Trump enters Situation Room to make 'final determination' on Iran

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U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on Friday released an image of a U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon flying patrol over the Middle East, showing that American forces remain “present and vigilant” across the region amid heightened tensions with Iran.

“A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon flies over the Middle East during a patrol,” CENTCOM wrote on X. “U.S. forces remain present and vigilant across the region.”

The post comes hours after President Donald Trump held a roughly two-hour Situation Room meeting on Iran.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said in remarks the U.S. military is prepared to resume strikes against Iran if negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program collapse.

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, Hegseth said he spoke with President Donald Trump Friday morning and stressed the administration is prepared to walk away from negotiations if Iran refuses to accept restrictions on its nuclear ambitions.

“Any deal will be a good one. A great one,” Hegseth said Trump told him. “And if Iran doesn’t want to make a great deal that ensures they don’t get a nuclear weapon, they can deal with the guy on my left,” he added, referring to the War Department.

“We are more than capable,” Hegseth said of potential renewed military action. “Our stockpiles are more than suited for that both there and around the globe.”

The remarks came hours after Trump met in the Situation Room to weigh next steps in negotiations with Iran.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins warned Friday that disruptions tied to the Iran conflict and the Strait of Hormuz are driving up fertilizer prices while exposing long-term vulnerabilities in America’s agricultural supply chain.

“Farm security is national security,” Rollins said during remarks at the Ronald Reagan National Economic Forum in California. “If we can’t feed ourselves and fuel ourselves, we will no longer understand what freedom looks like or taste like.”

Rollins, speaking with FOX Business anchor Maria Bartiromo, said U.S. farmers are now seeing fertilizer prices rise another 30% to 40% because of instability linked to Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, on top of major increases during the Biden administration.

“As of today, 50% of the fertilizer that we use in our country, we have to get from China or Russia or other countries,” she said, blaming decades of offshoring American production capacity.

Rollins said the administration is working to reverse that trend, announcing that “the largest ammonia plant in the world” will break ground within 30 days after permitting timelines were accelerated.

She also predicted that fuel and fertilizer prices would quickly decline once tensions with Iran ease.

“Fertilizer will come down immediately. Fuel is going to come down immediately,” Rollins said.

Iran is still preparing a large public ceremony for slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei nearly three months after he was killed in a Feb. 28 airstrike, though officials say no date has been finalized yet, according to reporting from Iran International.

Mohsen Mahmoudi, head of Tehran’s Islamic Propagation Coordination Council, said authorities are planning a “magnificent” memorial event expected to draw “tens of millions” of people, according to Iran International.

Khamenei was killed in an airstrike that sparked a 38-day war involving Iran, the United States and Israel.

President Donald Trump’s Situation Room meeting on Iran concluded Friday after approximately two hours, according to a White House official.

“The Situation Room meeting has concluded and lasted approximately two hours,” the official told Fox News. “President Trump will only make a deal that is good for America and satisfies his redlines. Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon.”

Trump earlier said he was heading to the Situation Room to make a “final determination” on next steps involving Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.

The White House declared a photo and travel lid at approximately 6:14 p.m. ET.

Fox News' Patrick Ward contributed to this reporting.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) shared new images Friday of American sailors conducting nighttime flight operations aboard the USS George H.W. Bush as tensions with Iran remain high across the Middle East.

“At night, highly skilled pilots are able to land on a small deck that is both pitching and rolling in near-total darkness,” CENTCOM wrote on X alongside photos of fighter jets and helicopters operating from the carrier deck.

The post comes as the Trump administration weighs a possible framework agreement with Iran while maintaining a heavy U.S. military presence in the region, including naval assets near the Strait of Hormuz.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., accused House Republicans on Friday of preventing a vote aimed at limiting President Donald Trump’s military actions against Iran.

“Last week, House Republicans pulled down the vote needed to stop Trump’s war with Iran because they knew it was going to pass and upset Trump,” Omar wrote on X.

“Congress has failed to assert its authority for 12 straight weeks. End the war now,” she added.

Omar’s comments come as the Trump administration weighs a potential agreement with Iran tied to the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran’s nuclear program following months of military escalation in the region.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday the U.S. has seized roughly $1 billion in Iranian cryptocurrency assets as part of the Trump administration’s broader economic pressure campaign against Tehran.

Speaking with FOX Business host Larry Kudlow at the Reagan National Economic Forum, Bessent said the administration has also worked with European allies to target Iranian-linked luxury properties and financial assets overseas.

“I believe that we have seized about a billion dollars of their crypto,” Bessent said. “Just outright seized it. Just outright grabbed the wallets.”

Bessent added that some Iranian-linked actors may not yet realize the assets were taken.

“We are working with our allies all over Europe to grab villas and houses and properties,” he said. “This is money that’s stolen from the Iranian people.”

The comments come as the Trump administration weighs whether to approve a broader framework agreement with Iran tied to reopening the Strait of Hormuz and dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities.

Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy said Friday that President Donald Trump’s latest Truth Social post suggests U.S.-Iran talks may have advanced beyond a temporary ceasefire framework into detailed negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear material.

Speaking on “The Faulkner Focus,” Doocy pointed to new specifics in Trump’s post about the United States, Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency potentially coordinating the removal and destruction of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile.

“Those are specifics that we did not have before,” Doocy said. “That makes it sound like that part has been negotiated.”

Trump wrote Friday that the enriched nuclear material buried beneath damaged Iranian facilities would be “unearthed” and destroyed “in close coordination and conjunction with the Islamic Republic of Iran” and the IAEA.

Doocy said the language marked a significant shift from earlier discussions centered largely on extending a 60-day ceasefire while broader negotiations continued.

President Donald Trump on Friday re-Truthed a lengthy message from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich arguing the president is “on the edge of an historic victory” in the Iran conflict through coalition-building and sustained pressure on Tehran.

Gingrich wrote that Trump should be viewed “not from the standpoint of American unilateralism but from the standpoint of the leader of a remarkable historic coalition, the largest coalition ever put together in the modern Middle East.”

The former speaker pointed to support from Israel as well as Gulf nations including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain, arguing Iran has “not a single ally willing to challenge the American naval blockade.”

Gingrich acknowledged frustration over the pace of negotiations with Tehran but said coalition warfare “ultimately bring[s] vastly more power to the fight” than unilateral military action.

“And if the Iranian dictatorship ultimately proves it is hopelessly committed to a suicidal position,” Gingrich wrote, “there will be plenty of time for a kinetic campaign of enormous power and effectiveness.”

Even as U.S. and Iranian negotiators reportedly move toward a temporary framework agreement, one of the most consequential questions remains unresolved: What happens to Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile?

Iranian officials have repeatedly insisted retaining enriched uranium is a red line in negotiations, even as President Donald Trump has vowed Iran "will not have a nuclear weapon" and suggested the United States could ultimately "take" the material if necessary.

Nonproliferation experts say the issue sits at the center of whether any future agreement can credibly prevent Iran from rapidly moving toward weapons-grade enrichment — particularly after U.S. strikes damaged key nuclear facilities but did not necessarily eliminate the nuclear material itself.

"I think it would put a poison pill in any agreement because retaining any of these 60% stockpile or really any of the lower enriched material," Andrea Stricker, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital. "That would give them the ability to go higher to weapons grade at a time of their choosing."

The issue has taken on renewed urgency following 2026's Operation Epic Fury against Iran and 2025 U.S. strikes on key Iranian nuclear facilities, including Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization warned Friday that the “maritime security threat level in the Strait of Hormuz remains CRITICAL due to ongoing military conflict.” 

An advisory issued by the agency said mariners “should expect increased naval presence” and “enhanced force protection postures.” 

The warning comes after President Donald Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social: “Ships caught in the Strait due to our amazing and unprecedented Naval Blockade, which will now be lifted, may start the process of ‘heading home!’ Say HELLO to your wives, husbands, parents, and families from me, your favorite President!” 

The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is a key issue that negotiators from the U.S. and Iran are trying to work through as they attempt to reach a deal.   

President Donald Trump said Friday that he’s heading to the Situation Room to make a “final determination” on the next steps with Iran. 

“Iran must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb. The Hormuz Strait must be immediately open, no tolls, for unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions. All water mines (bombs), if any, will be terminated (we have removed, through detonation, numerous such mines with our great underwater mine sweepers. Iran will complete the immediate removal and/or detonation of any mines that are left, which will not be many!),” Trump began in a post on Truth Social. 

“Ships caught in the Strait due to our amazing and unprecedented Naval Blockade, which will now be lifted, may start the process of ‘heading home!’ Say HELLO to your wives, husbands, parents, and families from me, your favorite President!” Trump added. 

“The enriched material, sometimes referred to as ‘Nuclear Dust,’ which is buried deep underground with virtually collapsed mountains, caused by our powerful B2 Bomber attack 11 months ago, sitting on top of it, will be unearthed by the United States (which, it is agreed, is the only Country, along with China, with the mechanical capability of doing so!), in close coordination and conjunction with the Islamic Republic of Iran, plus the International Atomic Energy Agency, and DESTROYED,” the president also said. “No money will be exchanged, until further notice. Other items, of far less importance, have been agreed to. I will be meeting now, in the Situation Room, to make a final determination.” 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is meeting Friday with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Washington, D.C.

Pakistan has served as a key mediator in talks between the U.S. and Iran. The two sides are trying to reach a deal to end the ongoing war in the Middle East.

Rubio said last week that "the primary interlocutor on this has been Pakistan, and it continues to be. 

"And they’ve done, I think, an admirable job, and that’s who we continue to work through. Obviously, other countries have interests because -- especially Gulf countries that are in the middle of all this may have their own situation going, and we talk to all of them.  But I would just say that the primary country we’ve been working with on all of this is Pakistan, and that remains the case," he added.

U.S. Central Command said Friday that 115 commercial vessels have now been redirected during the U.S. military’s blockade of Iranian ports. 

“U.S. forces continue to enforce the blockade against Iran. As of May 29, 115 commercial vessels have been redirected to ensure no commerce enters or leaves Iranian ports,” CENTCOM wrote on X. 

The blockade went into effect on April 13. 

The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the free flow of maritime traffic in the Persian Gulf remains a key issue in the U.S.-Iran negotiations. 

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Friday that “No action will be taken before the other side acts” as the U.S. and Iran are trying to reach a deal to end the conflict. 

“We seize concessions not through dialogue, but with missiles; in negotiations, we merely make them understand,” Ghalibaf wrote in a message on X. 

“We have no trust in guarantees or words — only actions are the measure. No action will be taken before the other side acts,” he continued. “The winner of any agreement is the one who is better prepared for war from the day after.” 

The United Kingdom’s Metropolitan Police announced Friday that a man has been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service linked to Iran in a case surrounding the targeting of a UK-based journalist. 

The agency said Ioannis Aidinidis, 46, a Greek national residing in Munich, Germany, was charged on Friday with assisting a foreign intelligence service under the UK’s National Security Act.  

“The country to which the allegations relate is believed to be Iran and the allegations relate to the targeting of a UK-based journalist working for Iran International,” Metropolitan Police said, noting that Aidinidis is set to make a court appearance later Friday. 

Police said Aidinidis was taken into custody southwest of London, in West Sussex, on May 16. Iran International, which is headquartered in the U.K., is described by Reuters as being critical of the regime in Tehran. 

“We know this may cause concern for many people here in the U.K., and particularly those working in Persian-language media,” Helen Flanagan, the commander of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said in a statement. “We continue to work closely with a number of organizations and individuals to provide them with advice and support around their safety and security and this includes the specific individual and organization linked to this investigation.” 

U.S. Central Command released a photo Friday showing a U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter lifting off from an airfield in the Middle East for a scheduled flight. 

"The Chinook is both the U.S. Army's fastest and heaviest lift helicopter,” CENTCOM said. 

⁠The photo release comes after Iranian ⁠Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei had claimed in a Telegram message on Tuesday that the United States will “no longer have a safe haven” in the Middle East.  

“What is certain in this regard is that the hands of time will not turn back, and the nations and lands of the region will no longer serve as shields for U.S. bases,” he wrote in a 2026 Hajj pilgrimage message.  

“The United States not only will no longer have a safe haven for its mischief and for establishing military bases in the region but day by day, it is growing more distant from its former status,” Khamenei added. 

IDF Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen Eyal Zamir said Friday that 2,500 Hezbollah terrorists have been eliminated since the start of Operation Roaring Lion against Iran on Feb. 28. 

"The cumulative and multi-systemic impact on Hezbollah is severe and unprecedented, with more than 7,500 terrorists eliminated since the start of the war, 2,500 of them just since the beginning of Operation Roaring Lion. We will continue to strike the enemy wherever we can and deepen our achievements,” Zamir said in a statement released by the IDF.  

"Our goal is clear — to deepen the impact on Hezbollah, to push back the threats, and to strengthen the defense of the northern settlements,” Zamir added regarding the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group. “This is the central objective guiding us in every action and every decision. Even at this moment, our forces are advancing and operating with force in the air and on the ground.” 

Shortly before the statement was released, the IDF said the Israeli Air Force “intercepted an unmanned aircraft that was identified in the airspace where IDF forces are operating in southern Lebanon.” 

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told U.S. troops onboard the USS Boxer in Singapore on Friday that “I know that you're ready, and that gives me confidence” when it comes to future potential military action against Iran. 

“So right now, hey, Iran has a choice to meet at the table with the president to give up their nuclear program. And as the president said... in the Cabinet meeting... well, Iran can either do it the right way, with a deal, across the table, or they can deal with my guy on the left. It happened to be me, but it's not me, it's you guys,” Hegseth said after joining the U.S. military personel for drills. 

“It's what you're ready to do, it’s what the world knows you are prepared to do,” Hegseth added. “When I talked to the commanders, when I talked all you this morning, I know that you're ready, and that gives me confidence. That gives the president confidence. And it should give the American people confidence.” 

President Donald Trump, speaking during the Cabinet meeting this week, said Iran "very much" wants to reach an agreement. 

"So far they haven't gotten there. We're not satisfied with it, but we will be, we will be. Either that or we'll have to just finish the job," the president warned.  

"But their navy has gone, as I've said a thousand times, their navy is gone. Their air force is gone. Everything's gone and they're negotiating on fumes. But we'll see what happens. Maybe we have to go back and finish it. Maybe we don't," he continued. 

U.S. and Iranian negotiators reached a memorandum of understanding at extending the ceasefire for 60 days and launching Iranian nuclear negotiations, but the plan needs Trump's final approval, U.S. sources told Fox News. 

President Donald Trump said any agreement with Iran would depend on securing a “good deal” for the United States as negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program intensify alongside continued military tensions in the Persian Gulf.

“A deal that wasn’t going to be good for us is the line,” Trump told Fox News host Lara Trump in an interview set to air this weekend. “I negotiate. They negotiate. They’re very good negotiators.”

The comments come as U.S. and Iranian negotiators reportedly reached a tentative 60-day memorandum of understanding extending the current ceasefire and launching broader nuclear talks, though the agreement still requires Trump’s final approval.

An All-Star Panel on Fox News' 'Special Report' said the administration appears to be balancing pressure for a diplomatic breakthrough with ongoing military readiness as clashes between U.S. and Iranian forces continue near the Strait of Hormuz.

“We do not have unlimited patience,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday, warning that if Trump determines a peace agreement is no longer possible, “kinetic is back on the table.”

The discussion comes after Iranian forces launched a missile toward Kuwait this week and Iranian state media falsely claimed Tehran had shot down a U.S. aircraft, a report later denied by U.S. officials and CENTCOM.

Panelists also debated whether a temporary ceasefire deal would sufficiently prevent Iran from rebuilding its nuclear capabilities, with concerns remaining over Tehran’s enriched uranium stockpiles and the role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IGRC).

Be sure to watch the entire interview on "My View with Lara Trump" at 9 p.m. ET Saturday on Fox News Channel.

Two U.S. officials told Fox News on Thursday that no American assets were shot down by Iran, pushing back on Iranian state media reports claiming a U.S. aircraft had been downed.

“Not true,” one U.S. official told Fox News when asked about the report.

The denial comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran following recent drone interceptions near the Strait of Hormuz and ongoing negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.

Yesterday's Fox News Digital live blog offers additional coverage of the Iran conflict.

Fox News' Liz Friden contributed to this report.