Vance: US ‘very close’ to deal reopening Strait of HormuzYour support helps us to tell the story
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Donald Trump vowed to lift the US naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz and make a “final determination” on Iran on Friday, as the world awaits his decision on a reported memorandum of understanding hashed out by negotiators to extend the ceasefire and pave the way for nuclear talks.
As of Friday evening US time, however, no progress on a deal had been announced, despite prior positive indications.
“Ships caught in the Strait due to our amazing and unprecedented Naval Blockade, which will now be lifted, may start the process of ‘heading home!’” the US president wrote on Truth Social earlier in the day.
Trump said some items have already been agreed, but insisted Iran “must agree” never to have a nuclear weapon, and that the Strait of Hormuz must be reopened without tolls. He said that uranium will be unearthed by the US in coordination with Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog and destroyed.
But Iran’s Fars news agency, citing sources, quickly pushed back on the president’s claims, casting the statement as a “mixture of truth and falsehood” intended “to portray a fabricated victory.”
It said there was no clause in the initial MOU that Iran would have to reopen the Strait without tolls, and no provision about destroying Tehran’s nuclear materials. Iran would reopen the waterway according to its own pre-determined arrangements, it said.
Iran’s leadership is split over stance towards US, observers say
(Reuters)
There’s an ongoing split within the Iranian leadership between hard-liners and negotiators keen on reaching a deal with the US, according to observers.
The hard-line faction is often more visible publicly, such as Ebrahim Azizi, a conservative lawmaker who heads the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy committees.
“Trump must know that Iran, as the victor and conqueror of the field, sets the terms,” he wrote on social media on Friday.
This more belligerent view may not be in the majority, however.
“This faction does not speak for the majority of Iranians and has been marginalized from key decision making; the nuclear talks are proceeding despite their disapproval,” Mehdi Rahmati, a Tehran-based political analyst, told The New York Times on Friday.
Josh Marcus30 May 2026 04:30
Oil falls amid hopes for Trump peace deal backing
Shahana Yasmin30 May 2026 04:30
US forces ‘remain present and vigilant’ in Middle East
The US military has said its forces remain on high alert across the Middle East as tensions over the Iran war continue.
US Central Command (Centcom) posted on X, writing: “US forces remain present and vigilant across the [Middle East] region”.
The military command, which oversees US operations across the Middle East and parts of Asia, also released an image showing what it said was an F-16 fighter jet conducting a patrol flight over the region.
US forces have recently carried out strikes on Iranian missile launch sites and boats near the Strait of Hormuz, which Centcom described as defensive actions aimed at protecting American troops and military assets in the region.
Shahana Yasmin30 May 2026 04:15
Hegseth says ‘any deal with Iran would be a good deal’
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has said “any deal with Iran would be a good deal” as Donald Trump weighs whether to approve a proposed agreement with Tehran.
Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue defence summit in Singapore, Hegseth said the US still had a “global obligation” to ensure Iran did not obtain a nuclear weapon.
His comments came shortly after Trump entered the Situation Room for discussions on a possible agreement with Tehran.
US secretary of war Pete Hegseth speaks during the 23rd IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore (Getty)
Before the meeting, the president demanded that Tehran agree never to “have a nuclear weapon or bomb,” reopen the Strait of Hormuz immediately and destroy all remaining “nuclear dust”.
Hegseth also used the speech to warn US allies against relying too heavily on Washington, saying: “The era of the United States subsidising the defence of wealthy nations is over.
“We need partners, not protectorates. We don’t have a strong alliance unless everyone has skin in the game. No freeloading.”
Shahana Yasmin30 May 2026 04:00
Rep. Ilhan Omar slams colleagues for allowing Iran war to continue
Progressive US lawmaker Rep. Ilhan Omar railed against her colleagues in Congress on Friday for failing to halt the Iran war.
“Last week, House Republicans pulled down the vote needed to stop Trump’s war with Iran because they knew it was going to pass and upset Trump,” Omar, who represents Minnesota, wrote on X. “Congress has failed to assert its authority for 12 straight weeks. End the war now.”
Under the Constitution, Congress is given the power to declare war, though in practice the White House has grown increasingly bold about starting hostilities on its own since the War on Terror began.
Eric Garcia reported on the decision to pull the war vote.
Josh Marcus30 May 2026 03:00
Iran’s moves ‘hard to understand’ as negotiations continue, ex-CIA officer says
Donald Trump’s story about the fate of the Iran can seem to change by the day, and his counterparts in Tehran are little better, according to a former CIA officer.
“The Iranians have definitely been speaking with two different voices one for the world community or on the negotiating table and the other to their own population,” Scott Uehlinger told Al Jazeera.
“It’s very hard to understand Iran [and] understand Iranian messages,” he added.
US and Israeli strikes killed off numerous members of the pre-existing Iranian leadership at the outset of the war, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Josh Marcus30 May 2026 01:30
Unclear if Iran actually put mines in Strait of Hormuz: report
(Reuters)
The threat of Iranian mines is among the many factors snarling traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
But the US military has not confirmed whether Tehran has actually set mines in the vital oil shipping lane, US officials told NBC News.
With or without mines, traffic through the strait continues to move at just small fraction of its pre-war levels, adding to the economic pain that’s resulted from the war.
Josh Marcus30 May 2026 00:31
White House remains vague on state of Iran deal decision
The Trump administration is keeping its cards close to its chest about the fate of Iran war negotiations.
Despite a much-watched announcement from the president that he was considering a “final determination” on recent proposals on Friday, much of the day has come and gone without any announcement of a deal.
When asked about whether a deal had been made, the administration remained vague.
“President Trump will only make a deal that is good for America and satisfies his redlines,” the White House told CBS News. “Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon.”
Josh Marcus29 May 2026 23:34
Kazakhstan offers to hold Iranian nuclear stockpile: report
The US and Iran have not announced a final deal yet, but any lasting agreement will likely include some provision regarding Tehran’s nuclear stockpile.
President Trump has said the US wants to seize and secure the stockpile to keep it from being turned into a nuclear weapon.
Kazakhstan, meanwhile, has offered to take the stockpile if both sides reach an agreement, according the UN.
Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with the International Atomic Energy Agency this week and signaled his “openness” to take on the near-weapons grade uranium, the Financial Times reports.
Josh Marcus29 May 2026 23:15
US has seized $1 billion in Iranian crypto so far, Bessent says
The US has seized $1 billion in Iranian cryptocurrency so far as part of its efforts to financially hammer Tehran.
“Just outright grabbed the wallets,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday during an event at the Reagan National Economic Forum. “Some of them may be typing in right now and might not realize their wallet had been grabbed.”
The fate of Iranian assets, which have faced a mix of seizures and sanctions, reportedly remains one of the key issues still being debated by negotiators on both sides.
Josh Marcus29 May 2026 22:50