Iran-US war latest: Trump says Iranians are ‘lousy fighters but great negotiators’ and claims Tehran is defeated

President Donald Trump has reportedly claimed that Iran gave him a “present” of eight “big boats of oil”.

He later said the ships were Pakistani-flagged and moved through the Strait of Hormuz in recent days. Ultimately, “It ended up being 10 boats” that passed through, he said, according to CBS.

The World Health Organisation is finding other routes to deliver emergency medical supplies from its Dubai hub ⁠to crises such as Lebanon via long overland journeys, an official said, but rising fuel costs could hamper shipments if the Iran war persists.

The global health body’s aid shipments from the United Arab Emirates were previously completely frozen as air, sea and land routes were restricted by the Iran conflict, which began on February 28 with US-Israeli air strikes.

Iran responded by firing drones and missiles at energy and other infrastructure across the Gulf, while militant group Hezbollah pulled Lebanon into the regional war by firing on Israel in support of its patron Iran.

Donald Trump denigrated the UK’s aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, as “toys”.

Speaking at the start of a White House cabinet meeting, the US president lashed out at Nato for doing “absolutely nothing” to help the US in the Middle East conflict.

He continued: “Now they all want to help. When they’re annihilated, the other side is annihilated, they said ‘we’d love to send ships’.

“Actually made a statement, a couple of them, that ‘we want to get involved when the war is over’. No, it’s supposed to get involved with the war’s beginning, or even before it begins.

“We had the UK say that ‘we’ll send’ – this is three weeks ago – ‘we’ll send our aircraft carriers’, which aren’t the best aircraft carriers by the way. They’re toys compared to what we have.

“But ‘we’ll send our aircraft carrier when the war is over’. I said ‘oh that’s wonderful, thank you very much. Don’t bother. We don’t need it’”.

Donald Trump urged Iran to make a deal to end US and Israeli bombing or face more strikes.

“They now have the chance, that is Iran, to permanently abandon their nuclear ambitions and to join a new path forward,” Trump said during a White House cabinet meeting.

“We’ll see if they want to do it. If they don’t, we’re their worst nightmare. In the meantime, we’ll just keep blowing them away.”

Trump spoke after a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday that Washington’s proposal for ending nearly four weeks of fighting is “one-sided and unfair” but that diplomacy continues.

Trump said Iranians were talking with the US and described them as desperate to make a deal, which Tehran has denied.

He also described Iranian officials as “great negotiators” and said he was seeking an agreement that opens the Strait of Hormuz and shuts down Tehran’s military ambitions.

Trump suggested that a deal might not ultimately come together.

“I don’t know if we’ll be able to do that,” he said of the prospects for a deal. “I don’t know if we’re willing to do that.”

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has accused Barack Obama of “flying” American money into Iran, which he claims was used to develop weapons.

He told a cabinet meeting: “Many of the Iranian military factories and bases that we are systematically destroying were paid for by the pallets of American cash that Barack Obama flew into Tehran under the Iran deal.”

He3 adds: “Iran took our money and turned it into weapons and bunkers and ammo. Now we’re destroying those weapons and we’re righting – you’re righting Mr President – that grievous wrong.”

After days of reports, the cabinet meeting has confirmed the US has a 15-point proposal to end the conflict, including demands ranging from dismantling Iran’s nuclear programme and curbing its missiles, as well as effectively handing over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

“I can report to you today that we have, along with your foreign policy team, presented a 15-point action list that forms the framework for a peace deal. This has been circulated through the Pakistani government acting as the mediator”, special envoy Steve Witkoff told the cabinet meeting.

The president told the cabinet meeting: “They are begging to work out a deal. I don’t know if we’ll be able to do that.

“I don’t know if we’re willing to do that. They should have done that four weeks ago. They should have done it two years ago.”