Iran-US war latest: Trump administration reportedly preparing for fresh round of military strikes – UK Times

Donald Trump’s administration is preparing for a fresh round of military strikes against Iran, according to a new report.

Military and intelligence officials have canceled their Memorial Day weekend plans in case of possible strikes, sources told CBS News.

“The President always maintains all options at all times, and it is the job of the Pentagon to be ready to execute any decision the Commander-in-Chief could make,” a White House spokesperson told the outlet.

No final decision to launch the strikes had been made as of Friday afternoon, local time.

UAE presidential advisor Anwar Gargash says they assess there is a “50-50” chance that the US and Iran can strike a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

He also warns that any move by Iran to alter the status of the waterway would have severe global repercussions and set a dangerous precedent.

Rubio earlier said Iran is “trying to create a tolling system” and convince Oman to join.

“There is not a country in the world that should accept that,” he said.

The US Navy has put a major arms sale to Taiwan on “pause” to ensure the military has enough munitions for its war in Iran.

Hung Cao, the acting secretary of the US Navy, said during a congressional hearing about the stalled $14bn weapons purchase, that “right now we’re doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury – which we have plenty”.

“But, we’re just making sure we have everything, then the foreign military sales will continue when the administration deems necessary.”

Although Donald Trump and Marco Rubio have hinted that talks are progressing better than previously, there is still no sign of a clear deal over the Strait of Hormuz.

A senior Iranian source said on Thursday that it remained one of the key sticking points.

Speaking on Thursday, Trump railed against Tehran’s intentions to charge fees on ships using the Strait of Hormuz.

“We want it open, we want it free. We don’t want tolls,” Trump said. “It’s an international waterway.”

The closure of the Strait through the war has created massive disruption to a vital channel of commerce that ordinarily carries a fifth of global oil and LNG. Iran has floated plans to continue charging some $2m for tankers post-war.

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea says countries bordering straits cannot demand payment simply for permission to pass through.

But Iran has said it aims to reopen the strait to friendly countries that abide by its terms that could potentially include fees.

It emerged on Thursday that Iran and Oman have reportedly held discussions on enforcing a permanent toll on the Strait of Hormuz, despite Donald Trump’s warnings.

People familiar with talks told the New York Times that Oman has come around to the idea of sharing revenues from ships crossing the Strait.

“It would make a diplomatic deal unfeasible if they were to continue to pursue that. So it’s a threat to the world if they were trying to do that, and it’s completely illegal,” Rubio said.

Fifa is set to prohibit fans from bringing the pre-revolutionary Iran flag into stadiums at the World Cup in the United States – a ruling also made for the last World Cup in Qatar.

While similar in its red, white and green band formation, the pre-revolutionary Iranian flag has a lion and the sun in the middle, while the official flag, changed following the Iranian revolution in 1979, has an Islamic symbol and phrasing, depicting the shift from a monarchy to a theocratic government.

The pre-revolutionary flag has been used by Iranians in the US and worldwide as a symbol of protest and standing against the current regime and, while prohibited at the 2022 World Cup, some fans managed to sneak the flag into stadiums in Qatar.

A proposed mission by the UK and France to secure the Strait of Hormuz is for “when no one is shooting”, US secretary of state Marco Rubio has said as he stressed the need for a “plan B” to reopen the waterway if Iran continues to threaten vessels.

While America’s top diplomat said he hoped a deal was reached with Tehran to ensure free passage through the sea route, he stressed the need for a fallback if Iran refused to give up control of the channel and enforced tolls.

In this scenario, “then someone’s going to have to go in and do something about it”, argued Mr Rubio.

He was speaking at a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Sweden, against the backdrop of the Iran conflict, which has fuelled frictions within the military alliance.

Donald Trump has been scathing over Britain’s reluctance to be drawn into the war, accusing Sir Keir Starmer of being weak and deriding the Royal Navy.

The Prime Minister refused to give the US free rein in its use of British military bases to carry out attacks against Iran, with permission limited to defensive strikes on missile sites.

There have also been tensions over the response of the UK and other countries to the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, which was open to shipping prior to the US and Israel offensive against Iran.

Donald Trump won’t be attending the wedding of his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr because he has to stay in Washington for government business, he has revealed.

Trump Jr is marrying Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson on a small island in the Bahamas, CNN reported.

Trump told reporters on Thursday that Donald Trump Jr. wanted his father to attend, but that it was going to be a “small private affair.”

Trump said then he would try to make the wedding but the timing was bad for him.

“I have a thing called Iran and other things,” Trump said on Thursday.

“While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., and the newest member of the Trump Family, his soon to be wife, Bettina, circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

“I feel it is important for me to remain in Washington, D.C., at the White House during this important period of time,” the post continued.

Donald Trump is speaking to a crowd of supporters in Suffern, New York State.

“Everything’s gone, their leaders are gone,” he says, referring to Iran’s leaders.

He claims Chinese president Xi Jinping, who he calls a “good man”, was full of high praise for the US military.

The US president has moved on to other topics now, but we’ll bring you any more lines from the speech related to Iran.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Friday a Qatari delegation was currently holding talks with Iran’s foreign minister.

Pakistan remains the main mediator in the negotiations, he said.

We earlier reported that Pakistan’s military chief Asim Munir had arrived in the Iranian capital of Tehran as a part of the ongoing mediation efforts.

Iran’s nuclear programme is the lingering issue that had troubled American negotiators in talks before the conflict erupted on 28 February.

On the eve of the war, Iran had agreed to convert its existing enriched uranium into fuel, abandoning its stockpiles and committing to “never, ever” hold the nuclear material needed for a bomb, according to Omani mediators.

But 10 weeks on, the demands appear to have changed. A US plan floated earlier this month reportedly proposed a temporary moratorium on enrichment, allowing limited enrichment for civilian use after several years, according to American outlet Axios.

That plan also sketched provisions for the UN’s nuclear watchdog to carry out snap inspections of Iranian sites, while Iran would give up its underground facilities and agree to move all of its enriched uranium out of the country, according to reports.

In return, the US has offered to lift sanctions on Iran and release billions of dollars in frozen funds.

Trump insisted this week that the US will eventually recover Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which Washington believes is destined for a nuclear weapon though Tehran says it is intended purely for peaceful purposes.

“We will get it. We don’t need it, we don’t want it. We’ll probably destroy it after we get it, but we’re not going to let them have it,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will not consider the war over until enriched uranium is removed from Iran, Tehran ends its support for proxy militias, and its ballistic missile capabilities are eliminated.

But Iran has so far retained its stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, and its ability to threaten neighbours with missiles, drones and proxy militias.

Two senior Iranian sources told Reuters before Trump’s comments that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei had issued a directive that the uranium should not be sent abroad.