Iran-US war latest: Trump ‘briefed on final blow’ strike options as he pushes Tehran to make deal

Iran is reportedly using the ceasefire to excavate its weapons and munitions from beneath the rubble of buildings destroyed by U.S. bombings.

The report comes from an unnamed U.S. official and two other people familiar with the matter who spoke to NBC News.

Earlier in the month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon “knows” that Tehran is trying to dig up its buried munitions.

“While [the Iranian military is] digging out — which is exactly what you’re doing, digging out of bombed-out and devastated facilities — we are only getting stronger,” Hegseth said during an April 16 press briefing. “You are digging out your remaining launchers and missiles with no ability to replace them.”

A ceasefire between the United States and Iran that began in early April has effectively “terminated” hostilities for the purposes of an upcoming war powers deadline in Congress, a senior official from the Donald Trump administration said on Thursday.

Trump was facing a Friday deadline to either end the conflict or seek approval from US Congress to continue it, though the date was expected to pass without changing the course of the war.

“For war powers resolution purposes, the hostilities that began on Saturday, February 28, have terminated,” the official said, explaining the administration’s position, and noting that there has been no exchange of fire between US forces and Iran since the fragile ceasefire began more than three weeks ago.

Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized the continuing cost of the war in Iran on Thursday.

“13 Americans have been killed, and hundreds more are injured. We’re spending $1 billion in taxpayer funds a day. Gas is more than $4 per gallon. This is the cost of Trump’s war,” she wrote.

President Donald Trump insisted on Wednesday that the price of gas will “drop like a rock” once the war in Iran concludes.

“The gas will go down. As soon as the war is over, it’ll drop like a rock,” he said. “There’s so much of it. It’s all over the place, sitting all over the oceans of the world.”

Pete Hegseth faced tough questioning in Congress over how the Iran war is being handled, including costs, civilian deaths, and military resources

He argued that the legal 60-day war limit doesn’t apply right now, saying: “We are in a cease fire right now, which our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a ceasefire.”

But Democratic senator Tim Kaine pushed back, saying: “I do not believe the statute would support that.”

Lawmakers raised concerns about civilian casualties after strikes hit places like schools, asking why protections were weakened.

Hegseth said the military has an “ironclad commitment” to avoid civilian deaths.

Masoud Pezeshkian said a US naval blockade on Iranian ports would deepen disruptions in the Gulf while failing to achieve its aims.

“Any attempt to impose a maritime blockade or restrictions is contrary to international law… and is doomed to fail,” Pezeshkian said in a statement.

The majority of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is believed to remain at its Isfahan nuclear complex, a site that has endured airstrikes last year and further attacks during this year’s US-Israeli conflict, according to the head of the UN nuclear agency.

Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), stated in an interview on Tuesday that the agency possesses satellite images illustrating the impact of the recent U.S.-Israeli airstrikes against Iran, and that “we continue to get information.” IAEA inspections at Isfahan ceased in June 2025, when Israel initiated a 12-day war that saw the United States bomb three Iranian nuclear sites.

This stockpile could potentially enable Iran to construct as many as 10 nuclear bombs, should it choose to weaponize its program, Grossi told The Associated Press last year.

Donald Trump has reportedly received a high-level briefing from Centcom Commander Admiral Brad Cooper on new military options against Iran.

Plans under discussion include a “short and powerful” wave of strikes on Iranian infrastructure, a possible operation to take control of parts of the Strait of Hormuz to restore shipping, and even a special forces mission to secure Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, Axios reported.

Brad Cooper had given Trump a similar briefing on 26 February, just two days before the US and Israel launched their attack on Iran.