US Iran War News LIVE: US may need to hit Iran again, says Trump in fresh warning, claims Tehran begging for deal

The United States has sanctioned more than 50 entities, including oil and gas tankers and an Iranian foreign currency exchange, as part of its ongoing efforts to pressure Tehran into a deal and ensure the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, as per Bloomberg.

The US Treasury Department said on Tuesday that it has blacklisted Amin Exchange along with several affiliated companies linked to the Iran-based currency exchange network, alleging that it enabled hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign transactions for individuals and entities under sanctions.

According to Bloomberg, Trump told reporters on Tuesday, “I hope we don’t have to do the war, but we may have to give them another big hit." When asked how long he would wait, he said: “Well, I mean, I’m saying two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Something maybe early next week — a limited period of time.”

UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq, responding to a question on Iran’s move to set up a Persian Gulf Strait Authority to regulate shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, said the United Nations does not “want any particular entity to restrict … freedom of access” to the strategic waterway, reported Al Jazeera.

“Ultimately, for us, we want to make sure that there’s no constraint to freedom of navigation on the high seas and on the Strait of Hormuz,” Haq added.

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States could carry out further strikes on Iran, adding that Tehran is “begging” to reach an agreement with Washington, reported Reuters

Iran's Esmaeil Baghaei said in a recent statement that Iran has conveyed its response to the United States’ proposed amendments through Pakistan, which continues to act as an intermediary, as per Al Jazeera.

He added that Tehran considers Washington’s demands unrealistic and stressed that major differences between the two sides still need to be resolved.

Abas Aslani, senior research fellow at Tehran’s Center for Middle East Strategic Studies said that US sanctions, along with a recent naval blockade, have significantly affected Iran’s economy but will not weaken Tehran’s position in negotiations with Washington.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Aslani noted that while “the economic suffering and hardship for the average citizen has been somewhat significant… the security conditions have been underway… and this has been making this [situation] somehow bearable for the ordinary citizen”.

As per Al Jazeera, Qatar's FM spokesperson al-Ansari at the MoFA press conference said, “We are supportive of the diplomatic effort by Pakistan that has shown seriousness in bringing parties together and finding a solution, and we do believe it needs more time."

Majed al-Ansari, spokesperson for Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, said no country has the right under any circumstances to “hinder” access through the Strait of Hormuz, reported Al Jazeera.

He noted that only two LNG tankers have passed through the strategic waterway so far, but stressed that this does not indicate a return to normal shipping activity. According to al-Ansari, energy exports are currently being carried out under special arrangements.

Iran's army cautioned on Tuesday it would "open new fronts" against the United States if it restarts attacks, after President Donald Trump said he paused carrying out a new offensive in hopes of striking a deal.

"If the enemy is foolish enough to fall into the Zionist trap again and launches new aggression against our beloved Iran, we will open new fronts against it, with new equipment and new methods," said army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia, according to Iran's ISNA news agency.

Police in Tehran said they had arrested two “infiltrators” in the western and northern parts of the capital who were allegedly posing as journalists, according to Tasnim.

The suspects allegedly tried “to collect and send classified information related to vital and sensitive military and intelligence centres” to networks hostile to Iran, the agency reported.

Tasnim said communication with contacts “abroad was established via satellite internet using Starlink equipment; the network’s Starlink receiver was also discovered and seized during the operation”.

Iran has started a Bitcoin-backed insurance service for shipping companies that want to transit the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg reported citing Iran's Fars news agency.

Dubbed Hormuz Safe, the Iranian government says it could generate more than $10 billion in revenue for the Islamic Republic, without giving a time frame or a breakdown of how the service would work.

According to a screen shot of the Hormuz Safe website, shared by Fars, the service will be for “Iranian shipping companies and cargo owners.” Iran is heavily sanctioned by the US and its use of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Tether has ballooned since President Donald Trump started targeting its economy and energy exports during his first administration.

Tehran's latest peace proposal to the United States involves ending hostilities on all fronts including Lebanon, the exit of U.S. forces from areas close to Iran, and reparations for destruction caused by the U.S.-Israeli war, state media reported on Tuesday.

In Tehran's first comments on the proposal, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran also sought the lifting of sanctions, the release of frozen funds and an end to the U.S. marine blockade on the country, according to IRNA news agency.

The terms as described in the Iranian reports appeared little changed from Iran's previous offer, which U.S. President Donald Trump rejected last week as "garbage".

Trump said on Monday he had paused a planned resumption of attacks on Iran after Tehran sent a new peace proposal to Washington, and that there was now a "very good chance" of reaching a deal limiting Iran's nuclear programme.

— Inputs from Reuters

With no end to the United States-Iran war and continued blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, putting the world scrambling for oil, Tehran is now looking at the subsea cables laid beneath the waterway to make money. According to a CNN report, Iran now plans to charge big tech companies such as Google, Amazon and Meta for using the subsea cables.

Iranian military spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari declared last week on X, “We will impose fees on internet cables.”

The state-linked media outlets have vaguely warned that any refusal to cooperate with Iran could trigger regional outages, potentially disrupting internet services, causing e-commerce glitches, and halting money transfers across affected areas.

While major tech companies would be required to comply with Iranian laws, submarine cable companies would need to pay a licensing fee to lay down the cables. A report mentions that Iran seeks repair and maintenance rights granted only to Iranian firms.

Read the full story here

Iran Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has termed the "contradictory and excessive behaviours" of the United States as a major obstacle to diplomacy, Al Jazeera quoting the Iran's ISNA news agency reported.

Speaking during a meeting with Pakistan Interior Minister Seyed Mohsin Naqvi, Araghchi said Iran remains deeply suspicious of the US establishment due to what he described as repeated breaches of promises in the past, ISNA news agency reported.

The meeting between Araghchi and Naqvi took place on Monday, in which both leaders discussed the latest status of bilateral relations as well as the ongoing negotiations between Iran and the United States.

President Donald Trump said that he’d called off a strike on Iran planned for Tuesday after an appeal by the leaders of Persian Gulf allies, who called for more time to pursue a diplomatic resolution.

“I put it off for a little while, hopefully maybe forever, but possibly for a little while, because we’ve had very big discussions with Iran, and we’ll see what they amount to,” Trump said at a White House event on Monday evening, hours after his announcement in a social media post.

“I was asked by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, and some others if we could put it off for two or three days, a short period of time, because they think that they are getting very close to making a deal,” Trump added. “If we can do that, where there’s no nuclear weapon going into the hands of Iran, I think, and if they’re satisfied, we will be probably satisfied also.”

The president has repeatedly threatened renewed military action against Iran without following through. There was no immediate confirmation from Tehran of renewed talks. Trump said the US was prepared to attack if an acceptable deal wasn’t reached but didn’t set a deadline.

— Inputs from Bloomberg

India’s airlines have asked state-run oil refiners to hold off on hiking jet fuel prices for domestic flights until the conflict in West Asia ends, people familiar with the matter told news agency Bloomberg.

The proposal floated by Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet is being considered by the refiners, said the people, who asked not to be named. India’s oil and gas ministry is also involved in discussions, and may intervene again as it did in April and May.

A decision is expected before June 1.

Aviation turbine fuel prices in India are set by the country’s oil marketing companies (OMCs), which usually make any revisions on the first day of the month. In April, after global oil prices surged due to the Iran war, the government limited the most recent jet fuel price hike to 25% and required the oil majors to keep them constant through May.

The state-owned refiners, which include Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum are also discussing whether to raise jet fuel prices in June by up to 25% for domestic flights, the people familiar said. They have been selling jet fuel for domestic flights at about ₹1,05,000 ($1,090) per kiloliter, incurring a loss of ₹92,000 per kiloliter, the people added.

Oil prices declined by more than 2% during early Asian trading on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump announced that he had put a proposed attack on Iran on hold to create room for negotiations aimed at ending the Middle East conflict.

Brent crude futures for July delivery dropped $3.01, or 2.7%, to $109.09 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for June delivery slipped $1.38, or 1.3%, to $107.28 per barrel. In the previous session, both benchmarks had touched their highest levels since May 5 and April 30, respectively.

The June WTI contract is set to expire on Tuesday, while the more actively traded July contract declined $2.06, or 2%, to $102.32 a barrel.

Read the full story here

Iran's stock market will reopen on May 19 after an 80-day closure due to the US-Israel conflict. The suspension aimed to prevent panic selling and protect investors during severe economic uncertainty, with trading resuming gradually amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.

Read the full story here

The United States has extended by a month a waiver from sanctions on Russian oil already at sea, according to an official statement.

The US Department of Treasury issued an order on Monday extending the waiver from sanctions on Russian oil stranded at sea on or before April 17 through June 17.

Earlier, the US had granted an exemption from sanctions to India for buying Russian oil for a month beginning March 5. A few days later, a similar waiver was extended to several other countries, which ended on April 11.