Middle East crisis live: Iran’s foreign ministry says US broke ceasefire with overnight strikes | US-Israel war on Iran

The US has launched fresh strikes on Iran despite suggestions that a peace deal could be within reach.

Donald Trump faces growing criticism from Republicans over the proposed plan to end the war, which reportedly contained major concessions from Washington. But could an agreement still be imminent?

Lucy Hough speaks to diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour…

Israel has issued an expropriation order for land in the occupied West Bank near the site of a Biblical prophet’s grave north of Jerusalem, an Israeli NGO reported on Tuesday.

The site, known as Nabi Samuel, is believed in Christian, Jewish, and Muslim tradition to include the grave of the Biblical figure of prophet Samuel, and includes a mosque owned by Palestinian religious authorities, the Waqf.

“This marks the first time that the [Israeli] Civil Administration has expropriated a holy site owned by the Muslim Waqf in the occupied West Bank”, Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now said in a statement.

According to the Israeli order, dated 9 May but published this week, the area for expropriation will include 109.79 dunams (roughly 11 hectares), including access roads, agricultural land, and a mosque.

Israeli forces have begun operating beyond its so-called ‘Yellow Line’ in south Lebanon, which runs around 10km (six miles) deep inside Lebanese territory, a military official confirmed to AFP on Tuesday.

“The IDF is operating in a targeted manner beyond the Forward Defence Line in order to remove direct threats to the citizens of the State of Israel and IDF troops, in accordance with the directives of the political echelon,” the military official said when asked about reports that the military had begun ground operations beyond its demarcation line.

“Specific details regarding soldiers’ locations cannot be provided,” the official added.

Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would continue providing support for peace talks during a phone call with Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian, the Turkish presidency said on Tuesday.

Erdogan said the conflicts in the region had cast a shadow over the Muslim Eid holiday period, adding that he believed the Iranian people would overcome the challenges.

Iran’s vice-president said on Tuesday that the government has taken the first steps to restore the internet after a near-total blackout since war with the United States and Israel broke out in late February.

“The first step toward free and regulated access to cyberspace has been taken,” vice-president Mohammad Reza Aref said in a post on X, adding that the demands of Iranians “will be fulfilled.”

Israeli media reported on Tuesday that the military had expanded its ground operations in southern Lebanon beyond the ‘Yellow Line’, an Israeli-drawn demarcation line near the border, though the reports gave no further details on the extent of the advance.

Cross-border fighting has been escalating between Israel and Hezbollah, despite the declaration of a ceasefire several weeks ago.

As part of the peace deal with Iran – which could now be on the rocks – Donald Trump has made a push for Gulf states to sign up to his Abraham Accords and recognise the state of Israel. AFP has spoken to some analysts that see these demands as unrealistic.

“For most of the states named, the political cost of signing up under current conditions would be prohibitive,” HA Hellyer, senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and Center for American Progress said.

“Gaza is ongoing, annexation of the West Bank is accelerating, Israeli forces remain in southern Lebanon, the Golan is occupied.”

Yossi Mekelberg, a Middle East expert at London-based think-tank Chatham House, said it was “no more than a sweetener for Israel, and most likely won’t happen”.

“Why would these countries reward (Benjamin) Netanyahu after so much destruction in the region and to their interests?” he asked.

In 2023, Saudi Arabia was engaged in tentative talks on normalisation, but it abruptly pulled out as the Israel-Gaza war erupted. It later said it would not recognise Israel without an independent Palestinian state.

“For Saudia Arabia there is no incentive to join the Abraham Accords, in the current circumstances,” said Hellyer.

“If they decide about normalisation, they would like to do it on their own accord, not the Abraham Accords.”

Former US diplomat Barbara A. Leaf, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs under Joe Biden, told AFP: “I do not expect any of the Arab/Muslim states whose leaders spoke to President Trump on May 23 to move towards normalisation with Israel right now.”

The internet monitoring group Netblocks said in a post on X on Tuesday that live data showed partial restoration of internet connectivity in Iran.

Iranian state media reported on Monday that Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian had issued an order to reopen international internet access, after a near-90-day blackout in the wake of the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Iran’s foreign ministry has accused the US of violating the ceasefire after overnight strikes by the US military on targets in the southern coastal province of Hormozgan, next to the strait of Hormuz.

Here’s a round-up of the other key events so far today:

• Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on his Telegram channel that Gulf powers will no longer be a shield for US bases and the US will no longer have a safe haven in the region. The post followe overnight attacks on Iran by the US, testing the ceasefire agreed in April.

• Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said it reserved the “legitimate and definite” right to retaliate against any ceasefire violations by the US. It added that its air defence units had shot down a US MQ-9 drone and fired at a fighter jet that had entered Iranian airspace.

• Brent crude oil rose 3% on Tuesday after the news of the US strikes on Iran. The strikes added to uncertainty about whether a deal will be imminently reached to end the war and open up shipping flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

• An Israeli airstrike on a village in eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley killed 12 people, AP reports, citing the country’s state-run National News Agency. Rescue workers said a dozen bodies were pulled out of the rubble following an intense wave of overnight strikes targeting swaths of southern and eastern Lebanon.

• Israel’s military has warned residents of the southern Lebanese town of Nabatieh to leave ahead of possible airstrikes, Reuters reports. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel would escalate strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, as a US official said the militia had ignored warnings to halt firing at Israel.

• United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said that a tanker had reported an external explosion on the vessel’s port side, 60 nautical miles off Oman’s capital Muscat. In a post on X, UKMTO said the vessel and its crew were safe, although the tanker reported that some bunker fuel was discharged into the sea. UKMTO urged vessels to transit with caution and report suspicious activity.

I’m clocking off, but my colleague Tom Ambrose will continue to bring you the latest updates from the crisis in the Middle East.

Iran’s judiciary has suspended a presidential body that had ordered the restoration of internet access, AFP reports.

Iranian authorities first imposed sweeping internet restrictions during large-scale anti-government protests that peaked in early January, before shutting access down again on 28 February at the start of the war.

The judicial decision targeted the “Special Headquarters for Organising and Governing the Country’s Cyberspace”, a body formed on 12 May by president Masoud Pezeshkian.

The body had on Monday reached a decision to “restore the internet” in Iran, according to government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani, after local media reported that Pezeshkian had decreed the measure.

In recent weeks, Iran introduced a tiered internet system known as “Pro Internet”, which, according to Iranian media, granted broader access to selected groups of professionals for higher fees.

By 5 April, internet monitor NetBlocks said the shutdown imposed after the outbreak of war was “the longest nation-scale internet shutdown on record in any country”.

United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said that a tanker had reported an external explosion on the vessel’s port side, 60 nautical miles off Oman’s capital Muscat.

In a post on X, UKMTO said the vessel and its crew were safe, although the tanker reported that some bunker fuel was discharged into the sea. UKMTO urged vessels to transit with caution and report suspicious activity.

Iran’s foreign ministry has said the US broke the ceasefire in the Hormozgan region close to the strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports.

The ministry said Iran will respond and will not hesitate in defending itself.

The US military carried out strikes on Monday in southern Iran against targets including boats attempting to lay mines and missile launch sites, in what it described as defensive actions.

“The United States committed a gross violation of the ceasefire in the Hormozgan region in the past 48 hours … Iran holds the US regime responsible for all the consequences resulting from these aggressive and unjustified actions,” the Iran foreign ministry statement said.

Photos show the aftermath of an Israeli strike on al-Hosh, near the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon.

Israel targeted southern and eastern Lebanon in a series of overnight strikes.

Pictures showed Lebanese civil defence workers searching through the rubble in the aftermath of the strikes.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he had ordered the military to intensify its offensive in Lebanon in an effort to “crush” Hezbollah, accusing the group of targeting Israeli forces with drone attacks.

One major sticking point in the negotiations for a peace deal in the US-Israel war with Iran involves the unfreezing of Iranian funds frozen overseas.

Around $24bn (£18bn) of frozen funds must be released under a memorandum of understanding being negotiated with the US a source close to Tehran’s negotiation team said, according to report by Iran’s Tasnim news agency on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

The Iranian agency said Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Baqr Qalibaf, had travelled to Qatar to reach agreement on a mechanism to implement this demand.

Beijing has urged Iran and the US to observe the ceasefire in the US-Israeli war on Iran.

“We urge the parties concerned to fulfil their ceasefire commitments, resolve disputes through peaceful means … and promote the early restoration of peace,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a news briefing.

The US struck targets in Iran overnight and Iran said it shot down a US drone.

Israel’s military has warned residents of the southern Lebanese town of Nabatieh to leave ahead of possible airstrikes, Reuters reports.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel would escalate strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, as a US official said the militia had ignored warnings to halt firing at Israel.

Earlier today an Israeli airstrike on a village in eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley killed 12 people.

Brent crude oil rose 3% on Tuesday after the US military carried out strikes in Iran, adding to uncertainty on whether a deal will be imminently reached to end the war and open up shipping flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

“While differences between the parties have narrowed, any eventual peace deal would likely lead only to a gradual reopening [of the strait of Hormuz], meaning the current tight supply outlook could take months to normalise,” Ole Hansen at Saxo Bank told Reuters.

Iran has executed a man for alleged espionage and intelligence cooperation with Israel, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said.

The agency identified the individual as Gholamreza Khani Shekarab.

According to the Iran Human Rights NGO (IHRNGO), Gholamreza was arrested on 24 September 2025 and charged with “collaboration with the Zionist regime and specifically the Mossad intelligence agency”.

At least ten people have been executed for espionage charges in 2026. Eight were accused of espionage for Israel and the US, and two Iraqi nationals were accused of espionage for an unknown Arab country. According to IHRNGO’s 2025 Annual Report on the Death Penalty in Iran, at least 13 people were executed for charges related to espionage for Israel.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said it reserved the “legitimate and definite” right to retaliate against any ceasefire violations by the US, adding that its air defence units had shot down a US MQ-9 drone and fired at a fighter jet that had entered Iranian airspace, state media reported.