U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday ruled out reaching a ceasefire agreement with Iran, as more Marines headed to the Middle East in a possible sign of a coming ground operation.

The Trump administration is considering plans to occupy or blockade Iran's Kharg Island to pressure Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, four sources with knowledge of the issue told U.S. news portal Axios.

Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday there is no "time frame" for ending the US-Israeli war against Iran, which was launched three weeks ago.

U.S. President Donald Trump pledged the U.S. would "massively blow up the entirety" of the world's largest gas field if Iran attacks Qatar again.

Trump made his threat on social media Wednesday night against Iran's South Pars natural gas field after Iranian missiles hit Qatar. The Iranian attack was in retaliation for an Israeli attack on the South Pars field earlier Wednesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump angrily suggested Wednesday that he could leave U.S. allies to secure the Hormuz strait on their own since they have refused to fight alongside U.S. forces against Iran in the crucial shipping lane.

Saying the United States doesn't need the strait -- a major global oil shipping pathway -- Trump wrote on his Truth Social site that he could "let the Countries that use it" find a solution.

Russia on Wednesday strongly condemned what it said was a "missile strike" on Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, which the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog announced earlier was hit by a projectile.

U.S. President Donald Trump, whose call for assistance from allies to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil traffic has largely been rebuffed, said Tuesday that U.S. forces "no longer need" military help in the Iran war.

"Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer 'need,' or desire, the NATO Countries' assistance -- WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea," Trump posted on his Truth Social network, adding: "WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!"

Cuba scrambled Tuesday to restore power after a nationwide blackout that hit the communist-run island just as U.S. President Donald Trump proclaimed he will "take" it over.

Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation on Tuesday, saying he "cannot in good conscience" back the Trump administration's war in Iran.

Kent said on social media Iran "posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby."