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
Ceasefire falters as US, Iran exchange attacks on each other’s military sites; Kuwait intercepts drones
Trump seeks to reinforceIsrael-Hezbollah truce as Tel Aviv’s escalated strikes in Lebanon raise global alarm
Trump has said that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei is “involved” in the US-Iran indirect negotiations.
“He’s involved. Absolutely,” Trump responded when asked if Khamenei was among the leaders the US side was in contact with.
“I think they have a lot of respect for him,” he said. Asked whether Khamenei was in good enough health, Trump said, “I don’t know. I haven’t had the privilege of meeting him. But I’m not hearing he’s doing great. You’re doing better.”
He further said, “We seem to be getting along quite well.”
Asked who was making decisions in Iran, Trump said, “They say he (Khamenei) is giving approval, because that’s the way it has been for a long long time.”
Asked if he would like to meet the Iranian supreme leader, the US president said, “It’s a very good question. I’ll think of it. Yeah, I’d like to meet him. I’d like to meet everybody […] We probably will meet at some point, depending on how it all works out.”
An Iranian attack on Kuwait’s airport has wounded at least 63 people, AFP reports quoting the health ministry, with authorities earlier reporting one person killed.
Health ministry spokesman Abdullah al-Sanad says 25 ambulances were dispatched at Kuwait International Airport, adding that “63 injured individuals were received and distributed among hospitals … This includes serious injuries … including head wounds, cerebral haemorrhages, amputations and injuries resulting from explosions.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has claimed an attack against Kuwait, which it says was in retaliation for US attacks on an Iranian oil tanker and island, AFP reports.
“In response to this aggression, the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, which hosts helicopters, as well as the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, were targeted with missiles and drones by the Guards’ forces,” the Guards add in a statement on their official Telegram channel.
Middle East oil refineries could return to more normal production levels in 40-60 days from the end of the current oil supply crisis linked to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports citing Vitol Bahrain’s regional head of research, Bader Nooruddin.
“That timeline would take production up to around 90-95 per cent of refinery production,” he says at the S&P Global Energy Middle East Petroleum and Gas Conference.
“Middle East Gulf refineries, including Oman, which sits to the south of Hormuz, have lost around 3 million barrels per day of oil refining capacity due to shut-ins,” Nooruddin adds.
Asked about whether his “other way” would involve only bombing, Trump said, “Yeah, you don’t have to. We don’t need boots on the ground.”
Claiming that the US “wiped out” much of Iran’s military with just bombing, Trump said, “We didn’t put anybody on the ground. You don’t want to do that. You’re so far away.”
US President Donald Trump has said in a podcast interview that gas prices in the United States would come down when the Iran conflict ends and that inflation at the moment is not “very much,” Reuters reports.
“We don’t have very much inflation. Look, if you take away just the price of gasoline, the energy, we have very little inflation,” Trump told the podcast.
US President Donald Trump has reiterated his claim that the US military wiped out Iran’s navy and air force.
“Their navy’s wiped out. Their air force is all gone after three days. Their military was virtually wiped out,” he said.
“Now we have to make a determination — do we sign a deal or we do it the other way. And the other way is not nice,” he added.
Asked what the “other way” would achieve, Trump responded that it would give “certainty” of the war being over.
“But I’d rather do it the nice way from a humanitarian standpoint,” the US president added.
US President Donald Trump speaks during the ‘Pod Force One’ interview with New York Post, aired on June 3, 2026. — screengrab via YouTube/Pod Force One with Miranda Devine
Although Trump said he was frustrated by the possibility that a side conflict in Lebanon could derail a larger peace, he said he remains optimistic that he will have a deal with Iran “fairly quickly”, according to New York Post.
He also “crowed about record-high stock market values, showing the US economy is resilient, and dashed predictions of even higher oil prices”, the outlet said.
“Everyone said it was going to be $300, $400 a barrel, it’s 98 dollars a barrel, but that’s not a big price to pay if you look at the possibility of them having a nuclear weapon,” he said.
According to New York Post, Trump has also confirmed that he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “f****** crazy” during a Monday phone call, but insisted they have “worked very well together”.
Asked during the ‘Pod Force One’ interview if the Axios report was true and whether he spoke to Netanyahu in those terms, Trump replied, “I did. I wouldn’t say angry. I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon.
“At some point, I said Bibi, we’re gonna stop this. We got to stop it,” he added.
At the same time, Trump said, “But I have a very good relationship. […] We’ve worked very well together. I like Bibi a lot. And I work very well with him,” Trump insisted after confirming his expletive-laden outburst demanding that Netanyahu cease attacks.
“I’m a wartime president,” the commander in chief said. “He’s a wartime prime minister.”
US President Donald Trump (L) holds hands and speaks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in Jerusalem on October 13, 2025. — AFP/File
US President Donald Trump has said talks with Iran are “rapidly evolving” and “we’re not going to have a nuclear weapon and lots of other good things are going to happen”, New York Post quotes him as saying in an exclusive interview.
“I say we did a little excursion down to the beautiful country of Iran, or as they say the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he remarked.
He said he was in no rush over the Strait of Hormuz crisis, saying it was possible the US naval blockade would remain in place through Labour Day — Sept 7.
““I don’t know. I mean, I think it could be [closed through Labor Day], but I think it’s unlikely. I think that we’ll have it. I think this will resolve itself fairly quickly,” he was quoted as saying.
Qatar has strongly condemned the Iranian attacks on civilian targets in Kuwait and Bahrain, considering them a serious violation of the sovereignty of the two countries, the Qatar News Agency reports.
The foreign ministry affirmed Qatar’s “complete rejection” of targeting civilian targets and vital facilities, and stressed the need to spare the region the consequences of unjustified attacks and to work towards de-escalation in order to restore regional and international security and stability.
Qatar reiterated its full solidarity with Kuwait and Bahrain and its support for all measures they take to preserve their sovereignty and security.
Iran will not allow the United States to overreach in negotiations or the ceasefire process, a senior Iranian official has said, Al Jazeera reports.
“The response to every shot and aggression will be a barrage of missiles and drones,” Mohsen Rezaee, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council and former IRGC commander, said in a post on X.
“Neither in negotiations nor in the ceasefire process will we allow America to overreach,” Rezaee added.
Saudi Arabia’s FM Prince Faisal bin Farhan has received a phone call from Qatar’s Prime Minister and FM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the Saudi foreign ministry says.
“During the call, they reviewed the latest developments and current situation in the region, in light of the ongoing coordination and consultation between the two countries,” the statement read.
Kuwait’s civil aviation has said that Kuwait Airways has resumed all flights from Terminal 4 after safety checks and damage assessments, state media reports.
Kuwait’s foreign ministry has said one person was killed as a result of the drone and missile strikes that targeted “civilian and vital facilities, including Kuwait International Airport”.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses the State of Kuwait’s condemnation and denunciation, in the strongest terms, of the brutal and ongoing Iranian attacks using ballistic missiles and drones, the latest of which occurred at dawn today, targeting once again civilian and vital facilities, including Kuwait International Airport, resulting in the death of one individual, injuries to others, and damage to vital facilities, including diplomatic missions,” the ministry said in a statement.
It stressed that the “security of the State of Kuwait, its sovereignty, and the safety of its citizens and residents on its territory are a red line that cannot be crossed, affirming that the repetition of these aggressions represents an organised aggressive approach, which the State of Kuwait will neither accept nor tolerate”.
Kuwait affirmed it reserved “its full and inherent right to take appropriate measures in response to these heinous and repeated Iranian aggressions, in accordance with international law”.
Iran will play their final World Cup warm-up behind closed doors in Turkiye tomorrow before departing for their tournament base in Mexico on Saturday, Reuters reports, citing the Iranian FA (FFIRI).
The squad have played three friendlies in two training camps in Antalya since the start of the war and they will face Mali in the Turkish sea resort.
“Considering the importance of the Iranian national football team’s friendly match against Mali, and in line with the tactical objectives of Iran’s head coach, tomorrow’s match against Mali will be held behind closed doors and without media attendance,” FFIRI said in a statement.
The FFIRI persuaded FIFA to allow the team to swap its tournament base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, and from there they will commute across the border to their first two group games against New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles.
Their third and final Group G game against Egypt is in Seattle.
The military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader has warned of more missile and drone strikes should the United States renew its attacks on Iran, AFP reports.
“Every shot fired and every attack will be met with a deluge of missiles and drones,” Mohsen Rezaei posted on X, adding that “the aggressor will swiftly be punished”.
The warning followed US strikes on an Iranian tanker and on Iran’s Qeshm island, sparking retaliatory attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain.
“Playing victim can not whitewash your harrowing war crimes and crimes against humanity against the nation of Iran,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei says in response to remarks by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“Every accusation is a confession!” Baqaei wrote, commenting on a video of Rubio stating that the US had arrested and convicted people for allegedly “plotting the assassination of American political leaders, including the president of the United States”.
A medical source in south Lebanon’s Tyre tells AFP that Israeli strikes near the coastal city killed six people, as Israel keeps up attacks on the country’s south.
Four Syrian nationals and two Palestinians were killed in two strikes on the Al-Hawsh area, the source tells AFP on condition of anonymity, after the state-run National News Agency reported two Israeli airstrikes on roads in the area.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has condemned what it described as US attacks on an Iranian oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and a telecommunications tower on Qeshm Island, saying they violated a ceasefire understanding and international law, according to Reuters.
The ministry said Kuwait and Bahrain bore “direct and clear responsibility” for the attacks, alleging their territory and facilities had been used to support US military operations against Iran.
Tehran said it reserved the right to self-defence and would use all available means to respond, including by targeting the source of any future attacks.
A top Emirati official calls for a united stance from the Gulf after renewed attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain that were blamed on Iran, according to AFP.
“In light of Iran’s repeated aggression against the brotherly states of Kuwait and Bahrain, a firm, unified and cohesive Gulf stance is imperative. No Gulf state should be left to face these attacks alone, because the security of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states is interconnected, their interests are shared, and their destiny is one and the same,” said UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash in a post on X.
“This aggression does not just target one country, it targets us all,” he added.
The Israeli army has ordered more forced displacements in southern Lebanon as it expands its ground invasion.
People living in Sidon, Mazra’at Kawkariya al-Riz and al-Zarariya must leave their homes “immediately” and move north of the Zahrani River, a military spokesperson said in a post on X.
The spokesperson blamed Hezbollah for violating an April ceasefire and attacking northern Israel, telling residents Israel’s military was “compelled to act against it forcefully, especially in your areas”.
