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

Tehran says the gap in position with Washington has narrowed - but the Strait of Hormuz remains a sticking point

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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 cancelled 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.

If the US were to launch fresh strikes, it would threaten the fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran. Peace talks seem to be getting nowhere as the war drags on for nearly three months.

Also, on Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Nato allies need to prepare a “Plan B” to open the Strait of Hormuz.

“What if Iran decides we refuse to open the straits, we’re going to own the straits, and we’re going to charge tolls for it?” he said at a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Sweden. “At that point, something has to be done about it.”

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Key Points

• Trump preparing for fresh round of military strikes against Iran: report
• Trump 'has other options' if diplomacy doesn't work, says Rubio, admitting there's still work to be done
• UN conference to review nuclear proliferation treaty ends without deal

Trump faces a stark choice to end unpopular war

The continuing standoff between Iran and the US comes as Trump faces domestic pressure over high gasoline prices and low approval ratings after he embarked on the unpopular war ahead of November’s midterm elections.

His Republican Party is struggling to maintain control of Congress.

As a result, more than six weeks into a ceasefire, some analysts believe Trump faces a stark choice: to accept a potentially flawed deal as an off-ramp or escalate militarily and risk an even longer crisis.

Among his options if diplomacy collapses, they say, would be to launch a round of sharp but limited strikes, frame it as a final victory and move on.

Another possibility, analysts say, is that Trump could attempt to shift focus to Cuba, as he has suggested, in hopes of changing the subject and trying to score a potentially easier win.

If so, he might end up misjudging the challenges posed by Havana, much as some Trump aides privately acknowledge that he mistakenly thought the Iran operation would resemble the January 3 raid that captured Venezuela's president and led to his replacement.

'Short term rump has become strategic failure'

Some experts predict a grim post-war outlook for Trump.

“We’re three months in, and it’s looking like a war that was designed to be a short-term romp for Trump is turning into a long-term strategic failure,” said Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East negotiator for Republican and Democratic administrations.

For Trump, that matters, especially given his famous sensitivity to being perceived as a loser, an insult he has often lobbed at opponents.

In the Iran crisis, he finds himself commander-in-chief of the world’s mightiest military pitted against a second-tier power seemingly convinced it has the upper hand.

And this predicament could make Trump, who has yet to define a clear endgame, more likely to resist any compromise that looks like a retreat from his maximalist positions or a repetition of the 2015 Obama-era nuclear deal with Iran that he scrapped in his first term, analysts say.

But White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales insists the U.S. has “met or surpassed all of our military objectives in 'Operation Epic Fury'.”

“President Trump holds all the cards and wisely keeps all options on the table,” she added.

Three months in, is Trump losing the war?

Donald Trump may have won just about every battle against Iran, but three months after attacking the Islamic Republic he now faces a bigger question: Is he losing the war?

With Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, its resistance to nuclear concessions and its theocratic government largely intact, doubts are growing that Trump can translate the US military’s tactical successes into an outcome he can frame convincingly as a geopolitical win.

His repeated claims of complete victory ring hollow, some analysts say, as the two sides teeter between uncertain diplomacy and his on-again-off-again threats to resume strikes, which would be sure to draw Iranian retaliation across the region.

Trump is now at risk of seeing the US and its Gulf Arab allies emerge from the conflict worse off while Iran, though battered militarily and economically, could end up with greater leverage, having shown it can throttle one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies.

US arms sales to Taiwan 'unrelated to Iran war'

US arms sales to Taiwan are unrelated to the war with Iran, it has been claimed, after a senior US official suggested there was a pause due to the need to have enough arms for the conflict.

Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has been waiting for the U.S. to approve an arms sale that Reuters reported could be worth up to $14 billion.

President Donald Trump sowed uncertainty in Taipei by saying, after meeting China's President Xi Jinping this month, that he was undecided on whether to approve the package.

On Thursday, acting US Navy Secretary Hung Cao told a Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing that there was a pause on arms sales to Taiwan to make sure the US had the munitions needed for the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran.

A source familiar with the matter noted that Trump has said he would decide on the Taiwan arms sales soon.

“These sales take years to process and are unrelated to Operation Epic Fury,” the source told Reuters.

“The United States military has more than enough munitions, ammo, and stockpiles to serve all of President Trump's strategic goals and beyond.”

Trump snubs son's wedding as he maintains focus on government business - including Iran war

US President Donald Trump does not plan to attend the wedding celebration of his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, because he has to stay in Washington for government business, he has revealed.

Trump Jr celebrating his marriage to Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson on a small island in the Bahamas, CNN reported.

Trump told reporters 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.

"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.

Trump 'has other options' if diplomacy doesn't work, Rubio says

Trump “has other options” if diplomacy doesn't work, Marco Rubio said, admitting that there was still work to be done.

The United States has seen some progress in talks with Iran and is in constant communication with the Pakistani mediators, but there is more work to be done, Rubio said today.

“There's been some progress. I wouldn't exaggerate it. I wouldn't diminish it,” Rubio told reporters after a Nato ministers meeting in Sweden.

“There's more work to be done,” he admitted. “We're not there yet. I hope we get there.”

Rubio said Trump would prefer to make a good deal, but will need to discuss concerns about Iran’s possible access to nuclear weapons, the issue of future uranium enrichment, and the Strait of Hormuz.

“We're dealing with a very difficult group of people, and if it doesn't change, then the president's been clear he has other options,” Rubio said.

Rep. Pat Ryan blasts Republicans for pulling Iran War vote as 'Chickenhawk motherf***ers'

US pauses major arms sale to Taiwan over Iran war

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.”

Oil and gas prices to remain high in Europe at least until the end of 2027, officials say

European Union officials said Friday that Europeans can expect oil and gas prices to remain above what they were before the Iran war for at least until the end of 2027, with prices of other goods also following an upward trajectory.

EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said that higher energy prices are primarily responsible for driving inflation to a forecast 3.1% for this year and 2.4% for 2027. That’s significantly higher than the earlier forecast for this year of 1.9%.

“We expect that this energy inflation will gradually also trickle down to different sectors of the economy,” Dombrovskis said after a meeting of the 21-member eurozone's finance ministers, who make up the Eurogroup.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said that even if the conflict in the Middle East ended now, “lagging effects” would keep the prices of goods elevated.

“And it’s probably a fact that price levels will be higher at the end of this crisis, when we see the end of the crisis,” Lagarde said.

Read more here:

Oil and gas prices to remain high in Europe at least until the end of 2027, officials say

Rubio urges Strait of Hormuz plan B as UK mission for ‘when no one shooting’

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.

Read more:

Rubio urges Strait of Hormuz plan B as UK mission for ‘when no one shooting’

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