UK News
Middle East crisis live: Trump claims Iran attack ‘on hold’ due to request from Gulf allies | US-Israel war on Iran
Trump claims Iran attack ‘on hold’ due to request from Gulf countries
We are restarting our live coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran and the other conflicts in the Middle East. Donald Trump says he has called off a planned attack on Iran on Tuesday at the request of Gulf states so peace talks could continue.
In a post on Truth Social on Monday, the US president said he had been asked to do so by the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Trump said he had been told a deal would be made that is “very acceptable” to the US, adding there would be “no nuclear weapons for Iran”.
He said, however, that he had informed his military leaders “to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached”.
The announcement came as Iran’s foreign military spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, claimed Pakistan has shared Tehran’s latest proposal with the US.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to launch new strikes on Iran, only to retreat at the last minute. The war on Iran is deeply unpopular with the American public and is hitting consumers hard with increased oil and fertiliser costs resulting from the reduced flow of vessels through the critical strait of Hormuz. ‘
Negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme and the strait of Hormuz have reached a deadlock and the US’s blockade of Iranian ports is failing to force Tehran into making painful concessions even though Iran is suffering an escalating economic crisis.
Trump did not say what targets the US had planned to strike on Tuesday, but officials said the military could have targeted Iran’s ballistic missile sites, according to the New York Times.
Key events
Israel orders forced evacuation orders for more towns in southern Lebanon
The Israeli military has warned residents of 12 towns and villages in southern Lebanon to immediately evacuate ahead of expected attacks.
The affected towns and villages are: Toura, al-Nabatieh al-Tahta, Houbbous, al-Bazouriyeh, Tayr Debba, Kafr Huna, Ain Qana, Labaya, Jibshit, al-Shahabiya, Burj al-Shamali, Houmein al-Fouqa, according to a social media post by the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, who claimed the attacks are being launched due to Hezbollah, the Iranian backed Lebanese militant group, violating the US-mediated ceasefire agreement Israel signed with the Lebanese state in mid April.
“Anyone present near Hezbollah elements, their facilities, and combat means endangers their life!” Adraee wrote. The Israeli military claims they are only targeting Hezbollah infrastructure but it has also killed many civilians in their airstrikes.
Gaza’s health ministry said in its latest update that two people were killed and three others injured in Israeli attacks across the territory over the past day despite the supposed ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
One other person – who was already injured from an Israeli attack – was pronounced dead over the same period, the ministry added.
The health ministry says 880 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire in October 2025.
It says that 72,772 people, many of whom were women and children, have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since October 2023, when Isreal launched its assault on the territory following the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed.
Caitlin Cassidy
Eleven Australians attempting to deliver aid to Gaza as part of a global flotilla have been detained by Israeli forces in international waters off the coast of Cyprus, with the government “urgently seeking” confirmation of their welfare.
On Monday local time, the Global Sumud Flotilla alleged the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) encircled 38 ships that were part of a fleet of 54 boats which left Turkey last week for the embattled strip, which remains under naval blockade by Israel.
The ships, carrying 319 activists from dozens of nations, were about 250 nautical miles from the coast of Gaza when they were surrounded, organisers said. Footage showed the Israeli military approaching in speedboats and boarding the vessels in broad daylight.
The Israeli foreign ministry posted to X that activists from what it called the “provocation flotilla” had been transferred to Israeli vessels, alleging “no aid” had been found on their boats, a claim disputed by the flotilla.
The detained Australians are academics, doctors, students, activists and film-makers who have urged the federal government to protect them.
They include Anny Mokotow, Dr Bianca Pullman-Webb, Neve O’Connor, Violet Coco, Gemma O’Toole, Sam Woripa Watson, Zack Schofield, Helen O’Sullivan, Juliet Lamont, Isla Lamont and Surya McEwan. You can read the full story here:
G7 finance ministers are looking at ways to contain the economic fallout resulting from the war in Iran, which has sent global energy prices soaring and slowed down growth.
Finance ministers and central bank governors from G7 countries met in Paris for a second day of talks to discuss responses to the fallout amid continued volatility on global bond markets. Along with rising energy prices, policymakers are also expected to discuss sanctions policy and how to limit the economic impact the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz is having on poorer, import-reliant countries.
“We agree on the fact that the IMF and the World Bank have to step up their game for those countries (most vulnerable to the impact of the Middle East conflict) and make sure we help them,” French finance minister Roland Lescure told reporters.
The head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, warned last month that the US-Israeli war on Iran will permanently scar the global economy even if a durable peace deal can somehow be reached. You can keep up with the latest business news in our live blog here:
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) is reporting that Israeli artillery shelling has resumed in southern Lebanon’s Marjayoun district. We will bring you updates as we get them.
Death toll from Israeli attacks on Lebanon passes 3,000, health officials say
As we have been reporting, Tehran wants Washington to pressure Israel into stopping its war on Lebanon as part of a deal to end the US-Israeli war on Iran.
But the US has so far seemed reluctant to exert any real pressure on Israel to stop its continued attacks on southern Lebanon despite a recently extended ceasefire and with Lebanon and Israel set to resume diplomatic talks at the beginning of June.
Both Israel and Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group and political party, have continued with their attacks since the 17 April ceasefire agreement came into effect, accusing each other of violations.
More than one million people have already been displaced by the renewed Israeli war on Lebanon which started when Hezbollah launched missiles at Israel on 2 March after the US-Israeli bombing of Iran in late February.
Israeli strikes have now killed more than 3,000 people in Lebanon since 2 March, the health ministry said on Monday. “The total cumulative toll of the aggression from 2 March to 18 May is now as follows: 3,020 martyrs and 9,273 wounded,” the ministry said, with 211 people aged 18 and under and 116 healthcare workers among the dead.
Twenty IDF soldiers and one defence ministry civilian contractor have been killed in southern Lebanon during the fighting, according to officials, with at least four civilians also reported to have been killed.
Iran’s recent proposal to the US called for the lifting of sanctions on Tehran, the release of frozen Iranian funds and an end to the marine blockade on the country, Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi was quoted by the IRNA news agency as saying this morning.
The Iranian proposal also includes ending the war on all fronts – including Israel’s assault on Lebanon – the withdrawal of US forces from areas close to Iran and war damage compensation costs, Gharibabadi added.
The US reportedly saw the updated peace proposal Iran sent on Sunday as insufficient, leading to expectations that the US would resume its attacks.
According to the US outlet Axios, Donald Trump is due to meet with his top national security team in the Situation Room later today to discuss possible military options.
But speaking at a White House event yesterday, Trump said there had been a “very positive development” and claimed a deal was near that would leave Iran without nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies pursuing.
Trump claims Iran attack ‘on hold’ due to request from Gulf countries
We are restarting our live coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran and the other conflicts in the Middle East. Donald Trump says he has called off a planned attack on Iran on Tuesday at the request of Gulf states so peace talks could continue.
In a post on Truth Social on Monday, the US president said he had been asked to do so by the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Trump said he had been told a deal would be made that is “very acceptable” to the US, adding there would be “no nuclear weapons for Iran”.
He said, however, that he had informed his military leaders “to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached”.
The announcement came as Iran’s foreign military spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, claimed Pakistan has shared Tehran’s latest proposal with the US.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to launch new strikes on Iran, only to retreat at the last minute. The war on Iran is deeply unpopular with the American public and is hitting consumers hard with increased oil and fertiliser costs resulting from the reduced flow of vessels through the critical strait of Hormuz. ‘
Negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme and the strait of Hormuz have reached a deadlock and the US’s blockade of Iranian ports is failing to force Tehran into making painful concessions even though Iran is suffering an escalating economic crisis.
Trump did not say what targets the US had planned to strike on Tuesday, but officials said the military could have targeted Iran’s ballistic missile sites, according to the New York Times.
South East Water blames demand for water during the hot weather for the multiple supply problems.
Source link
UK News
Middle East crisis live: Iran says Trump’s threats to ‘blow up’ Oman ‘dangerous and bullying’ | US-Israel war on Iran
Iran says Trump’s threats against Oman ‘dangerous’ and ‘bullying’
We have a statement from the Iranian foreign ministry in which the spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, described Donald Trump’s threats against Oman as “dangerous” and “bullying”.
He was quoted as saying:
Threats to “destroy” a United Nations member state that has always played a constructive, effective, and responsible role in regional peace and security and has used its noble efforts in the service of regional peace and stability as a mediator in diplomatic processes for many years are not only a violation of the fundamental principle of prohibiting the threat of the use of force, but also another dangerous sign of the normalisation of lawlessness and bullying in international relations.
As a reminder, the US president said yesterday that he would “blow up” Oman if it entered an agreement with Iran to manage shipping in the strait of Hormuz.
Read more here:
Key events
US to shut down Iranian airlines’ access to landing spots, refuelling and ticket sales, says Bessent
The US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said Washington will be shutting down Iranian airlines’ access to landing spots, refuelling and ticket sales.
In a post on X, he said the US has sanctioned Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), a government agency Tehran established on 5 May handling transit fees for vessels in the strait of Hormuz.
Bessent wrote:
The US treasury continues our Economic Fury campaign against the Iranian regime.
Their troops are not getting paid, the police are not reporting for work, and Kharg Island is shut down. The Iranian economy and currency are in free fall.
Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) is a joke, and today Treasury has sanctioned it. We have warned any corporate or state entities against paying tolls or hiding them as aid payments.
Forming a Wall of Steel, the US Naval Blockade has ensured a record low amount of Iranian crude on the water. We will also be shutting down both Iranian airlines’ access to landing spots, refueling, and ticket sales.
Only a satisfactory outcome in negotiations will end the downward spiral.
Here are some of the latest images from Beirut, where the Israeli military launched an attack in its first strike on the Lebanese capital since 6 May:
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards threatened a “firm response” on Thursday in the event of renewed attacks, after the United States carried out a strike the country’s south.
“If this action is repeated, the US military will face a firm response,” the Guards said in a statement on their Sepah News website.
Overnight, the Israeli military pounded the coastal city of Tyre, Lebanon’s fourth-largest city, killing at least 14 people across the south of the country in its ongoing military escalation against the Hezbollah group ahead of the Washington talks.
Among those killed in the flurry of strikes were five women and children and a Lebanese soldier. Dozens of others were wounded, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry and the state-run National News Agency.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported that an Israeli strike on Beirut targeted an apartment building in the southern Choueifat area.
It was not immediately clear who or what was targeted in the building, but the Times of Israel reported that the IDF was attempting to assassinate an IRGC-linked military leader. Citing a security source, the newspaper reported that the target was Ali al-Husni, described as “the head of the missile force in the Imam Hossein Division, an Iranian militia that operates alongside Hezbollah”.
It is the first time in over three weeks that Israel has attacked the Lebanese capital.
Kuwait says Iranian attacks on its territory a ‘dangerous escalation’
Kuwait has now named Iran as the culprit behind the attempted missile and drone attacks against the Gulf state, describing it as a “dangerous escalation”.
Earlier, the Kuwaiti armed forces said it had intercepted drones and missiles that were launched towards the country, but did not say who was behind the attacks. The US and UAE placed the blame squarely on Iran.
In a statement, the Kuwaiti foreign ministry said it expressed the country’s “strongest condemnation and denunciation of the criminal Iranian attacks that targeted the territory of the state of Kuwait with missiles and drones, in a dangerous escalation”.
It added:
The ministry affirms this escalation comes at a time when earnest efforts are being exerted by a number of brotherly and friendly countries to reduce tensions, de-escalate, and spare the region further escalation, which amplifies the gravity of these attacks and undermines diplomatic efforts aimed at preserving regional security and stability.
Associated Press reported that Israeli fighter jets struck a southern suburb of Beirut but it was not clear what the target was.
According to AFP, citing a Lebanese military source, the Israeli strike hit an apartment south of the capital.
IDF says its carried out strike in Beirut
The IDF said it carried out a strike in the Lebanese capital Beirut, which had been largely spared of attacks since a fragile ceasefire took effect on 17 April.
In a post on X, it said: “The IDF has just carried out a targeted strike in Beirut; further details to follow.”
The most recent Israeli strike on Beirut was on 6 May, when the IDF carried out an airstrike in the southern suburbs known as the Dahiyeh.
We will bring you more as we get it.
US accuses Iran of ceasefire violation after missile intercepted by Kuwaiti forces
The US Central Command said an Iranian missile was intercepted by Kuwaiti forces, as it accused Tehran of an “egregious ceasefire violation”.
In a statement posted on social media, it said:
Iran launched a ballistic missile toward Kuwait that was successfully intercepted by Kuwaiti forces. This egregious ceasefire violation by the Iranian regime occurred hours after Iranian forces launched five one-way attack drones that posed a clear threat in and near the strait of Hormuz. All drones were successfully intercepted by US forces which also prevented a sixth drone launch from an Iranian ground control site in Bandar Abbas.
US Central Command and regional partners remain vigilant and measured as we continue to defend our forces and interests from unjustified Iranian aggression.
UAE condemns Iran for strikes on Kuwait
The UAE has condemned “in the strongest terms” what it described as Iranian drone and missile attacks on Kuwait.
Earlier, the Kuwaiti armed forces said its air defences were intercepting “hostile missile and drone attacks” this morning, but did not say how many and where they were launched from.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted an unnamed American military base in retaliation against US strikes on the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas near the strait of Hormuz, according to the Iranian state broadcaster Irib.
In a statement, the UAE’s foreign ministry said the attacks constituted “a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of Kuwait and a threat to its security and stability”.
The IDF claimed to have struck more than 135 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon over the past 24 hours, including in the city of Tyre and other southern areas and the eastern Bekaa valley.
Among the targets, the IDF said it struck a Hezbollah training camp and rocket launch sites.
Local media in Lebanon have reported massive explosions and widespread damage in Tyre, as the Israeli military continues to expand its operations deeper into the country through a relentless campaign of displacement orders and airstrikes.
First-year university student Henry Nowak was killed as he walked back from a night out in Southampton.
Source link
-
Crime & Safety4 weeks agoMajor UK firm collapses in administration with nearly 700 jobs at risk
-
Crime & Safety2 weeks agoMan arrested in connection with rape in Oxfordshire town
-
UK News4 weeks agoWoman murdered sister and took her Rolex watch
-
Crime & Safety2 weeks agoBanbury woman jailed after lying to police about kidnapped children
-
Crime & Safety2 weeks agoWaitrose supermarkets across UK shut due to ‘critical error’
-
Crime & Safety3 weeks agoHow to spend a day in Harpsden among UK’s poshest villages
-
Crime & Safety2 weeks agoStrictly Come Dancing new hosts reportedly Emma Willis
-
UK News4 weeks agoThousands taking part in Belfast City Marathon