U.S. Forces Strike Lian Star Engine Room in Gulf of Oman After Warnings

U.S. forces attacked a cargo ship they claimed was attempting to breach their naval blockade of Iran on Saturday, striking the Gambia-flagged vessel’s engine room with a missile and stranding it in the Gulf of Oman.

“President Donald Trump has sought to change several terms of a proposal to end the US-Israel war on Iran, according to media reports in the United States, as a finalised deal remains elusive”

Al Jazeera

Centcom said Lian Star ignored over 20 warnings before its forces struck, and the CBS News report said the U.S. fired a Hellfire missile into the engine of the Gambian-flagged cargo vessel.

Al Jazeera

The dispute over the Strait of Hormuz also shaped the diplomatic track, with CBS reporting that Trump’s edits to a U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding focused on the Strait of Hormuz and the removal of highly enriched uranium.

In parallel, CBS said the broad strokes of the memorandum include a 60-day cessation of violence and clauses that call for reopening the strait and a framework to reopen negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.

As of Sunday afternoon, CBS News said there still appeared to be no decision from President Trump on whether he would sign off on a potential peace agreement with Iran, after he announced Friday he would be making a "final determination" following a meeting in the White House Situation Room.

CBS reported that Trump said in a Truth Social post the deal must see the Strait of Hormuz reopened, and Iran must work with the U.S. to have its highly enriched uranium "DESTROYED."

BBC

Al Jazeera reported that President Donald Trump sought to change several terms of a proposal to end the US-Israel war on Iran, with the New York Times reporting that his changes involved toughening the terms and sending the new framework back to be considered by Iran.

Al Jazeera also quoted Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi telling IRNA that “dialogue and an exchange of messages are ongoing” with the US, while Araghchi said “It is not possible to judge until a clear conclusion is reached.”

The negotiations were tied to the Strait of Hormuz as a strategic chokepoint, with Al Jazeera saying Trump has said his priorities for any deal include reopening the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas supply transits.

“No deal announced after Trump meeting to make 'final determination' on Iran US President Donald Trump has held a meeting with top aides to make a "final determination" about a framework for extending the ceasefire with Iran, but it concluded without clarity on the next steps”

BBC

Reuters and BBC reporting in the same broader context described the U.S.-Iran standoff around the strait and the ceasefire framework, while the BBC said Trump insisted that any mines in the strait be "terminated" and that the Strait of Hormuz be reopened for "unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions."

The BBC also reported that Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, wrote on X that “As predicted, the President of the United States is betraying diplomacy for the third time.”

Meanwhile, the BBC said Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told state TV it was “focused on ending the war, and there are no negotiations on the nuclear issue,” leaving the next steps in the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding uncertain.