Trump says may strike Iran again, US seizes Iran-linked oil tanker

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday the United States may strike Iran again, claiming he was only an hour away from deciding on an attack before postponing it at the request of U.S. allies in the Gulf, reported Xinhua.

Speaking at the White House, Trump said Iran's leaders were "begging" to make a deal, but warned that a new U.S. attack could take place in the coming days if no agreement is reached.

He said the timeline could be Friday, the weekend or early next week, stressing that Washington "can't let them have a new nuclear weapon."

Trump said several Gulf allies had told him there was progress in negotiations brokered by Pakistan toward a peace deal so he would allow a "limited period of time" -- two or three days, at least -- for talks to continue.

The president said on Monday that this time was "a little bit different" from previously stalled talks in which Washington thought a deal was close.

"We've had periods of time where we had, we thought, pretty much getting close to making a deal, and it didn't work out. But this is a little bit different," Trump told reporters one day earlier.

In an interview with Fox News on Monday, White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly also said "Iran must renounce their nuclear ambitions for good."

Iran will "open new fronts" against the United States if the latter resumes attacks, Iran's ISNA news agency reported, citing Iran's army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia.

"If the enemy acts foolishly, falls into the Israeli trap and commits another aggression, we will open new fronts against them with new methods," Akraminia was quoted as saying by ISNA on social media platform X.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration seized an Iran-linked oil tanker in the Indian Ocean overnight, marking at least the third U.S. seizure of a vessel tied to Iranian oil shipments, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing three U.S. officials.

Ship-tracking data showed the vessel, known as the Skywave, sailed just west of Malaysia on Tuesday after transiting the Malacca Strait, according to the report.

The vessel was likely loaded with more than 1 million barrels of crude at Iran's Kharg Island in February, according to brokers and data from Lloyds List Intelligence. It was heading back to the Middle East when it was seized, said the report.

The oil tanker was sanctioned by the United States in March for transporting Iranian oil, said the WSJ report.

The U.S. seized two other Iran-linked tankers, the Majestic X and Tifani, in the Indian Ocean in April.

US, Israel complete preparations for possible strikes against Iran

The United States and Israel have completed joint preparations for a possible resumption of military operations against Iran, Israel's Kan TV reported Tuesday, citing a U.S. security official.

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to make a decision "soon," the official said. Earlier Tuesday, Trump said the United States might need to strike Iran again after claiming he had postponed a planned attack.

"The United States and Israel are fully coordinated. Neither side will be surprised if a decision is made to resume the war," the official was quoted as saying.

According to the report, the Israeli military is also bolstering defensive measures amid concerns that Trump's remarks and growing public discussion of renewed fighting could prompt Iran to launch a preemptive attack.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli government on the possibility of renewed military action against Iran.

Despite the reports, Israel's Home Front Command said that, "following a situational assessment," its defensive guidelines would remain unchanged and remain in effect at least through Saturday night.

Also Tuesday, the Israeli military said a major was killed in clashes with Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon.

The officer was identified as Itamar Sapir, 27, a reserve deputy company commander from the West Bank settlement of Ariel. The military said he "fell in combat in southern Lebanon."

He was the 21st Israeli soldier killed in Lebanon since fighting resumed in early March.

Vance says progress made in Iran talks

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday that "a lot of progress" has been made during talks toward a peace deal with Iran as neither side wants to see renewed military actions.

"We think that we've made a lot of progress. We think the Iranians want to make a deal," Vance said at a White House press briefing.

However, the United States remains "locked and loaded" to resume attacks on Iran if talks fail, he said, reiterating that it is Washington's core demand that Tehran never obtain a nuclear weapon.

"We are not going to have a deal that allows the Iranians to have a nuclear weapon," Vance said.

"There's an option B, and the option B is that we could restart the military campaign to continue to prosecute the case, to continue to try to achieve America's objectives," Vance said. "That's not what the president wants. And I don't think it's what the Iranians want either."

When asked if Russia could take possession of Iran's enriched uranium, the vice president said: "That is not currently the plan of the United States government. The Iranians have not raised it."

Vance added that Tehran's negotiating position is unclear, and that the country's leadership is fractured.

U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier Tuesday that several Gulf allies had told him there was progress in negotiations brokered by Pakistan toward a peace deal so he would allow a "limited period of time" -- two or three days -- for talks to continue.

On Monday, Trump said that he had instructed the Pentagon not to launch strikes scheduled on Tuesday on Iran.

US issues new sanctions against Iran

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Tuesday designated and blocked a prominent Iranian foreign currency exchange house and associated front companies, claiming they oversee hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks.

The action, part of the U.S. Economic Fury campaign, targets more than 50 companies, individuals and vessels generating revenue for Tehran, the department said in a press release.

In addition, OFAC also blocked 19 vessels involved in Iranian petroleum and petrochemical shipments to foreign customers, "transactions that have generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue."

The department is also prepared to take action against foreign companies supporting illicit Iranian commerce, including airlines, and may impose secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions that facilitate Iran's activities, if necessary, the release said.