Trump-Iran latest: US president gives 10-day ultimatum to Tehran to agree to deal or ‘bad things happen’

Life appeared outwardly normal in Iran as the holy month of Ramadan began across the country and much of the Muslim world. Worshippers gathered for prayers, markets bustled ahead of iftar, and Quran recitations marked the spiritual start of the month.

Yet signs of a potential conflict loomed large over daily life.

In Tehran, Iranian newspapers carried slashed cover images of US President Donald Trump, reflecting rising tensions between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear programme.

On the first day of Ramadan, a Quran recitation gathering was held in the capital in the presence of Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader.

The event took place on Thursday at the Imam Khomeini Hussainia and brought together prominent Iranian and international masters and reciters of the Holy Quran, The Caspian Post reported, citing the state news agency IRNA.

The son of a British couple detained in Tehran says the news that they have been sentenced to 10 years in prison is “devastating” and came completely out of the blue.

Lindsay and Craig Foreman, from East Sussex, have spent more than 13 months behind bars in Iran, denied legal representation and subjected to gruelling conditions, according to their family.

But Joe Bennett, Ms Foreman’s son, told The Independent on Thursday that the severity of the sentence was like a “thunder punch to the stomach”, coming some four months after they stood trial on disputed espionage charges.

“It’s almost as if we’ve now been given the diagnosis by the doctor,” he said. “When you get a cancer diagnosis, it is a harrowing thing to have to listen to ... but it also means that you can work towards fighting it and getting rid of it and healing.”

The UN’s atomic watchdog agency head said that Iran’s enriched materials are still intact and in need of monitoring, calling on the US to secure a nucear deal as soon as possible.

Rafael Grossi, the director general of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Tehran still has access to highly enriched uranium despite America and Israel’s joint strikes on Iranian bases.

“The problem is, we don’t have much time,” Grossi, who attended the talks between Washington and Tehran in Geneva this week, told a French outlet.

“Most of the material that Iran had accumulated up until June of last year, despite the bombings and the attacks, is still there, in large quantities, where it was at the time of the strikes,” Grossi said.

“Some of it may be less accessible, but the material is still there. From a non-proliferation standpoint, the material remains,” he added.

“That is why there is so much interest — I would say urgency — in reaching an agreement that would prevent new military action in the region.”

The United States is building up military assets near the Middle East, so it is ready to strike Iran as soon as Saturday, according to reports.

Tensions between the US and Tehran have been mounting for weeks, after Donald Trump highlighted the regime’s brutal crackdown on protesters and called for Iran to make a deal on its nuclear capabilities.

As rhetoric between the two sides has ramped up, US deployment in and around the region has grown. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier was spotted off the coast of Oman this week and will soon be joined by the world’s largest warship, the $13bn USS Gerald R Ford.

The ongoing buildup has seen destroyers and specialist combat ships move to cover Iran’s southern flank as F-15 and EA-18 fighter jets gather numbers across military bases to the west.

Iran held annual military drills with Russia on Thursday as a second American aircraft carrier drew closer to the Middle East, with both the United States and Iran signaling they are prepared for war if talks on Tehran's nuclear program fizzle out.

Iranian forces and Russian sailors conducted the annual drills in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean aimed at "upgrading operational coordination as well as exchange of military experiences," Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Footage later released by Iran showed members of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard's naval special forces board a vessel in the exercise.

Those forces are believed to have been used in the past to seize vessels in key international waterways.

Iran also issued a rocket-fire warning to pilots in the region, suggesting it planned to launch anti-ship missiles in the exercise.

Meanwhile, tracking data showed the Ford off the coast of Morocco in the Atlantic Ocean midday Wednesday, meaning the carrier could transit through Gibraltar and potentially station in the eastern Mediterranean with its supporting guided-missile destroyers.

Once it arrives in the region, it would be able to help protect Israel and Jordan if war breaks out.

US senator John Fetterman has called for Washington to confront Iran with military force over its nuclear programme, arguing that Tehran responds only to “strength and power.”

In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, Fetterman questioned how the United States could allow the Islamic Republic to move closer to acquiring a nuclear weapon.

“How could you allow Iran to acquire a nuclear bomb?” he said. “We’ve demonstrated that the only thing Iran ever responds to is strength and power.”

Using stark language, he added: “You can’t negotiate with cancer. You have to attack it and go right at it with superior force.”

Fetterman, who last year was the only Democrat to publicly advocate tougher action against Tehran, also challenged the Biden administration’s reluctance to target Iran’s stockpiles of near weapons-grade uranium.

“If they have 900 pounds of near weapons-grade uranium, why wouldn’t you strike that? Why wouldn’t you hold them accountable that way?” he asked.

Iran has said it will respond "decisively and proportionately” to any US aggression.

In a letter to the UN Security Council on Thursday, Amir Saeid Iravani, the Iranian ambassador to the US, said that while Iran does not seek "tension or war and will not initiate a war".

“In such circumstances, all bases, facilities, and assets of the hostile force in the region would constitute legitimate targets in the context of Iran's defensive response," Iravani said.

If, as seems increasingly likely, President Trump decides he’s going to launch a massive bombing campaign against Iran, then he must prepare the citizens of the United States for the gravity of that decision in a televised speech to the nation.

The element of surprise here is not on the table. What is, is a requirement to explain why this dramatic act will be taken and what the likely risks are to American military personnel in the region and to civilians, extending from our allies to the citizens of Iran, hundreds of thousands of whom have recently risked their lives in anti-regime protests.

The cost in blood and treasure will likely be high, the latter including much of the regional oil infrastructure that supports the world’s economies.

International anxiety is mounting as governments move to protect their citizens and reposition military assets amid escalating tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme.

Polish prime minister Donald Tusk urged Polish nationals to leave Iran immediately, warning that the window for evacuation may soon close. “Within a few, a dozen, or even a few dozen hours, the possibility of evacuation will be out of the question,” he said, without elaborating on the specific threat assessment.

Despite the stark warning, the Polish embassy in Tehran does not appear to be drawing down staff for now.

Germany has also taken precautionary steps. The German military said it had relocated “a mid-two digit number of non-mission critical personnel” from a base in northern Iraq due to the deteriorating regional situation and in coordination with partners. However, some troops remain at the multinational camp in Irbil, where they continue training Iraqi forces.

In Washington, the military build-up continues. According to the New York-based The Soufan Center, “another 50 US combat aircraft – F-35s, F-22s, and F-16s – were ordered to the region, supplementing the hundreds deployed to bases in the Arab Gulf states.”

"The deployments reinforce Trump's threat – restated on a nearly daily basis – to proceed with a major air and missile campaign on the regime if talks fail."

The British government has not granted the US permission to use UK military bases for potential strikes on Iran, according to the BBC.

Washington has previously used RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to launch operations in the Middle East.

But this time, the UK is understood to be withholding approval as US president Donald Trump threatens military action if Iran fails to agree to curb its nuclear activities.

A UK government spokesperson declined to address operational details, saying: “As routine, we do not comment on operational matters.”

However, the government reiterated its position that “Iran must never be able to develop a nuclear weapon” and that it supports an ongoing political process between Washington and Tehran.

In a Truth Social post, Trump explicitly referenced the two UK-linked bases, saying they could be used “in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous regime” if Iran does not strike a deal.

The comments came shortly after Trump criticised prime minister Keir Starmer over the agreement to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while leasing back a joint UK-US military base.

According to The Times, the president’s frustration may be linked to Britain’s reluctance to authorise the use of its bases for a strike on Iran.

Under longstanding arrangements, the US must seek UK approval before using British sovereign bases for military operations.

Neither RAF Fairford nor Diego Garcia were used in US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last year, and at the time, UK defence sources said Washington had not requested permission.

Donald Trump is reportedly weighing an initial limited military strike on Iran in order to get it to comply with its nuclear demands.

The initial action would not be a full-scale war, but would aim to pressure Tehran into an agreement by targeting a few military or government sites, the Wall Street Journal has said.

The newspaper reported that if Iran still did not make an agreement following the strike, the US would then respond with broader action.

The US president said on Thursday he would give Iran around 10 to 15 days to make a deal on its nuclear programme.

He told reporters on Air Force One: “We’re either going to get a deal or it’s going to be unfortunate for them.”