Jason Burke, Shah Meer Baloch & Hannah Ellis-Petersen
The Guardian / May 6, 2026
President tells Iran to accept deal to end war or face new wave of bombing at ‘much higher level and intensity’.
Islamabad/Delhi – The US military fired on an Iranian-flagged oil tanker on Wednesday, shortly after Donald Trump issued a fresh ultimatum to Tehran, telling it to accept a deal to end the war or face a new wave of US bombing “at a much higher level and intensity than it was before”.
The US fighter fired several rounds and “disabled the tanker’s rudder” as it attempted to breach the US’s blockade of Iranian ports, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a social media post.
The attack came after the US president’s social media announcement – the latest in a rapid series of dramatic and often contradictory changes in policy amid unconfirmed reports of progress in stalled negotiations between Tehran and Washington.
“Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is perhaps a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end,” the US president posted on his Truth Social platform, referring to the military operation he launched with Israel against Iran in February.
“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before.”
Benjamin Netanyahu, who was scheduled to talk to Trump on Wednesday evening, said in a video released by his office that Israel was “prepared for all scenarios”.
Iran’s most senior negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, remained defiant on Wednesday, saying Washington was seeking Tehran’s surrender through various means including a naval blockade.
“The enemy, in its new design, is seeking, through a naval blockade, economic pressure and media manipulation, to destroy the country’s cohesion in order to force us to surrender,” Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, said in a voice message published on his official Telegram channel.
Earlier on Wednesday, Axios reported that Washington and Tehran were close to agreeing on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war.
The US-based news outlet reported that the US expected Iran to respond to several key points in the next 48 hours and that while nothing had yet been agreed, this was the closest the parties had been to a deal.
Officials in Pakistan told The Guardian that an initial framework could possibly be agreed within 48 hours but that nothing was certain and that talks remained “difficult”.
Late on Tuesday, Trump had abruptly ordered an indefinite pause to a naval effort to guide stranded commercial ships through the strait of Hormuz.
More than 800 ships and roughly 20,000 crew members remain stranded west of the narrow waterway. Iran has threatened to deploy mines, drones, missiles and fast-attack craft, making passage through the strait too risky for commercial shipping and raising fuel prices around the world.
Trump wrote on social media that the decision to halt the new naval effort, called Project Freedom, just a day after it began came after requests from “mediator Pakistan and other countries”. He posted: “Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement.”
He said Washington’s blockade of Iranian ports, which is aimed at forcing Iran to make concessions in negotiations to end the war, would remain in place.
Citing two unnamed US officials, NBC reported Project Freedom’s abrupt pause was the result of Saudi Arabian opposition to the US plan, with the kingdom telling Washington it would stop US planes using its Prince Sultan airbase or flying through its airspace.
Meanwhile, France’s aircraft carrier strike group is moving south of the Suez Canal and into the Red Sea in preparation for a potential French-British mission in the Strait of Hormuz, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, said on Wednesday.
Trump, who is due to visit Beijing next week, has threatened in recent weeks to restart the joint US-Israeli air offensive against Iran, but has also repeatedly indicated his desire for a negotiated end to the conflict.
Analysts suggested the US president may be seeking something that could be portrayed as a breakthrough before arriving in Beijing. China called on Monday for a comprehensive ceasefire in the Iran war.
Beijing has close economic and political ties to Tehran but has failed to exert significant leverage over the radical Islamist Iranian regime since the war began. The Trump administration may want China to exploit that relationship to convince Iran to open the strait.
Trump’s trip will be his first visit to China during his second term and the first by a US president since his previous visit, in 2017.
A senior Pakistani political source described “things … moving forward” with a focus in talks on obtaining a permanent ceasefire and “opening of the strait of Hormuz by both, at least for 60 days”.
The source added: “That gives a chance for both parties to talk out all important matters, including uranium enrichment. But nothing is finalised yet. Things are under discussion. We expect something to come out before the US president visits China.”.
Another Pakistani official said there was still a lack of trust between Iran and the US. “There is still ambiguity in talks and nothing is completely decided. It is still 50/50 and things can go either way,” they said.
“The moment the US ends the blockade and the strait of Hormuz remains open, that will be the beginning of real talks.
“As long as there is a blockade from both sides, talks remain difficult. That’s why a framework of understanding to end the blockade for at least 30 to 60 days for further negotiations is important. It can be a trust-building measure.”
Analysts say an external guarantor of any deal is essential. The official said: “Pakistan and Iran both want China to become a guarantor but … does China even have that power over both parties? Everyone has their doubts.”
The news of a possible deal sent the price of oil tumbling, after it had jumped as much as 6% earlier in the week.
Many observers believe wide gaps remain between Iran and the US, making a durable ceasefire unlikely in the short term.
The Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said on Wednesday that Tehran would convey its position to Pakistan after “finalising its views”.
Elsewhere, Israel hit Beirut on Wednesday for the first time since agreeing to a ceasefire with Hezbollah last month, with Israel saying it targeted a commander of the militant group’s elite Radwan force in the city’s southern suburbs.
Israeli media reported that the commander – who Agency France-Presse identified as Malek Ballout – was killed in the strike, but there was no immediate confirmation from the Israeli military or Hezbollah. At least 11 other people were killed in strikes across the south and east, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
Later on Wednesday, Trump said in an interview with PBS he was optimistic about reaching an agreement with Iran before his trip to China. “I think it’s got a very good chance of ending, and if it doesn’t end, we have to go back to bombing the hell out of them,” Trump told the broadcaster.
Trump insisted that under any deal Tehran would “export” its highly enriched uranium – necessary for making a nuclear weapon – to the US, a demand that experts say Iran cannot accept.
The Iran war, which began with an Israeli strike that killed Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, appears to have reached a stalemate. Iran is taking huge economic losses, which may escalate if it begins to run out of storage capacity for its oil, while Trump is under pressure domestically and internationally as fuel prices surge in the US and globally.
Control of the strait and the threat to restart attacks on nearby countries’ oil and other infrastructure in the Gulf are the two main cards Iran can play in negotiations.
Jason Burke is the International security correspondent of The Guardian
Shah Meer Baloch covers Pakistan for The Guardian
Hannah Ellis-Petersen is The Guardian’s south Asia correspondent
