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
Lebanese parliament member Bilal Abdallah has said that the Israeli army’s targeting of Tebnine Hospital, the last remaining fully functioning hospital in southern Lebanon, is a “war crime”.
Abdallah has said that attack on the hospital, that injured nine people, added to Israel’s “long record of killing medical and ambulance personnel, destroying health centres, and disrupting the operation of numerous hospitals in the South and the southern suburbs of Beirut”.
“It is a cowardly act, and the international community, its relevant organisations, and the relevant international courts must address it,” he said in a social media post on X.
Iran’s foreign ministry has condemned the US move to sanction the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon and a number of Lebanese officials and citizens.
The ministry strongly condemned the “illegal and unjustified action of the US Treasury Department in sanctioning Mohammad Reza Raouf Sheibani”, the designated ambassador of Iran in Beirut.
It said Tehran considered “this action as another example of the US ruling body’s rebellion and disregard for the indisputable principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, especially the fundamental principle of respecting the national sovereignty of states”.
The ministry also condemned the US action to sanction a number of Hezbollah representatives in the Lebanese House of Representatives, officials from the Amal Movement, and several Lebanese military and security officials, Mehr quoted the statement as saying.
Tehran asserted that the US’s “despicable actions are aimed at weakening Lebanon’s national sovereignty and inciting sedition in Lebanese society”.
Analysis of satellite images published by Soar shows damage to several IDF bases across Israel from the latest round of fighting, before the ceasefire began last month, Israel’s Ynet news outlet reports.
It noted that the report was published “with the approval of the military censor”.
Images from the Sentinel-2 satellite show that the Ramat David Air Base was hit in two areas during the war with Iran. Citing analysis, Ynet said one of the “damaged areas was apparently used for support vehicles and equipment, while the second served as a refuelling and service point for fighter jets”.
Additional satellite images show damage to a defensive position at the Nevatim Air Base. Citing image analysis, Ynet said the damage was “clearly visible on March 25 at a small defensive position inside the base”.
Oil prices climb but are on track for a weekly loss as investors doubt the prospects of a breakthrough in US-Iran peace talks.
Brent crude futures rise $1.66, or 1.6 per cent, to $104.24 a barrel by 0405 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate futures are up $1.11, or 1.2pc, at $97.46.
On a weekly basis, Brent is 4.6pc lower and WTI is down 7.6pc, with prices fluctuating sharply as expectations for a peace deal shift.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has held a meeting with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reports.
During the meeting, the two officials reviewed the latest proposals to end the war in an effort to resolve the remaining points of disagreement between the US and Iran, Tasnim said.
The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) has shared videos for the first time showing its workers and volunteers rescuing people harmed in US and Israeli air attacks on Iran, before the current ceasefire.
“IRCS aid workers rescued more than 7,200 people alive from beneath the rubble during the war,” which continued from February 28 until the ceasefire on April 8, the humanitarian organisation said in a post on X.
Kenya’s President William Ruto said the government would cut the price of diesel in the East African country to provide relief to consumers after protests over soaring energy prices caused by the Middle East conflict, Reuters reports.
Poll from The New York TimesSiena indicates that nearly three-quarters of US voters aligned with the Democratic Party oppose military aid to Israel, up from 45 per cent three years ago, Al Jazeera reports.
The poll also suggests that nearly half of Democratic voters said that their party was too supportive of Israel, while 95pc opposed the US-Israel war on Iran.
Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) has confirmed that an overnight air strike targeting an Islamic Health Authority centre in the town of Hannaouiyah, in the Tyre District, killed four people.
The air attack also wounded two paramedics, according to the NNA.
France’s Finance Minister Roland Lescure said that governments cannot decide on further oil reserve releases to ease disruption from the Iran war until the likely duration of the conflict is clearer, according to his interview with the Financial Times, Reuters reports.
Lescure told the FT a second coordinated release of strategic oil reserves was not discussed at the G7 finance ministers’ meeting in Paris this week.
The Israeli military carried out an airstrike in south Lebanon, killing two people it said were armed and “moving in a suspicious manner” in an area where it is fighting Hezbollah, AFP reports.
“A short while ago, IDF surveillance identified two armed individuals moving in a suspicious manner hundreds of meters from Israeli territory, in southern Lebanon,” the Israeli military posted on Telegram.
“Following their identification and continuous monitoring by the IDF, the armed individuals were struck and eliminated in an aerial strike,” the post said.
The acting US Navy secretary said that arm sales to Taiwan had been put on “pause” to ensure that the American military had sufficient munitions for its Iran operations, AFP reports.
Asked at a congressional hearing about the stalled $14 billion weapons purchase by Taiwan, acting secretary Hung Cao said that “right now we’re doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury — which we have plenty”.
“But, we’re just making sure we have everything, then the foreign military sales will continue when the administration deems necessary.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has condemned the US-Israeli attack on the Pasteur Institute of Iran in March, part of the global network of institutes dedicated to medical research, Al Jazeera reports.
In a post on X, Baghaei said: “The American-Israeli deliberate attack on the Pasteur Institute of Iran was a flagrant war crime. The perpetrators must be held accountable.”
His comments came in response to a statement published by The Lancet, one of the world’s leading medical journals, which warned that the destruction of the institute posed a significant threat to regional health security.
The US military’s Central Command (Centcom), which oversees operations in the war on Iran, said the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group is “maintaining peak readiness” in the Arabian Sea, Al Jazeera reports.
In a post on social media, it shared images of US warplanes, including F-35 stealth fighter jets, launching from the deck of an aircraft carrier, saying that its forces remain ready while “enforcing the US blockade against Iranian ports”.
The negotiations aimed at ending the US-Israel war on Iran underscore how far apart Washington and Tehran still seem to remain. In particular, confusion surrounding Iran’s position on its enriched uranium stockpile has illustrated how fraught the diplomacy has been.
Reuters reported on Thursday that Iran’s supreme leader had instructed that the country’s highly enriched uranium stockpile remain inside Iran, directly challenging one of Washington’s core demands. The US, backed by Israel, wants the material transferred abroad. But senior Iranian officials later denied that any “new order” had been issued, insisting Tehran’s position had remained consistent: that the material could be diluted domestically under supervision.
Iran has argued that transferring it abroad would leave the country exposed to future attacks. That disagreement has complicated matters, with US President Donald Trump insisting, “we will get it”.
The UK’s Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organisation says the threat in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman/Arabian Sea remains at a critical level, with traffic through the Strait of Hormuz still “significantly reduced”, AlJazeera reports.
The update from the UKMTO found the piracy threat in the region also remains “severe”, with three merchant vessels still held after being captured between April 21 and May 2.
The status of an oil tanker seized 10 nautical miles (about 18.5km) off the coast of Yemen and diverted towards Somali waters on May 2 is currently unconfirmed, the British maritime body said.
The update also noted mining of shipping routes through the strait and interference in satellite navigation systems remain consistent.
Ships and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Musandam, Oman on April 18, 2026. —Reuters/File
Iraqi company for ports has mobilised its maritime control and search and rescue teams to track two missing Bolivian-flagged vessels, AlJazeera reports, citing Iraqi News Agency (INA).
The report quotes a statement by General Company for Ports of Iraq, saying security authorities from several ports across the Gulf basin, along with the ships’ owners, contacted Iraqi officials requesting any available information after losing communication with the vessels — Bridge 1 and Bridge 2.
The state-owned company confirmed that neither ship has entered Iraqi territorial waters, and its maritime departments have not received any distress signals from either crew, the report says.
While the port authority currently has no data on the location of the ships, it emphasised that satellite tracking operations are ongoing in close coordination with regional search and rescue administrations.
US President Donald Trump said he would try to make it to his eldest son’s wedding but that it was “bad timing” because of the Iran war, AFP reports.
Donald Trump Jr, 48, is set to tie the knot for the second time this weekend, marrying Bettina Anderson in the Bahamas, US media reported.
“He’d like me to go. It’s going to be just a small little private affair and I’m going to try and make it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked if he would attend his son’s wedding.
“I said, ‘This is not good timing for me. I have a thing called Iran and other things.’”
Trump said he was conscious of how the media would cover it if he did go to the wedding in the middle of a war that remains stuck in a stalemate.
Mexico’s central bank has cut its benchmark interest rate following a split vote, as uncertainty from the US-Israel war on Iran continues to rattle global markets, Al Jazeera reports.
Minutes from the Bank of Mexico’s May meeting show a 3-2 decision, with policymakers warning the conflict is pushing up inflation risks.
All five members have flagged the war as a source of upward pressure on prices, though most said the direct impact on Mexico remains limited.
Officials point to government fuel price controls as a key buffer against rising energy costs linked to the conflict.
Hezbollah claims it launched multiple drone attacks on Israeli military positions in southern Lebanon this evening, Al Jazeera.
According to the group, its fighters targeted Israeli soldiers and vehicles near the port area of Naqoura, as well as in Tayr Harfa and Dibil, using attack drones.
