\Weekend Recap\: 🇺🇸 \Trump "50:50" on Iran deal as Gulf leaders convene\
By Bernard Moerdler,
US President Donald Trump told Axios reporter Barak Ravid that he is "50:50" on whether to strike a deal with Iran or resume the war. "Either we make a good deal or I blow them to hell," Trump stated. Trump stated he would meet with his top advisers Saturday to review the details of the updated draft and may make a decision by Sunday. Asked about Israeli concerns, Trump stated he did not believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was worried about a possible US-Iran deal. Trump is currently holding a conference call with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and Pakistan to coordinate next steps, a regional official told Reuters and Fox News. Senator Lindsey Graham, speaking to Ravid, stated that some regional leaders have urged Trump to strike Iran to weaken the regime and secure a deal on better terms, while others, alongside several of Trump's senior advisers, have urged him to accept the deal on the table. Channel 12 stated that US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff is the one pressing Trump not to resume fighting and is attempting to secure an agreement "at any cost." US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, asked about Iran on Saturday, stated, "There may be news later today. Some progress has been made. There is a chance that, whether later today, tomorrow, or in a couple of days, we may have something to say."
🇮🇷 \Mediators report "encouraging progress," Ghalibaf strikes defiant tone\
Pakistani Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir concluded a visit to Tehran on Saturday with talks the Pakistani military described as "highly productive," stating that "the intensive negotiations over the last twenty four hours have resulted in encouraging progress towards a final understanding." The Financial Times stated that mediators are close to securing an agreement that would extend the ceasefire by 60 days while establishing a framework for broader negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme, with the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, discussions on diluting or transferring Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium, and US steps to ease port restrictions alongside potential sanctions relief. Iran's chief negotiator and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf struck a defiant note after his meeting with Munir, telling state media that Iran "will not back down from the rights of our nation and country, especially when dealing with a party that has never shown sincerity and in which no trust exists." Ghalibaf stated, "Our armed forces have rebuilt themselves during the ceasefire in such a way that if Trump makes the mistake of restarting the war, it will definitely be more crushing and bitter for America than the first day of the war." Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei stated that 30 and 60-day timeframes have been included in the text of the memorandum, that the views of the two sides have been getting closer over the past week, and that Tehran would "wait and see what will happen in the next three to four days." The IRGC-linked Fars news agency, citing a source close to Iran's negotiating team, stated that talks would fail unless the United States showed flexibility, and that Tehran would not discuss its nuclear programme at this stage.
🇱🇧 \IDF strikes Bekaa and Tyre overnight, fresh evacuation warnings issued\
The Israeli Air Force carried out five strikes shortly before midnight on Friday in the mountainous Nabi Sreij area on the outskirts of the eastern town of Brital, the Lebanese National News Agency stated. The area had been spared from Israeli strikes since the April 17 ceasefire. AFP correspondents in the southern coastal city of Tyre reported two further blasts overnight, with one building on the outskirts and a second inside the city struck after the IDF issued evacuation warnings for the village of Burj Rahal and two areas of Tyre. The IDF stated the targets were Hezbollah infrastructure. Lebanese media reported at least five people killed in separate strikes in the Tyre region later Saturday, and several Syrian workers wounded in a strike on an agricultural area in the south, according to state media. Lebanon's Hamas-aligned Jamaa Islamiya armed wing al-Fajr Forces stated one of its members was killed in an IDF strike in eastern Lebanon. The 45-day ceasefire extension agreed on May 15 remains formally in place.
Topics: Iran, Strait of Hormuz, Lebanon & Hezbollah
Reported by Bernard Moerdler for Bernie News Network. See our editorial standards and corrections policy.