Iran says US President Donald Trump now faces a sharply narrowed choice between an “impossible military operation” against Iran and a “bad deal” with the country.

The IRGC’s Intelligence Organization made the announcement in an X post on Sunday, after Iran submitted a comprehensive proposal aimed at bringing a permanent end to the illegal US-Israeli war of aggression against the Islamic Republic.

With the proposal, Iran put the ball back into the court of Trump, whose country is looking for a face-saving way to escape the war quagmire it has become trapped in.

“Iran sets Pentagon a blockade deadline; China, Russia, Europe shift tone against Washington; Trump’s passive letter to Congress; acceptance of Iran’s negotiating terms; there is only one way to read this: Trump must choose between ‘an impossible military operation or a bad deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran,’” it said.

“The room for US decision-making has narrowed.”

The unprovoked US-Israeli aggression on Iran began on February 28 with airstrikes that assassinated senior Iranian officials and commanders.

The Iranian armed forces unleashed 100 waves of successful retaliatory strikes against sensitive and strategic American and Israeli targets throughout the region.

They also blocked the Strait of Hormuz to oil and gas tankers affiliated with the enemies and those cooperating with them in an attempt to maintain security at the critical waterway.

Source: Presstv

US President Donald Trump has lashed out at Friedrich Merz after the German chancellor criticized the American aggression against Iran for lacking a clear exit strategy and said Tehran was “humiliating” Washington with its negotiating tactics.

In a post on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, Trump said Merz “doesn’t know what he’s talking about!”

Earlier, Merz had described the aggression as “ill-considered.”

“The problem with conflicts like this is always you don’t just have to get in – you have to get out again. We saw that very painfully in Afghanistan for 20 years. We saw it in Iraq,” he had added.

Merz had also said Washington was being “humiliated” by Islamic Republic’s negotiating tactics after Tehran refused to rejoin negotiations with Washington, despite the latter’s repeated announcements of its intentions to send over delegates for continuation of the talks.

Trump, however, tried to defend the aggression, saying, “I am doing something with Iran, right now, that other Nations, or Presidents, should have done long ago.”

His remarks echoed his repeated attacks on the US’s NATO allies over their refusal to directly join the aggression, which saw some members even close their airspaces to flights contributing to attacks targeting the Islamic Republic.

Trump went on to extend his criticism of Merz to the way he was running his country.

“No wonder Germany is doing so poorly, both Economically, and otherwise!”

His comments marked a clear departure from how he would describe Germany during Merz’s last visit to the White House, during which Trump described the European country as “a respected” one and said he had “a very good relationship with the country – in particular now, with this leader.”

Source: Press TV

Iran says it will take necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and security while closely monitoring battlefield and political developments, after US President Donald Trump unilaterally extended the ceasefire.

On Tuesday, Trump extended a two-week ceasefire with Iran while announcing the continuation of an illegal blockade on the Islamic Republic’s ports and vessels, despite Tehran’s insistence that the blockade must be lifted for bilateral talks to continue.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the extension came “upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan.”

In response to a question regarding Pakistani Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar’s request for the ceasefire, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei pointed out that Iran was not the initiator of the imposed war.

He said that all of Iran’s actions were carried out in line with its inherent right of legitimate self-defense against the US-Israeli military aggression.

Iran, while closely monitoring field and political developments, will adopt the necessary and appropriate measures to protect its national interests and security, he added.

He further noted that the armed forces, with full vigilance, are ready to defend Iran’s national integrity comprehensively and decisively against any threat or act of mischief.

Source: Presstv

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned the US aggression against an Iranian commercial vessel and the taking of its crew and their families as hostages, warning of “very dangerous consequences.”

In a statement released on Tuesday, the ministry emphasized the need for the immediate release of the Iranian ship, its sailors, crew members, and their families.

“The act, which involved the intimidation of the ship’s sailors, crew, and their families, constitutes maritime banditry and a terrorist act,” the statement read.

According to the ministry, the act is another example of a clear violation of the ceasefire understanding dated April 8, and is an aggressive act against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“Iran, while warning about the very dangerous consequences of this illegal and criminal American act, emphasizes the necessity of the immediate release of the Iranian ship, its sailors, crew, and their families,” it said.

The statement added that the Islamic Republic of Iran would undoubtedly use all its capabilities to defend its national interests and security, and to protect the rights and dignity of Iranians.

It further stated that the United States clearly bore full responsibility for the situation in the region becoming more complicated.

Iran not only survived the heaviest bombardment of its civilian infrastructure in modern history during the 40-day war of aggression imposed by the US-Israeli alliance but also achieved the rare engineering feat of restoring six major railway bridges and dozens of critical transport links in under 96 hours.

One key span near Qom reopened in less than 40 minutes, effectively neutralizing the enemy’s key strategy of paralyzing the nation through economic strangulation.

The ceasefire that took effect on April 8, 2026, after more than five weeks of sustained aggression, did not come a moment too soon for civilians.

But for Iran’s engineering corps, it came just in time to showcase a level of infrastructure resilience and readiness unmatched in modern military history.

While enemy war planners had explicitly targeted the country’s railway bridges, freeway overpasses, power substations, and even civilian airports to break supply chains and demoralize the population, the response from Tehran’s domestic engineering team fundamentally rewrote the rules of modern warfare.

Rather than crippling Iran, the aggression has demonstrated that the Islamic Republic can rebuild its most vital arteries faster than foreign adversaries can destroy them.

The United States and Iran failed to reach an agreement at the end of historic, face-to-face talks after the U.S. said Tehran refused to commit to not developing a nuclear weapon, leaving uncertainty over a fragile, two-week ceasefire.

Vice President JD Vance, who led the U.S. delegation, said the talks lasted 21 hours in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad but in the end they did not see “an affirmative commitment” from Iran “that they will not seek a nuclear weapon.”

Vance’s comments did not indicate what will happen after the 14-day ceasefire initially agreed to by the U.S., Iran and Israel, but Pakistani mediators called on the U.S. and Iran to maintain the ceasefire.

“It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to ceasefire,” Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said, adding that his country will try to facilitate a new dialogue between Iran and the U.S. in the coming days.

In one of the first reactions from Iran, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the talks fell apart over a “gap between our opinions over two or three important issues.” He told Iran’s state TV that the Strait of Hormuz was among the topics discussed by negotiators and blamed “U.S. overreach.” He did not mention nuclear weapons.

The discussions in Islamabad began Saturday, a few days after the fragile ceasefire was announced as the war that has killed thousands of people and shaken global markets entered its seventh week.

“We need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon,” Vance told reporters. “That is the core goal of the president of the United States. And that’s what we’ve tried to achieve through these negotiations.”

“We leave here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We’ll see if the Iranians accept it,” he added.

Since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28, it has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, 2,020 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states, and caused lasting damage to infrastructure in half a dozen Middle Eastern countries. Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz has largely cut off the Persian Gulf and its oil and gas exports from the global economy, sending energy prices soaring.

The United States and Iran entered talks with sharply different proposals and contrasting assumptions about their leverage to end the war. Before negotiations began, the ceasefire was already threatened by deep disagreements and Israel’s continued attacks against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Iran’s 10-point proposal ahead of the talks called for a guaranteed end to the war and sought control over the Strait of Hormuz. It included ending fighting against Iran’s “regional allies,” explicitly calling for a halt to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah. The United States’ 15-point proposal includes restricting Iran’s nuclear program and reopening the strait.

Indeed, Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has proved its biggest strategic advantage in the war. Around a fifth of the world’s traded oil had typically passed through on over 100 ships a day. Only 12 have been recorded transiting since the ceasefire.

During the talks, the U.S. military said two destroyers transited the critical waterway ahead of mine-clearing work, a first since the war began. Iran’s state media, however, reported the country’s joint military command denied that.

“We’re sweeping the strait. Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me,” Trump said as talks extended into early Sunday morning.

The U.S. delegation led by Vance and the Iranian one led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf discussed with Pakistan how to advance the ceasefire already threatened by deep disagreements and Israel’s continued attacks against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel wants Lebanon’s government to assume responsibility for disarming Hezbollah, much like was envisaged in a November 2024 ceasefire. But the militant group has survived efforts to curb its strength for decades.

Hezbollah joined the war in support of Iran in the opening days. Israel followed with airstrikes and a ground invasion.

The day the Iran ceasefire deal was announced, Israel pounded Beirut with airstrikes, killing more than 300 people in the deadliest day in Lebanon since the war began, according to the country’s Health Ministry.

Source: Crux

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on the court responsible for his corruption trial to postpone his testimony, citing “security concerns.”

His lawyer made the request in a court filing on Friday.

Netanyahu’s long-running corruption trial was set to resume on Sunday, after Israel lifted a state of emergency imposed over its war of aggression on Iran following Wednesday’s ceasefire announcement.

The defense said it was prepared to continue ⁠hearing the testimony of a prosecution witness.

“Due to classified security and diplomatic reasons connected … to the dramatic events that have taken place … in recent times, the Prime Minister will not be able to testify in the proceeding for at least the next two weeks,” the filing said.

It said that a sealed envelope detailing the classified ‌reasons ⁠was delivered to the court, which will rule once the prosecution submits its response.

Netanyahu, the first sitting Israeli prime minister to be charged with a crime, denies charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust brought in ⁠2019 after years of investigations.

His trial, which began in 2020 and could lead to jail terms, has been repeatedly delayed due to various wars his cabinet has initiated, including the Gaza genocide since 2023, which has killed at least 72,000 Palestinians, two wars of aggression against Iran in 2025 and 2026, and recurring assaults on Lebanon since 2023, with ⁠no end date in sight.

The charges against Netanyahu, along with the al-Aqsa Flood Operation conducted by Palestinians resistance movements in October 2023, have damaged his standing.

Israel is due to hold an election in October that Netanyahu’s coalition, the most right-wing in Israel’s history, is likely to lose, according to polls.

Source: Presstv