Iran 'better get moving, FAST' and make a peace deal, Trump says

"[T]here won’t be anything left of them" if Iran doesn't, the president said.

Last Updated: May 17, 2026, 1:30 PM 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 17, 2026, 1:28 PM EDT

Iran 'better get moving, FAST' and make a peace deal, Trump says

President Donald Trump is saying that Iran "better get moving, FAST," warning that "there won't be anything left of them" if they do not comply with his demands and make a peace deal.

"For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!," Trump wrote on his social media platform early Sunday afternoon.

President Donald Trump speaks at an event on maternal healthcare in the Oval Office of the White House, May 11, 2026 in Washington.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The president did not provide a new deadline or timeline for Iran's response, as he has previously.

During an interview in China with Fox News that aired Thursday night, Trump warned that Iran “can make a deal or they get annihilated.”

Last week, Trump called the ceasefire with Iran "unbelievably weak" and "a piece of garbage" after he disapproved of their peace deal proposal response.

-ABC News' Emily Chang

May 17, 2026, 11:57 AM EDT

US didn't seek Chinese help to reopen Strait of Hormuz, Greer says

President Donald Trump's top trade envoy said Sunday that the U.S. president exacted a commitment from the Chinese to not "provide material support to Iran," but that the United States did not seek China's direct help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

"When the president went in, he did not go in asking them to take action in the Straits of Hormuz. He was very focused on making sure that they didn't provide material support to Iran. That's a commitment he obtained and confirmed," U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on ABC News' "This Week."

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer appears on ABC News' "This Week" on May 17, 2026.
ABC News

Greer said China has "a clear interest" in reopening the strait -- "I was in these meetings, and that's what, that's what the Chinese said," he said -- but without getting involved directly, it's unclear whether China's position will do anything to pressure Iran.

"The president isn't seeking to have joint military operations with the Chinese. I don't think the American presidents have ever done that," Greer said. "But obviously we want to make sure that they're not getting in the way of anything we're doing to try to clarify that situation."

-ABC News' Quinn Scanlan

May 17, 2026, 7:29 AM EDT

Drone strike in UAE causes fire in generator at nuclear plant, officials say

A drone attack caused a fire in an electrical generator at a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, officials in Abu Dhabi said on Sunday.

The generator was "outside the inner perimeter" of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the Al Dhafra Region, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said on social media.

This undated photograph released by the United Arab Emirates' state-run WAM news agency shows the under-construction Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi's Western desert.
Arun Girija/Emirates News Agency via AP

"The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) confirmed that the fire did not affect the safety of the power plant or the readiness of its essential systems, and that all units are operating as normal," officials said.

-ABC News' Mike Trew

May 16, 2026, 6:52 PM EDT

Hezbollah rockets aimed at Israeli soldiers in Lebanon intercepted: IDF

The Israeli Air Force intercepted several rockets launched by Hezbollah toward Israeli soldiers operating in southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces said.

There were no IDF injuries reported.

-ABC News' Dorit Long

Related Topics

Sponsored Content by Taboola