EU open to easing Iran sanctions if deal reached, Germany’s Merz says

Ghalibaf was reprimanded for attempting to include the nuclear issue in talks with Washington and was forced to resign, according to the sources.

A possible shake-up has been floated, with hardline politician Saeed Jalili potentially replacing Ghalibaf as head of the negotiating team.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is also seeking to take over the negotiations, sources said.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said cruise ships and commercial vessels have been threatened in the Strait of Hormuz, as shipping continues at reduced levels under heightened risk.

“These are commercial ships, in some cases, cruise ships… being threatened,” Hegseth told a Pentagon briefing, blaming Iran’s use of small, fast armed boats.

He said transit is “much more limited than anybody would like to see, and with more risk,” adding that US forces had already demonstrated they would act decisively against vessels breaching the blockade.

“This is not a fake blockade… we’ll use up to and including lethal force if necessary,” he said, noting ships have since turned around after earlier enforcement actions.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General Dan Caine said US forces disabled and seized an Iranian-linked cargo vessel after it ignored repeated warnings during a blockade enforcement operation.

“Over a six hour period, the vessel and her crew repeatedly ignored US warnings,” Caine said at a Pentagon briefing, adding that US forces fired warning shots before using “disabling fire” to stop the ship.

He said US Marines later boarded the vessel by helicopter and took custody after it was immobilized.

Caine also said US forces in the Indo-Pacific intercepted a tanker carrying sanctioned Iranian oil, describing it as part of a broader interagency effort to enforce sanctions and the blockade globally.

He said US personnel boarded and secured the tanker, with its final disposition still pending.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force General Dan Caine said US forces are enforcing a global maritime blockade on Iran, with dozens of vessels turning back.

“As of this morning, 34 ships have met the US blockade and made the wise choice to turn around,” Caine said at a Pentagon briefing.

He said US Central Command was conducting interdiction operations worldwide against sanctioned and “dark fleet” vessels, targeting any ship “of any nationality” transiting to or from Iranian ports.

Caine said one vessel, the container ship MV Touska, did not comply and was intercepted after “several clear and unambiguous warnings,” adding the crew attempted to breach the blockade before US forces moved to stop it.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Iran must abandon any pursuit of a nuclear weapon “in meaningful and verifiable ways,” warning that Washington would maintain pressure if it does not.

“All they have to do is abandon a nuclear weapon in meaningful and verifiable ways,” Hegseth told a Pentagon briefing, adding Iran has “an important choice, a chance to make a deal, a good deal, a wise deal.”

He said the United States is “not anxious for a deal,” and warned Tehran could instead face “the regime’s fragile economic state collapse under the unrelenting pressure of American power… a blockade as long as it takes.”

Hegseth said US forces had already seized two Iranian “dark fleet” ships in the Indo-Pacific, adding: “They thought they’d made it out just in time. They did not… we will seize more.”

He added the blockade was expanding globally, saying “34 total non-Iranian vessels are allowed to transit,” while warning “the clock is not on their side.”