bases in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, despite threats of further strikes by US President Donald Trump. (FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AP and AFP) Keywords for this article