{"id":13324,"date":"2026-05-31T01:11:56","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T01:11:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/05\/31\/live-updates-us-military-ready-to-resume-combat-in-gulf-if-needed-us-defense-secretary-warns-cnn\/"},"modified":"2026-05-31T01:11:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T01:11:56","slug":"live-updates-us-military-ready-to-resume-combat-in-gulf-if-needed-us-defense-secretary-warns-cnn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/05\/31\/live-updates-us-military-ready-to-resume-combat-in-gulf-if-needed-us-defense-secretary-warns-cnn\/","title":{"rendered":"Live updates: US military ready to resume combat in Gulf if needed, US defense secretary warns – CNN"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The U.S. president is keeping up the bluster against Middle Eastern allies and foes, as the peace deal with Iran waits for his signature. Former U.S. Ambassador to Oman Gary Grappo explains what’s still in limbo.<\/p>\n

” data-duration=”03:27″ data-source-html=” \u2022 Source: CNN<\/a> <\/span>” data-fave-thumbnails=”{“big”: { “uri”: “https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/c-gettyimages-2276311255.jpg?c=16×9&q=h_540,w_960,c_fill” }, “small”: { “uri”: “https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/c-gettyimages-2276311255.jpg?c=16×9&q=h_540,w_960,c_fill” } }” data-vr-video=”false” data-show-html=”” data-byline-html=”<\/p>\n

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Updated 8:34 PM EDT, Sat May 30, 2026 <\/div>\n

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The U.S. president is keeping up the bluster against Middle Eastern allies and foes, as the peace deal with Iran waits for his signature. Former U.S. Ambassador to Oman Gary Grappo explains what’s still in limbo.<\/p>\n

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The U.S. president is keeping up the bluster against Middle Eastern allies and foes, as the peace deal with Iran waits for his signature. Former U.S. Ambassador to Oman Gary Grappo explains what’s still in limbo.<\/p>\n

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The US-Iran ceasefire deal hangs in limbo as Trump continues threats <\/p>\n

3:27 <\/span> \u2022 Source: CNN<\/a> <\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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The US-Iran ceasefire deal hangs in limbo as Trump continues threats<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

3:27 <\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u2022 Ready to resume combat: <\/strong>The US military is ready to resume combat in the Persian Gulf if required and is more strongly placed to do so than on day one of the conflict, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters<\/a> on Saturday. <\/p>\n

\u2022 Potential deal: <\/strong>US President Donald Trump is considering a tentative agreement<\/a> that would open the Strait of Hormuz and start nuclear talks with Iran, but he has not given any indication of a decision after he met with advisers<\/a> Friday. <\/p>\n

\u2022 In the strait: <\/strong>The US military on Friday disabled a Gambian-flagged vessel that was heading to Iran<\/a> by firing a missile into its engine room, US Central Command announced Saturday. <\/p>\n

\u2022 Hezbollah attacks: <\/strong>Hezbollah launched barrages of rocket and drone fire<\/a> at northern Israel, forcing schools to close and a hospital to move underground. As Israeli troops advance farther into southern Lebanon, the military has warned of intensified attacks from the Iran-backed militant group<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Iran and the United States reached a tentative agreement<\/a> to turn the existing ceasefire into a more long-lasting settlement, US officials said Thursday. <\/p>\n

But on Friday, President Donald Trump made a series of demands \u2014 on the Strait of Hormuz, Iran\u2019s nuclear program and the unfreezing of Iranian assets held overseas – that did not go down well in Tehran. <\/p>\n

So it appears that the memorandum of understanding (MoU) is still, at best, a work in progress. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s where things stand: <\/p>\n

Strait of Hormuz: <\/strong>Both sides regard agreement on navigation through the waterway as a first step, after three months of paralysis that has caused a sharp spike in the price of crude oil and other commodities. <\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s nuclear program: <\/strong>It\u2019s only when the MoU is signed that the clock starts ticking on a 60-day negotiation period to address Iran\u2019s nuclear program, including the fate of its stockpile<\/a> of highly enriched uranium. Trump said that Iran\u2019s stockpiles will be unearthed in a joint US-Iranian operation and destroyed – an assertion quickly repudiated by Iranian state media. <\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s frozen assets:<\/strong> Tehran is demanding the immediate unfreezing of billions of dollars in assets held in banks overseas<\/a>. But a senior US official told CNN last week that the unfreezing of Iranian assets would occur only once the Strait of Hormuz has reopened. <\/p>\n

Sanctions:<\/strong> As with Iran\u2019s frozen assets, sanctions imposed on Iran will only be lifted once the Strait of Hormuz is open and fully functioning again, a US official told CNN. The economy is suffering from a huge array of international sanctions, most of them imposed by the US and Europe. <\/p>\n

Lebanon: <\/strong>It\u2019s unclear how or whether the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon will be addressed in any memorandum. Over the past week, Iranian officials have stressed that the MoU will apply to the \u201cend of the war on all fronts, including Lebanon.\u201d But Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week that he supports the country\u2019s wish to \u201cmaintain freedom of action against threats on all fronts, including Lebanon,\u201d an Israeli official said. <\/p>\n

Read the full story here.<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Israel closed schools along its northern border and moved a hospital underground as Hezbollah launched barrages of rocket and drone fire at northern Israel. <\/p>\n

The military\u2019s Home Front Command announced that schools in the border communities would close on Sunday and Monday, while outdoor gatherings would be limited to 50 people. Beaches in northern Israel are also closed. <\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s Ministry of Health also announced that the Galilee Medical Center in the northern city of Nahariya would shift its operations to its protected underground complex. The hospital is approximately six miles from the Israel-Lebanon border. <\/p>\n

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On at least 15 different occasions on Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had detected projectiles launched from Lebanon into northern Israel. Many of the projectiles were intercepted, the IDF said, while others landed in open areas. The IDF warned on Saturday afternoon that there could be an increase in fire toward northern Israel \u201cfollowing the advancement of IDF operations in southern Lebanon.\u201d <\/p>\n

Hezbollah claimed 24 attacks on Israeli targets on Saturday, marking an uptick in activity. Eight of the attacks were inside Israel, Hezbollah said, using rockets and explosive drones, while 16 targeted areas in southern Lebanon. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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The Israeli military said today it is preparing for attacks from Lebanon<\/a> toward northern Israel as its troops advance further into southern Lebanon in operations against Hezbollah. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what to know about the Iran-backed militant group:<\/em> <\/p>\n

Origins:<\/strong> Hezbollah emerged from the rubble of Israel\u2019s 1982 invasion of Lebanon, when Israeli forces took almost half of Lebanon\u2019s territory, including Beirut. Israel\u2019s operation resulted in more than 17,000 deaths, according to contemporary reports<\/a> and an Israeli inquiry into a massacre at the Beirut refugee camp of Sabra and Shatila, one of the bloodiest events in the region\u2019s recent history. <\/p>\n

Rise to prominence: <\/strong>A band of Shia Islamist fighters trained by Iran burst onto Lebanon\u2019s fractious political landscape. Eventually, in 1985, militants coalesced more formally around a newly founded organization: Hezbollah. The group made no secret about its ideological allegiance to Tehran and received a steady flow of funds from the Islamic Republic. It became a participant in Lebanon\u2019s civil war, which ended in 1990, and led a fight against Israeli forces occupying southern Lebanon, ultimately driving them out in 2000. <\/p>\n

Terror designation: <\/strong>In Lebanon, Hezbollah is officially considered a \u201cresistance\u201d group tasked with confronting Israel, which Beirut classifies as an enemy state. Much of the Western world has designated Hezbollah a terrorist organization. <\/p>\n

Battered condition today: <\/strong>Hezbollah, once seen as a potent deterrent against a direct confrontation with Iran, now appears barely a shadow of the force it once was. Battered by years of relentless Israeli assaults<\/a>, it has seen its most senior leaders assassinated, its southern Lebanese strongholds overrun and its fearsome missile arsenal depleted. <\/p>\n

CNN\u2019s Eugenia Yosef and Tim Lister contributed to this reporting.<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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The US military on Friday disabled a Gambian-flagged vessel that was heading to Iran by firing a missile into its engine room, US Central Command announced today. <\/p>\n

CENTCOM said the M\/V Lian Star was en route to an Iranian port in the Gulf of Oman when the US military issued \u201cmore than 20 warnings\u201d that it was violating the US blockade of Iranian ports. <\/p>\n

This marks the fifth commercial ship that CENTCOM has disabled since the blockade began, according to the post. More than 100 vessels have also been redirected. <\/p>\n

When asked for additional information on the Friday incident, CENTCOM said it had nothing further to add. <\/p>\n

This post has been updated with additional information.<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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US President Donald Trump continues to weigh a tentative agreement with Tehran. As Trump has offered various justifications<\/a> for starting the war with Iran, he has repeatedly cited its nuclear program, which has also been a key sticking point in negotiations to end the conflict. <\/p>\n

Washington was in talks with Tehran about its nuclear program before the US and Israel struck Iran. Trump has expressed his desire to ensure Iran \u201cnever have a nuclear weapon,\u201d<\/a> despite Iran\u2019s insistence that it was not pursuing this. <\/p>\n

A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report<\/a> on Iran and nuclear weapons says that there were concerns about Iran\u2019s uranium enrichment since the early 2000s. <\/p>\n

In 2015, Tehran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action<\/a> (JCPOA), which capped uranium enrichment for 15 years and facilitated UN-led inspections to ensure adherence to the deal. <\/p>\n

Trump abandoned the JCPOA in 2018, during his first term. <\/p>\n

A US assessment of Iran\u2019s nuclear weapons capability<\/a> published in 2024 said that while \u201cIran (was) not building a nuclear weapon,\u201d it had, however, \u201cundertaken activities that better position it to produce one, if it so chooses.\u201d <\/p>\n

The US and Israel\u2019s June 2025 strikes on Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities was assessed by US intelligence to have buried much of Iran\u2019s highly enriched uranium stockpile at Esfahan, but didn\u2019t destroy it<\/a>, despite administration statements that Iran\u2019s nuclear program was \u201cobliterated.\u201d <\/p>\n

The highly enriched uranium that Iran currently is determined to have could reach weapons-grade purity within weeks or even days, according to some nuclear experts<\/a> \u2014<\/em> if Iran has an operational enrichment facility. <\/p>\n

However, <\/em><\/strong>just days after the strikes on Iran, the head of the United Nations\u2019 nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, told CNN that Tehran was not days or weeks away<\/a> from having a nuclear weapon. Iran shut out international nuclear inspectors the following month. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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As US President Donald Trump is still withholding any announcement<\/strong><\/a> on whether a possible peace deal has been reached with Iran, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told an international forum on Saturday that the \u201cstatus as of right now is that any deal will be a good deal<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n

Yesterday, Trump met with advisers<\/a> in the White House Situation Room, where they discussed a tentative agreement that would open the Strait of Hormuz and start nuclear talks with Iran. <\/p>\n

And in Tehran, there\u2019s been little official reaction<\/a> to the demands made by Trump on Friday for the tentative agreement. <\/p>\n

Catch up on other headlines here:<\/em><\/em> <\/p>\n

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