The US military fired on an Iranian-flagged oil tanker on Wednesday, shortly after Donald Trump issued a fresh ultimatum to Tehran, telling it to accept a deal to end the war or face a new wave of US bombing “at a much higher level and intensity than it was before”.
The US fighter fired several rounds and “disabled the tanker’s rudder” as it attempted to breach the US’s blockade of Iranian ports, US Central Command said in a social media post.
The attack came after the US president’s social media announcement – the latest in a rapid series of dramatic and often contradictory changes in policy amid unconfirmed reports of progress in stalled negotiations between Tehran and Washington.
“Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is perhaps a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end,” the US president posted on his Truth Social platform, referring to the military operation he launched with Israel against Iran in February.
“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before.”
US fires on Iranian-flagged oil tanker as Trump gives Tehran fresh ultimatum
Iran’s most senior negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, remained defiant on Wednesday, saying Washington was seeking Tehran’s surrender through various means including a naval blockade.
Earlier on Wednesday, Axios reported that Washington and Tehran were close to agreeing on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war.
Exclusive: Epstein-linked billionaire accused of rape privately reached out to federal judge
Lawyers for Leon Black, the billionaire investor who has been accused in a civil lawsuit of raping a teenage girl inside Jeffrey Epstein’s New York townhouse in 2002, reached out to a powerful federal judge in 2024 to raise doubts about the alleged victim’s claims, a Guardian investigation has found.
Howard Lutnick answers questions from US House over Jeffrey Epstein ties
The US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, appeared before the House oversight and reform committee on Wednesday to answer questions over his past ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Lutnick agreed in March to sit for a transcribed interview with the committee after the justice department’s release of millions of documents related to Epstein, which included documents showing that Lutnick continued correspondence with Epstein after the disgraced financier had been convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor. The session was part of the committee’s broader investigation into Epstein.
US cancels visas for board of Costa Rica newspaper critical of Trump ally
The US state department has cancelled tourist visas for more than half of the board members of Costa Rica’s leading national newspaper, La Nación, which has been a critical voice against the country’s president, Rodrigo Chaves, an ally of Donald Trump.
More Americans say US is no longer welcoming to immigrants, according to new survey
Donald Trump’s aggressive and wide-reaching immigration-enforcement agenda has convinced increasing numbers of adults that the US is no longer a welcoming country for outsiders, a new poll has found.
About six in 10 respondents to the Associated Press-NORC poll, conducted last month, say the country used to be a great place for immigrants, but no longer is.
Last tanker from Middle East arrives in California, bringing oil and uncertainty
The California Energy Commission vice-chair, Siva Gunda, told legislators on Tuesday that the state can meet fuel demand for the next six weeks with its current supply.
California has the highest gas prices in the US. It imports about a third of its oil from the Gulf, and the state will now have to find new sources to replace it. Compared with other states, California imports significantly more of its oil supply from abroad.
Man charged in DC shooting was walking near JD Vance’s motorcade, agent says
A man accused of firing a gun at law enforcement officers near the Washington monument this week was walking along the path of JD Vance’s motorcade before the shooting and made a vulgar remark about the White House after the confrontation, according to a court filing on Wednesday.
What else happened today:
Ted Turner, the media mogul who founded CNN, has died at 87, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing a news release from Turner Enterprises.
A federal judge unsealed an alleged suicide note written by Jeffrey Epstein on Wednesday, the first time the document has been made public.
The phrase “tax the rich” can be “just as hateful as some disgusting racial slurs”, according to New York City billionaire Steve Roth, who said that the top 1% should be “praised and thanked”.
The US Department of Justice found that the medical school at the University of California, Los Angeles illegally considered race in admissions as the Trump administration ramps up scrutiny of colleges’ processes for selecting students.
A study published Wednesday in the journal Nature finds that TikTok’s algorithm systematically prioritized pro-Republican content in three states leading up to the 2024 US elections.
Catching up? Here’s what happened on Wednesday, 5 May 2026.
