Iran-US war latest: Trump administration reportedly preparing for fresh round of military strikes

Donald Trump’s administration is preparing for a fresh round of military strikes against Iran, according to a new report.

Military and intelligence officials have cancelled their Memorial Day weekend plans in case of possible strikes, sources told CBS News.

“The President always maintains all options at all times, and it is the job of the Pentagon to be ready to execute any decision the Commander-in-Chief could make,” a White House spokesperson told the outlet.

No final decision to launch the strikes had been made as of Friday afternoon, local time.

If the US were to launch fresh strikes, it would threaten the fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran. Peace talks seem to be getting nowhere as the war drags on for nearly three months.

Also, on Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Nato allies need to prepare a “Plan B” to open the Strait of Hormuz.

“What if Iran decides we refuse to open the straits, we’re going to own the straits, and we’re going to charge tolls for it?” he said at a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Sweden. “At that point, something has to be done about it.”

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• Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon kill 10, including paramedics and a child, officials say

Six Lebanese medics killed in Israeli strikes in 24 hours as death toll tops 3,100

Six Lebanese paramedics have been killed in two Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon within 24 hours, Lebanon's health ministry said on Friday, condemning the attacks as violations of international law.

Four paramedics from the Islamic Health Association were killed in an overnight strike on the town of Hanaway. On Friday morning, two medics from the Al-Rissala Scouts Association were killed in Deir Qanoun En-Nahr. The health ministry distributed a video, which showed two men in yellow vests tending to someone on the roadside when an ambulance approached, and a flash and loud boom was then seen before the men fell to the ground. Reuters confirmed the video's location by matching the buildings, trees, and road layout to archive imagery of the area. Six people in total were killed in Deir Qanoun En-Nahr, including a Syrian child.

The Israeli military said it had struck Hezbollah infrastructure and militants in both locations, and was examining claims that "uninvolved individuals in the area, who were not the targets of the strikes, were harmed".

More than 3,100 people have been killed in Lebanon since Hezbollah entered the war on 2 March. The dead include 123 medics, more than 210 children and nearly 300 women. On Thursday, an Israeli strike near Tebnine Hospital in southern Lebanon damaged all three floors of the building, including the emergency room, intensive care unit and surgical ward.

Trump 'has other options' if diplomacy doesn't work, says Rubio, admitting there's still work to be done

The United States has seen some progress in talks with Iran and is in constant communication with the Pakistani mediators, but there is more work to be done, Marco Rubio said today.

“There's been some progress. I wouldn't exaggerate it. I wouldn't diminish it,” Rubio told reporters after a NATO ministers meeting in Sweden.

“There's more work to be done,” he admitted. “We're not there yet. I hope we get there.”

Rubio said Trump would prefer to make a good deal, but will need to discuss concerns about Iran’s possible access to nuclear weapons, the issue of future uranium enrichment, and the Strait of Hormuz.

“We're dealing with a very difficult group of people, and if it doesn't change, then the president's been clear he has other options,” Rubio said.

UN conference to review nuclear proliferation treaty ends without deal

A four-week United Nations conference reviewing the treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons ended yesterday without agreement as the US and Iran sparred over Iran's nuclear program.

Vietnam's UN Ambassador Do Hung Viet, who chaired the conference, announced that there was no consensus among the 191 parties to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty on even a watered-down final document.

He told a news conference later that "no one blocked consensus". But he said "a very important reason" for the failure to reach an outcome was a provision in the final draft that said Iran "can never seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons".

It was the third failure in a row at a conference reviewing the NPT, considered the cornerstone of global nonproliferation and disarmament. At the last treaty review in August 2022, Russia blocked agreement on a final document over its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and references to Moscow's occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed regret at the failure when the "elevated risk posed by nuclear weapons demands urgent action", spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. He appealed to all countries "to make full use of all available avenues of dialogue, diplomacy, and negotiation to reduce tensions, lower nuclear risks, and ultimately eliminate the nuclear threat".

The US and Iran have clashed since the opening of the review conference on 27 April. The US has accused Iran of showing "contempt" for its commitments under the treaty, while Iran has said US and Israeli attacks on its nuclear facilities violated international law.

Iran is a party to the NPT, which requires countries to open all nuclear sites to inspection by the UN nuclear watchdog agency. But Iran has not given inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency access to nuclear sites that were bombed by the US last June.

Trump preparing for fresh round of military strikes against Iran: report

Donald Trump’s administration is preparing for a fresh round of military strikes against Iran, according to a new report.

Military and intelligence officials have canceled their Memorial Day weekend plans in case of possible strikes, sources told CBS News.

"The President always maintains all options at all times, and it is the job of the Pentagon to be ready to execute any decision the Commander-in-Chief could make," a White House spokesperson told the outlet.

No final decision to launch the strikes had been made as of Friday afternoon, local time.

Trump snubs son's wedding as he maintains focus on government business - including Iran war

US President Donald Trump does not plan to attend the wedding celebration of his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, because he has to stay in Washington for government business, he has revealed.

Trump Jr celebrating his marriage to Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson on a small island in the Bahamas, CNN reported.

Trump told reporters Donald Trump Jr. wanted his father to attend, but that it was going to be a "small private affair."

Trump said then he would try to make the wedding but the timing was bad for him.

"I have a thing called Iran and other things," Trump said.

"While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., and the newest member of the Trump Family, his soon to be wife, Bettina, circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

"I feel it is important for me to remain in Washington, D.C., at the White House during this important period of time," the post continued.

Trump snubs son's wedding as he maintains focus on government business - including Iran war

What we know on the 85th day of the US-Israel war on Iran

• Donald Trump’s administration is preparing for a fresh round of military strikes against Iran, according to a new report. Military and intelligence officials have canceled their Memorial Day weekend plans in case of possible strikes, sources told CBS News.
• Peace talks between US and Iran remain fraught with Pakistani media describing the differences as “deep and significant”.
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that indirect negotiations over a potential deal to end the war with Iran had seen "a little bit of movement, and that's good."
• Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, arrived in Tehran on Friday. Qatar has also sent a team of mediators to Tehran as efforts intensified to mediate a peace agreement.

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