War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, held a phone call with Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates’ national security adviser, reports Al Jazeera.

During the conversation, the two discussed Pakistan’s mediation efforts between Tehran and Washington, as well as ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation and enhance regional security.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, has blamed the US, Western countries and Israel after the 11th Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty ended without consensus.

In a post on X, he said Western governments had tried to “swap the roles of aggressor and victim”, while also criticising US-Israeli attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

He said the responsibility for the conference’s failure lay with these countries, adding that Iran would not allow them to continue what he described as the “unrestrained instrumental abuse” of international forums and documents for political purposes.

Israeli military says a soldier, killed the previous day near the border with Lebanon, has taken the number of troops killed in the war with Hezbollah to 22, AFP reports.

A military statement named him as 23-year-old Staff Sergeant Noam Hamburger, who “fell during operational activity in northern Israel”.

The military told AFP he was killed on Friday near the border with Lebanon.

Israeli defence systems have detected a “suspicious aerial target,” the army said, reports Al Jazeera.

In a post on Telegram, the Israeli army said the detection came after sirens were activated across several areas in northern Israel.

Hezbollah said it continued to attack Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, as well as carry out strikes into northern Israel.

The Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani held another phone call on ongoing US-Iran talks, reports Al Jazeera.

The two also discussed regional security and stressed the need for all parties to engage with ongoing mediation efforts, according to Qatar’s foreign ministry.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on the latest Pakistan-led mediation efforts between Tehran and Washington, reports Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

Hezbollah said it had carried out a series of attacks across northern Israel and southern Lebanon in recent hours, reports Al Jazeera.

The group said it targeted Israel’s Iron Dome defence system at the Biranit barracks in northern Israel using drones. It also said its fighters launched drones towards the Shomera settlement in northern Israel.

Hezbollah further claimed to have struck an Israeli military engineering vehicle in Lebanon’s Bint Jbeil district.

An Israeli strike on a residential building in the southern Lebanese municipality of Sir el-Gharbiyeh killed five people, including children, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.

Rescue workers from relief organisations and civil defence teams were continuing efforts to clear the rubble and search for additional victims trapped beneath the debris.

US President Donald Trump told CBS News that Washington and Tehran were “getting a lot closer” to reaching an agreement.

“Every day, it gets better and better,” he said.

Trump added that any potential deal would ensure Iran’s enriched uranium was “satisfactorily handled”, though he declined to elaborate further.

“I will only sign a deal where we get everything we want,” he said.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on X that its forces had reached the “milestone” of redirecting 100 commercial vessels as part of the maritime blockade against Iran launched on April 13.

Iran said on Saturday that the nuclear issue was not part of an initial framework it was drafting to end the war with the United States, reports AFP.

“At this stage, we will not discuss the details of the nuclear issue… we have decided to prioritise an urgent issue for all of us: ending the war on all fronts including Lebanon,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told state television.

He added that the nuclear file will be “subject to separate discussions” at a later stage.

Iran says that it has included the ending of a weeks-long US naval blockade and arrangements on the strategic Strait of Hormuz in a draft framework for a deal with the United States, AFP reports.

“The issue of the Strait of Hormuz is among the subjects addressed in this 14-point memorandum of understanding but more importantly, ending the piracy carried out by the United States against international navigation,” said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.

Iran has signalled a convergence of views while noting that gaps still remain, as it is finalising a 14-point framework for a deal with the United States, AFP reports, citing Iranian state media.

“Our intention was first to draft a memorandum of understanding, a kind of framework agreement composed of 14 clauses,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on state television.

He noted what he called “a trend towards rapprochement” with Washington but said, “it does not necessarily mean that the United States and we will reach an agreement on the important issues”.

Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir conducted intensive negotiations with the Iranian leadership over the past 24 hours that have resulted in “encouraging progress towards a final understanding”, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Saturday.

The engagements with Iran’s senior leadership were held in a “positive and constructive environment” and contributed meaningfully towards the ongoing mediation process, added the military’s media wing.

“During the visit, the Field Marshal held high-level engagements with Iranian leadership as part of ongoing mediation efforts aimed at promoting de-escalation and constructive engagement, amidst the regional tensions that have simmered after the ceasefire on 8th April, 2026.”

Read more here.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, has said that Tehran is in the final stages of drafting a framework for a deal to end the war with the United States, AFP reports, citing Iran’s IRIB.

“Within a reasonable period of 30 to 60 days, the details of these points will be discussed and a final agreement will ultimately be concluded. We are currently in the process of finalising these memoranda of understanding,” he told state broadcaster IRIB.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said there is a chance that Iran will accept a deal to end the Middle East war as soon as Saturday, AFP reports.

“There is a chance that, whether it’s later today, tomorrow, in a couple of days, we may have something to say,” Rubio told reporters in New Delhi, adding he hoped for “good news”.

Iran says that any mechanism concerning the Strait of Hormuz should be agreed between Iran, Oman and the countries bordering the waterway, and that the United States “has nothing to do” with it, Reuters reports.

Esmaeil Baghaei, the country’s foreign ministry spokesperson, also said Iran was focused on finalising a memorandum of understanding through Pakistani-mediated talks between Tehran and Washington, according to Iran’s state media.

A recent report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) says the United States lost or damaged 42 military aircraft during Operation Epic Fury, the 40-day military campaign against Iran that began on February 28, 2026.

The report, released last week and circulated by several US media outlets on Friday, is believed to be the most detailed public accounting so far of US aircraft losses in the conflict. However, the Pentagon has not yet issued its own comprehensive assessment.

In the report, CRS researchers said they compiled the figures from news reports, official Pentagon statements, and announcements by US Central Command (Centcom).

The report notes that the Department of Defence — now also using the title “Department of War” under an executive order issued in September 2025 — has not publicly provided a full list of losses from the campaign.

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The Israeli military issued a displacement demand for residents of nearly a dozen towns and villages in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports.

The order, which covered 11 locations including Al-Nabatieh al-Tahta, Kafr Tibnit, Zibdine, Arab Salim, Kafr Reman, Habboush, Blat, Deir Qanun al-Nahr, Harouf and Jibshit, instructed residents to evacuate their homes immediately and move to open areas at least 1,000 meters away.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said that Tehran would not compromise on the rights of the Iranian nation, Tasnim reports.

Israel kept up strikes on Lebanon today, hours after overnight raids on the country’s south and east, including one that damaged a hospital, its chief executive tells AFP.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli airstrikes on around a dozen locations in the south, including one targeting an agricultural area, “wounding several Syrian workers”.

The NNA said an overnight strike in the southern city of Tyre that targeted a site near the hospital caused “severe damage” to the facility.

An AFP correspondent saw shattered glass, ceiling panels blown out and damaged medical equipment at the multi-storey Hiram hospital.