{"id":7093,"date":"2026-06-05T15:35:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T15:35:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/06\/05\/are-the-us-and-iran-closer-to-war-or-to-a-deal\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T15:35:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T15:35:21","slug":"are-the-us-and-iran-closer-to-war-or-to-a-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/06\/05\/are-the-us-and-iran-closer-to-war-or-to-a-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Are the US and Iran closer to war or to a deal?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

While the United States and Iran have continued to exchange a series of proposals and counter-proposals for peace since a temporary ceasefire was announced in April, leaders on both sides have repeatedly signalled that they are also prepared to use force against the other if the need should arise.<\/p>\n

And, despite that Pakistan-mediated ceasefire announced on April 8, flare-ups since then have prompted fears that renewed war \u2013 rather than peace \u2013 could be next.<\/p>\n

On Friday, Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned<\/a> that US bases in the region that are used to launch any aggression against Iran are considered legitimate targets.<\/p>\n

This warning came after attacks over the past few weeks on both Iran and US assets and infrastructure in Gulf countries. On Friday, Iran\u2019s navy also said that it had fired warning missiles and drones at US warships in the Gulf of Oman, and accused the US Navy of harassing maritime traffic and seizing commercial vessels and oil tankers amid the ongoing US naval blockade of Iranian ports, Iranian state media reported.<\/p>\n

So, which is more likely \u2013 peace or renewed warfare? Here is what each side has said so far.<\/p>\n

Where have attacks occurred most recently?<\/h2>\n

Iranian missiles and drones struck Kuwait\u2019s international airport on Wednesday morning, according to state news agency KUNA, which reported injuries, damage to facilities, and flight suspensions and diversions. India\u2019s foreign ministry said one Indian national was killed and several others were injured in the attack.<\/p>\n

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said two Iranian missiles aimed at Kuwait had fallen short or broken apart, however, and insisted that several ballistic missiles did not reach their targets.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s Tasnim news agency said Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) had targeted US helicopters in a \u201cregional country\u201d, apparently referring to Kuwait, but it was unclear if the helicopters were at the airport or whether debris and intercepted projectiles had caused the airport damage.<\/p>\n

Tasnim also reported that the IRGC fired missiles and drones at an airbase and the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. CENTCOM said projectiles aimed at Bahrain were intercepted, however, and that no US personnel or assets were harmed in either Kuwait or Bahrain.<\/p>\n

Those strikes followed US strikes on Iranian radar and drone sites in Goruk and on Qeshm Island, as well as a US attack on a telecommunications tower on Qeshm and the downing of Iranian drones targeting civilian ships.<\/p>\n

Tehran said US forces damaged an Iranian oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz, and Iranian media reported that the IRGC navy hit a vessel it called \u201cPanaya\u201d with missiles in response.<\/p>\n

These incidents mark an escalation following a brief lull after tit-for-tat strikes spreading across the Gulf last month.<\/p>\n

On May 17, for example, Abu Dhabi authorities said a drone strike caused a fire at an electrical generator outside the Barakah<\/a> nuclear plant\u2019s inner perimeter, though no injuries were reported and radiation levels remained normal.<\/p>\n

Earlier in May, the UAE also accused Iran of launching \u201ca barrage\u201d of missiles and drones at the port of the eastern emirate of Fujairah<\/a>, injuring three Indian nationals and setting an oil refinery at the Fujairah Petroleum Industries Zone ablaze.<\/p>\n

When has the US implied it is close to a deal?<\/h2>\n

On several occasions, US leaders have stated that Washington and Tehran are close to a peace deal or that the war will end soon.<\/p>\n

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Tuesday that the US would agree to sanctions relief only if Iran agrees to give up its nuclear activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe war is over,\u201d Rubio declared during a sharp exchange with Democratic Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, who disagreed.<\/p>\n

Rubio told Congress that Iran\u2019s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was alive and becoming<\/a> \u201cincreasingly engaged\u201d in negotiations with Washington. Khamenei has not appeared publicly since reportedly being wounded in the February 28 US-Israeli strikes on Tehran that killed his predecessor and father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n

As Iran reviewed the latest US peace proposal, Trump told reporters<\/a> in the Oval Office on May 6: \u201cThey want to make a deal. We\u2019ve had very good talks over the last 24 hours, and it\u2019s very possible that we\u2019ll make a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Has Iran implied it is close to a deal?<\/h2>\n

Pakistan\u2019s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met Iran\u2019s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth interior ministers emphasised the need to continue diplomatic efforts consistently for sustainable peace in the region,\u201d the Pakistani Ministry of Interior said on X.<\/p>\n

When Pakistan\u2019s military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, travelled to Tehran on May 22 for \u201ctalks and consultations\u201d with Iranian authorities, it seemed as if the diplomatic process was stepping up a notch. However, Iran\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, told reporters the visit did not necessarily mean that \u201cwe have reached a turning point or a decisive situation\u201d.<\/p>\n

Then, on May 28, the US and Iran<\/a> reportedly reached a preliminary memorandum of understanding (MOU), agreeing to\u00a0extend the ceasefire<\/a> between the two countries for a further 60 days and to begin negotiations for permanently ending the war, official US sources told Al Jazeera, but added that the framework still needed Trump\u2019s final approval.<\/p>\n

Neither Washington nor Tehran confirmed this MOU, however, and since then, skirmishes between the two sides have continued.<\/p>\n

When has the US implied hostilities could resume?<\/h2>\n

On several occasions, including the following.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday this week, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed US officials, that Trump had told his aides that he would consider ending the ceasefire with Iran if any US troops were killed in Iranian strikes. However, it seemed that Trump was otherwise unwilling to resume an all-out war with Iran.<\/p>\n

Before this, US Vice President JD Vance said on May 19, \u201cWe are not going to have a deal that allows the Iranians to have a nuclear weapon, so as the president just told me, we are locked and loaded. We don\u2019t want to go down that pathway, but the president is willing and able to if we have to.\u201d<\/p>\n

On May 17, in a post on his platform Truth Social, Trump warned that time was running short before a new wave of US military action might be launched.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won\u2019t be anything left of them,\u201d Trump wrote<\/a> in the short, two-sentence message. \u201cTIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!\u201d<\/p>\n

On April 20, Trump was asked by PBS News about what would happen if the ceasefire expired<\/a>. \u201cThen lots of bombs start going off,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

Has Iran implied hostilities could resume?<\/h2>\n

Araghchi said on Friday that \u201cstanding against the world\u2019s greatest power, equipped with nuclear weapons, for 40 days is no joke\u201d, Iran\u2019s IRIB news agency reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe warned regional states that US bases used for any aggression against Iran are legitimate targets,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s chief negotiator and speaker for the parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said during a conversation with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Tuesday that Tehran could abandon negotiations with the US and move towards confrontation if Israeli attacks on Lebanon continue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While the United States and Iran have continued to exchange a series of proposals and counter-proposals for peace since a temporary ceasefire was announced in April, leaders on both sides have repeatedly signalled that they are also prepared to use force against the other if the need should arise. And, despite that Pakistan-mediated ceasefire announced … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}