live Trump Concludes Situation Room Meeting On Possible Iran Deal

A "grand" funeral for slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is being planned by Iranian authorities, although the timing remains uncertain, official media reported on May 29.

The funeral for the country's former leader -- who was killed on the first day of US-Israeli air strikes on February 28 -- has been delayed amid security fears, even with the current cease-fire in place.

"A special headquarters has been formed to prepare for the funeral ceremony, and various agencies are currently planning and making arrangements," state TV reported, citing Mohsen Mahmoudi, head of the Tehran Coordination Council for Islamic Propaganda.

The 86-year-old Ali Khamenei's son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, was also wounded in the attacks and has not been seen in public since assuming office.

With reporting by AFP

WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration on May 29 imposed fresh sanctions on an Iranian procurement network accused of defrauding US companies to obtain restricted technology for Tehran’s military, in a move that came just hours after a high-level White House meeting on a possible interim deal with Iran ended without a public decision.

The Treasury Department said the network used fake identities and front companies in the United Arab Emirates and Europe to acquire sensitive US-origin technology, including encryption and network security equipment, for Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).

Washington framed the measures as part of its Economic Fury campaign aimed at tightening pressure on Tehran. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused Iran of using “brazen efforts” to deceive American firms and said the administration would continue using “all available authorities” to isolate the Iranian government financially.

The timing of the sanctions is notable. The measures were announced shortly after a White House Situation Room meeting where President Donald Trump and senior aides reportedly discussed whether to approve an interim arrangement with Iran that could extend a cease-fire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Hours after Trump said he was entering the meeting to make a “final determination,” no official decision had been announced.

The new sanctions targeted several Iranian nationals and companies, including Sorena Hushmand Samaneh Company, accused of impersonating US businesses to illegally procure restricted goods. Treasury also designated entities in Dubai allegedly used to reroute shipments to Iran.

Brett Erickson, a sanctions expert at Obsidian Risk Advisors, told RFE/RL the move appeared aimed as much at domestic political messaging as at increasing pressure on Tehran.

“These sanctions feel less like economic warfare and more like reputation management,” Erickson said.

“Their greatest value may not be the pressure they place on Tehran, but the cover they provide Washington. They allow the administration to try to look tough on Iran at a moment when many see the broader direction of travel pointing the other way,” added.

The sanctions freeze any US-based assets linked to the designated individuals and entities and expose foreign financial institutions dealing with them to possible secondary sanctions.

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump has concluded a White House Situation Room meeting on a possible agreement with Iran aimed at extending a cease-fire and advancing negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.

A White House official confirmed that the meeting on May 29 had ended but declined to say whether Trump approved the proposed framework.

According to media reports, the tentative agreement would extend the current cease-fire by 60 days while negotiations continue on Iran’s nuclear activities.

Before the meeting, Trump said on Truth Social that Iran must permanently forgo nuclear weapons, reopen the Strait of Hormuz without tolls, clear naval mines, and cooperate with the United States and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in eliminating highly enriched uranium stockpiles.

Trump also said the US would lift its naval blockade of Iran under the agreement.

There was no immediate response from Tehran.

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The heads of four major global economic organizations have issued a joint statement warning that oil reserves are being depleted "at a record pace" amid ongoing supply disruptions due to the near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The Heads of the International Energy Agency, International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, and World Trade Organization met on May 28 as part of continuing efforts to coordinate their response to the crisis.

“Global oil inventories are being drawn down at a record pace in response to the major loss of supply through the Strait of Hormuz,” they said in a joint statement issued on May 29.

“If shipping flows do not return to normal, continued rapid depletion of global oil inventories ahead of peak summer oil demand in the Northern Hemisphere would present increasing risks for fuel security, market conditions, and broader economic resilience,” it added.

Prior to the conflict that began with US and Israeli air strikes on Iran on February 28, a fifth of the world’s oil supplies were shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, along with large supplies of other major commodities, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and fertilizers.

Tehran blocked passage through the strait in response to the attacks, while Washington later imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports.

The disruption has led to a substantial oil price spike, although major economies have helped hold down the price increases by releasing oil from strategic reserves.

Reports from within Iran have suggested that the Iranian authorities have not agreed to some elements of a deal with Washington mentioned by US President Donald Trump in a social media post.

Reuters cited an Iranian source as saying the memorandum of understanding did not contain anything related to Iran’s nuclear program, for example. The source also said the text had not been finalized.

The same was reported by the Fars news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), citing “informed sources” who described Trump’s post as a “mixture of truth and lies.”

It also noted that Trump’s remarks made no mention of certain issues that are important to Tehran, such as a $12-billion payment from frozen Iranian assets and “establishing a complete cease-fire in Lebanon.”

US President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that he will soon be entering a meeting at which he will make his decision about an agreement aimed at ending the armed confrontation between Washington and Tehran.

“I will be meeting now, in the Situation Room, to make a final determination,” he wrote on Truth Social on May 29.

The comments follow reports in multiple US and international news outlets that the United States and Iran have reached a tentative agreement on extending the current cease-fire and that it is awaiting Trump’s final approval.

Trump’s post also contains statements about elements of the deal.

This includes, he says, an Iranian commitment to “never have” nuclear weapons, to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without tolls, to demine it, and to cooperate with the United States and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the destruction of its highly enriched uranium stocks.

Trump also says the US naval blockade of Iran will be lifted under the deal.

There has been official response from Iran to the earlier news reports on the agreement, which was said to contain a 60-day cease-fire extension during which negotiators would address Iran’s nuclear program.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country’s troops have moved north of Lebanon’s Litani River, moving deeper into the country even as Israeli and Lebanese military officials were due to meet at the Pentagon.

The comments highlighted one of the many moving parts that complicate a potential deal between the United States and Iran, as Tehran insists that a cease-fire in Lebanon must be part of any such agreement.

Israeli forces are fighting Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy group operating in Lebanon that is regarded as a terrorist organization by Israel and the United States.

The conflict has continued despite a cease-fire, which now largely exists only on paper, that was agreed as part of the wider US-Iran truce in force since April 8.

“Our forces crossed the Litani, and they advanced to the dominating terrain. We are operating in Beirut as well, in the Beqaa as well, across the entire front, and striking Hezbollah hard,” Netanyahu said while visiting a military base in northern Israel.

The Pentagon meeting later on May 29 comes after three previous rounds of talks hosted by the United States. Hezbollah has denounced the discussions.

The latest Israel-Hezbollah fighting began when the group launched rocket attacks on Israel in early March, following US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, has laid out a blunt negotiating philosophy that frames any diplomatic agreement with the United States as a temporary cease-fire rather than a lasting resolution.

In a post on X on May 29, Qalibaf wrote in Persian that Iran "takes concessions not through dialogue, but with missiles," adding that negotiations serve only to communicate that reality to the other side.

He said Tehran places no trust in guarantees or written commitments, and that no Iranian action would precede a corresponding move by Washington.

The parliament speaker, who led the only round of peace talks with the US following the April 8 cease-fire, also declared that the winner of any agreement is "whoever prepares better for war in the days after it."

Qalibaf's comments come as US Vice President JD Vance told reporters earlier that Tehran and Washington were "very close" to a peace agreement, but added that it was too early to say "when or if" a deal would be finalized.

Vance told reporters late on May 28 that negotiators were "going back and forth on a couple of language points," including on matters related to uranium enrichment.

Qalibaf, a former Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps commander whose profile rose sharply during the war following the assassination of a slew of prominent figures, is under pressure from hard-liners who insist Iran must secure maximalist demands while making few concessions.

Reports suggest that the emerging deal could extend the current cease-fire by 60 days and open negotiations on the nuclear file.

It would also reportedly restore unrestricted navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, give Tehran a month to clear mines from the waterway, lift the US naval blockade, and issue sanctions waivers permitting Iran to resume oil exports.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) has denied a claim by Iranian state TV that Iranian forces shot down a US plane near Bushehr.

"No U.S. aircraft were shot down. All U.S. air assets are accounted for," CENTCOM said in a post on X.

Earlier, Iran's state TV reported that air defenses destroyed a "hostile aircraft" in the Jam governorate in Bushehr Province, citing the local governor.

The United States has imposed sanctions on multiple entities, individuals, and vessels linked to Iran's petroleum and petrochemical trade, continuing its "maximum pressure" campaign against the Iranian regime, according to a fact sheet released by US State Department on May 28.

The measures include identifying eight vessels tied to Iranian oil shipments and sanctioning three entities and one individual involved in trading Iranian-origin petrochemical products.

Additionally, the State Department said it is offering a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and its various branches.  

State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the sanctions imposed on May 28 "cut off billions in revenue that funds the IRGC, proxy forces, and attacks on our partners."

"Any entity trading Iranian oil faces a serious risk of US sanctions," he added.