May 18, 2026 | Burma Independent Voice
U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that “the clock is ticking” for Iran, telling Axios in a phone interview that Tehran will face strikes “many times harsher than what they’ve seen” unless it brings a better deal proposal to the table.
According to U.S. officials, President Trump remains keen on securing an agreement to end the conflict. However, Iran’s repeated rejection of multiple U.S. demands, combined with its refusal to make significant concessions regarding its nuclear program, has prompted Washington to put the military option back on the table.
A U.S. official confirmed that President Trump is scheduled to convene a meeting with his top national security team in the White House Situation Room on Tuesday to discuss potential military options.
Trump also discussed the Iranian situation by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday. This followed a classified meeting on Saturday at his golf club in Virginia, where Trump reviewed the Iranian crisis with core national security figures, including Vice President JD Vance, White House Envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
The ongoing diplomatic deadlock has sent global oil prices surging again, with crude prices rising by over 2 percent to trade at $111 per barrel.
Currently, Pakistan is serving as the official intermediary between the United States and Iran. The Pakistani Interior Minister traveled to Tehran over the weekend to hold talks with top Iranian leaders aimed at ending the war. Concurrently, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who is also mediating, held phone consultations on Sunday with both the Pakistani Prime Minister and the Iranian Foreign Minister.
Trump told Axios he believes Iran still wants to reach an agreement and is waiting for a better counter-proposal than the one submitted days ago. However, the president declined to specify a deadline for the talks.
“We want to make a deal. But they’re not where they need to be. They have to get there. If they don’t get there, they are going to get hit very hard, and they don’t want that to happen. The clock is ticking. They better move fast, or there will be nothing left,” Trump warned pointedly.
Meanwhile, the UAE Ministry of Defence confirmed that a drone struck just outside the inner perimeter of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant on Sunday, damaging an electricity generator. The facility was hit by one of three drones that violated Emirati airspace from the western border, while the remaining two were successfully intercepted.
UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed spoke by phone with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi to confirm that nuclear radiation safety levels remain unaffected.
While the UAE has stopped short of directly blaming Iran, diplomatic adviser Anwar Gargash explicitly condemned the incident on X, obliquely referencing Tehran by stating that targeting the Barakah nuclear plant—whether executed directly by the principal culprit or through its proxies—constituted a dangerous provocation and a violation of international law that showed zero regard for civilian lives.
