TRUMP CALLED OFF STRIKES AN HOUR OUT. THE CLOCK RESTARTS FRIDAY

Trump ordered the military to be ready for "a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment's notice" before pulling back after calls from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE 2FOX JD Vance says Trump is 'locked and loaded' to restart military campaign against Iran if nuclear talks fail. Those three countries are not honest brokers. They are acting in naked self-interest: UAE infrastructure is inside Iranian drone range, Qatar has ten tankers stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, and Saudi Arabia's oil facilities are obvious targets 7AAM Qatar backs US-Iran talks, calls for reopening of Hormuz Strait. VP Vance confirmed Tuesday the US is "locked and loaded" if diplomacy fails 2FOX JD Vance says Trump is 'locked and loaded' to restart military campaign against Iran if nuclear talks fail, and Trump told reporters strikes could come "Friday, Saturday, Sunday, something" 4SPK US Could Launch Attacks Against Iran as Early as Friday - Trump. What the Gulf states bought is another weekend, not a deal.

Iran's 14-point proposal, submitted through Pakistan, demands the right to continue enrichment, an end to hostilities across all fronts, lifting of the naval blockade, frozen asset release, US reparations for war damage, removal of all sanctions, and withdrawal of US forces from the region 8AAM Iran reveals details of latest proposal submitted to US to end war. A Pakistani mediator described the changes from the previous rejected version as "token" 9TOI Iran says its new proposal demands reparations, US troop withdrawal, end to Lebanon war, and Washington confirmed the same read to Axios 11RTN Iran wants to hand over nuclear stockpile to Russia, media. The gap here is not a negotiating gap. Iran wants to preserve its nuclear program; the US wants to eliminate it. Neither side has moved on that in five weeks of talks.

The UAE confirmed the drone that struck near the Barakah nuclear power plant Sunday came from Iraqi territory, meaning a pro-Iranian proxy pulled the trigger, not Iran directly 3AAM UAE says it 'successfully' engaged with 6 drones in past 48 hours. Five of six drones were intercepted. The one that got through killed a power generator and forced reactor unit three onto emergency diesel backup for roughly 24 hours 5GDN Strike near UAE reactor revives concerns over nuclear plant safety in wartime. Nuclear safety experts are drawing comparisons to Fukushima specifically because the failure mode was identical: external power loss forcing reliance on backup diesel. That framing is going to land hard in Western countries currently debating nuclear energy as a response to the Hormuz crisis 5GDN Strike near UAE reactor revives concerns over nuclear plant safety in wartime.

A congressional report drawing on Pentagon and CENTCOM data puts US aircraft losses in the first 40 days at a minimum of 42, including four F-15Es, one F-35A, seven KC-135 tankers, one E-3 Sentry, and 24 MQ-9 drones 6PTV US lost at least 42 aircraft during 40 days of war against Iran: Congress. Lawmakers believe the real number is higher. The E-3 Sentry loss is the detail worth flagging: replacing it could require reviving the cancelled E-7 Wedgetail program at over $2.5 billion on top of everything else 6PTV US lost at least 42 aircraft during 40 days of war against Iran: Congress. The Pentagon's CFO declined to confirm any figures publicly. This is the cost of the war Washington has been least forthcoming about.

Iran offered to transfer its 400-plus kg of 60-percent-enriched uranium to Russia rather than the US, a concession designed to give something without giving anything to Washington directly 11RTN Iran wants to hand over nuclear stockpile to Russia, media. Separately, Iran and Oman are building a formal joint transit mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz, and two Qatari tankers have already moved under it 12MHR Iran, Oman crafting new transit mechanism for Hormuz. Iran also threatened to impose fees on subsea internet cables running under the strait, targeting Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon 13CNN Iran will impose fees on subsea internet cables in Strait of Hormuz. The cable threat is probably posturing given the legal and practical obstacles, but the pattern is consistent: Iran is systematically identifying every form of leverage the strait gives it and building institutions around them, whether those levers are usable today or not.