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Iran Guards: US Options Are ‘Impossible' Military Operation or 'Bad Deal'

An Iranian woman holds Iran's flag during a rally in Tehran, Iran, April 29, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
An Iranian woman holds Iran's flag during a rally in Tehran, Iran, April 29, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
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Iran Guards: US Options Are ‘Impossible' Military Operation or 'Bad Deal'

An Iranian woman holds Iran's flag during a rally in Tehran, Iran, April 29, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
An Iranian woman holds Iran's flag during a rally in Tehran, Iran, April 29, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday that the United States faced a choice between an "impossible" military operation or a "bad deal" with Tehran.

The Middle East war, launched by the United States and Israel in late February, has been on hold since April 8, with one failed round of peace talks having taken place in Pakistan.

Negotiations have since stalled as the US imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, while Iran has kept the key Strait of Hormuz largely closed.

The Guards intelligence organization said that US President Donald "Trump must choose between 'an impossible operation or a bad deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran'", in an online post carried by state television.

It added that the window for US decision-making "has been narrowed", citing what it described as a "shift in tone" from China, Russia and Europe towards Washington as well as what it called an Iranian "deadline" over the US naval blockade, without elaborating.

US outlet Axios, citing two sources briefed on a recent Iranian proposal to the US, reported that Tehran had set "a one-month deadline for negotiations on a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, end the US naval blockade and permanently end the war in Iran and in Lebanon".

On Sunday, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he would be reviewing Iran's latest proposal but added that he "can't imagine that it would be acceptable".

Iranian media, including the Tasnim and Fars news agencies, reported Saturday on the contents of the proposal.

According to Tasnim, Iran has said the outstanding issues between the two sides "should be resolved within 30 days" and should focus "on ending the war instead of extending the ceasefire".

The issues, Tasnim said, included "the withdrawal of US military forces from Iran's periphery, lifting the naval blockade, releasing Iran's frozen assets and lifting sanctions".

The report mentioned "ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon and agreeing a new mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz".

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World

Trump Cancels Iran Strikes, Touts Imminent Deal

US President Donald Trump gives remarks during a signing ceremony for the “Secure America Act” in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 10 June 2026. EPA/AARON SCHWARTZ / POOL
US President Donald Trump gives remarks during a signing ceremony for the “Secure America Act” in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 10 June 2026. EPA/AARON SCHWARTZ / POOL
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Trump Cancels Iran Strikes, Touts Imminent Deal

US President Donald Trump gives remarks during a signing ceremony for the “Secure America Act” in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 10 June 2026. EPA/AARON SCHWARTZ / POOL
US President Donald Trump gives remarks during a signing ceremony for the “Secure America Act” in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 10 June 2026. EPA/AARON SCHWARTZ / POOL

US President Donald Trump withdrew his threat of further strikes against Iran on Thursday and said a deal with Tehran to end the war could be signed in coming days.

Trump's announcement fueled a stock market rally and tanked oil prices, although Iran's position remained unclear, with foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei saying Tehran "had not reached a final conclusion on the agreement”, AFP reported.

Claiming that talks with Iran had been "brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved," Trump said he had "cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening."

"Time and place of the signing to be announced shortly," he promised.

He said the finer points of the arrangement had been approved by the United States and its allies in the region, including Israel, with which Washington jointly launched the war in February.

The Tasnim news agency noted that Trump had announced a deal was imminent 38 times in the previous two months.

"Until Iran announces the matter of a potential understanding, any news from Trump on this subject should be regarded the same as his previous messaging," it warned.

Later Trump doubled down, telling reporters "I understand the answer is yes," when asked if Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei had approved the deal.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the Israeli leader spoke to Trump, who vowed any memorandum of understanding would include the removal of Tehran's enriched nuclear material as well as dismantling of missile infrastructure.

The World Bank earlier in the day revised down its global growth forecast to a level not seen since the coronavirus pandemic, warning of the expanding economic impacts of the war.

- 'Approved by all parties' -

But stocks surged and oil futures dropped more than three percent after Trump's optimistic announcement.

The war -- which began February 28 with a wave of US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed supreme leader Ali Khamenei -- paused under an April truce. But efforts to hammer out a permanent end to the fighting appeared stalled.

Tehran's mayor said Thursday the former supreme leader's funeral would be delayed to the end of June or start of July.

Trump's statement suggested back-channel mediation led by US allies like Pakistan and Qatar may have borne fruit -- despite previously saying he would hit Iran "VERY HARD TONIGHT."

"Discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved, including the United States, Israel" and Gulf states, he posted.

Just a day earlier, he had declared that not only would US forces step up airstrikes, they would also seize control of Iran's oil export facility on Kharg Island in the Gulf.

Even as Trump's intervention raised hopes of a resolution, Kuwait reported Iran targeted its territory and damaged an airport radar forcing an airspace closure.

- 'Flames of war' -

With US threats escalating, Iranian General Ali Abdollahi warned earlier in the day that if the United States attacked, "it will receive a harsher response than before, and the flames of war, in addition to creating insecurity in the region, will become more widespread and far-reaching."

Civilians facing renewed strikes in Tehran were pessimistic. Majid, a 35-year-old pharmacist, said the economic knock-on effects of the fighting were crippling normal life.

"I am absolutely not optimistic about the agreement being finalized, because the gap between the two countries is too wide," he said, blaming the lack of progress on Israel -- which also traded fire with Iran in recent days -- as well as hardliners at home.

Iran has renewed its warnings over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil and gas transport that it has essentially closed since early in the war, roiling global energy markets. Iran's new body overseeing the strait said it "will be closed until further notice".

World

US Sanctions Cuban State Oil Company

An old car drives past debris from a demolished house occupying part of the seaside promenade in the Centro Habana neighborhood, in Havana on June 9, 2026. (Photo by Pablo PORCIUNCULA / AFP)
An old car drives past debris from a demolished house occupying part of the seaside promenade in the Centro Habana neighborhood, in Havana on June 9, 2026. (Photo by Pablo PORCIUNCULA / AFP)
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US Sanctions Cuban State Oil Company

An old car drives past debris from a demolished house occupying part of the seaside promenade in the Centro Habana neighborhood, in Havana on June 9, 2026. (Photo by Pablo PORCIUNCULA / AFP)
An old car drives past debris from a demolished house occupying part of the seaside promenade in the Centro Habana neighborhood, in Havana on June 9, 2026. (Photo by Pablo PORCIUNCULA / AFP)

The United States issued sanctions against Cuban state oil company Unión Cuba-Petróleo (CUPET), the Treasury Department website showed on Thursday.

The action freezes any US assets of the ⁠company and generally bars ⁠Americans from dealing with it.

"Today, I am designating Cuba's state-owned oil and gas company Union Cuba-Petroleo (CUPET), key assets of which were unlawfully expropriated from American owners years ago," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

Washington has imposed sanctions on an array of ⁠Cuban entities and people, including the island nation's president, as it seeks to intensify pressure on Cuba's communist leaders.

The sanctions follow the United States' declaration of a national emergency this ⁠year ⁠that would impose tariffs on any country that supplies oil to the island, a move that has resulted in frequent power outages.

World

Hazardous Materials Incident Prompts Pentagon Lockdown

FILE PHOTO: The Pentagon is seen from the air in Washington, US, March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Pentagon is seen from the air in Washington, US, March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
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Hazardous Materials Incident Prompts Pentagon Lockdown

FILE PHOTO: The Pentagon is seen from the air in Washington, US, March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Pentagon is seen from the air in Washington, US, March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

A hazardous materials incident put the Pentagon on lockdown on Thursday as fire officials investigated the air quality issue, defense and fire officials said.

"The Pentagon has sophisticated systems to ensure the safety of the building and its occupants. Those systems have detected an air quality issue ⁠necessitating precautionary measures ⁠until we determine its significance," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in an email.

"The Department is executing standard protection protocols, including a shelter-in-place order for the affected area. Response teams are ⁠in place and ready to support building occupants."

The building was under lockdown, with people evacuated from several floors, CNN reported, citing unidentified sources. Floors two through five in corridors four through seven have been locked down, CNN said, citing two sources.

Another source reported seeing emergency responders were wearing full gas ⁠masks ⁠and chemical protection suits, CNN said.

A message sent by the Pentagon’s security team said additional testing was needed to determine the source of the problem, according to CNN.

The five-sided Pentagon building, hit during the Sept. 11, 2001 al Qaeda attacks is one of the world's largest office buildings.