US forces disable Iranian-flagged tanker, CENTCOM says

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said an unspecified number of people with “close links” to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have recently been arrested in the kingdom, including some suspected in espionage-related cases.

The ministry did not provide details on the number of arrests or the specific allegations, but the announcement marks another escalation in tensions between Bahrain and Iran following weeks of regional conflict and security concerns.

The statement comes after Bahrain said in late April that it had stripped 69 people of their citizenship for allegedly supporting Iranian attacks on the country.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he had invited Iran’s president to “take hold of the opportunity” presented by a proposed French- and British-backed multinational mission for the Strait of Hormuz.

Macron’s remarks come as France and Britain continue efforts to build a “strictly defensive” multinational initiative aimed at securing freedom of navigation through the strategically vital waterway while avoiding direct participation in the conflict.

Paris and London have been leading diplomatic and military planning discussions involving dozens of countries over possible post-conflict maritime security arrangements in Hormuz.

The United States and Iran are moving closer to an agreement aimed at restarting negotiations through a short interim framework proposal, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

According to the report, mediators are working on a one-page memorandum intended to guide talks over the coming month while both sides continue negotiating major unresolved disputes.

The Journal said the proposed framework would serve as a temporary diplomatic mechanism to restart formal engagement.

Despite growing signs of momentum, the report noted that key disagreements remain unresolved and that negotiations are still fragile.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused the United States of trying to create divisions inside Iran and force the country into “surrender” through economic and media pressure.

“The enemy is very hopeful about economic pressure, and it is clear that they have once again received false reports, and based on these reports, they have made wrong decisions,” Ghalibaf said in remarks carried by the IRGC-linked Fars news agency.

Ghalibaf also said that regardless of the scale of economic pressure, “the Iranian nation will endure … for the sake of independence.”

Donald Trump expressed optimism about reaching a deal with Iran, said it was possible an agreement could be reached before his trip to China next week and added that the war would have a “very good chance of ending,” PBS News reported citing an interview with the US president on Wednesday.

“Yeah, I think so, but I felt that way before with them, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump said when asked whether the United States was closing in on a deal with Iran.

“I think it’s got a very good chance of ending, and if it doesn’t end, we have to go back to bombing the hell out of them,” Trump added.

Trump also said Iran’s highly enriched uranium would be sent to the United States as part of a potential agreement.