Trump hints at new military escalation : Iran will face 'very bad time'

US President Donald Trump hinted at the imminence of a new military action against Iran in a new post on the "Truth Social" platform, after his statements that Iran will face a "very bad time" if a deal is not reached with Washington.

Trump posted a photo of himself standing at the front of a ship in the middle of rough waters and lightning, with some Iranian ships in the background. Trump commented on the photo, saying "before the storm."

Aircraft carrier Gerald Ford returns to the United States

The aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford, which sailed to the Middle East before the outbreak of war with Iran, returned to the United States on Saturday, May 17,  2026, after a 326-day deployment period, the Pentagon announced.

The U.S. military said on platform X that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was in Norfolk, Virginia, to welcome the return of the world's largest aircraft carrier. The deployment is the longest for a U.S. aircraft carrier group since the Vietnam War.

The Gerald Ford Group's deployment saw it participate in operations in the Caribbean, where the U.S. military launched strikes on boats suspected of smuggling drugs, intercepted sanctioned oil tankers, arrested Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, and was  subsequently sent to the Middle East to take part in combat operations against Iran.

The carrier's long deployment included a fire in the laundry room on March 12, which injured two sailors and caused extensive damage to about 100 beds, according to the U.S. military. The carrier also reportedly experienced significant problems with the toilet system while at sea.

Trump: Chinese President Rejects Closure  of Strait of Hormuz

U.S. President Donald Trump said his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed that Tehran should reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but China has shown no indication that it will intervene in the matter.

Returning from Beijing on Friday after two days of talks with Xi, the U.S. president said he was considering lifting U.S. sanctions on Chinese oil companies that buy Iranian oil.

Asked by a reporter on the presidential plane whether Xi had pledged an unequivocal commitment to pressure the Iranians to reopen the strait, Trump  said, "I'm not asking for services, because if you ask for services, you have to provide services in return."

Xi has not commented on his talks with Trump on Tehran, but China's Foreign Ministry issued a statement criticizing Iran's war, saying it was a conflict that "should never have happened, and there is no reason for it to continue."

Iran effectively closed the strait, through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies passed before the war began on Feb. 28, and the disruption to navigation caused the biggest oil supply crisis ever, sending crude prices soaring.

The United States suspended its attacks on Iran last month but began a blockade of its ports, and the U.S. military said it had as   of Saturday (May 16) successfully  diverted 78 merchant ships and blocked the passage of four ships to ensure compliance with the blockade.

Iran talks about the passage of dozens of ships in Hormuz

Iranian state television said European countries were in talks with Tehran to secure the passage of their ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has practically closed since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on it.

"After the passage of ships from East Asian countries, particularly China, Japan and Pakistan, today we received information indicating that the Europeans have also started negotiations with the IRGC navy" to obtain permission to pass, without specifying the countries involved, the TV reported.

Iran is imposing restrictions on the strait, through which a fifth of global oil production passes in peacetime, causing turmoil in global markets and giving Tehran a key bargaining chip in the conflict.

On Saturday morning, the head of the National Security Committee in the Shura Council, Ebrahim Azizi, noted that Tehran had "put in place a professional mechanism to manage navigation traffic" in the Strait of Hormuz, stressing that it would be ready soon.

This mechanism "will only benefit commercial ships and parties cooperating with Iran", he said, adding that "the necessary fees will be charged for specialized services".

"The corridor will remain closed to operators of the so-called 'Freedom Project,' referring to a military operation launched by the United States that was quickly reversed, which was aimed at helping stranded commercial ships leave the Gulf.

In exchange for Tehran's restriction of navigation in Hormuz, the United States imposed a blockade on Iranian ports, despite a ceasefire brokered by Pakistan that came into effect on April 8, and Iran announced on Thursday that its navy had allowed "more than 30" Chinese ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.