'Intense mediation' between US and Iran, Israel continues strikes on Lebanon

This live blog has now ended. Make sure to follow us for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Talks at the UN to reaffirm nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament goals failed on Friday, according to the leader of the talks, after four weeks of negotiations held amid low expectations.

Read the full story here.

The United States is weighing new military strikes on Iran, US media outlets reported on Friday.

The reports, from CBS and Axios, come just hours after US President Donald Trump said he would not travel to attend his son's wedding this weekend due to "circumstances pertaining to government" and his "love for the United States of America."

Read the full story here.

Two buildings in and around the southern Lebanese city of Tyre were struck overnight Friday into Saturday, after the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning.

An AFP correspondent reported hearing two explosions as one building on the outskirts of the city was struck, then seeing smoke rising from the scene and smoke rising before civil defence teams arrived.

Shortly afterwards, a second blast was heard inside the city, with smoke also rising from the location.

Israel carried out five airstrikes late Friday near the Syrian border after calling for the evacuation of two areas in the south of the country, the state news agency said.

The National News Agency said Israeli warplanes struck shortly before midnight, targeting the Nabi Sreij area on the outskirts of the eastern town of Brital, which had been spared from attacks since an April 17 ceasefire.

The acting US Navy Secretary said arms sales to Taiwan were paused to ensure the American military had sufficient munitions for its Iran operations, but a source Friday denied any link to the Middle East war.

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."

However a source familiar with the matter said the US military had enough munitions for all of President Donald Trump's short and long term goals.

The Pentagon on Friday said any decision was yet to be finalized, adding "our Taiwan policy remains unchanged."

Italy, France, Britain and Germany on Friday urged Israel to stop expanding its settlements in the occupied West Bank, arguing it was "undermining stability" and prospects for a two-state solution.

The statement was welcomed by the Palestinian Authority as an "important step".

"We call on the government of Israel to end its expansion of settlements and administrative powers, ensure accountability for settler violence and investigate allegations against Israeli forces," said the countries in a joint statement.

Read the full story here.

The Israeli military on Friday called for the evacuation of two areas of Tyre in southern Lebanon, which has already been targeted by numerous Israeli strikes, despite a ceasefire.

On X, the army's Arabic-language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, called for residents of two buildings and surrounding areas to leave, including one in a densely populated area of the city.

"You are located near Hezbollah facilities that the (Israeli military) is about to operate against," he added.

A standoff between the chairman of Turkey’s main opposition party and his predecessor, who was reappointed by court order, escalated Friday.

An appeals court in the capital of Ankara on Thursday nullified the November 2023 party congress of the Republican Peoples’ Party, or CHP. At the congress, Ozgur Ozel was elected to replace then-chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

The appeals court’s decision suspended Ozel and members of the party’s executive board from their duties. They will be “provisionally” replaced by Kilicdaroglu and those who held office before the November 2023 congress.

Read the full story here.

A divided federal appeals court on Friday declined to reconsider a ruling in Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil's case that opened the door to President Donald Trump's administration re-arresting and deporting the pro-Palestinian activist.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on a 6-5 vote rejected Khalil's request to revisit a ruling a 2-1 panel of the Philadelphia-based court delivered in January that had concluded a lower-court judge had no jurisdiction to order his release from immigration detention last year.

Read the full story here.

US President Donald Trump confirmed Friday he would miss his son's wedding, insisting he had to stay in Washington because of "circumstances pertaining to government."

Trump had said a day earlier that the Iran war made it "bad timing" for him to attend Donald Trump Jr's wedding to Bettina Anderson in the Bahamas this weekend.

"While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., and the newest member of the Trump Family, his soon to be wife, Bettina, circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so," Trump said on his Truth Social network.

Several French pro-Palestinian activists on Friday described what they said was a violent and humiliating ordeal after they were detained by Israeli forces on a Gaza-bound flotilla.

Eight French nationals arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris from Turkey on Friday afternoon, to supporters shouting "Long live the struggle of the Palestinian people".

Two of the 36 French people who were on board the flotilla were still in hospital in Turkey, the returnees told awaiting reporters.

Holding a yellow rose and wearing a keffiyeh, Meriem Hadjal, 38, said she was detained on board one of the boats on Monday then transferred to Israel.

"They made us go one by one into a pitch-black container. I was groped," said Hadjal, an activist from the Waves of Freedom - France group.

Israeli strikes killed 10 people on Friday, including six rescuers and a child, as Israel and Hezbollah continued to exchange fire despite a ceasefire.

In a statement, the Lebanese ministry said "six people were martyred" including two rescuers from the Risala Scouts association and a Syrian girl in a strike on Deir Qanun al-Nahr village near the city of Tyre.

Read the full story here.

The death toll from a building collapse in the Moroccan city of Fes has risen to 15 people, a source from the public prosecutor's office told AFP on Friday.

The building collapse also injured five people, while two children were among those killed, the source said.

It was unclear how many people in total were inside the five-storey building when it crumpled on Thursday.

Authorities had previously given a toll of nine people dead.

Last December, two other buildings collapsed in Fes, killing a total of 22 people.

And in May last year, also in Fes, nine people died when a residential building fell.

Turkey's supreme election board on Friday rejected an appeal from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), which objects to a ruling to oust its leader that has inflamed a political crisis and rattled markets.

The CHP has appealed to the election board arguing that it was the sole body to oversee all elections, including party congresses, and that the Ankara court's ruling to oust its leader on Thursday was unconstitutional.

Supreme election board head Serdar Mutta told reporters that the board rejected CHP's appeal and it had no authority to implement court rulings. 

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Friday a Qatari delegation was currently holding talks with Iran’s foreign minister, adding that Pakistan remained the main mediator in the negotiations.

Tulsi Gabbard resigns as Trump’s national intelligence director, citing husband's health, in 4th Cabinet departure.

Pakistan's military chief Asim Munir has arrived in the Iranian capital as a part of the ongoing mediation efforts between the U.S. and Iran, the Pakistan military said in a statement on Friday.

A Third Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker is transiting the Strait of Hormuz and heading to China, ship-tracking data showed on Friday, as a Qatari negotiating team arrived in Tehran to try to help secure a deal to end the war with Iran.

As shipments through the waterway continue to be erratic, this third transit of a Qatari LNG tanker is taking place nearly two weeks after a first such cargo passed through the strait under an Iran-Pakistan arrangement.

Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Friday killed 10 people, including six paramedics and a Syrian girl, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said, the latest in near-daily attacks from Tel Aviv that have not stopped despite the fragile, U.S.-brokered ceasefire.

The first strike hit the village of Hanouiyeh, killing four paramedics and wounding two others, including one paramedic, the ministry said.

Another strike on Friday morning on the village of Deir Qanoun al Nahr in the coastal Tyre province killed six people, including a Syrian child and two paramedics. An additional six people were injured, including three paramedics and a Syrian woman.

The Health Ministry said the two attacks "violated" international law.

On Thursday, the U.N. World Health Organisation, WHO, reported 169 confirmed attacks on healthcare workers and facilities in Lebanon, resulting in 116 deaths, since the latest round of hostilities began.

Activists freed from Israeli detention following the interception of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla have reported that they were subjected to physical and sexual abuse, flotilla organisers said on Friday, with at least 15 reporting sexual assaults, including rape.

"At least 15 cases of sexual assaults, including rape. Shot with rubber bullets at close range. Tens of people’s bones broken," organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla posted on Telegram.

"While the world’s eye is trained on the suffering of our participants, we cannot emphasize enough that this is a mere glimpse of the brutality Israel imposes daily on Palestinian hostages," the statement added.

Read more below:

British Labour politician Andy Burnham launched his campaign to win a seat in parliament on Friday, a poll that could determine the future of beleaguered Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Burnham, currently the mayor of Greater Manchester in northwestern England, needs a seat in the national parliament before he can take part in any potential contest to replace the under-fire premier as leader of the Labour Party.

Disastrous local and regional elections earlier this month triggered a wave of manoeuvring among Starmer's potential rivals.

Launching his campaign in the Makerfield constituency near Manchester, Burnham pledged to give voters back the Labour Party "they used to know".

"I know my own party needs to change. We need to be better than we have been," he said in what appeared to be a thinly veiled criticism of Starmer, who is both prime minister and Labour leader.

"This is a change by-election. Politics in this country -- British politics -- is tired," Burnham added at his launch event in the local town of Ashton-in-Makerfield.

Pakistan Field Marshal Asim Munir departed Friday for an official visit to Tehran, security sources to AFP.

"Munir has left today for an official visit where he will have meetings with Iranian leadership," the sources said.

European Union nations moved on Friday towards imposing sanctions on Iranian officials and others responsible for blocking the Strait of Hormuz, the EU said.

Tehran effectively closed the key shipping lane for global gas and oil in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes launched in February.

Deeming the blockade "contrary to international law", EU governments took a technical step to extend the scope of their existing Iran sanctions regime, allowing for more individuals to be targeted under it.

"The EU will now be able to introduce further restrictive measures in response to Iran's actions undermining the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz," the European Council representing EU nations said.

Israel must halt the expansion of settlements in the West Bank and curb growing settler violence, seven major Western nations said on Friday, accusing the Israeli government of aggravating tensions in the West Bank.

"Over the past few months, the situation in the West Bank has deteriorated significantly," Britain, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand said in a joint statement.

"Settler violence is at unprecedented levels. The policies and practices of the Israeli government, including a further entrenchment of Israeli control, are undermining stability and prospects for a two-state solution."

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi held a phone conversation today, according to Araghchi's official Telegram account.

A brief statement said the call was held "to discuss bilateral issues and the latest regional and international developments."

There was no specific request from the US on Friday for help from NATO in the Strait of Hormuz...but there needs to be a Plan B if Iran refuses to reopen the supply route, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after a NATO ministers' meeting in Sweden. 

Italy, France, Britain and Germany called on Israel on Friday to stop expanding its illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, condemning Israeli settler violence and warning construction companies not to bid for tenders.

"We call on the government of Israel to end its expansion of settlements and administrative powers, ensure accountability for settler violence and investigate allegations against Israeli forces," said the countries in a joint statement, noting that violence against Palestinians by Israeli settlers was at "unprecedented levels".

All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. 

A Qatari negotiating team arrived in Tehran on Friday, in coordination with the United States, to help secure a deal to end the war with Iran and resolve outstanding issues, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced the latest update on the numbers of killed and wounded by Israel since March 2 until today: 3,111 killed and 9,432 wounded.

Activists released from Israeli custody after being detained on a flotilla trying to bring aid to Gaza were subjected to abuse, organisers said on Friday, with several hospitalised with injuries and at least 15 reporting sexual assaults, including rape.

"At least 15 cases of sexual assaults, including rape. Shot with rubber bullets at close range. Tens of people's bones broken," organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla posted on the Telegram social media app. "While the world's eye is trained on the suffering of our participants, we cannot emphasise enough that this is a mere glimpse of the brutality Israel imposes daily on Palestinian hostages."

Israeli forces abducted 430 activists on board 50 ships in international waters on Tuesday to halt the Global Sumud Flotilla of volunteers trying to break Israel's illegal blockade on the Gaza Strip.

The EU will temporarily lift customs duties on key nitrogen-based fertilisers such as urea and ammonia for one year to mitigate the knock-on effects of the US-Israeli war on Iran, the Council of the EU said on Friday.

Global fertiliser prices have jumped following the near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping ​route along Iran's coast through which around one-third of global fertiliser ​trade passes.

While the EU does not depend on the nitrogen-based fertilisers, namely urea, ⁠produced in the Middle East, prices for all types of fertilisers have risen as countries race to source alternatives.

The suspension will not apply to fertiliser products imported from Russia or Belarus, the Council statement said.

The EU imports a significant volume duty-free from countries with preferential access, but a "large volume" still arrives with tariffs of between 5.5% and 6.5%, the statement said.

"To balance the interests of EU producers, the measure is limited to a quota of goods equal to the volume of MFN (most favoured nation) imports in 2024 plus 20% of the volumes imported from Russia and Belarus in the same year," it said. The measures will come into force in a few days once they are published in the EU's Official Journal.

Regions where the planting season is already underway are showing early signs of stress.

Farmers in Australia—the third-largest wheat exporter—are planting less this year, risking a harvest up to 40% smaller. Across Asia, rice supply is expected to fall this year due to the Iran war and an emerging El Nino.

The EU imported 2 million tonnes of ammonia and 5.9 million tonnes of urea in 2024, the statement said, as well as 6.7 million tonnes of nitrogen-based fertilisers and mixtures containing nitrogen.

The Middle East accounts for a small share of this volume. According to the European Commission, the EU's direct dependence on the Middle East is about 3% for ammonia and 1-2% for nitrogen fertilisers. 

Pakistan's army chief, Asim Munir, travelled to Iran. This was reported by the Iranian news agency IRNA, citing a diplomatic source.

The Dutch government has agreed to impose a ban on imports of goods produced in Jewish settlements in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten said on Friday.

The ban is meant to prevent "any contribution through economic activities by the Netherlands to the unlawful occupation", Jetten said.

The previous Dutch government last year said it was planning the ban, which is now expected to take effect in the second half of the year. The Netherlands is a leading global buyer of Israeli goods, but the government has never disclosed the volume of goods currently imported from illegal Israeli settlements.

Most world powers and international law deem Israel's settlements to be illegal. Numerous UN Security Council resolutions have called on Israel to halt all settlement activity.

Lebanese Finance Minister Yassin Jaber expressed hope that the ongoing negotiations will end Israeli attacks on Lebanon and allow the state to complete the path of economic recovery and reconstruction.

Jaber said, during his meeting with a group of university students majoring in finance and economics, that Lebanon had received "promises of assistance", stressing the "duty to follow up on these promises through readiness for which all state institutions, the government and parliament, are mobilised, through procedures and laws that encourage donors and lenders and adhere to the highest standards of assistance."

The minister stressed that the losses caused by the Israeli aggression exceed Lebanon's ability to bear them. Still, he considered that recovery is "not impossible" once the war stops and stability is achieved.

Hospitals in Gaza are being prevented from functioning properly due to a severe shortage of medical supplies, the World Health Organisation warned on Friday, denouncing Israeli restrictions on essential items.

Reinhilde Van de Weerdt, the WHO's representative in the occupied Palestinian territories, said most hospitals and primary healthcare centres in the Gaza Strip were only partially operational, and none were fully functional.

"One of the key reasons these facilities are not functioning is because they are struggling with critical shortages of medical supplies," she told a press conference in Geneva.

She said part of the problem is Israel blocking the entry of items it claims are "dual use".

"WHO has internationally recognised lists of essential medicines. That is what we are talking about," said Van der Weerdt. "Essential medicines, essential supplies are essential. There should be no bureaucratic processes and access restrictions."

The WHO has documented 22 Israeli attacks on healthcare in Gaza this year.

According to The New Arab's correspondent in Lebanon, sources say that the United States sent a "strong message" to the Lebanese state, days before the upcoming security meeting at the Pentagon on 29 May, by imposing sanctions for the first time on officers in the Lebanese Army and Public Security who are on active duty.

Sanctions also target officials affiliated with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

The sources note that other packages may be announced at a future stage.

Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE will attend a NATO summit in Turkey next month amid rising tensions over Iran and Gulf security fears.

Read more below:

"Sudan and Ethiopia have this classic cross-border proxy war where both are facing internal conflict and see the other as supporting their own internal armed opposition," Alan Boswell, an expert on the Horn of Africa with International Crisis Group (ICG), told The New Arab.

"As a result, both sides feel encircled and under pressure," he added. 

Read more below:

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy announced, Friday, via state media, that 35 ships had crossed the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours after obtaining a license from the Iranian Navy and coordinating with it.

Israeli forces beat Brazilian activist Thiago Avila unconscious, threatened to kill him and subjected activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla to torture and abuse after intercepting the Gaza-bound aid mission in international waters last month, Avila told The New Arab in an exclusive interview.

Read more below:

The New Arab's correspondent in Lebanon reported that an Israeli airstrike targeted a motorcycle in the town of Tebnine, southern Lebanon, without further information on casualties as of yet.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told media agencies that Germany is preparing to participate in securing the Strait of Hormuz as part of a UK-led mission.

However, he stressed that he does not see it as a "NATO mission".

The US and Iran have just a "50-50" chance of reaching an agreement that would free up the Strait of Hormuz, a senior UAE official said on Friday.

Iranian officials "have missed a lot of chances over the years because there's a tendency to overestimate their cards", said presidential adviser Anwar Gargash. "I hope they don't do that this time."

The Palestinian Authority withdrew the nomination of UN Ambassador Riad Mansour for the position of vice president of the UN General Assembly after the United States threatened to revoke the delegation's residence visas.

Sources in the Palestinian Authority told Israeli media that Lebanon's representative was nominated instead.

In a US State Department cable, published on NPR, it was written that Mansour's nomination "undermines President Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza" because "Mansour frequently accuses Israel of 'genocide.'"

The Lebanese Ministry of Health has announced that the number of killed has risen to at least 10 due to Israeli attacks in south Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Israeli drones have begun to buzz over Beirut's sky.

Lebanese officials say Israeli double-tap attacks in southern Lebanon kill six, including two rescuers and a child.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that "there has been slight progress on the Iran issue."

He made the remarks in a statement after a meeting with NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden.

A series of Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon's Tyre district has killed a paramedic and injured four, reports Lebanon's National News Agency.

The first attack, at a junction between southern Lebanon's Burj Rahhal, Deir Qanoun en-Nahr and al-Abbasiyah, targeted a motorcycle, said the agency and then a second attack occurred as rescuers attempted to retrieve the motorcyclist.

All those injured have been brought to hospitals in Tyre.

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said that Canadians who took part in the Global Sumud Flotilla that was heading to Gaza suffered "horrific abuse" in an Israeli prison.

In her X account, she wrote: "These activists have just arrived in Turkey. Officials on the ground are ensuring they receive medical treatment on site. We condemn the mistreatment of Canadians in Israel. Those responsible for this must be held accountable."

Iran's foreign minister met Pakistan's interior minister on Friday to discuss proposals to end the US-Israeli war, Iranian media reports.

Two days after presenting the Iranians with the latest US message in the negotiations, Syed Mohsin Naqvi held another round of talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Tehran, according to Iranian news agencies.

Naqvi was facilitating communication to establish a framework for ending the war and resolving differences, ISNA reports.

A poll by The New York Times/Siena found that 74% of voters aligned with the Democratic Party oppose US military and economic assistance to Israel, as support for the country dwindles amid wars in the Middle East.

This represents a substantial increase in opposition to Israel, compared with the 45% three years ago, before the start of the genocidal war on Gaza.

Read more below: 

The US had reportedly used up more than half of its inventory of THAAD anti-missile interceptors while defending Israel from Iranian attacks during the past war. 

According to The Washington Post, the United States used over 200 THAAD interceptors to shoot down missiles bound for Israel. It also launched more than 100 SM-3 and SM-6 interceptors to defend Israel, which itself used fewer than 100 Arrow interceptors and around 90 from the David Sling’s system, the report said.

The US "expended far more advanced interceptors to protect Israel than Israeli forces did," the report stressed.

A US official told the newspaper that if fighting renews with Iran, the US will likely need to use even more interceptors defending Israel.

"Israel is not capable of fighting and winning wars on its own, but nobody actually knows this, because they never see the back end," said the US official.

Iran's foreign ministry condemned what it called "illegal" US sanctions on Tehran's ambassador-designate to Lebanon, according to a ministry statement.

The ministry "strongly condemned the illegal and unjustified action by the US Treasury Department in sanctioning Mohammad Reza Raouf Sheibani, Iran's designated ambassador to Beirut," the statement said.

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on Hezbollah-linked individuals as well as the Iranian diplomat over Lebanon-related activities.

The foreign ministry described the move as "another example of the rogue behaviour and disregard of the US ruling establishment for the fundamental principles of international law and the United Nations Charter".

Lebanon had declared Sheibani persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country in March, but it is not known whether he ever departed from Beirut.

Iran also condemned the US sanctions on Hezbollah MPs in Lebanon.

"These despicable measures are aimed at undermining Lebanon's national sovereignty and sowing discord within Lebanese society, and are a sign of the continued complicity of the US ruling establishment with the aggressive and occupying Zionist regime (Israel)," the statement said.

While NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Polish President Andrzej Duda thanked US President Donald Trump following his announcement to send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, Rutte added that regarding the Strait of Hormuz, "this is an issue for member states of the alliance—but not for NATO as such."

French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said in an interview with the Financial Times published on Friday that governments cannot decide on new operations to release oil reserves to ease the blow of the crisis resulting from the US-Israel war on Iran until the likely duration of the war becomes clear.

Lescure told the newspaper that a new coordinated withdrawal from strategic reserves was not discussed at the G7 finance ministers' meeting in Paris this week.

The majority of Jews worldwide could be living in Israel within the next decade, according to a new report by the UK-based Institute for Jewish Policy Research.

The report, written by Professor Sergio Della Pergola and published on Wednesday, said that more than 50% of the world's Jewish population could be residing in Israel by 2035.

Read more below:

The acting US Secretary of the Navy said that arms sales to Taiwan were "suspended" to ensure that the US military has sufficient ammunition if military operations against Iran resume.

In response to a question during a congressional hearing about Taiwan's stalled $14 billion arms purchase deal, Hong Kao said it was suspended "to make sure we have the munitions we need for Operation Epic Fury."

"But we just want to make sure we have everything, and then arms sales will resume when the administration deems it necessary," he added.

Republicans had difficulty on Thursday gathering the votes needed to reject legislation requiring President Donald Trump to withdraw from the war with Iran, delaying a scheduled vote on the issue until next June.

The House of Representatives had set a date to vote on the War Powers Resolution, presented by Democrats, which would rein in Trump's military campaign, but when it became clear that Republicans would not have the majority to defeat the bill, Republican Party leaders refused to hold a vote on it, and this was the latest indication of declining support in Congress for a war that Trump launched more than two months ago without Congressional approval.

"We had the votes without a doubt, and they know it, and as a result, they are playing a political game," said Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks, who sponsored the bill.

Iran has held talks with Oman on charging fees from ships that traverse the Strait of Hormuz, with the Gulf state potentially sharing in the profits, The New York Times reported.

Two people familiar with the talks are cited in the report, stressing that the discussions concern fees charged for services rendered to transiting vessels, rather than tolls, which are charged for the transit itself and are illegal under international law.

Oman originally dismissed the idea of partnering with Iran in the strait, but has more recently realised the scheme could benefit Muscat and has expressed willingness to push the plan with Gulf neighbors and the US, the Times noted, citing two Iranian officials.