Iran engages with US even as war drums grow louder

• After military build-up in Middle East, Trump announces decision to hold off attack ‘planned for Tuesday’ at Gulf states’ request
• Esmaeil Baqaei confirms ‘exchanges through Pakistan’ continue
• Iranian media claims Washington ‘showing some flexibility’
• Persian Gulf Strait Authority formed to oversee traffic through Hormuz
• Iran claims targeting militias in Iraq

TEHRAN / WASHINGTON: Hours after Iran said it had responded to a new US proposal aimed at ending the war, President Donald Trump said that he had decided to “hold off” a planned attack “at the request of Gulf leaders”.

Trump said on Truth Social that “serious negotiations” were now underway with Iran, and that Gulf states believed “a deal will be made”.

But, he added, Washington was ready for a “full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached”.

According to Trump, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE had prevailed upon him to stop the attack, which he said was planned for Tuesday (today).

Earlier in the day, Iran had said it had responded to a US proposal. “As we announced yesterday, our concerns were conveyed to the American side,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told a news briefing, adding that exchanges were “continuing through the Pakistani mediator”.

A fragile ceasefire is in place after six weeks of war that followed US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran. But talks mediated by Pakistan stalled, resulting in a renewed military build-up in the region.

There were signs across the Middle East of a potential return to hostilities, with media reports suggesting that 6,500 tonnes of US munitions and equipment delivered to Israel in 24 hours.

According to the Atlantic Council’s Tracking of US Military Assets in the Iran War, as of May 15, Washington has maintained a large destroyer presence in the Middle East.

In addition, two of three available US aircraft carriers — the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS George H.W. Bush — are deployed to support Operation Epic Fury.

According to Israeli me­dia reports, Ben Gurion Airport is increasingly functioning like a mixed military-civilian base. At least 14 Ameri­can refueling aircraft have been stationed there, with additional military aircraft positioned in southern Israel.

A day earlier, President Trump spoke with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, where the two are said to have focused on “the possibility of rene­wing fighting in Iran”.

Iran’s proposal

During a press briefing on Monday, Baqaei defended Iran’s demands, including the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad and the lifting of long-standing sanctions.

“The points raised are Iranian demands that have been firmly defended by the Iranian negotiating team in every round of negotiations,” he said.

He also defended an Iranian stipulation that the US pay war reparations, describing the conflict as “illegal and baseless”.

On the possibility of another military confrontation, Baqaei said Iran was “fully prepared for any eventuality”.

The Iranian proposal, as described by the senior Iranian source, appeared similar in many respects to Iran’s previous offer, which US President Donald Trump rejected last week.

It would focus first on securing an end to the war, reopening the Strait of Hormuz — a major oil supply route that Iran has effectively blockaded — and lifting maritime sanctions. More contentious issues around Iran’s nuclear programme and uranium enrichment would be deferred to later rounds of talks, the source said.

However, in an apparent softening of Washing­ton’s stance, the senior Iranian source said the United States had agreed to release a quarter of Iran’s frozen funds — totaling tens of billions of dollars — held in foreign banks. Iran wants all the assets released.

Flexibility

The Iranian source also said Washington had showed more flexibility in allowing Iran to continue some peaceful nuclear activity under supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The Tasnim news agency separately quoted a source as saying the US had accepted waiving oil sanctions on Iran while negotiations were under way.

In a significant development, Iran’s top security body announced on Monday the formation of a new body to manage the Strait of Hormuz.

On its official X account, the Supreme National Security Council shared a post for the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) saying it would provide “real time updates on the Hormuz Strait operations and latest developments”. The account of the Revolutionary Guards Navy shared the same post.

It was not immediately clear what the new body would do, but earlier this month, Iran’s Press TV said it constituted a “system to exercise sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz” and that ships passing through the strait were sent “regulations” from the email info@pgsa.ir.

Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was slightly higher last week, returning to levels in line with the average recorded since the start of US-Israel war against Iran after hitting a wartime low.

A total of 55 commodities vessels crossed the strategic waterway between May 11 and 17, according to data from maritime tracking firm Kpler as of Monday morning.

That marked a sharp increase from the previous week, when just 19 vessels crossed — the lowest weekly figure since Feb 28.

Iranian state television said Friday the Revolutio­nary Guards were allowing more ships to transit the strait, after reporting a day earlier that “more than 30 ships” had been permitted to pass.

Attacks on ‘pro-US’ militia

The IRGC also claimed to have struck US and Israeli-backed “counter-revolutionary terrorist gro­ups”.

The groups were attempting “to smuggle a large consignment of sealed American weapons and ammunition into the country and were struck in Kurdistan Province”, the IRGC Command said in a statement.

The command said that “a large quantity of arms and ammunition” was discovered and seized.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2026

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