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U.S. President Donald Trump said helium was readying a large caller battle connected Iran connected Tuesday (May 19, 2026), but held disconnected arsenic helium saw anticipation for securing a truthful acold elusive statement to extremity the war.
Mr. Trump said that helium stopped his purported onslaught program astatine the urging of Gulf Arab allies, which Iran has threatened with reciprocal attacks if the United States and Israel extremity a astir six-week ceasefire.
Iran-Israel warfare LIVE updates
Mr. Trump, who had indefinitely extended the truce and made wide helium wants to exit a warfare that has proven to beryllium a governmental liability, said helium had prepared a caller onslaught for Tuesday (May 19, 2026) aft Iran refused his outlines of a deal.
The leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates asked him “to clasp disconnected connected our planned Military onslaught of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow, successful that superior negotiations are present taking place,” Mr. Trump wrote connected his Truth Social platform.
But Mr. Trump added helium had instructed the U.S. subject to beryllium “prepared to spell guardant with a full, ample standard battle of Iran, connected a moment’s notice, successful the lawsuit that an acceptable Deal is not reached.”
Speaking aboriginal astatine a White House event, Mr. Trump said determination had been a “very affirmative development” and that Arab allies said a woody was adjacent that would permission Iran without atomic weapons, which Tehran denies pursuing.
“There seems to beryllium a precise bully accidental that they tin enactment thing out. If we tin bash that without bombing the hellhole retired of them, I’d beryllium precise happy,” Mr. Trump said.
Iran has repeatedly rebuffed Mr. Trump’s offers and has exerted control implicit the Strait of Hormuz, the captious waterway into the Gulf, sending planetary lipid prices spiralling.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei confirmed exchanges with the United States done mediator Pakistan and said Tehran made wide its “concerns.”
The cleric-run state, whose ultimate person was killed successful the archetypal strikes connected February 28 but has proven resilient, is demanding the merchandise of Iranian assets frozen abroad, the lifting of long-standing sanctions and reparations for the war.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, considered a mean successful a strategy progressively dominated since the warfare by the hardline Revolutionary Guards, said that speaking with Washington “does not mean surrender” and that Iran would support its “dignity” and rights.
Iran’s Fars quality bureau said connected Sunday (May 17, 2026) that Washington had presented a five-point list, which included a request for Iran to support lone 1 atomic tract successful cognition and transportation its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the United States.
U.S. authorities had refused to merchandise “even 25%” of Iran’s frozen assets oregon wage immoderate reparations, Fars said.
But Iran’s Tasnim quality agency, citing an unnamed root adjacent to the Iranian negotiating team, said the United States made 1 caller measurement guardant successful the latest substance by agreeing to waive lipid sanctions portion negotiations were underway.
New Hormuz body
In an earlier proposal, which was sent past week, Iran had called for an extremity to the warfare connected each fronts, including Israel’s run successful Lebanon, arsenic good arsenic a halt to a US naval blockade connected Iranian ports successful spot since April 13.
Fars said the Iranian connection had emphasized that Tehran would proceed to negociate the strategical Strait of Hormuz, a captious vigor conduit which Iran has mostly kept closed since the commencement of the war.
On Monday (May 18, 2026), the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, a caller assemblage Iran has acceptable up to negociate the strait, said it would supply “real-time updates” connected the waterway via X.
The Revolutionary Guards besides said connected Monday (May 18, 2026) that net fibre optic cables passing done the strait could beryllium brought nether an Iranian strategy of permits.
Hoping to power lipid prices, the U.S. Treasury extended by 30 days a sanctions waiver for Russian lipid cargoes already astatine sea, continuing to easiness the unit connected Moscow since its 2022 penetration of Ukraine.
Strike successful Kurdistan
Iran has besides been ramping up subject pressure.
The Revolutionary Guards connected Monday (May 18, 2026) said they struck groups linked to the United States and Israel wrong the Iranian state of Kurdistan, adjacent the borderline with Iraq.
In a connection carried by the ISNA quality agency, the Guards said groups from “northern Iraq and acting connected behalf of the U.S. and the Zionist authorities were attempting to smuggle a ample shipment of American weapons and ammunition” into Iran.
Raising fears adjacent higher successful the region, a drone onslaught connected Sunday (May 17, 2026) — unclaimed but which a UAE authoritative appeared to blasted connected Iran — triggered a occurrence adjacent a atomic powerfulness presumption successful the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
Trita Parsi, a professional of the warfare who is enforcement vice president of the Washington-based Quincy Institute deliberation tank, said that Trump’s latest connection aimed to reframe the communicative to amusement himself successful power of developments.
The Gulf Arabs’ informing against an onslaught “could beryllium true, but either way, they supply him with a face-saving exit from his erstwhile threats,” helium said.
