US President Donald Trump left a meeting with top advisers without announcing a “final determination” on a deal with Iran.
US ‘more than capable’ of resuming war with Iran: Hegseth
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the US has enough weapons to restart the war against Iran if needed.
“Our ability to recommence if necessary is we are more than capable, our stockpiles are more than suited for that, both there and around the globe because of how we balance exquisite and more plentiful munitions,” he said on Saturday while addressing a defense conference in Singapore.
He also said the US had a global obligation to ensure that Iran does not develop nuclear weapons.
Regarding the ongoing discussions of a potential ceasefire, Hegseth said that any deal with Iran would be a good deal.
US praises ‘productive’ talks between Israel, Lebanon military officials
Military officials from Israel and Lebanon held “productive” talks in Washington on Friday, Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s second-in-command, said on X.
“Today at the Pentagon, I hosted military delegations from Israel and Lebanon for the security track supporting the ongoing peace talks between their two countries,” Colby wrote on X.
Colby added that the meeting would complement upcoming diplomatic discussions.
“We held productive military-to-military discussions which will inform the Department of State-led political track next week,” he said.
Talks between senior Israeli and Lebanese officials have been ongoing since last month. However, the talks are complicated by the fact that Iran-backed Hezbollah, Israel’s target, is not participating and has refused to accept their results.
No statement yet on Trump’s view of Iran deal
US President Donald Trump said earlier today that he would meet with key advisers in the White House Situation Room to decide whether to approve a ceasefire deal with Iran.
Following that meeting, the White House announced the president signed a series of executive orders and he made several posts to his Truth Social platform.
But the only statement from the White House regarding the Iran deal was that Trump would only accept a deal that “satisfies his red lines.”
“The Situation Room meeting has concluded and lasted approximately two hours. President Trump will only make a deal that is good for America and satisfies his red lines,” the White House official told the AFP news agency on condition of anonymity. “Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon.”
Hamas slams Israel over Gaza expansion plans
After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to expand its territorial control of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Islamist armed group Hamas decried the comments as a “blatant violation.”
“In a blatant violation of all agreements, as is their usual practice, Netanyahu announced expanding control over 70% of the Gaza Strip, while the killing and starvation continue,” Hamas spokesman Bassem Naim told the AFP news agency.
Israel launched a prolonged offensive in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 terror attack by Hamas, with the fighting subsiding following the 20-point ceasefire deal in October 2025, which was due to be implemented in stages. One of the points of the deal instructs the Israeli forces to gradually hand over control to an International Stabilisation Force rather than occupy and annex Gaza.
The implementation of the deal and the talks between the two sides, however, have stalled.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry estimates at least 738 Palestinians were killed since the deal was announced.
IN DEPTH: Civilians in Lebanon hit hardest as Israel targets Hezbollah
As Israel expands military operations in Lebanon and Hezbollah digs in, peace hopes for the upcoming direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in Washington are fading. Is the country heading for a humanitarian collapse?
Iran’s Fars agency cites sources disputing Trump’s claims
Donald Trump’s comments on a possible deal with Iran are a “mixture of truth and lies,” according to sources cited by Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency.
“Trump claimed that Iran was obligated to open the Strait of Hormuz without tolls, even though no such clause appears in the next of the agreement,” the agency said.
The report also disputed Trump’s claims that Iran and the US will work together to secure and destroy Iran’s enriched uranium.
“Well-informed sources emphasised that not only does this not appear in the memorandum of understanding, but this claim is fundamentally baseless,” the agency said.
Iran was also reportedly demanding the release of $12 billion (€10,28 billion) of frozen Iranian funds, with its representatives indicating that they will not move to the next phase of negotiations “until this payment is made.” The Iranian side also commented on Lebanon, saying that the ceasefire must be “complete” and “in line with Hezbollah’s demands” with any violation of it triggering retaliation.
The Iranian leadership has not made a definite decision on the memorandum of understanding with the US, but the document was in the final stages of ratification, according to the sources cited by Fars.
Tehran says deal depends on US stopping with ‘excessive demands’ and shifting positions
With Washington sending positive signals regarding a peace deal with Iran, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that “arriving at a final agreement depended on ending the American party’s attitude based on excessive demands and shifting and contradictory positions.”
The comments were published in a statement summarizing the a call between Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi and Oman Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi.
Despite occasional bouts of fighting in recent weeks, Iran and the US are officially abiding by a truce announced by President Donald Trump on April 7. Washington has repeatedly indicated that a more permanent deal was near at hand, but failed to present concrete results, with Trump appearing to give contradictory statements on US terms for ending the war.
Trump lays out demands for deal, says US naval blockade will now be lifted
In his latest post on the Truth Social platform, US President Donald Trump laid out his demands for a deal with Iran to end the conflict.
“Iran must agree that they will not have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb,” Trump said. “The Hormuz Strait must be immediately open, no tolls, for unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions. All water mines (bombs), if any will be terminated (we have removed, through detonation, numerous such mines with our great underwater mine sweepers. Iran will complete the immediate removal and/or detonation of any mines that are left, which will not be many!).”
“Ships caught in the Strait due to our amazing and unprecedented Naval Blockade, which now be lifted, may start the process of ‘heading home!'”
“The enriched material, sometimes referred to as ‘Nuclear Dust,’ which is buried deep underground with virtually collapsed mountains, caused by our powerful B2 Bomber attack 11 months ago, sitting on top of it, will be unearthed by the United States (which, it is agreed, is the only Country, along with China, with the mechanical capability of doing so!), in close coordination and conjunction with the Islamic Republic of Iran, plus the International Atomic Energy Agency, and DESTROYED. No money will be exchanged, unfurther notice,” Trump said.
Trump said he is in the Situation Room now to make a final determination on a ceasefire deal with Iran.
Israeli army crossed Litani River, Netanyahu says
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli army forces crossed the Litani River in southern Lebanon, approximately 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the border between the two countries.
“We are also active in Beirut, in the Beqaa Valley, across the whole front,” Netanyahu said during a visit at an army base located at Israel’s northern border, adding the Israeli military is hitting Islamist militant group Hezbollah״hip and thigh.”
This means the Israeli military is now operating beyond the so-called yellow line, the area in which its troops stayed as part of the ceasefire agreement reached with Lebanon in April 2026.
Despite the agreement, both Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have continued carrying out strikes in each other’s direction, with each side blaming the other for violating the ceasefire.
Netanyahu and his government came under pressure in Israel due to the daily drone attacks in the country’s north, bringing the Israeli leader to promise an escalation in the military operation against Hezbollah in recent days.
Iran has no trust in the US’ words, Ghalibaf warns
Iran’s official speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the country’s top negotiator in the talks with the US, says Tehran has no trust in any promises given by Washington.
“We don’t have any trust in guarantees through words, only actions are our criteria,” he posted on his X account.
Ghalibaf also added that those who are to be considered as winners to come out of any negotiation are those “getting ready for war from the following day.”
The Iranian official’s post comes as reports over a potential agreement between the two countries over ending the war could be edging nearer.
