Tehran declares readiness for ‘every scenario,’ tightens grip as Trump delays military action

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said bond yields and energy prices are “transient” and will ease as the Iran conflict winds down, Reuters reported Wednesday.

In a post on X, Bessent also urged allies to maintain pressure on Tehran.

“I enjoyed meeting with His Excellency Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari @MoF_Qatar in Paris,” Bessent wrote. “We discussed Doha’s tremendous resilience in the face of Iran’s indiscriminate attacks on its neighbors and the need for allies to continue to pressure Iran now to end its threats.”

On May 19, Bessent had called on world leaders to help the U.S. combat Iranian terrorism by “rooting out the financing that sustains it,” while outlining a new framework for “aggressive and targeted” sanctions.

“Crushing the threat of terrorism compels all of you to step up and join us,” Bessent said at the “No Money for Terror” conference in Paris.

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Wednesday that a U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer conducted an aerial refueling exercise over Middle East waters during a regional training mission.

“A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker during a training flight over regional waters in the Middle East,” the command said in a post shared on X.

The White House on Wednesday posted a graphic on X declaring “Enemies of America Neutralized” alongside the message “Justice will be served” and an image of President Donald Trump.

The graphic showed figures targeted by the United States, including Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, labeled as arrested; Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, labeled as killed; Abu Bilal al-Minuki, labeled as killed; and former Cuban leader Raúl Castro, labeled as indicted.

FIFA looks set to ban the “Lion and Sun” flag — Iran’s historic pre-1979 national flag — from World Cup stadiums across the United States after the Islamic Republic’s football federation reportedly submitted demands tied to the Iranian team’s participation.

Among them was a directive from federation chief Mehdi Taj that “no flag other than the Islamic Republic’s flag” be allowed inside stadiums where Iran plays.

FIFA responded by citing its stadium code prohibiting “political or discriminatory materials” — a rule critics say is now being selectively applied in a way that effectively grants Tehran’s request.

“Let me translate. The world’s most prominent sporting body is preparing to enforce, on American soil, the censorship preferences of one of the world’s worst regimes,” journalist Lisa Daftari wrote in the California Post.

Daftari argued that for many Iranians, the Lion and Sun flag represents far more than a historical emblem or nostalgia for the prerevolutionary era.

“They look to it as everything that stands against the regime that replaced it,” she wrote.

The Lion and Sun, Daftari added, symbolizes “freedom. Hope. A future. A celebrated past.”

The current flag represents the very opposite of every one of those things, she added.

“To tell us we cannot wave our own flag, in our own country, at a tournament America is hosting, is to betray us again,” Daftari said.

The State Department’s watchdog is reportedly investigating the now-defunct Gaza Humanitarian Foundation over its handling of millions of dollars in emergency aid, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.

Citing three people familiar with the probe, the outlet said the State Department’s Office of Inspector General is examining a $30 million grant awarded last June to the U.S.- and Israeli-backed organization, which was tasked with distributing aid in Gaza.

According to the report, investigators are reviewing how the money was spent, including where the funding originated and how it was distributed.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Wednesday the U.S. was “locked and loaded” in a post shared on X, reiterating comments earlier from Vice President JD Vance.

The post featured Vance telling reporters at the White House that the United States will not accept any deal allowing Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, adding that President Donald Trump is “locked and loaded” and ready to act if necessary.

“We don’t want to go down that pathway,” Vance said in the video, before adding that the president was willing to go down that pathway “if we have to.” 

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a tense call May 19 over ending the war with Iran, with Trump defending the diplomatic process, according to reports.

Axios, citing three sources, reported that one source said Netanyahu’s “hair was on fire” during the converstation.

The call came after Qatar and Pakistan, along with regional mediators, drafted a revised peace proposal aimed at bridging the divide between the U.S. and Iran.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Netanyahu shared his doubts that Iran would stick to an agreement to dismantle its nuclear program and refrain from attacking its Gulf neighbors.

Axios also reported that the Israeli prime minister wants to resume the war to further degrade Iran’s military capabilities and weaken the regime.

Trump has continued to express confidence that a deal can be reached while also warning that he is prepared to resume military action if Iran does not show more flexibility in negotiations.

Hardline Iranian influencer Ali Gholhaki claimed Wednesday that Washington had floated a new proposal to Tehran that would release roughly $25 billion in frozen Iranian assets and permit uranium transfers abroad as part of a broader nuclear and sanctions framework.

The proposal, according to Gholhaki, also included limits on uranium enrichment at 3.67%.

"The Americans, after receiving Iran's feedback, have proposed that the 'end of the war across all fronts,' 'lifting of the U.S. blockade on the Strait of Hormuz,' 'opening of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran with tariffs and the maritime route preferred by Iran,' 'release of 25% of Iran's frozen assets, approximately $25 billion,' 'exemption for Iran's oil sales for 30 days,' and the main phase of negotiations — namely, 'removal of 400 kg of uranium from Iran in the best case, shipment to a third country' and 'acceptance of Iran's right to 3.67% enrichment (unlikely to be accepted by the U.S. in the final phase)' and 'closure of nuclear facilities excluding the Tehran reactor, solely for medical purposes' — be signed all at once by Iran!" Gholhaki said in a post shared on X.

"Iran says all phases proposed by the U.S. should be implemented for verification over 30 days so that Iran can both sell its oil and be persuaded to engage in nuclear negotiations!" Gholhaki added. 

Maj. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned Wednesday that any new attack on Iran would trigger a devastating response.

“If any further aggression is committed against the soil of Iran, that fire whose promise was previously given and remained confined within the framework of a limited regional war, this time will erupt into flames and transcend every border and domain; you will receive devastating blows that will leave you in abject defeat and consign your ignominy to the annals of history,” Vahidi wrote in a post shared on X.

In March, Iranian state media reported that the regime appointed Vahidi — a former defense and interior minister — as the new commander of the IRGC.

Vahidi is under U.S. sanctions for his role in Iran’s suppression of protests, including the use of lethal force by security services during the nationwide demonstrations in 2022.

Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) announced a controlled management zone covering the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, asserting regulatory oversight over the key waterway.

In a statement posted on X, the authority said:

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has defined the boundaries of the Strait of Hormuz management supervision area as follows: ‘The line connecting Kuh Mobarak in Iran and the south of Fujairah in the UAE in the east of the strait to the line connecting the end of Qeshm Island in Iran and Umm al-Qaiwain in the UAE in the west of the strait.’”

The announcement comes amid reports that Tehran was moving to formalize state-administered transit tolls under the PGSA framework.

According to maritime intelligence firm Windward AI, Iran has explored imposing fees of up to $2 million for vessels.

Windward AI further reported that the proposed payments would be settled in Chinese yuan and through bitcoin transfers directed to wallets allegedly linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee condemned National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Wednesday after he shared a video celebrating Gaza flotilla activists being bound and forced to kneel on the ground.

“Universal outrage and condemnation from every high-ranking Israeli official, from @IsraeliPM, @IsraelMFA, @gidonsaar, @IsraelPresident, @yechielleiter and @IsraelinUSA, for despicable actions by Ben Gvir,” Huckabee said in a post shared on X.

“Flotilla was a stupid stunt, but Ben Gvir betrayed the dignity of his nation,” he added.

Footage shows activists in what appears to be a holding area at Israel’s Ashdod port, as well as aboard a ship’s deck.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he never tires of the back-and-forth between Tehran and Washington over ending the war in Iran.

“I never get tired,” Trump told Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich.

“But what I like to do is — if I can save a war by waiting a couple of days, so I can save people from being killed by waiting a couple of days — I think it’s a great thing to do,” the president added.

His remarks came as Trump said the U.S. would give Iran a chance at diplomacy but warned of further attacks if Tehran does not agree to a deal.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian discussed Iran-U.S. negotiations and regional stability with Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported Wednesday.

According to Iran International, both sides exchanged views on the “latest status of indirect Iran-U.S. negotiations” and diplomatic efforts aimed at following up on existing agreements.

Pezeshkian also emphasized the need for “continued dialogue, stronger regional cooperation and coordination among Islamic countries,” IRNA reported.

Separately, Reuters reported exchanges between Iran and the United States were continuing based on Tehran’s 14-point proposal.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Pakistan’s interior minister was in Tehran to help facilitate the process. 

Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said Wednesday that Tehran was prepared for any scenario and that the U.S. was not ready.

“Iran’s experience is indicative of America’s inherent and perpetual bad faith; therefore, we are prepared for every scenario,” he said in a post shared on X.

“Even now, despite the severe media blackout, the American people know how much cost and damage their government has imposed on them,” Azizi added.

“The world has felt Iran’s astonishing power, though many more surprises remain,” he said.

In another post, Azizi said Iran showed “amazing power” in the conflict.

“The era of trusting U.S. diplomacy is over, and now we are ready for every scenario,” he said.

“While mainstream media tries to hide the reality, the American public is feeling the crushing cost of their government’s failed war against Iran,” he said.

“They’ve felt our amazing power. They’re not ready for what’s coming,” Azizi warned.

Iran is aiming to secure a mechanism with Oman to ensure long-term security in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told state TV on Wednesday, according to reports.

Baghaei also said that Tehran was ready to develop protocols for safe shipping traffic in cooperation with other coastal states, without providing further details, Reuters reported.

His remarks came as the U.S. military continued its blockade of Iranian ports.

U.S. Central Command said Wednesday that U.S. Marines intercepted an Iranian-flagged oil tanker that attempted to bypass the military’s blockade of Iranian ports. 

“Earlier today in the Gulf of Oman, U.S. Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit boarded M/T Celestial Sea, an Iranian-flagged commercial oil tanker suspected of attempting to violate the U.S. blockade by transiting toward an Iranian port,” CENTCOM wrote on X. 

“American forces released the vessel after searching and directing the ship’s crew to alter course,” it added. “U.S. forces continue to fully enforce the blockade and have now redirected 91 commercial ships to ensure compliance.” 

CENTCOM released a video showing the Marines boarding the ship by helicopter.

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf claimed Wednesday that the U.S. is looking to “start a new war,” a report said. 

“The enemy’s movements, both overt and clandestine, show that despite economic and political pressure, it has not abandoned its military objectives and is seeking to start a new war,” Ghalibaf said in a statement shared by Iranian media, according to The Times of Israel. 

“Close monitoring of the situation in the United States reinforces the possibility that they still hope for the surrender of the Iranian nation,” he reportedly added. 

President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States was holding off on a planned attack on Iran that had been scheduled for Tuesday, citing what he described as “serious negotiations” involving key Middle Eastern allies. 

Fox News Digital’s Emma Bussey contributed to this post. 

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. is “not going to let Iran have a nuclear weapon and blow up the entire Middle East” and Israel. 

“People don't want them to have a nuclear weapon, and they will not have a nuclear weapon. And they want to make a deal so badly. We'll see what happens,” Trump said at the 2026 U.S. Coast Guard Academy commencement ceremony in New London, Conn. 

"We hit them very hard, but we may have to hit them even harder. But maybe not. But we're not going to let Iran have a nuclear weapon and blow up the entire Middle East, Israel, the entire Middle East and then come here for you. Not going to happen,” Trump said. 

Iran’s IRNA News Agency claimed Wednesday that more than two dozen ships have passed through the Strait of Hormuz over the last 24 hours. 

“In the past 24 hours, the Public Relations Department of the IRGC Navy reported that 26 vessels — comprising oil tankers, container ships, and other commercial ships — transited through the Strait of Hormuz with the coordination and protection of the IRGC Navy,” a report said, referencing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. 

“Transit through the Strait of Hormuz is conducted only after receiving permission and in coordination with the IRGC Navy,” it added. 

In late April, President Donald Trump said “We have total control over the Strait of Hormuz” and “No ship can enter or leave without the approval of the United States Navy.” 

A White House official told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that Iran is in a state of collapse due to the U.S. military’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports.

The official added that American forces are supporting freedom of navigation for ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.

President Donald Trump asked Wednesday if the U.S. should go “finish it up” with Iran or if the regime in Tehran will sign an acceptable deal to end the war.

Trump, speaking at the 2026 U.S. Coast Guard Academy commencement ceremony in New London, Conn., said “Right now we're the hottest country anywhere in the world.” 

“We're respected all over the world. You saw that with China just recently. You saw that in Venezuela. You saw that right now in Iran. Everything's gone,” Trump added. “Their navy is gone. Their air force is gone. Just about everything. The only question is, do we go and finish it up or are they going to be signing a document? Let's see what happens.” 

U.S. Central Command announced Wednesday that 90 ships have now been redirected as part of the military’s blockade of Iranian ports. 

It released an image showing a Marine Corps AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter “patrolling near a commercial vessel transiting regional waters as American forces enforce the maritime blockade against Iran.” 

The blockade has been ongoing for more than a month, beginning on April 13. 

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are on the same page when it comes to the next steps with Iran.

“He's fine. He'll do whatever I want him to do,” Trump said about Netanyahu. “He's very, very good, man. He'll do whatever I want him to do. And he said, he's a great guy to me. He's a great guy. Don't forget, he was a wartime prime minister, and he's not treated right in Israel, in my opinion.”

"I think they have a president over there that treats him very poorly," Trump added,. He then responded "yeah" to a reporter who asked Trump if he and Netanyahu are  aligned on Iran.

Trump called off a planned strike on Iran on May 18.

The Times of Israel, citing Israel's Channel 12, reported Tuesday that Israel’s leaders were preparing to rejoin potential U.S. strikes on Iran.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he is in “no hurry” to make a deal with Iran despite the upcoming U.S. midterm elections later this year.

Speaking at Joint Base Andrews, Trump made the remark after a reporter asked him if he would be in favor of a partial deal with Iran that just covered the Strait of Hormuz.

“We'd have to open the strait, that would open immediately. So we're going to give this one shot. I'm in no hurry,” Trump said. “You know everyone thinks ‘oh the midterms, I'm in a hurry.’ I’m in no hurry.”

"I just, ideally, I'd like to see few people killed as opposed to a lot. And we can do it either way. But I'd like to see fewer people killed. I just wonder whether or not they have the good of the people,” Trump also said about Iran.

“Because some of the things they're doing, to me, means they don't have the good of the people, and they have to have the good of the people. There's a lot of anger now in Iran because people are living so badly. There's a lot of foment that we haven't seen before so much. And we'll see what happens,” Trump added.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center warned shippers on Wednesday that they could face “extreme” risks by traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, including missile and drone attacks and naval mine threats. 

The warnings were contained in its “Industry Guidance on the Safe Management of Vessel Transit through the Strait of Hormuz” document. 

“Conditions affecting merchant shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz (SoH) can change rapidly. This environment may include kinetic threats, electronic interference, reporting uncertainty and periods of compressed, or unpredictable, traffic flow at various speeds,” the UKMTO said.  

The document added that even when the Strait of Hormuz “is open, operational conditions may be degraded” by “errant mines not detected during original clearance ops,” “missile/drone attacks including unexploded ordnance (UXO) hazards on board following drone or missile strikes,” and “shoreside stand-off weapon attacks.”

The internet watchdog Netblocks reported Wednesday that Iran’s digital blackout since the beginning of Operation Epic Fury has reached the 82nd day. 

“It's now the 82nd day of Iran's digital blackout, with the country still largely cut off from the global internet after 1,944 hours,” Netblock wrote on X. “In an era when a disconnection lasting minutes would be a crisis, Iran continues to shatter records, destroying livelihoods and eroding rights.” 

Iran was plunged into an internet blackout after the U.S. and Israel launched military strikes around Iran on Feb. 28, at the start of Operation Epic Fury and Operation Roaring Lion. 

Within hours of the strikes, NetBlocks CEO Alp Toker confirmed connectivity started "flatlining." 

"We're tracking the ongoing blackout, but our assessment is that this is straight out of Iran's wartime playbook and consistent both technically and strategically with what we saw during the 2025 12-day War with Israel," Toker told Fox News Digital at the time. 

Fox News Digital’s Emma Bussey contributed to this post. 

Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday that the ongoing conflict with Iran “is not a forever war.” 

“I've said before that we're going to go one of two options here. We're going to have a good settlement that actually gets the American people what they need, or we're going to go back to a kinetic operation. Obviously, the president prefers to get that settlement. I think the Iranians prefer to get that settlement,” Vance told reporters at the White House press briefing. 

“But regardless of what direction the president ultimately goes down, whatever he ultimately decides, I think it's important for the American people to know two things. Number one, it will be for their security and their prosperity. That's why we're doing this. And number two, this is not going to be the sort of thing that lasts forever,” Vance continued. “I think a lot of Americans, especially in my generation, who are worried about forever, endless conflicts. We have to remember, I think you said 11 weeks, a big chunk of that has been a ceasefire." 

"This is not a forever war,” Vance also said. “We're going to take care of business and come home. That's what the president's promised, and that's exactly what he's going to deliver.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned Wednesday that the war would extend “beyond the region” if Tehran suffers further attacks, a report said. 

"If aggression against Iran is repeated, the promised regional war ⁠will extend beyond the region this time," the IRGC said in a statement carried by Iranian state media, according to Reuters. 

The statement comes after President Donald Trump said Monday that Gulf allies had asked him to put off an attack on Iran for a few days because they felt they were close to a deal with Tehran. 

“Well, other countries have come to me, and they’ve said we were getting ready to do a very major attack tomorrow,” Trump said.  

“I put it off for a little while, hopefully maybe forever, but possibly for a little while, because we’ve had very big discussions with Iran, and we’ll see what they amount to,” he added. 

Fox News Digital’s Emma Bussey contributed to this post. 

The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday that it carried out a strike on Hezbollah surveillance equipment in southern Lebanon. 

“The surveillance equipment was positioned inside a civilian structure and was used by Hezbollah to monitor and direct terror activity against IDF soldiers,” the IDF wrote on X. 

“In addition, IDF soldiers eliminated a terrorist who was operating from within a warehouse used to store weapons,” it also said. 

The IDF says it has been responding to attacks by the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah in recent weeks, despite an announced ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei used a series of posts on X Tuesday to frame Iran’s war with the United States and Israel in ideological and religious terms, invoking what one counterterrorism analyst described as “jihad — sacred religious war.”

Khamenei’s defiant remarks came after President Donald Trump called off a planned strike on Iran on May 18, and as Washington indicated it would not soften its stance on Tehran’s nuclear program.

“Among the most valuable achievements of the Third Sacred Defense [against the American and Zionist invasion] is the emergence of Iran at the level of a major, influential power,” Mojtaba said in one post on X.

“Strip the euphemism away, and what Khamenei is invoking here is jihad — sacred religious war,” Dr. Omar Mohammed, a counterterrorism analyst with the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, told Fox News Digital.

“‘Sacred Defense’ is the Islamic Republic’s preferred term for jihad against an aggressor; it carries the full weight of religious obligation in Shia jurisprudence,” he added.

“By framing the war with America and Israel this way, Khamenei is not describing a geopolitical conflict. He is declaring a holy war and casting it as a religious duty,” Mohammed added.

Mohammed also said the messaging explicitly identifies “America and the Zionists” as the enemy.

“That is not loose phrasing. The Islamic Republic, under Mojtaba’s father, made hatred of America and hatred of Jews the twin pillars of its ideology for more than 30 years,” he said.

In another post, Khamenei wrote, “By earnestly pursuing the correct, necessary policy of population growth, the great Iranian nation will be able to play a major role and experience strategic leaps in the future, taking long strides toward building the new Islamic-Iranian civilization.”

“The fact that he is now speaking publicly as supreme leader — and that this substantive message is a call to jihad against America and the Jews — tells you what kind of leader he intends to be,” Mohammed added.

Mohammed also noted the irony that the supreme leader was delivering his message on X — a platform the Iranian government has “blocked inside Iran for nearly two decades” — while ordinary Iranians endure what he described as the country’s longest and most severe internet blackout.

“Over four months now, costing the Iranian economy a quarter of a billion dollars a day,” Mohammed said before stating that the supreme leader is “speaking to the world on a platform his own people are forbidden to read, in a country he has cut off from the outside.” 

Yesterday's Fox News Digital liveblog has additional coverage of the Iran conflict.