Live

Iran live updates: Tehran issues Strait of Hormuz control map, Trump hints at strikes

Trump said Wednesday he wouldn't make a limited deal over the Strait of Hormuz.

Last Updated: May 21, 2026, 4:42 AM EDT

President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.

Following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire, initial U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan in April failed to reach a peace deal.

Trump later announced the open-ended extension of the ceasefire and the continuation of a U.S. blockade until negotiations are concluded "one way or the other."

May 20, 2026, 1:32 PM EDT

Trump tells USCGA graduates the military may have to 'finish' operations in Iran if regime doesn’t sign peace deal

President Donald Trump told U.S. Coast Guard Academy graduates that it will soon be clear if the U.S. will sign a deal with Iran or if the military has to go in and finish the job or whether Iran signs a deal.

“We're respected all over the world. You saw that with China just recently. You saw that in Venezuela. You saw that right now in Iran, everything's gone. Their Navy is gone. Their Air Force is gone. Just about everything. The only question is, do we go and finish it up, or are they going to be signing a document? Let's see what happens,” Trump said during his commencement speech.

Highlighting the Coast Guard’s role in military operations in Iran, Trump touted their actions. Trump told the group that he suspects “more” fighting will come in Iran if the regime doesn’t “get smart,” and negotiate a peace deal.

President Donald Trump speaks at the commencement address at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., on May 20, 2026.
Jessica Hill/AP

"Just two months ago, off the Coast Guard, Malaysia, a highly trained US Coast Guard tactical team helped seize a sanctioned Iranian oil tanker that had been used to transport over a million barrels of oil from Kharg Island into the coffers of Iran," Trump said.

“This is the third sanctioned Iranian vessel the Coast Guard has helped capture since we began the fighting, the real fighting with Iran, and many more to come. I suspect, unless they get smart,” he said.

May 20, 2026, 10:37 AM EDT

Trump says he’s in 'no hurry' to make a peace deal with Iran

President Donald Trump said he was in “no hurry” to finalize a peace deal with Iran, 12 weeks into the war, while speaking with reporters on Wednesday.

Trump suggested he would not consider making a "limited deal" with Iran that is just focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

“We're going to give this one shot,” Trump said about a peace deal, ruling out the idea of a partial compromise.

“I'm in no hurry. You never think, ‘Oh, the midterms, I'm in a hurry.’ I'm in no hurry,” he said.

President Donald Trump talks to reporters before boarding Air Force One, May 20, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Trump was also asked if he thought it was taking longer than he expected it would to make a deal with Iran and he responded by comparing this war to other wars.

“You were in Vietnam 19 years. You were in Afghanistan, and these other places, 10 years. You were in Iraq. How long were you in Iraq? 12 years. You were in Korea for seven years. World War II is different -- that was four years. I'm in for three months, and much of it's been [a] ceasefire,” Trump said.

May 20, 2026, 7:01 AM EDT

Israel monitoring talks, 'prepared for all scenarios,' official says

An Israeli military official told ABC News on Wednesday that the country is "monitoring closely the talks between the U.S. and Iran."

The Israel Defense Forces, the official said, "is in constant contact with our U.S. counterparts. The IDF has various operational plans and we are prepared for all scenarios."

-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti

May 20, 2026, 6:56 AM EDT

Xi, Putin condemn 'treacherous' strikes, urge end to Iran war

Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Wednesday, with the two leaders releasing a joint statement urging an end to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran as a matter of "utmost urgency."

"The sides agree that military strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran breach international law and fundamental norms of international relations and seriously undermine stability in the Middle East," the joint statement published on the Kremlin website said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, on May 20, 2026.
Maxim Shemetov/Pool Reuters via

The statement stressed "the need for a return as soon as possible of the conflicting parties to dialogue and negotiations aimed to prevent the conflict zone from spreading and urged the international community to maintain an objective and impartial position, to assist de-escalation, and to defend the fundamental norms of international relations together."

The two leaders also condemned what they called "treacherous military strikes against other countries, the hypocritical use of negotiations as cover for preparing such strikes, the assassination of leaders of sovereign states, the destabilization of the domestic political situation in these states and the provocation of regime change, and the brazen kidnapping of national leaders for trial."

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti

Sponsored Content by Taboola