Israel’s far-right national security minister is facing a major backlash over the construction of a gallows site to execute Palestinians sentenced to death at a prison in Israel.

Itamar Ben-Gvir posted a video online showing the construction of the facility in an unidentified location, which will include viewing booths for the family members of victims to witness executions.

It follows the passage of a highly controversial “Death Penalty for Terrorists Law” earlier this year that made death by hanging a default sentence for Palestinians convicted in ​military courts of deadly attacks.

US energy secretary Chris Wright has claimed that the US military has helped transit more than 15 million barrels of oil out of Hormuz on Tuesday.

“Combined with pipelines, the total oil leaving the region was close to 20 million barrels,” he said on X.

He added: “Make no mistake, thanks to the US Navy, oil is flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. The seven-day average of oil leaving the Strait is over 8 million barrels a day.”

US president Donald Trump declared the Strait of Hormuz as an “American territory” and said Iran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.

Trump told reporters last night: “We cannot let them have a nuclear weapon; we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon, or you will see some very bad things.”

“They want to make a deal so badly, we don’t even know if we want [a deal] because I view the Strait of Hormuz as an American territory right now, it’s an American territory,” Trump added.

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has plunged to single digits as US-Iran peace talks have ground to a complete halt.

Only seven commodity vessels passed through the waterway on Thursday, some of the lowest numbers seen in weeks, according to Kpler data. Four ships entered the Gulf while only three exited.

This number was down from 14 on Wednesday. No supertankers or liquefied natural gas carriers were recorded passing through the vital chokepoint through which one-fifth of the world’s energy passes.

US president Donald Trump, who has warned of economic consequences ​against any ⁠country that provides “any type of lifeline to Iran,” said ‌that Washington was observing “what happens” in the conflict.

“They would love to make a deal, but they’re not ready to make the right deal, in my opinion,” Trump said of Iran.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said this morning that the imminent US announcement of new economic sanctions on Iran was an “assertion of extraterritorial sovereignty over every independent member state of the United Nations”.

“Such secondary sanctions ⁠find no foundation in international law,” he said in a post on X.

US president Donald Trump, who has warned of economic consequences ​against any ⁠country that provides “any type of lifeline to Iran,” said ‌yesterday that Washington was observing “what happens” in the conflict.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for an end to the conflict with the US, telling the country’s doctors at a meeting: “It is better that we bring the war to an end now as we are in a position of power and dignity.”

He said: “The whole world acknowledges our victory and emphasises that America has attacked our schools, hospitals and infrastructure in violation of all regulations and is hated around the world.”

His remarks come after the US promised “the toughest sanctions in history” for Iran after failed attempts to negotiate an end to the war.

Tehran accused US president Donald Trump of threatening “economic terrorism” after Trump promised to wage “Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,” suggesting he may extend sanctions to allies that have helped mediate peace ‌talks.

Iran is considering launching attacks on US military targets in Europe if President Donald Trump escalates the conflict, according to a report.

Sources close to Iran’s government told the Financial Times that potential targets included a British air base in Cyprus that was targeted by a drone in March.

Other countries in southeastern Europe such as Bulgaria, which approved US access to its Bezmer air base for refuelling last month, were also weighed up as a potential target for strikes.

It follows warnings that Tehran is considering switching to a “fully offensive” strategy, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday.