Last UpdateMay 19, 2026, 10:00 PM EDT
JD Vance warned that the U.S. is “locked and loaded” to resume strikes if Iran nuclear talks fail. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an emergency security meeting as Israel’s military entered its highest level of alert for potential action.
Covered by: Eric Mack, Emma Bussey and Benjamin Weinthal
THE LATEST LIVE
- President Donald Trump’s stern warnings have brought a temporary halt to “major attack” Tuesday on Iran.
- The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz remains, but oil prices are falling on anticipation of peace progress.
- Trump vows to quickly give go-ahead on Iran strikes if the regime will not relent on giving up nuclear weapons aspirations.
- Vice President JD Vance said President Donald Trump is still pursuing a diplomatic deal with Iran but remains “locked and loaded” to restart the military campaign if nuclear talks collapse.
- Israel is preparing to take part in a potential U.S. strike on Iran, despite President Donald Trump pausing a planned attack.
- The U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice program offered up to $15 million for information on Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) financial network.
- Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei used posts on X to frame Iran’s conflict with the United States and Israel as “jihad.”
- President Donald Trump will attend next month’s G7 summit in France amid tensions with U.S. allies over the war with Iran.
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13 hours ago
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Mojtaba Khamenei frames war with US, Israel as ‘jihad’ in defiant message, analyst says
Mojtaba Khamenei / Fox News
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 Iranianeconomy 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.”
Posted by Emma Bussey
9 hours ago
Trump confirms G7 attendance in France amid tensions with allies over Iran war: reports
G7 / Government of Canada / Pool / Anadolu via Getty Images
President Donald Trump will attend next month’s G7 summit in France amid tensions with key U.S. allies over the war with Iran.
A White House official confirmed Tuesday that Trump will travel to France for the June 15-17 gathering in the lakeside resort town of Evian-les-Bains at the foot of the French Alps, Reutersreported.
The G7 is made up of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Trump’s relationship with several leaders has become strained amid disagreements over the Iran war and the broader U.S. approach to the conflict.
Axios reported in March that the other G7 leaders urged Trump during a call to bring the war to a swift end and stressed the importance of securing the Strait of Hormuz to prevent further global economic disruption.
Exchanges between Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz have also grown heated.
Merz criticized the U.S. response to the war with Iran and said Washington was being “humiliated” by Iran’s leadership.
Trump also said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was “no Churchill” as the United Kingdom resisted joining the war effort at the start of the conflict.
Posted by Emma Bussey
9 hours ago
Russia says it’s ready to support US-Iran negotiations
Putin / Alexander Nemenov / AFP via Getty Images
Russia is prepared to assist in resolving the war between the United States and Iran, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Wednesday, according to reports.
“Russia is ready to provide all possible assistance in resolving this conflict, and the parties involved are well aware of this,” Ryabkov told TASS state news agency, Reuters reported.
Posted by Emma Bussey
10 hours ago
CENTCOM displays heavy-lift aviation capabilities aboard USS Abraham Lincoln in Middle East
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) showcased its Super Stallion helicopter Tuesday aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, stationed in the Middle East.
This came amid the ongoing U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.
“A U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter launched from the USS Abraham Lincoln on May 15, showcasing the military’s heavy-lift aviation capabilities aboard the Navy aircraft carrier,” the command said in a post shared on X.
Posted by Emma Bussey
10 hours ago
Prominent Trump foreign policy critic loses House seat in primary that broke spending records
Left: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Right: Leon Neal/Getty Images
In the most expensive U.S. House primary in history, incumbent Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., lost to former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein in Tuesday’s Republican primary election.
The race in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District turned into a proxy war over the direction of the GOP, with tensions rising after Massie co-led a petition forcing the Justice Department to release its secret Jeffrey Epstein files.
The race also drew attention and record-breaking outside spending.
President Donald Trump also criticized Massie when he argued that war with Iran was unconstitutional without congressional approval.
Massie insisted it violated “America First” principles, maintaining that Congress — not the president alone — holds the sole authority to declare war.
Massie also partnered with Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna on bipartisan War Powers resolutions.
Massie had blasted U.S. strikes on Iran as “acts of war unauthorized by Congress,” famously stating, “I am opposed to this war. This is not ‘America First.’”
He argued there was “no imminent threat” justifying unilateral action. His anti-war stance became controversial within the GOP, making him a target for Trump.
Posted by Emma Bussey
10 hours ago
Trump vows swift end to Iran war, says oil prices will plummet
Trump / Roberto Schmidt / Getty Images
President Donald Trump declared Tuesday that an end to the war with Iran is coming “very quickly,” telling lawmakers at the White House Congressional Picnic that negotiations are moving fast and could soon send oil prices tumbling.
“We’re blowing everything away, and we’re going to end that war very quickly,” Trump said outside the White House.
“They want to make a deal so badly,” he added.
“And it’s going to happen, and it’s going to happen fast. And you’re going to see oil prices plummet.”
Trump went on to say that the U.S. has to “stop” Tehran.
“They have nuclear on their mind, and we’re not going to let them have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
“And we’ve done a hell of a job. And we’re I think we’re going to be finished with that very quickly,” Trump added before saying that hopefully “we’re going to get it done in a very nice manner.”
Posted by Emma Bussey
11 hours ago
Senate advances resolution to limit Trump’s authority to continue Iran military strikes
Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday advanced a resolution aimed at limiting President Donald Trump’s authority to continue strikes against Iran without congressional approval.
The vote marked the latest effort by lawmakers to reassert Congress’ constitutional role over war powers after several earlier attempts in both chambers failed.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer hailed the vote as evidence that Republican support for Trump’s approach is beginning to fall.
“Vote by vote, Democrats are breaking through Republicans’ wall of silence on Trump’s illegal war,” Schumer said in a statement.
“For more than 80 days, Trump has dragged America into a costly, chaotic conflict with no plan, no objective, and no legal authority,” he added.
“Today proved our pressure is working: Republicans are starting to crack, and momentum is building to check him. We are not letting up,” Schumer said.
Posted by Emma Bussey
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