Trump withholds Iran peace decision as Hegseth signals strikes Huffpost
President Donald Trump had yet to announce a final determination on the proposed Iran peace agreement by Sunday, leaving the White House’s next move open after a Situation Room meeting ended without an announcement. huffpost: Trump had said on Friday he would decide after that meeting, and the delay sits beside a U.S. blockade on Iranian ports and the possibility of renewed strikes.
Trump’s Sunday pause
Trump described Iranian officials as “very tough negotiators” during an interview with Lara Trump on Sunday. In April, Trump said the regime was seriously fractured and cited internal divisions as one reason for extending the ceasefire indefinitely one day before the previous agreement was set to expire.
That history matters because Trump is now weighing whether the Iran deal moves forward at all. The White House has already linked the decision to military pressure, not just diplomacy.
Hegseth and the Gulf of Oman
War Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Sunday that the U.S. military is “more than capable” of resuming strikes against Iran’s military if peace talks fall through. On Saturday, the U.S. military disabled a Gambian-flagged cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman as part of Trump’s blockade on Iranian ports, according to U.S. CENTCOM.
Masoud Pezeshkian also added a separate strain point inside Iran. Iran International reported on Sunday that the Iranian president submitted a resignation letter to the Office of the Supreme Leader, saying he and his government had been excluded from major decision-making and that hard-line factions within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had taken control of key affairs.
Israel, Lebanon, and Hezbollah
The same day, the Israel Defense Forces said more than 900 Hezbollah terrorists had been killed since the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect. The IDF also said Israeli troops seized the strategic Beaufort Castle after days of airstrikes and clashes, and that its forces attacked Hezbollah infrastructure in Tyre and other areas in southern Lebanon from the early hours of Sunday morning.
Pezeshkian said in the reported resignation letter that “under such circumstances, he is unable to govern effectively or fulfill his legal responsibilities.” The Office of the Supreme Leader has not said whether Mojtaba Khamenei will accept the resignation, leaving Trump’s decision in a regional environment already shaped by blockade pressure, Lebanon fighting, and internal strain in Iran.
