The US and Israel on Feb 28 launched what they described as a “pre-emptive” joint strike against Iranian targets, with Trump announcing start of “major combat operations”
Pakistan hosted the first round of face-to-face talks between the US and Iran in 47 years in April; the talks ended without a breakthrough, but also without a breakdown
The Iraqi armed group Kataeb Hezbollah has pledged to keep up its “jihadist action”, as Baghdad faces mounting US pressure to disarm factions in favour of Iran, AFP reports.
Following the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran at the end of February, groups operating under the banner of the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” carried out repeated drone and rocket attacks on US interests in the country. Washington, in turn, bombed facilities and bases belonging to the groups, including Kataeb Hezbollah, killing dozens of their members.
Kataeb Hezbollah security chief Abu Mujahid al-Assaf says in a statement, “Jihadist action is today a collective duty, and we will carry it out on behalf of the brothers who have decided to abandon it.”
Women wave Iran’s national flags during an anti-US and Israel protest in Tehran, Iran on May 29, 2026. — AFP
A man holds an Iranian flag near an anti-US billboard depicting President Donald Trump and the Strait of Hormuz, in Tehran, Iran on May 30, 2026. — Reuters
Women wave Iran’s national flags during an anti-US and Israel protest in Tehran, Iran on May 29, 2026. — AFP
The municipality of Zifta has urged residents to seek shelter and avoid all movement and gatherings amid what it describes as “repeated threats from the enemy to evacuate our beloved town”, according to Al Jazeera.
In a statement, the municipality calls on “steadfast residents to seek shelter wherever possible,” adding that, for safety reasons, those who cannot do so “are required to remain in your homes”.
“Movement and gatherings throughout the town are strictly prohibited,” it stresses.
The municipality also warns against crowds forming at the scene of any strike, saying that “in the event of any airstrike, gatherings are prohibited for anyone not on official duty or involved in emergency response”.
The Lebanese army says two of its soldiers were “seriously” wounded after an Israeli drone targeted their vehicle in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports.
The attack took place “on the public road in Nabatieh,” it says in a post on X, adding that they were transferred to a hospital for treatment.
Israel has rejected a Lebanese demand for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon during US-mediated talks between the two sides, Anadolu reports citing Israel’s public broadcaster KAN.
The broadcaster, citing Israeli officials, says Lebanon raised the issue during discussions involving military representatives from both countries under US sponsorship. Israel informed mediators that it would not withdraw, according to the report.
KAN adds that the talks also addressed the possibility of reaching a broader ceasefire arrangement that would include discussions on Hezbollah’s weapons.
The broadcaster, citing Lebanese media reports, further reports that Israeli and Lebanese military delegations are not holding direct talks, with all messages relayed through the US mediator.
Lebanon has requested clarifications regarding terms used by Israel to justify its military operations, including “imminent danger” and “response to threats,” according to the reports, which add that Israel is seeking a direct communication mechanism between the Israeli and Lebanese armies, as well as cooperation on the disarmament of Hezbollah.
Oman’s Maritime Security Centre has issued an advisory urging all vessels to exercise caution while navigating the Strait of Hormuz, after a “floating object suspected to be a sea mine” was detected west of the waterway within Omani territorial waters.
“The Maritime Security Centre urges all sea-goers, fishermen, and vessels to exercise the utmost caution and vigilance while navigating, to steer clear of any suspicious objects, and to report them immediately to the competent authorities,” it says in a post on X.
Hezbollah claims it fired rockets at the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, as exchanges of fire between the two sides have intensified despite Lebanon-Israel negotiations, AFP reports.
In at least two statements, the group says it launched a “rocket barrage” at the town “in defence of Lebanon and its people, and in response to the Israeli enemy’s violation of the ceasefire”.
Speaking further to the media, Pete Hegseth has reiterated that Donald Trump will only make a deal with Iran if he believes it is a “great deal” for the US and the world.
“Those goalposts haven’t shifted at all,” he said, referring to the US demand that Iran abandon any nuclear ambitions it has, which Tehran says is for civilian purposes.
“We think we’re in a good place to make that deal,” he said, while also warning that the Department of War was “postured even stronger today than we were on Day One”.
“The talks have been productive,” Hegseth further said.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to media in Singapore on May 30, 2026. — screengrab via X/DeptofWar
According to the Joint Maritime Information Centre (JMIC), a multinational body monitoring maritime security in the Indian Ocean, the threat level in the Strait of Hormuz remains “critical” due to the ongoing US maritime blockade against Iran-linked port facilities.
The notice was shared on X by the UK Maritime Trade Operations organisation.
“Mariners should expect increased naval presence, enhanced force protection postures, potential VHF hailing, and congestion near anchorage areas,” it said.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said that various countries were “putting pressure on Iran” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz once a peace deal is agreed on, or even if it is not.
Responding to a media query in Singapore, he said that Hormuz would be “an open strait, a toll-free strait that the entire world could use”.
Hegseth said that the “future in energy is actually the American future”.
The defence secretary asserted that the US-imposed blockade of Iranian ports is “ironclad” and has “put the real pressure on Iran”.
“They want to say that they control the strait, but we do, and everything behind the scenes shows that we are in control when it comes to that,” he added.
The Israeli military has claimed that a “launch” that crossed from Lebanon into the country’s territory was intercepted, with Al Jazeera reporting that it was a rocket.
It noted that sirens were activated a short while ago in several areas in northern Israel.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said Washington and Islamabad are developing a “true friendship”, praising Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and CDF and COAS Field Marshal Asim Munir for their role in the US-Iran peace negotiations.
Responding to a question at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, he said, “I mentioned India here, but I very easily could have mentioned Pakistan and the role that the field marshal and the prime minister are playing in peace negotiations.
“I think an unexpected development and a true friendship [is] developing there, which I think is important,” he added.
Hegseth also reiterated the US and Pakistan’s stance of President Donald Trump brokering a ceasefire between Pakistan and India during the May 2025 conflict.
“I think both sides are going to see understandable threats coming from the other, maybe some of which we see differently, and countries are going to want to develop ICBM threats,” he said, clarifying that Washington was not “pointing a finger” at either country right now or terming either of them a threat to the US.
Hezbollah has said that it launched an operation this morning, involving an ambush on a group of Israeli soldiers who attempted to advance towards Ghandouriyeh in Lebanon’s Nabatieh district, Al Jazeera reports.
Hezbollah said it detonated explosive devices at the Israeli forces and shelled them with rockets, claiming that the ambush resulted in injuries among Israeli soldiers.
The group said that in retaliation for Israeli attacks, it also launched several rockets on northern Israel, specifically at the settlement of Kiryat Shmona, Israel’s northernmost city.
Citing Israel’s Ynet outlet, Al Jazeera said sirens were heard throughout the night and that several rockets were intercepted.
Hezbollah also claimed to have struck down an Israeli Hermes 450 drone in the sky over the town of Zotar al-Sharqiya with a surface-to-air missile.
Qatar opposes permanent legal fees for transit through the Strait of Hormuz, but a temporary toll is negotiable and could help restore normal passage through the key waterway, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has said, Bloombergreports.
A permanent fee would impact consumers and Qatar objects to any move to impose them, Sheikh Saoud said at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. However, short-term charges used for mine clearing or similar purposes can be considered, he was quoted as saying.
Mohsen Rezaei, a military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, has said that the US President Donald Trump is “betraying diplomacy for the third time” by continuing “naval blockade and adopting increasingly excessive demands in negotiations”.
In a post on social media platform X, Rezaei said the US president has also “demonstrated that he is not genuinely interested in negotiations and is pursuing other objectives”.
The Lebanese government has established approximately 600 shelters across the country, including facilities in schools, government buildings, and other public sites. However, officials say these shelters have reached maximum capacity, according to Al Jazeera.
Large numbers of displaced people have taken refuge in public parks and makeshift tent settlements. In the capital, Beirut, hundreds of displaced residents have formed small communities across various neighbourhoods, struggling to meet their basic needs as the crisis deepens.
People set up tents at the Beirut waterfront, in Beirut, Lebanon, May 21, 2026. —Reuters
Three people have been killed and over a dozen injured by Israeli air strikes, as attacks escalate in southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reports.
Two of them were identified as a father and son: Zuhair Ahmad Hashim and his son Ali, who were killed in an air strike by Israeli forces in the early hours of Saturday morning at their home in the Al-Marj neighbourhood of Ansar, north of Tyre. Seven other family members were also injured, Lebanon’s NNA said.
