War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke to US negotiators on the phone and discussed latest developments in US-Iran peace talks, Reuters quoted a Turkish Foreign Ministry source saying.

The Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, has met Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Muscat, where both sides discussed the regional situation and mediation efforts aimed at ending the Iran war, Reuters reports, citing Oman’s state news agency.

Iran’s IRGC has warned of delivering a “beyond expectation” response to further aggression, IRNA reports.

In a statement, it emphasised that the “powerful and intelligent silence” of Iran’s armed forces was “not a sign of weakness”.

The statement warned that this restraint “can at any moment, in the event of miscalculation and any renewed aggressive action by the warmongering and oath-breaking enemy, become the prelude to a ‘hellish storm’ against them”.

The News’s Absar Alam says Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed to him that “Pakistan, from a facilitator between US and Iran, has become a mediator now due to the situation”.

Iran’s foreign ministry has announced that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is set to visit Pakistan again after concluding his trip to Oman and before travelling to Russia, state media IRNA reports.

Part of Araghchi’s delegation returned to Tehran after talks in Islamabad to seek guidance on issues related to ending the war, and is expected to rejoin Araghchi in Islamabad tonight, the report added.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has stressed that Tehran remains committed to building and strengthening relations with all neighbouring countries, including those along the southern shores of the Persian Gulf, based on mutual respect, Mehr reports.

He made the remarks during his phone call with PM Shehbaz Sharif yesterday.

Reaffirming Iran’s determination to defend its national security, Pezeshkian warned of the potential consequences of any renewed confrontation by the US and the Israeli regime for both regional and global stability.

Iran will not enter into negotiations under pressure, threats, and siege, President Masoud Pezeshkian has said, Mehr news agency reports.

During his phone call with PM Shehbaz yesterday, President Pezeshkian expressed appreciation for Pakistan’s sustained efforts to help restore peace in the region.

Referring to recent developments surrounding the ceasefire, Pezeshkian criticised “continued violations and coercive behaviour by the United States during both the negotiations and the ceasefire period”, Mehr said.

He stated that actions related to Washington’s so-called maritime restrictions on Iran constitute a clear breach of the ceasefire understandings and are inconsistent with the United Nations Charter.

He contended that such measures, together with threatening rhetoric, have heightened doubts regarding the US commitment to the diplomatic process.

Iran has executed a man convicted of being a member of the militant group Jaish al-Adl and carrying out attacks on Iranian security forces, AFP reports, citing the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Authorities identified the man as Amer Ramesh, saying he had been arrested in a counter-terrorism operation in southeastern Iran and charged with armed rebellion, including being involved in bombings and ambushes targeting military personnel.

Part of the delegation accompanying Iran’s FM Abbas Araghchi to Islamabad has returned to Tehran to seek advice and obtain the necessary guidelines regarding issues related to the end of the war, Tasnim reports, citing IRNA.

The delegation is scheduled to rejoin Araghchi in Islamabad tonight, the report added.

US President Donald Trump has said a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner would not deter him from the Iran war, although he believed the incident was unlikely to be linked to the conflict, AFP reports.

“It’s not going to deter me from winning the war in Iran. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it, I really don’t think so, based on what we know,” Trump told reporters in a briefing at the White House after the shocking security incident.

Trump had earlier said, however, that “you never know” if it could be linked to the Iran war, and said investigators were working on the motive of the shooter, whom he described as a “lone wolf”.

The Israeli military has said its killed three Hamas fighters, including a commander who had infiltrated Israel during the October 7, 2023 attacks, Al Jazeera reports.

It said the others were a Hamas platoon commander, who “led numerous attacks” against Israeli forces in Gaza, and the third was an operative in the group’s military intelligence unit.

The statement did not specify where or when the men were killed.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has met with India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in Abu Dhabi, Al Jazeera reports, citing the WAM news agency.

The two men discussed the situation in the Middle East and its implications for regional and international security, stability, and global energy security.

The IRNA news agency is reporting that Araghchi and his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty, “discussed and exchanged views on issues related to diplomacy and ceasefire, as well as the latest regional developments,” according to Al Jazeera.

It said Araghchi also held a call with Turkiye’s Hakan Fidan, but did not provide further details.

Turkiye’s Anadolu news agency, meanwhile, reported that the talks between Fidan and Araghchi “focused on the latest developments in the negotiation process between Iran and the US”.

US Central Command has said it intercepted a merchant vessel trying to get through the blockade of Iran, Reuters reports.

Here are some details: The ship, identified as the Sevan, was part of a 19-vessel “shadow fleet” transporting Iranian oil and gas products to foreign markets, the US military said.

Central Command said it was intercepted in the Arabian Sea by a US Navy helicopter from the guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney and was “currently complying with US military direction to turn back to Iran under escort.”

The shadow fleet vessels have been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department for activities related to transporting billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian energy, oil and gas products, including propane and butane, to foreign markets, Central Command said.

Since the blockade began, 37 ships have been “redirected,” the US military said.

United States President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner by Secret Service agents on Saturday night after a man opened fire on security personnel, officials said.

A man armed with a shotgun fired at a Secret Service agent, an FBI official told Reuters. The agent was hit in an area covered by protective gear and not harmed, the official said.

All federal officials, including Trump, were safe. About an hour after Trump was rushed from the event, he posted on Truth Social that a “shooter had been apprehended”.

“Quite an evening in DC, Secret Service and Law Enforcement did a fantastic job,” Trump added.

Shortly afterwards, he posted, “The First Lady, plus the Vice President, and all Cabinet members, are in perfect condition”.

Anthony Guglielmi, a Secret Service spokesman, said the service was investigating a shooting near the main screening area at the entrance to the event.

Multiple US news outlets identified the suspect as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from Torrance, in the southwest of Los Angeles County.

Asked about Allen late on Saturday, the FBI did not confirm his identity and told AFP it had nothing to add beyond what was disclosed in news conferences.

A LinkedIn profile with the name “Cole Allen” showed a picture of a man which appeared to match a photo of the suspect shared by Trump. The social media profile said Allen was a mechanical engineer, computer scientist, game developer and teacher.

The federal prosecutor said the shooting suspect will be arraigned in the US capital on Monday and appear before a US district judge.

According to US Attorney Jeanine Piro, the suspect will be charged with using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.

The incident occurred at the Washington Hilton — the same hotel where Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded in a 1981 assassination attempt — adding to the gravity of the situation at a venue long associated with high-level political gatherings.

Over the years, the hotel has also hosted international leaders, including Pervez Musharraf, Benazir Bhutto, and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

After the sound of shots, dinner attendees immediately stopped talking, and people started screaming, “Get down, get down!”

Hundreds of guests dove under the tables as Secret Service officers in combat gear ran into the dining room. Trump and the first lady had bent down behind the dais before being hustled out by Secret Service officers.

Many of the 2,600 attendees took cover while waiters fled to the front of the dining hall.

Security agents pushed cabinet officials to the ground, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.

Other security personnel in combat fatigues stormed the stage and evacuated Trump and his wife. Some security personnel took up positions on the stage, pointing their rifles into the ballroom. Cabinet members were then evacuated from the venue one by one.

Trump and the first lady bent down behind the dais before being hustled out by Secret Service officers. Trump stayed backstage for about one hour, a source told Reuters. “We are staying,” he was overheard saying, the source said.

CNN, interrupting a live interview from the event, reported that the president was safe. Sam Nunberg, an early Trump campaign aide, said he saw individuals rushing towards exits as the commotion began. Both he and CNN’s Wolf Blitzer later described taking shelter in a restroom during the incident.

The event was eventually cancelled for the evening. Trump posted on social media that he hoped it could be rescheduled in 30 days.

‘Lone wolf’

Speaking at a press conference at the White House after the incident, the US president said the suspect was a “would-be assassin”, adding that the man was “armed with multiple weapons”.

The man charged past a security checkpoint, Trump told the press briefing, adding: “One officer was shot but saved by the fact that he was wearing a, obviously, a very good bulletproof vest.”

“We looked at all of the conditions that took place tonight, and I will say, you know, it’s not a particularly secure building,” the US leader added.

He said that he believed the suspected shooter was a “lone wolf”.

“In my opinion, he was a lone wolf,” Trump said, describing the man as a “whack job” and saying he felt there was no reason to believe the attack was connected to the war in Iran.

He added that the Washington hotel hosting Saturday’s White House correspondents’ dinner was “not a particularly secure” facility.

“We looked at all of the conditions that took place tonight, and I will say, you know, it’s not a particularly secure building,” Trump said of the Washington Hilton hotel that has hosted major political events since it opened in 1965.

Trump said “I guess” when asked whether he was the intended target of the attack. “He was a guy who looked pretty evil when he was down.”

Trump further said federal agents were raiding the California home of the suspected shooter.

‘Heinous act of terrorism’

President Asif Ali Zardari, in a statement issued by the Presidency, condemned the shooting.

He “expressed relief that President Trump & the First Lady are safe, and termed the incident a heinous act of terrorism”.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a post on X, condemned the incident, stating that he was “deeply shocked” by it.

“Deeply shocked by the disturbing shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, DC, a short while ago,” the premier said.

He expressed relief that the US president, the first lady and other attendees were safe.

“My thoughts and prayers are with him, and I wish him continued safety and well-being,” he added.

Deputy PM Ishaq Dar also said he was “deeply shocked by the cowardly shooting incident”.

“We are relieved that President Trump, Vice President Vance and First Lady are safe. We strongly condemn all forms of violence, which is enemy of diplomacy and intolerable in any civilised society,” he wrote on X.

“Our best wishes go out to POTUS and the American people.”

Past attempts on life

Saturday was the first time Trump had attended the correspondents’ dinner as president.

He was the subject of two assassination attempts in 2024, after he left the White House in 2021 and while he was campaigning for reelection.

The most serious occurred while Trump was campaigning at an outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024. Trump was shot and wounded in his upper ear by a 20-year-old gunman. The gunman was shot dead by security personnel.

Just over two months after the Butler shooting, Secret Service agents spotted a man wielding a gun and hiding in bushes at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, while Trump was on the course. It was deemed an assassination attempt, and the suspect was sentenced to life in prison in February.

The site of Saturday’s dinner, the Washington Hilton, was the scene of an attempt on the life of President Ronald Reagan, who was shot and wounded by a would-be assassin outside the hotel in 1981.

Further Israeli strikes have taken place across southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports citing the state-run National News Agency.

Israeli warplanes have targeted the town of Khiam, in the Marjayoun district, and the town of Haddatha, Bint Jbeil district, the Lebanese news agency says.

Artillery shelling has also been reported on the outskirts of Maaliya and Hosh Sour, in the Tyre district.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will head back to Pakistan after visiting Oman, state media reported, having just left Islamabad earlier in the day, AFP reports.

The IRNA news agency, citing the foreign ministry, reported that Araghchi “is scheduled to visit Pakistan again after completing his trip to Oman and before travelling to Russia”.

Part of his delegation had returned to Tehran, it added, “to consult and obtain the necessary instructions on issues related to ending the war, and is scheduled to rejoin Araghchi in Islamabad on Sunday night”.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei says that an Iranian delegation is visiting Oman for the first time since the outbreak of the Middle East war, which he says has “impacted the broader region”.

“Iran continues to place great importance on its relations with Persian Gulf states and remains committed to strengthening mutual trust and constructive cooperation,” Baghaei has said on X.

He adds that ties between Tehran and Muscat are a testament to Iran’s “genuine pursuance of respectful and mutually beneficial relations with its neighbours in the south”.

US President Donald Trump has reiterated that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and that they “offered a lot, but not enough”.

“They gave us a paper that should have been better, and interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it, within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better,” he tells reporters, without going into detail about what Tehran offered.

“They will not have a nuclear weapon. It’s very simple: look, that whole deal is not complicated. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he adds.

Asked if he will continue the ceasefire, Trump responds, “I haven’t even thought about it.”

US President Donald Trump has said he will deal with “whoever’s running the show” in Iran, referring to earlier comments where he suggested that he does not know “who’s in charge”.

“I’ll deal with whoever runs the show,” he tells reporters. “They don’t know, they are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership [and] in many cases, I think they’re fighting not to be the leader, because we knocked out two levels of leaders.”

Trump said he sees no reason to “wait two days, have people travelling for 16, 17 hours”, reiterating that if the Iranians want to talk, they can contact Washington.