AS IT HAPPENED: Putin visits Xi in China, hot on Trump's tail; Trump was 'an hour away' from blasting Iran; President says next strike only days away

The ongoing conflict between the US and Iran has today mostly been a war of words, as the delicate peace deal hangs in the balance.

President Donald Trump threatened to end the ceasefire by claiming he was considering launching new strikes on Iran.

He told reporters that the White House was "an hour away" from a renewed attack but the launch had been postponed.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi hit back with a chilling warning, telling the US that "a return to war will feature many more surprises".

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin is hot on Trump's tail after landing in Beijing for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

After arriving for his state visit, Putin spoke of Russia's strong relationship with China and claimed that his country remains a reliable energy supplier amid Middle East tensions.

Xi took the opportunity to call for an end to the conflict, emphasising the need for "de-escalating conflict and promoting peace".

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been greeted by his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at a welcoming ceremony in Beijing.

He arrived to a red carpet and a guard of honour formed by the People's Liberation Army, before the world leaders left to have a meeting inside the Great Hall of the People.

Putin is in Beijing for a two-day state visit to "develop Russia's privileged partnership" with China.

A US military leader dodged a series of questions in Congress about how the nation plans to "actually win" the war against Iran.

Commander of the US Central Command Admiral Brad Cooper, who is leading the military action in Iran, was asked by Democratic congressman Seth Moulton when the US will call time on the conflict.

"We don't have a nuclear deal. We don't have the [Strait of Hormuz] open," Moulton said, adding that it "feels like we are losing".

"How many more Americans we have to ask to die for this mistake?"

Cooper responded with a one-line answer: "I think that is an entirely inappropriate statement from you."

An early US and Israeli war goal was to install a former president of Iran to govern the country, according to a New York Times report.

The choice of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president from 2005 to 2015, was a surprising one, given his tough anti-American and Israeli policies while in office.

The strategy for regime change was proposed when Donald Trump mused publicly that it would be best if "someone from within" Iran took over the country."

Ahmadinejad was seen as a potential new leader because he'd fallen out with the current regime and was under house arrest.

The report says an Israeli air strike targeted the home of Ahmadinejad on the opening, in what an unnamed official said was an attempted "jail break operation".

But the operation nearly killed him, and he soon became disillusioned with the idea of being Trump's pick.

The Pentagon has announced it is cutting the number of US combat brigades deployed to Europe from four to three.

"This decision was the result of a comprehensive, multilayered process focused on US force posture in Europe," chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in an X post.

"This analysis is designed to advance President Trump's America First agenda in Europe and other theatres, including by incentivising and enabling our Nato allies to take primary responsibility for Europe's conventional defence."

Parnell said that the decision will mean a "temporary delay" of American forces deployed to Poland, which he labelled "a model US ally".

The Trump administration has stridently criticised NATO nations of not spending enough money on their armed forces.

A top US commander has told American legislators the bombing of an Iranian school that killed 165 people remains under investigation.

Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee have pressed Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, for information about the strike on the Minab primary school that left students and teachers dead.

Cooper said the Pentagon investigation was continuing, but the strike was complex, pointing out the school was on a missile site under the control of Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

Democratic Representative Adam Smith said he respected Cooper's statement, but accused US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth of displaying a "callous disregard" for safeguarding civilians.

Speaking the Congressional Picnic on the White House Lawn, Donald Trump has once again claimed Iran is seeking a peace deal.

"We're blowing everything away and we're going to end that war very quickly. They want to make a deal so badly, they're tired of this," he said.

"Somebody should have done something about it, and it's going to happen, and it's going to happen fast, and you're going to see oil prices plummet. They're going to come down.

"There's so much oil out there, they're going to come plummeting down. But even with that, the stock market is at an all-time high."

Iran's Foreign Minister says the US has lost "billions" of dollars worth of military aircraft, pointing to a report to Congress.

The report, which was published a week ago, tabulated the losses of Operation Epic Fury, including four F-15 fighters and one F-35.

Other attack and refuelling craft as well as dozens of drones were lost as well.

"Our powerful Armed Forces are confirmed as 1st to strike down a touted F-35," Abbas Araghchi posted on X this morning.

"With lessons learned and knowledge we gained, return to war will feature many more surprises."

Trump has spent much of the past few hours focused on one particular Republican primary - and it's likely linked to one of his major political bugbears.

And it appears to have borne fruit, with Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Congressman, losing his bid for a new term to Trump-backed opponent Ed Gallrein.

Trump posted multiple times on Truth Social about Massie earlier today, including re-posting "Truths" from hours and even days before.

"Bad Congressman Tom Massie voted against Tax Cuts, the Border Wall, our Military and Law Enforcement," Trump wrote in one post.

"Actually, he voted against almost everything that is good. The Worst Republican Congressman in History."

Massie has been a consistent Republican voice pushing for the full release of the Epstein files and investigations of those named within.

Trump made no mention of that in his multiple posts.

The US president has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and maintains that they severed their friendship years ago.

However, he is frequently mentioned by Epstein in the files (as are other people not implicated in any crime), and US reports claimed Trump pushed back against releasing them when in office despite campaigning on the promise to do so.

On his impromptu tour of his ballroom construction site, Trump told reporters he considered the massive project "a gift to the United States".

"This is really for other presidents," he said, noting that construction was set to finish in September 2028.

According to the Constitution and the US political timeline, Trump will exit office regardless of who his successor is, in January 2029.

He said he would have "very little" time to use the ballroom, which nonetheless has become one of many controversies of his second term in office.

Recent polling indicates the project, which involved tearing down the historic East Wing of the White House without Congressional approval, is unpopular with the public.

And Republicans have balked on backing a measure that would see US$1 billion ($1.41 billion) directed toward White House upgrades and security needs.

Trump claims the US$400 million ($562.7 million) ballroom was paid for entirely by private donors.