Iran-US war latest: Tehran warns of ‘heavy assault’ if ships attacked as Trump awaits response to peace proposal – The Independent
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Trump says Washington is waiting for Tehran to respond to a proposal on ending the war
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Iran has warned it would launch a “heavy assault” on US assets in the Middle East if there are further attacks on ships, as president Donald Trump said he “expects to hear very soon” from the Iranians about a ceasefire agreement.
Trump says Washington is waiting for Tehran to respond to a proposal on ending the war. “I’m getting a letter supposedly tonight,” the US president told reporters. “So we’ll see how that goes.”
With negotiations hanging in the balance, the US and Iran continue to engage in hostilities.
Meanwhile, the UK is redeploying the HMS Dragon to the Middle East ahead of a possible international mission to safeguard shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. As part of a proposed UK and French-led defensive mission, the warship will “pre-position” in the region, ready to contribute once hostilities between Iran and US-Israeli forces end.
The US Navy struck two Iranian-flagged oil tankers on Friday, accused of breaking the American blockade, after US and Iranian forces exchanged fire overnight on Thursday. Iran has accused the US of violating the ongoing ceasefire, which President Trump insists is still holding.
Germany is reviving efforts to buy Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing people with knowledge of Berlin’s strategy.
The Tomahawk Land Attack Missile is a long-range cruise missile typically launched from sea to attack targets in deep-strike missions.
In February, the Pentagon said it had signed a seven-year deal with Raytheon to increase Tomahawk production as its stockpiles have been depleted by the war with Iran.
Berlin hopes to persuade the Trump administration to agree to the sale of the Tomahawks together with their Typhon ground launchers,the newspaper said.
Germany’s defence minister Boris Pistorius is planning a trip to Washington, the report said, in a bid to revive Berlin’s proposal to purchase long-range systems, which was first submitted in July last year. The US has yet to respond. The visit, however, hinges upon whether Pistorius can secure a meeting with Pete Hegseth, his US counterpart, unnamed sources told the FT.
A bulk carrier reported being struck by an unknown projectile while sailing 23 nautical miles northeast of Doha, Qatar, the UK Maritime Trade Operations said on Sunday.
The incident sparked a small fire that was extinguished, with the vessel’s master reporting no casualties or environmental impact, UKMTO said.
Authorities are investigating the source of the projectile, while vessels in the area have been advised to transit with caution. Ships were asked to report any suspicious activity to UKMTO.
Lebanon’s health ministry says a total of 39 people have been killed in intense Israeli strikes on Saturday.
Three Israeli drone strikes on vehicles just south of Beirut on Saturday killed four people while a series of airstrikes on southern Lebanon killed at least 13, including a man and his 12-year-old daughter, state media and the health ministry said.
The three drone strikes south of Beirut marked another escalation since a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect on 17 April. Both Israel and Hezbollah have continued their daily attacks despite the truce.
Iran is able to withstand the effects of the US blockade for three to four more months and retains significant missile stockpiles, according to US intelligence, casting doubt on Donald Trump’s claim that Tehran needs the war to end imminently.
New analysis by the CIA suggests that the Islamic Republic may be more resilient than expected and could withstand the economic pain of the blockade until later this year.
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Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian urged Iranians to limit electricity and gas after a US blockade interrupted the flow of shipments to Iran, state media reported.
“In the current situation, we must prevent pressure on the country’s energy grid through public participation and consumption management,” Pezeshkian said.
The Qatari prime minister met with Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday, CBS News reported.
A State Department spokesperson later confirmed Rubio’s meeting with the prime minister, saying in a statement that they “discussed U.S. support for Qatar’s defense, and the importance of continued close coordination to deter threats and promote stability and security across the Middle East.”
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards threatened to target U.S. sites in the Middle East if Iran’s tankers come under fire, Iranian media reported.
“Any attack on Iranian tankers and commercial vessels will result in a heavy attack on one of the American centers in the region and enemy ships,” the Guards said.
After a roughly seven-hour lull on Truth Social Saturday, President Donald Trump resurfaced with a burst of over a dozen posts featuring AI-generated Iran war images and golf tournament snapshots.
His account had been inactive through most of the morning and early afternoon, but at 3:51 p.m., the 79-year-old Republican shared an artificial image showing drones marked with Iranian flags plunging into the sea, describing them as “dropping like butterflies.”
Moments later, he followed up with another fabricated visual depicting a U.S. warship firing laser beams into the sky, triggering explosions. The caption read: “Bye Bye, Drones.”
Trump then shifted his focus to criticizing his Democratic predecessors — Joe Biden and Barack Obama — appearing to fault them for not taking military action against Iran.
A split-screen graphic showed a destroyed Iranian naval fleet under the label “Trump,” contrasted with intact vessels under “Obama/Biden,” echoing Trump’s statement last month that U.S. forces had sunk 159 Iranian ships.
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Israel set up a clandestine military outpost in the Iraqi desert to support its air campaign against Iran and launched airstrikes against Iraqi troops who nearly discovered it, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter including US officials.
Israel built the installation, which housed special forces and served as a logistical hub for the Israeli air force, with the knowledge of the US just before the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran, the newspaper said. It also included search-and-rescue teams positioned to assist any downed Israeli pilots, the Journal said.
There was no immediate response from the Israeli prime minister’s office to a Reuters request for comment.
The base was almost discovered in early March after Iraqi state media said a local shepherd reported unusual military activity, including helicopter movements in the area.
Iraqi troops were dispatched to investigate, but Israeli forces used airstrikes to keep them at a distance and prevent the site from being discovered, the paper said, citing one of the sources.
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