Iran Tries One Last Gambit As Trump Appears Ready to Act

After President Donald Trump returned from his summit in China, he was not mincing words when it came to Iran.

“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!”

Not only haven't they delivered on an acceptable peace deal regarding the conflict with the United States, but now they are also believed to have been behind a drone attack that hit the perimeter of the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Two drones were intercepted, but one hit a generator.

Now there's a report that Trump is convening a Situation Room meeting to consider military options on Tuesday. We always have to give the proper skepticism to "reports," but it is consistent with Trump's warning. Such things would not generally be leaked — unless it's to put an exclamation mark on the warning to Iran: get it together, or big things are coming.

That may have prompted a reaction from Iran. They've reportedly ponied up another 14-point proposal.

Iranian state media reported that Tehran has sent a new 14-point plan for Pakistani mediators to present to the U.S. on Monday.
Tasnim News Agency wrote that a source close to Iran's negotiating team confirmed the development Monday, saying the proposal focuses on ending the war and "confidence-building measures by the American side," according to a translation.
Tasnim's report makes no mention of any concessions regarding Iran's nuclear program, which has been at the center of President Donald Trump's demands for a peace deal.

However, that description doesn't sound much different than their other proposals. Unless they're leading with giving up the highly enriched uranium, it's all just a desperate stall tactic, and Trump isn't going to go for it. He's shown he's not going to let up the blockade pressure until they come across.

Meanwhile, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari threw out threats, which also tended to undercut the sincerity of their proposal.

“In the near future, all U.S. military bases in the southern Persian Gulf will be deactivated,” he warned.
“We will build the New Order,” he said.

He also posted about potential drone attacks and how they were not doing things out of consideration for their Muslim brothers in the UAE, but that their "patience has its limits."

The original model of a Shahed-136 drone attack looks like this.

The fact that we have not yet treated you this way is out of consideration for our Muslim brothers and sisters in the UAE.

But our patience has its LIMITS. pic.twitter.com/oDEGxjpiRt
— Ebrahim Zolfaghari ☫ (@ibrahim_zolfgri) May 17, 2026

On Monday, he declared the UAE an "immediate operational target" in any future conflict.

2026/05/18

The UAE’s recent actions against Iran have not only led to its complete isolation among the Arab countries of the region, but have also turned it into an “immediate operational target” in any future conflict.
— Ebrahim Zolfaghari ☫ (@ibrahim_zolfgri) May 18, 2026

The regime keeps making that same mistake, as if threatening and attacking more will convince the UAE to back off, when it's only convinced them to align more with the U.S. and that Iran needs to be dealt with.

All that sounds like the opposite of "getting moving" in the right direction that Trump demanded, so we'll have to see. I think there will be a "new order" coming, but it's not one the Iranian regime is going to like.

Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.

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