President Donald Trump has told Americans to “sit back and relax” as the United States and Tehran exchanged fresh strikes, insisting that Iran “really wants to make a deal.” Writing on Truth Social, Mr. Trump stated, “Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end – It always does!”
This declaration comes amidst a renewed exchange of military actions between the two nations. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps announced it targeted an air base used in a US attack on a telecoms tower on Sirik Island. Concurrently, Kuwait reported intercepting missiles. These actions follow US ‘self-defence strikes’ on Iranian radar and drone control sites over the weekend, which the US Central Command stated were in response to ‘aggressive’ actions from Tehran, including Iran shooting down a US MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters.
The ongoing conflict has seen the two countries continue to trade strikes in the past week after failing to sign an agreement to extend their fragile ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping. Market anxieties are reflected in oil prices, which jumped more than 2 percent in early trading, with Brent crude rising to $93.33 a barrel.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, has blamed the US and Israel for delays in diplomatic efforts to resolve the deadlocked conflict. Baghaei cited a “lack of trust,” the US’s constant changes in position, and Israeli actions in Lebanon as reasons for the stalemate, emphasizing that a ceasefire in Lebanon is crucial to any agreement with the US. He also labeled US “aggressive action” as a ceasefire violation.
In Lebanon, Israeli troops pushed beyond the Litani river, seizing the Crusader-era Beaufort fortress in their deepest invasion of the neighboring country in over 25 years. Israel also reported intercepting a rocket fired from Lebanon and destroying a Hezbollah missile launcher.
Domestically, Iran executed two men, Mehrdad Mohammadinia and Ashkan Maleki, for their roles in January 2026 unrest in Tehran, including setting fire to a mosque, damaging public property, and clashing with security forces. Additionally, an Iranian lawyer, Mehdi Ansari, arrested during the January protests, was sentenced to five years in prison for “assembly and collusion with the intent to disrupt national security.”
Satellite imagery analyzed by BBC Verify suggests Iran has damaged 20 US military sites since the Iran war started in February, indicating more extensive damage than has been publicly acknowledged. President Trump has also made contradictory statements regarding the conflict’s impact, recently claiming Iran’s military was largely untouched by US strikes, a reversal from previous boasts about the scale of US successes. This comes as a proposed memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire by 60 days and create a framework for nuclear program negotiations awaits his approval, with Trump reportedly asking for further amendments.
#IranUSConflict #MiddleEastTensions #DonaldTrump #OilPrices #StraitOfHormuz #IsraelLebanon #CeasefireTalks #RevolutionaryGuard #USStrikes #GlobalSecurity
