Iran-US war latest: Vance ‘not certain’ about peace deal as he warns US military ‘locked and loaded’

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Iran-US war latest: Vance ‘not certain’ about peace deal as he warns US military ‘locked and loaded’ to resume strikes

The US president earlier said the military may launch “another big hit” on Tehran if a peace deal is not agreed

US vice president JD Vance has said he is “not certain” about a peace deal with Iran as he warned the American military is “locked and loaded” for a resumption of war.

In a White House briefing on Tuesday, Vance said “a lot of good progress has been made” in negotiations with Tehran in recent days, but added: “You never know until you know, right?”

His comments came after Donald Trump stated that he could order “another big hit” on the country.

“I am not certain, and I’m not going to be certain until we sign a deal that we have a deal,” Mr Vance said.

Trump, he said, has advised his team to "aggressively negotiate" with the Iranians.

Earlier, the US president claimed he was “an hour away” from ordering a fresh volley of strikes on Iran in order to force Tehran to agree a deal, after he had reviewed the latest peace terms.

Only yesterday, the US president said there was a “very good chance” an agreement to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon would be reached.

Watch: US will restart Iran military campaign unless nuclear demands are met, says Vance

Alex Croft19 May 2026 22:16

Video and satellite photos show Iran war oil spill on Persian Gulf island

A mysterious attack on an Iranian oil refinery during the Iran war caused an oil spill that affected a nearby Persian Gulf island that's a protected breeding ground for wildlife, videos and satellite photos show.

The oil-soaked waves lapping onto Shidvar Island, an uninhabited island, represent yet another sign of the ecological damage wrought by the war. Oily rain has also fallen on the Iranian capital, Tehran, after airstrikes targeted oil facilities there. Iranian attacks on ships passing through the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman also caused environmental damage.

Mobile phone footage shot April 9 by an Iranian named Ehsan Jalali shows thick black smoke rising after the strike on an oil refinery on Lavan, an island just off mainland Iran near Shidvar. The footage corresponds with known features of both islands and only was posted by Jalali to Instagram in the last few days as Iran's theocratic government has shut off access to the wider internet for weeks.

Read more here:

Video and satellite photos show Iran war oil spill on Persian Gulf island

A mysterious attack on an Iranian oil refinery during the Iran war caused an oil spill that affected a nearby Persian Gulf island that’s a protected breeding ground for wildlife

Alex Croft19 May 2026 21:44

European shares rise on Trump's Iran comments

European shares ticked higher on Tuesday after investors welcomed news that the US had paused a planned attack against Iran following Tehran's latest peace proposal, with chances of a deal seeming close.

Donald Trump said there was now a “very good chance” of reaching a deal limiting Iran's nuclear program.

Oil prices fell as much as 2% even as they remained over $100 a barrel, while bonds steadied after a steep selloff in the past few sessions.

The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.2% to 611.22 points, as of 7am, but stayed below prewar levels.

European equities have lagged behind global peers, with the region's dependence on oil imports weighing on markets, while US and global markets have rebounded on artificial intelligence-led optimism.

Alex Croft19 May 2026 21:14

In pictures: Iranian football team trains in Turkey amid World Cup concerns

The Iranian national football team has been training in Turkey ahead of the World Cup, following concerns that it might not join the tournament being held in the US, Mexico and Canada.

Iran's football federation said on Saturday the country will “definitely” participate in the 2026 Fifa World Cup and insisted that the tournament’s hosts – the United States, Canada and Mexico – consider Tehran's concerns around the team’s travel and how it will be treated.

“All players and technical staff, especially those who served their military service in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, should be granted visas without problems,” Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran president Mehdi Taj said, according to Iranian media.

Alex Croft19 May 2026 20:45

Why Iran wants to charge world’s largest tech companies for using Strait of Hormuz undersea cables

Iran has threatened to impose tariffs on Strait of Hormuz submarine cables, which are crucial for the region's digital economy.

After a sustained blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and leaving the world scrambling for oil and energy supplies, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) demanded “protection fees” from foreign cable operators to provide them with permits to maintain seabed infrastructure.

The narrow waterway, already a chokepoint for global oil shipments, is equally vital for the digital world. Several fibre-optic cables snake across the seabed of the ​strait, connecting countries from India and Southeast Asia to Europe via the Gulf states and Egypt.

The state-affiliated media warned that damage to the cables could impact trillions of dollars in global data transmission and affect world connectivity, even as some experts say Iran is overestimating its influence in a bid to gain leverage against future attacks.

“We will impose fees on internet cables,” declared Iranian military spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari on X. The threat has raised concerns about potential attacks on critical infrastructure.

Read more here.

Alex Croft19 May 2026 20:21

US seizes Iran-linked oil tanker in Indian Ocean

The US seized an Iran-linked oil tanker in the Indian Ocean overnight, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing three US officials.

The tanker, known as the Skywave, was sanctioned by the US in March for its role in transporting Iranian oil.

It was likely loaded with more than a million barrels of crude at Iran's Kharg Island in February, the report stated.

Alex Croft19 May 2026 19:50

Vance: US and Iran have made a 'lot of progress'

We’ve been hearing from US vice president JD Vance, who says Washington and Tehran have made a “lot of progress” in recent peace talks.

“We think the Iranians want to make a deal," Vance told reporters at a White House briefing.

If Iran is able to produce a nuclear weapon, Vance said, countries around the Gulf would then want their own weapon, then other countries across the world would as well. Tehran denies it is seeking to do so.

"We want to keep the number of countries that have nuclear weapons small, and that's why Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon," he said.

The United States wants Iran to work with Washington on a process to ensure that the Iranians would not rebuild their nuclear weapons capacity in the years to come.

"That's what we're trying to accomplish in negotiations," he said.

When asked if Russia could take possession of Iran's enriched uranium, Vance said: "That is not currently the plan of the United States government. The Iranians have not raised it."

Alex Croft19 May 2026 19:26

Small airlines urge EU to reconsider reforms amid Iran fuel crisis

Smaller European airlines are urging EU officials to reconsider planned reforms to passenger compensation rights.

The spike in jet fuel prices due to the Iran war, the firms argue, has left them with no room to take on additional financial burdens.

EU institutions are negotiating a reform of the bloc's decades-old passenger rights regulation, called EU261.

Existing rules since 2004 allow air passengers to claim compensation for flights delayed by more than three hours from 250 euros (£216.53) and more depending on the flight length. The next round of talks is set for 2 June.

"We urge European policymakers to pause and reassess," executives from 35 airlines including Air Serbia, SkyExpress, Luxair, Atlantic Airways and SprintAir said in a letter sent to EU officials on Tuesday.

KLM Cityhopper and Air Corsica also signed the letter.

The EU parliament wants to keep the threshold unchanged at three hours for short-haul flights while member states in the EU want it raised to four hours.

Alex Croft19 May 2026 18:59

Trump says he decided to postpone a "major attack" on Iran in coming days - ICYMI

Maira Butt19 May 2026 18:35

UK inflation rate set to fall as lower household energy bills offset fuel surge

UK inflation is set to have eased last month as a drop in household energy bills offset a jump in fuel prices – but experts warned of turbulence ahead as the Iran energy price shock “catches up” with the cost of living.

Most economists think the rate of Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation slowed to 3 per cent in April, from 3.3 per cent in March.

This would mean that prices were still rising year-on-year, but at a slower rate than they were the month before.

A big driver of the expected slowdown is set to come from Ofgem lowering its energy price cap from the start of April by 7 per cent, or £10 a month, for the average household using both electricity and gas.

UK inflation rate set to fall as lower household energy bills offset fuel surge

Most economists think the rate of Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation slowed to 3% in April, from 3.3% in March.

Maira Butt19 May 2026 18:09