US President Donald Trump has expressed dissatisfaction with Iran’s latest peace proposal saying it’s asking for things “I can’t agree to”.
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Iran’s military says it’s “likely” the US-Israel war on the country will resume and it’s “fully prepared for any new adventures or foolishness from the Americans”.
US President Donald Trump has expressed dissatisfaction with Iran’s latest peace proposal saying it’s asking for things “I can’t agree to”.
Echoing earlier remarks by the German defence minister (see post at 9:35), Hart said the move “underscores the need for Europe to continue to invest more in defence and take on a greater share of the responsibility” for the region’s security.
We are working with the US to understand the details of their decision on force posture in Germany. This adjustment underscores the need for Europe to continue to invest more in defence and take on a greater share of the responsibility for our shared security – where we’re already seeing progress since allies agreed to invest 5% of GDP at the Nato Summit in The Hague last year. We remain confident in our ability to provide for our deterrence and defence as this shift towards a stronger Europe in a stronger Nato continues.
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The US is withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany, days after the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, suggested Washington was being outplayed and “humiliated” by Iran.
The US president had earlier said a “determination” on the US military presence in Germany, seen as a key part of Nato’s defences but also vital for the projection of US power in other parts of the world, would be made “over the next short period of time”.
In this explainer, we look at why the US has military bases in Germany, what role they play, and how Trump’s threat to wind them down may not benefit the US:
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A senior Iranian military official said renewed fighting between the US and Iran was “likely”, according to the Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency.
The statement followed reports that Donald Trump was “not satisfied” with a new Iranian proposal to end the war. Iran delivered the proposal to mediator Pakistan on Thursday evening, Iranian state media reported, without detailing its contents.
“At this moment I’m not satisfied with what they’re offering,” the US president said yesterday. He did not elaborate on what he saw as the latest proposal’s shortcomings but blamed stalled talks on “tremendous discord” within Iran’s leadership.
Mohammad Jafar Asadi, a senior figure in the Iranian military’s central command, said “a renewed conflict between Iran and the United States is likely”, in quotes published by Fars this morning.
“The actions and statements of American officials are mostly media-oriented, firstly to prevent the fall in oil prices and secondly to get out of the predicament they have created themselves.
“The armed forces are fully prepared for any new American adventure and folly.”
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The German defence minister, Boris Pistorius, has called on European allies to shoulder more responsibility for their security, after the US announced it would withdraw 5,000 US troops from Germany.
Pistorius said the presence of American soldiers in Europe was “in our interest and in the interest of the United States”, but added: “It was foreseeable that the US would withdraw troops from Europe, including Germany.
“We Europeans must take greater responsibility for our security.”
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Germany is the US military’s biggest basing location in Europe, with about 35,000 active-duty military personnel, and serves as a key training hub.
The announcement came amid a public feud between the US president, Donald Trump, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, after the European leader said the US was being “humiliated” by Iran.
Pistorius said Germany was “on the right track” in taking steps to strengthen the country’s defence capabilities, as he pointed to the expansion of its Bundeswehr armed forces, greater and faster procurement of equipment and the construction of infrastructure.
You can read last night’s report on this story here:
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Hello and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.
The German defence minister, Boris Pistorius, said that it was “foreseeable” that the US would withdraw troops from Europe, after the Pentagon announced it would pull thousands of American soldiers from Germany.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the US will withdraw 5,000 active-duty troops from Nato ally Germany in the next six to 12 months, fulfilling his earlier threats after clashing with German chancellor Friedrich Merz over the Iran war.
Earlier this week, Merz said Iran had “humiliated” the US and questioned how Trump planned to end the conflict, saying: “The Americans obviously have no strategy.”
Responding to the announcement of plans to withdraw 5,000 US troops from Germany, Pistorius said: “It was foreseeable that the US would withdraw troops from Europe, including Germany.”
Trump said he is “not satisfied” with a new proposal from Iran on ending the war, as peace talks remain stalled despite a weeks-long ceasefire. Iran delivered the proposal text to mediator Pakistan on Thursday evening, Iranian state news agency Irna reported, without detailing its contents.
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The US state department said it was approving military sales totalling more than $8.6bn to Middle Eastern allies Israel, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. It came as Washington warned European allies including the UK, Poland, Lithuania and Estonia to expect long delivery delays for US weapons as it scrambles to replenish stockpiles depleted by the Iran war, according to a report in the Fianancial Times citing multiple sources.
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In Lebanon, 12 people were killed in Israeli strikes in the south, Lebanon’s health ministry said, including in the town of Habboush, where the Israeli army had issued an evacuation order despite the continuing ceasefire. Israeli warplanes “launched a series of heavy strikes … less than an hour after” the warning, the state-run National News Agency said.
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rises in Habboush, southern Lebanon, on Friday after Israeli strikes.”,”caption”:”Smoke rises in Habboush, southern Lebanon, on Friday after Israeli strikes.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Reuters”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
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The US Treasury Office warned that any shipping companies that paid tolls to Iran for passage through the strait of Hormuz, including charitable donations to organisations such as the Iranian Red Crescent Society, would risk punitive sanctions. Tehran has proposed charging fees on vessels passing through the strait, as part of a deal to end the war.
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Trump wrote to US lawmakers on Friday declaring hostilities with Iran “terminated”, despite no change in the US military posture, as he faces continuing pressure at home to seek congressional authorisation for the war.
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The state department’s announcement on Friday included approving military sales to Qatar of Patriot air and missile defence replenishment services costing $4.01bn and of advanced precision kill weapon systems (APKWS) costing $992.4m. They also included approval of the sale to Kuwait of an integrated battle command system costing $2.5bn and to Israel of APKWS costing $992.4m.
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Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei urged his people to wage economic battle and “disappoint” its enemies, as the war and years of sanctions take a toll. In a written statement he also said “the owners of damaged businesses should avoid, as much as possible, layoffs and separation of their workforce”.
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Key events
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Nato says it is working with US to understand decision to withdraw troops from Germany
Nato spokesperson Allison Hart said the alliance was working with the US to understand its decision to pull 5,000 American troops from Germany.
Echoing earlier remarks by the German defence minister (see post at 9:35), Hart said the move “underscores the need for Europe to continue to invest more in defence and take on a greater share of the responsibility” for the region’s security.
In a statement on X, she said:
We are working with the US to understand the details of their decision on force posture in Germany. This adjustment underscores the need for Europe to continue to invest more in defence and take on a greater share of the responsibility for our shared security – where we’re already seeing progress since allies agreed to invest 5% of GDP at the Nato Summit in The Hague last year. We remain confident in our ability to provide for our deterrence and defence as this shift towards a stronger Europe in a stronger Nato continues.
Why does the US have military bases in Germany?
Jon Henley
The US is withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany, days after the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, suggested Washington was being outplayed and “humiliated” by Iran.
The US president had earlier said a “determination” on the US military presence in Germany, seen as a key part of Nato’s defences but also vital for the projection of US power in other parts of the world, would be made “over the next short period of time”.
In this explainer, we look at why the US has military bases in Germany, what role they play, and how Trump’s threat to wind them down may not benefit the US:
As a reminder on Iran’s new peace proposal, state media reported that Tehran handed the offer to Pakistan on Thursday night, to pass on to Washington, though its contents were not immediately clear.
Commenting on the proposal last night, Donald Trump said: “They’re asking for things I can’t agree to.”
Pakistan, which is working to restart US-Iran talks in Islamabad, said it believes a deal is within reach, but there has been no reported progress since the failed round of negotiations on 11 and 12 April.
You can read our earlier report on this story here:
Iran says war with US will ‘likely’ resume
A senior Iranian military official said renewed fighting between the US and Iran was “likely”, according to the Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency.
The statement followed reports that Donald Trump was “not satisfied” with a new Iranian proposal to end the war. Iran delivered the proposal to mediator Pakistan on Thursday evening, Iranian state media reported, without detailing its contents.
“At this moment I’m not satisfied with what they’re offering,” the US president said yesterday. He did not elaborate on what he saw as the latest proposal’s shortcomings but blamed stalled talks on “tremendous discord” within Iran’s leadership.
A ceasefire has halted the fighting since 8 April, and attempts have been made for peace talks in Pakistan since then.
Mohammad Jafar Asadi, a senior figure in the Iranian military’s central command, said “a renewed conflict between Iran and the United States is likely”, in quotes published by Fars this morning.
“Evidence has shown that the United States is not adhering to any promises or agreements,” he added.
“The actions and statements of American officials are mostly media-oriented, firstly to prevent the fall in oil prices and secondly to get out of the predicament they have created themselves.
“The armed forces are fully prepared for any new American adventure and folly.”
German defence minister says American troops in Europe ‘in our interest and in the US’s’
The German defence minister, Boris Pistorius, has called on European allies to shoulder more responsibility for their security, after the US announced it would withdraw 5,000 US troops from Germany.
Pistorius said the presence of American soldiers in Europe was “in our interest and in the interest of the United States”, but added: “It was foreseeable that the US would withdraw troops from Europe, including Germany.
“We Europeans must take greater responsibility for our security.”
German defence minister Boris Pistorius speaking at a defence ministry event on Tuesday. Photograph: dts News Agency Germany/Shutterstock
Germany is the US military’s biggest basing location in Europe, with about 35,000 active-duty military personnel, and serves as a key training hub.
On Friday, the Pentagon said the withdrawal of troops was expected to be completed over the next six to 12 months.
The announcement came amid a public feud between the US president, Donald Trump, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, after the European leader said the US was being “humiliated” by Iran.
Pistorius said Germany was “on the right track” in taking steps to strengthen the country’s defence capabilities, as he pointed to the expansion of its Bundeswehr armed forces, greater and faster procurement of equipment and the construction of infrastructure.
You can read last night’s report on this story here:
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.
The German defence minister, Boris Pistorius, said that it was “foreseeable” that the US would withdraw troops from Europe, after the Pentagon announced it would pull thousands of American soldiers from Germany.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the US will withdraw 5,000 active-duty troops from Nato ally Germany in the next six to 12 months, fulfilling his earlier threats after clashing with German chancellor Friedrich Merz over the Iran war.
Earlier this week, Merz said Iran had “humiliated” the US and questioned how Trump planned to end the conflict, saying: “The Americans obviously have no strategy.”
Responding to the announcement of plans to withdraw 5,000 US troops from Germany, Pistorius said: “It was foreseeable that the US would withdraw troops from Europe, including Germany.”
He added that Europeans must take greater responsibility for their own security, and that Germany was “on the right track” in this regard.
In other developments:
Trump said he is “not satisfied” with a new proposal from Iran on ending the war, as peace talks remain stalled despite a weeks-long ceasefire. Iran delivered the proposal text to mediator Pakistan on Thursday evening, Iranian state news agency Irna reported, without detailing its contents.
The US state department said it was approving military sales totalling more than $8.6bn to Middle Eastern allies Israel, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. It came as Washington warned European allies including the UK, Poland, Lithuania and Estonia to expect long delivery delays for US weapons as it scrambles to replenish stockpiles depleted by the Iran war, according to a report in the Fianancial Times citing multiple sources.
In Lebanon, 12 people were killed in Israeli strikes in the south, Lebanon’s health ministry said, including in the town of Habboush, where the Israeli army had issued an evacuation order despite the continuing ceasefire. Israeli warplanes “launched a series of heavy strikes … less than an hour after” the warning, the state-run National News Agency said.
Smoke rises in Habboush, southern Lebanon, on Friday after Israeli strikes. Photograph: Reuters
The US Treasury Office warned that any shipping companies that paid tolls to Iran for passage through the strait of Hormuz, including charitable donations to organisations such as the Iranian Red Crescent Society, would risk punitive sanctions. Tehran has proposed charging fees on vessels passing through the strait, as part of a deal to end the war.
Trump wrote to US lawmakers on Friday declaring hostilities with Iran “terminated”, despite no change in the US military posture, as he faces continuing pressure at home to seek congressional authorisation for the war.
The state department’s announcement on Friday included approving military sales to Qatar of Patriot air and missile defence replenishment services costing $4.01bn and of advanced precision kill weapon systems (APKWS) costing $992.4m. They also included approval of the sale to Kuwait of an integrated battle command system costing $2.5bn and to Israel of APKWS costing $992.4m.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei urged his people to wage economic battle and “disappoint” its enemies, as the war and years of sanctions take a toll. In a written statement he also said “the owners of damaged businesses should avoid, as much as possible, layoffs and separation of their workforce”.
US President Donald Trump joked on Friday that his country’s Navy would take on Cuba on the way home from Iran.
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His comments came as he addressed attendees of an event at the non-profit Forum Club of the Palm Beaches, where he was invited as a keynote speaker.
Trump said that his military will be “taking over (Cuba) almost immediately,” raising concerns that the US may be entangled in yet another military conflict this year.
“Now Cuba’s got problems. We’ll finish one first. I like to finish a job. On the way back from what we’ll do… on the way back from Iran, we’ll have one of our big, maybe the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier – the biggest in the world, will have that come in. Stop about 100 yards offshore, and they’ll say, ‘thank you very much. We give up’,” added Trump.
Trump has suggested that military operations in Cuba are on the table for months as his administration continued to attack leadership in Havana following Washington’s stunning intervention in Venezuela in January, which toppled and captured President Nicolas Maduro.
Trump had accused Cuba of providing security personnel to protect Maduro’s alleged drug-trafficking operations in exchange for money and oil, both of which he had cut off following the 3 January operation.
The island nation has since been grappling with dire oil shortages which have shut down many sectors across the country and ground national healthcare services to a halt. The UN warned several times that a humanitarian crisis was unfolding in Cuba as a result of the US oil embargoes.
On Friday, Trump ordered new sanctions against Havana, targeting a broad set of people in the communist-run country and threatening foreign banks that work with them.
In an executive order, Trump said he would impose sanctions on people involved in sweeping sections of the Cuban economy, which is steered by the government.
Trump will target people known to “operate in or have operated in the energy, defence and related materiel, metals and mining, financial services, or security sector of the Cuban economy, or any other sector of the Cuban economy” as determined by the US government, the order said.
It also said it would target Cuban officials judged to have engaged in “serious human rights abuses” or corruption. The people listed will be unable to visit the United States, the order said.
The fresh sanctions were denounced by Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez Parrilla, who called them a form of “collective punishment”.
“We firmly reject the recent unilateral coercive measures adopted by the United States government. These actions demonstrate an intention to impose, once again, collective punishment on the Cuban people,” wrote Parilla in a post on X.
“It is no coincidence that these measures were announced on May 1, the very day that millions of Cubans take to the streets to denounce the US blockade and the energy siege.”
Parilla also slammed the Trump administration for foreign meddling on claims of fighting injustices and protecting democracy, while repressing its own people domestically.
“While the US government represses its own people in the streets, it seeks to punish ours, who are heroically resisting the US imperialism’s attacks,” he wrote.
“These measures are extraterritorial in nature and violate the United Nations Charter. The US has no right whatsoever to impose measures against Cuba or against third countries or entities.”
The White House has called on Cuban leaders to engage in talks with Washington for months, warning that they must do so “before it is too late”.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has repeatedly rejected to negotiate under what he called hostile terms, arguing that Havana will only engage in talks based on common respect, equal footing and without threat to its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
US President Donald Trump says the latest Iranian peace proposal includes demands he ‘can’t agree to’.
United States President Donald Trump has voiced frustration with Iran’s latest peace proposal, saying “they’re asking for things I can’t agree to”, and cautioning against ending the conflict too early, only for tensions to resurface “in three more years”.
At the same time, Washington has warned that ships paying tolls or fees to Iran to transit the Strait of Hormuz could face US sanctions, signalling a tougher stance on maritime activity linked to Tehran.
Meanwhile, a new Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll shows 61 percent of Americans believe Trump’s use of military force against Iran was a mistake.
Here is what we know:
In Iran
Fourteen soldiers were killed on Friday during operations to defuse unexploded ordnance in the northwestern Zanjan province, local media reported.
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei urged his people to wage economic battle and “disappoint” its enemies, as the war with the US and Israel and years of sanctions take a toll.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said it would enforce “new rules” over waters near its coast, aiming to turn them into a “source of security and prosperity” for the region.
War diplomacy
The US Department of State imposed new measures on entities linked to Iranian petroleum exports, including China-based Qingdao Haiye Oil Terminal, accusing it of importing millions of barrels of sanctioned crude and enabling billions in revenue for Tehran. Beijing rejected the move as unlawful “unilateral sanctions”.
The State Department said it cleared more than $8.6bn in military sales to Israel, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
In the US
Trump said he was unhappy with Iran’s new proposal for peace talks, which Iran’s state news agency IRNA said was delivered via mediator Pakistan. “They’re asking for things that I can’t agree to,” he said.
Analyst Sultan Barakat said Iran and the US are “really desperate” to end the war in a way that allows them to “save face”.
Trump told top US lawmakers that hostilities in Iran had ended, after coming under pressure from Congress to seek authorisation for the conflict as it headed into its third month.
The US Treasury Department slapped new sanctions on three Iranian foreign currency exchange firms to try to stem the flow of Tehran’s “financial lifelines”.
The USS Gerald R Ford left the Middle East after taking part in operations against Iran, a US official said, according to reports. Two other aircraft carriers – the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS George HW Bush – are among 20 US ships still in the region.
Mark Cancian of the Center for Strategic and International Studies said US military capability “has not changed” as Washington returns to its typical posture of two carrier groups.
“The Ford carrier group had left the United States last June, and its deployment has been extended twice. The crew and the ship are tired, so the United States is sending the group home,” he added.
USS Gerald R Ford anchored in Split, Croatia, March 29, 2026 [EP]
In Lebanon
Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said 12 people were killed on Friday in Israeli strikes on the country’s south, including in a town where Israel’s army had issued a forced displacement order despite a ceasefire.
Lebanon’s parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, said Israel is using the ceasefire as cover to intensify attacks.
US President Donald Trump announced that his country will withdraw 5,000 active-duty troops from NATO ally Germany in the next six to 12 months, fulfilling his earlier threats after Trump clashes with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the US-Israeli war in Iran.
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Trump had threatened to withdraw some troops from the NATO ally earlier this week after Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Washington was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticised their lack of strategy in the war.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement that the “decision follows a thorough review of the Department’s force posture in Europe and is in recognition of theatre requirements and conditions on the ground.”
Germany hosts several US military facilities, including the headquarters of its European and Africa commands, Ramstein Air Base and a medical centre in Landstuhl, where casualties from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were treated. US nuclear missiles are also stationed in the country.
The number of troops leaving Germany would be around 14% of the total deployment in the country, which exceeds 36,000 US service members.
News of the troop withdrawal drew swift pushback from Democrats in Congress, who say that the move will benefit Russian President Vladimir Putin and weaken US security interests.
The withdrawal “suggests American commitments to our allies are dependent on the president’s mood,” said Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“The president should immediately cease this reckless action before he causes irreversible consequences for our alliances and long-term national security,” Reed added.
Trump made a similar threat in his first term, saying he would pull close to 10,000 of the roughly 34,500 US troops who were then stationed in Germany at the time, but he didn’t start the process.
Democratic President Joe Biden formally stopped the planned withdrawal soon after taking office in 2021.
The US president has mused for years about reducing US military presence in Germany, and has railed against NATO for its refusal to assist Washington in the war, which began on 28 February with US-Israeli strikes on Tehran.
US allies in NATO have braced for a potential troop withdrawal since Trump took office last year, after Washington warned that Europe would have to look after its own security, including that of Ukraine, in the future.
Depending on operations, exercises and troop rotations, the US stations around 80,000-100,000 personnel in the continent. Analysts say the move could carry disastrous consequences at a time of heightened global instability, conflicts and wars.
