War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has told US President Donald Trump in a call that he welcomes the extension of a ceasefire between the US and Iran, adding he believed contested issues between the sides could be resolved, Reuters reports citing the Turkish Presidency.

“During the meeting, our president stated that he viewed the decision to extend the ceasefire in the conflict zone in our region as a positive development (and) that he believed a reasonable solution to the disputed issues was possible,” the presidency says in a statement.

Iranian national security official Ebrahim Azizi says the country’s experience “demonstrates the inherent and enduring untrustworthiness of the United States; that is why we are prepared for every scenario”.

“Even now, despite the intense media blackout, the American people know how much cost and damage their government has imposed on them,” he adds in a post on X. “The world witnessed Iran’s astonishing power, although many more surprises still remain.”

Asked if Iran was offered sanctions relief on oil, US President Donald Trump has replied in the negative, stating that relief will only come with a deal.

“I’m not doing any relief until they sign an agreement,” he tells reporters.

US President Donald Trump has said that American forces are “ready to go” and resume military operations should an agreement with Iran not be reached.

“If we don’t get the right answers, it goes very quickly,” Trump tells reporters. “We have to get the right answers. It would have to be complete, 100 per cent good answers, and if we do, we save a lot of time, energy and lives, most importantly.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says Tehran “has consistently honored its commitments and explored every avenue to avert war”, Al Jazeera reports.

“All paths remain open from our side,” the Iranian president writes on X. “Forcing Iran to surrender through coercion is nothing but an illusion. Mutual respect in diplomacy is far wiser, safer, and more sustainable than war.”

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei says Tehran has received a new US proposal and was currently examining it, as Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visits the Iranian capital.

“We received the points of view of the American side and we are currently examining them,” he tells state television.

He reiterates Iran’s demands in talks to end the war, including the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad and an end to the US blockade on Iranian ports.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has met with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who has made another visit to Iran, Al Jazeera reports.

The pair have discussed the status of continued US-Iran negotiations, the Tasnim news agency reported, while Pezeshkian expressed support for Pakistan’s efforts to encourage regional stability and cooperation.

Naqvi also stressed “the importance of continuing the path of dialogue and understanding”, Tasnim reports.

Iran is seeking to establish a mechanism with Oman to ensure sustainable security in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei tells state TV, according to Reuters.

He says Iran is ready to develop protocols for safe shipping traffic in cooperation with other coastal states, without providing further details.

The US military boarded the Iranian-flagged commercial oil tanker M/T Celestial Sea in the Gulf of Oman after suspecting it had violated a naval blockade, US Central Command (Centcom) says, according to Reuters.

“American forces released the vessel after searching and directing the ship’s crew to alter course,” a statement reads.

Centcom adds that 91 commercial vessels have been redirected by US forces, with four others disabled.

The exchange of messages between Iran and the United States has continued based on Tehran’s 14-point proposal, with Pakistan’s interior minister in Iran to help facilitate it, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson says, according to Reuters.

US President Donald Trump says the United States may have to attack Iran even harder but will wait and see if a deal is reached, reprising the “either/or” rhetoric he has used since announcing a ceasefire six weeks ago, Reuters reports.

“We’ll see what happens,” Trump says during a commencement address at the US Coast Guard Academy. “We hit them very hard. We may have to hit them even harder — but maybe not.

“We will not let Iran have a nuclear weapon. It’s very simple,” Trump tells the cadets.

Iranian officials say the national football team and staff have yet to receive visas to attend the World Cup in the United States, Al Jazeera reports.

They are planning to apply for visas at the Canadian embassy in Turkiye.

Iran’s team is scheduled to open their Group G campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, before facing Belgium in the same city and then Egypt in Seattle.

US President Donald Trump reiterates that Iran’s navy and air force are gone, and the only question is whether the US goes back to “finish the job” or if Iran will sign an agreement, Reuters reports.

“Everything’s gone. Their navy’s gone. Their air force is gone. Just about everything. The only question is, do we go and finish it up? Are they going to be signing a document? Let’s see what happens,” Trump says in a commencement address at the US Coast Guard Academy.

Oil prices have fallen fall by more than 5 per cent as Trump seeks to manage markets with optimism over Middle East talks, Al Jazeera reports.

The price of Brent crude oil has dropped to $105.70 a barrel.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has told Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo that negotiations between Tehran and Washington “are continuing through Pakistani mediators”, Al Jazeera reports.

“Basically, what we want is not a demand but our rights,” he says, as reported by Iran’s IRNA news agency.

That includes Iran’s demand that US sanctions against the country be lifted, which Baghaei said is “part of our rights”.

Israel’s army chief Lieutenant Colonel Eyal Zamir says the military is at its highest alert level, as Tehran and Washington trade threats of war, AFP reports.

“At this moment, the IDF (military) is on the highest level of alert and prepared for any development,” Zamir has said at a meeting of all division commanders, according to a statement issued by the military.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation warns that the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz could “trigger a severe global food price crisis”, warning that it marks “the beginning of a systemic agrifood shock”, Al Jazeera reports.

“The shock is unfolding in stages: energy, fertiliser, seeds, lower yields, commodity price increases, then food inflation,” the agency says, urging governments to expand alternative routes and avoid export restrictions, as global food prices continue to rise.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health says Israeli attacks have killed at least 3073 people and wounded 9362 since early March, Al Jazeera reports.

In a statement, the ministry has given the updated toll covering the period from March 2 to May 20.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan has praised Donald Trump’s decision to “give diplomacy a chance” after the US president announced earlier that he had called off planned strikes on Iran, AFP reports.

The minister has written on social media that the kingdom “highly appreciates the US President Donald Trump’s decision to give diplomacy a chance to reach an acceptable agreement to end the war”.

The minister adds that Saudi Arabia remains supportive of ongoing mediation efforts carried out by Pakistan and urged Iran to seize “the opportunity to avoid the dangerous implications of escalation”.

Iran’s chief negotiator says the United States wanted to restart the Middle East war after President Donald Trump said he would attack again unless Tehran agreed to a peace deal, AFP reports.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who warned of a “forceful response”, has spoken after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said any renewed war would spread far beyond the Middle East.

“The enemy’s movements, both overt and clandestine, show that despite economic and political pressure, it has not abandoned its military objectives and is seeking to start a new war,” Ghalibaf says in an audio message carried by Iranian media.

US President Donald Trump has claimed that the country “took over Iran” during the war, losing 13 troops.

In response to a question about whether the conflict is taking too long, Trump referred to US wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Vietnam, among others, stating that they bore a great human cost.

“You lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers in all those wars. In Venezuela, we lost no one,” he says. “Here we have lost 13 people; it is 13 too many. People dont like it when you say you lost 13 people.

“We took over Venezuela. We essentially took over Iran and we lost 13 people. Iran is decimated. You are going to see things that are amazing, you are gonna see a lot of amazing things in the country,” he adds.