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Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organization declared Sunday that U.S. President Donald Trump faces a choice between an "impossible operation" and a "bad deal" with Tehran.
Meanwhile, U.S. military air traffic to the Middle East surged, with an unusual concentration of transport and aerial refueling aircraft.
"Iran's ultimatum against the blockade to the Pentagon, the change in tone by China, Russia and Europe against Washington, Trump's passive letter to Congress, the acceptance of Iran's negotiating terms, all of this has only one meaning: Trump must choose between an impossible operation or a bad deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran," the IRGC Intelligence Organization said in a statement posted to its official X account.
The statement added that "the decision-making space for the United States has narrowed."
An examination using Flightradar24 flight-tracking data found an unusual increase in U.S. military aircraft traveling from Europe to Middle Eastern countries on May 2, driven largely by transport and aerial refueling planes.
The aircraft observed in European and Middle Eastern airspace included C-17A Globemaster III military cargo planes, each capable of carrying approximately 77 tons of cargo and around 100 personnel, as well as Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy transport aircraft, with a payload capacity of approximately 127 tons, and Boeing KC-46 Pegasus tanker aircraft used for aerial refueling and strategic transport.
At least 12 transport aircraft were reportedly en route to the Middle East, with some departing from Germany.
At least four Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft were also observed operating around Israel and nearby areas.
A U.S. signals intelligence reconnaissance aircraft, the Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint, was spotted operating near Bahrain. Some transport aircraft departing from the United States were observed without confirmed destinations.
The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, triggering Iranian retaliation against Israel and U.S. allies in the Gulf, along with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Since April 13, the U.S. has enforced a naval blockade targeting Iranian maritime traffic in the strategic waterway.
A two-week ceasefire was announced on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, followed by direct talks in Islamabad on April 11, but no agreement on a lasting truce was reached.
Trump subsequently extended the ceasefire without setting a new deadline, following a request from Pakistan.
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