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Iran live updates: Trump says Iran will make a deal or be 'decimated'

Trump will travel to China on Wednesday to meet with President Xi Jinping.

Last Updated: May 13, 2026, 5:12 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."

3:14 AM EDT

Trump says US doesn't need China's help on Iran

Ahead of his trip to China, President Donald Trump gave conflicting answers when asked on Tuesday if Beijing should intervene to help end the war with Iran.

"I don't think we need any help with Iran," he said at first. Minutes later, when Trump was asked if Chinese President Xi Jinping was the person who could revive the ceasefire, the president said he would like whatever help Xi can offer.

But, when pressed on Xi's possible help, Trump again said the U.S. did not need assistance. "They're defeated militarily, and they'll either do the right thing or we'll finish the job," Trump said.

President Donald Trump waves as he boards Air Force One, May 12, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

Moments later, Trump added that he "wouldn't say Iran" is one of the topics he plans to discuss with Xi because the U.S. has it "under control."

"We're either going to make a deal or they're going to be decimated, one way or the other," Trump said.

Trump again dismissed economic concerns related to the ongoing war, suggesting inflation would fall 1.5% after the war ends amid what he predicted would be a "gusher of oil."

"And one way the other, it's going to work out very well. Going to work out very well. I think you have so much oil, you're going to have a gusher of oil like you've never had before," Trump said, once again stressing that he thought oil prices would have risen higher.

"And as soon as this war is over, which will not be long, you're going to see oil prices drop, and you're going to see a stock market, which is already at the highest point in history, go through the roof. You're going to see the golden age of America, frankly, and you're seeing it now," Trump said.

Asked about the progress of negotiations with Tehran, Trump said, "Well, we're going to see what happens. We're only making a good deal."

"But I believe that one way or the other, it's going to be very good for the American people, and I think actually very good for the Iranian people," Trump said.

-ABC News' Emily T. Chang and Fritz Farrow

May 12, 2026, 9:44 AM EDT

Iran war has cost at least $29 billion, Pentagon official says

The Iran war is estimated to have cost $29 billion, acting Pentagon comptroller Jules W. Hurst III told lawmakers Tuesday morning during a House Appropriations hearing.

Two weeks ago, Hurst testified it was $25 billion, much of which was attributed to munitions costs.

Hurst said the updated number comes after accounting for, "replacement of equipment costs and also just general operational costs keep people in theater."

Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., asked Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth when Congress would get a more detailed accounting for war costs.

“When it's relevant and required, we will share it,” Hegseth responded.

-ABC News' Steven Beynon

May 12, 2026, 4:53 AM EDT

IDF, Hezbollah report fresh attacks in south Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces said in a post to X on Tuesday that it hit 45 alleged Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon over the past day.

The IDF claimed that its targets included command posts, observation posts, assembly points, warehouses and other buildings it alleged were being used by Hezbollah forces in the area.

Hezbollah on Tuesday claimed a rocket attack on Israeli forces deployed in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health said on Monday that at least 2,869 people have been killed and 8,730 people wounded in Lebanon since cross-border fighting resumed on March 2.

A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the area of Ras Al-Ain on May 12, 2026.
Kawnat Haju/AFP via Getty Images
May 12, 2026, 3:54 AM EDT

Iran may consider 90% uranium if attacked again, lawmaker says

Ebrahim Rezaei, a member of the Iranian parliament and the spokesperson for the body's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, suggested in a post to X on Tuesday that renewed attacks on the country may prompt lawmakers to consider a higher level of uranium enrichment.

"One of Iran's options in the event of another attack could be 90% enrichment," Rezaei wrote in a post to X. "We will review it in the parliament."

Weapons-grade uranium -- enriched to a high enough level to use as fuel in a nuclear weapon -- is generally considered to require enrichment of 90% and above. Iran has amassed a stockpile of uranium enriched to 60%, the fate of which is a key issue in ongoing peace talks.

The U.S. has estimated that Iran amassed around 1,000 pounds of 60% enriched uranium. President Donald Trump has said that the stockpile was buried underground during the U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities last year, saying this weekend that the site is "very well surveilled."

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