Iran-US war latest: Tehran offers Trump one-month deadline to end conflict

Donald Trump will have to choose between an “impossible” military operation against Iran or making a “bad deal” with Tehran, the country’s Revolutionary Guard Corps have warned.

“The room for US decision-making has narrowed,” the intelligence unit of the Guards wrote on X.

It said Iran had set a deadline for the US military to end its blockade of Iranian ports, without specifying what it was.

The Guards also claimed there had been a shift in tone from Europe, China and Russia towards Washington.

“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. The room for US decision-making has narrowed,” it said in a post on X.

We’ve heard from Israeli defence minister Israel Katz, speaking about the country’s deal to purchase new F-35 and F-15Ia fighter jet squadrons.

Mr Katz said the Iranian conflict demonstrated the air force’s power and its decisive role in protecting Israel.

“The lessons of that campaign require us to keep pressing forward on force buildup, to ensure air superiority for decades to come,” he said.

The aircraft have been crucial in Israel’s bombardments in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran in recent years. They were used to drop some of the military’s most powerful bombs in the Gaza strip.

Mr Katz said the new aircraft would lead to a significant technological leap in integrating autonomous flight capabilities, next-generation defence systems, and establishing Israeli military dominance in space.

“Our mission is clear: to ensure the IDF has the tools, capabilities, and strength to operate anywhere, at any time,” Mr Katz said.

“We will continue to invest, to grow stronger, and to stay ahead of our enemies – to keep Israel secure today and in the future.”

Donald Trump has said Iran has “not yet paid a big enough price” despite reviewing a new peace proposal offered by Tehran.

The US president has been touting the possibility of carrying out fresh strikes on Iran, with his efforts to pressure the country’s regime into agreeing a deal favourable for the US having so far failed.

“I will soon be reviewing the plan Iran has just sent to us but can’t imagine that it would be acceptable in that they have not yet paid a big enough price for what they have done to humanity, and the world, over the last 47 years,” he wrote on Truth Social.

He told reporters on Saturday that there was a “possibility” he could order more strikes against Iran, particularly “if they misbehave, if they do something bad”.

President Donald Trump called the US blockade of Iranian ports “very friendly” while speaking to reporters Saturday evening.

A journalist asked: “In your letter to Congress, you said the hostilities in Iran … have been terminated. How can you say that given that the naval blockade is still … in place?”

“Well, it’s a very friendly blockade. Nobody’s even challenging it,” Trump replied.

“Many presidents have been involved in things that are very big. They never had to go through anything with respect to Congress. They considered it to be totally unconstitutional.

“The Democrats in Congress have pushed this, and probably a couple of Republicans. They’re hurting our negotiating ability, which is infinite right now, and they shouldn’t be doing it,” he added.

Three people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.

Rescue teams recovered the bodies of two victims from the al-Maaliya area in the Tyre district, the agency reported.

A motorcycle rider was killed in a separate airstrike that targeted the vehicle in the town of Haris in the Bint Jbeil district, he said.

The Independent’s world affairs editor Sam Kiley writes:

The US president and the German chancellor have locked horns. Spain has shunned Washington. The Nato alliance is more fragile than it has ever been.

Western powers are determined to see off Russian military “hard” power; they are familiar with “soft power” operations to undermine democracies. But how to deal with the Kremlin’s relationship with Donald Trump is now an emergency.

Working out a response to internal frictions within Nato has become a conundrum, not only for leaders in the alliance but for the military officials who have to figure out how to keep the military machine operational.

A weakened Nato serves only the interests of the enemies and rivals of the West.

Top of the list of beneficiaries is Vladimir Putin, but China will enjoy the latest spats between Trump and Germany’s Friedrich Merz almost as much.

Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Sarv Shakti, loaded with 46,313 ⁠metric tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas for India, ⁠crossed ​the ⁠Strait of Hormuz ⁠on Saturday, India’s shipping ​ministry ⁠said.

The vessel ‌with 20 crew members on ‌board, 18 ‌of them Indian, was expected ⁠to arrive at the eastern Indian port of Visakhapatnam on 13 May, it said in a statement.

As we’ve been reporting, the US has announced it will withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany following a spat between Donald Trump and German chancellor Friedrich Merz.

US troops are stationed in more than a dozen European countries. Germany, Italy and Britain have the biggest presence of personnel. This list comprises some of the largest contingents.

Germany: The largest US base in Europe is the air base near the German city of Ramstein, where troops have been stationed since 1952. According to DMDC data, as of December 2025, 36,436 active service members were stationed in Germany, divided into five garrisons.

Italy: U.S. military personnel have been stationed in Italy since the end of World War Two and comprise Army, Navy and Air Force divisions. Italy hosted 12,662 active-duty soldiers at the end of 2025 across bases in Vicenza, Aviano, Naples and Sicily.

Britain: The US forces in the United Kingdom comprised 10,156 service members as of December last year, garrisoned in three bases, hosting mainly Air Force personnel.

Spain: The country hosts U.S. Navy and Air Force bases near the Strait of Gibraltar. Around 3,814 personnel were permanently assigned to Spain.

Other countries hosting permanently assigned US troops include Poland (369), Romania (153), and Hungary (77).