Iran reviews latest US proposal, Israel deports all Gaza flotilla activists

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The acting US Navy secretary said Thursday that arm sales to Taiwan had been put on "pause" to ensure that the American military had sufficient munitions for its Iran operations.

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."

The US State Department and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Cao's remarks.

US President Donald Trump has not committed to following through with the sale, raising concerns over his commitment to support for Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.

Ahead of his recent state visit to China, Trump said he would speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the arms sales, a departure from Washington's previous insistence that it will not consult Beijing on the matter.

A second group of Australian women and children linked to the Islamic State (ISIS) extremist group have departed a refugee camp in northeast Syria and may be returning to Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported on Friday.

The broadcaster said a bus carrying the group left the Al-Roj camp on Thursday afternoon under escort by a convoy of Syrian government officials. The group is expected to reach Damascus, though it remains unclear when they might travel to Australia, the report said.

Australia's home affairs ministry did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

More than six months after the United Nations endorsed a peace plan in Gaza, the humanitarian situation there remains catastrophic, three global NGOs said on Thursday, calling on Israel to respect its obligations.

Major gaps remain between Israel's commitments and the reality facing Palestinians, representatives for Oxfam, Save the Children and Refugees International told reporters at UN headquarters in New York.

"Israel continues to deny most experienced aid groups from bringing in essential supplies, like pipes to fix water systems, shelters, materials and medical supplies at the levels needed," Oxfam America President Abby Maxman said.

"This is despite promises of reconstruction, economic development, and long-term prosperity," she said.

Violence has also continued unabated, with relentless Israeli strikes, according to Teresa Soldner, an American surgeon who recently returned from Gaza.

"Trauma patients continued to arrive every single day that I was in Gaza," Soldner said. "I think that the Palestinian healthcare establishment has been absolutely decimated."

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution in November 2025 endorsing the US-backed peace plan, which called for the full resumption of humanitarian aid.

"Children are still turning up in our health clinics with severe acute malnutrition," said Janti Soeripto of Save the Children, adding the numbers rose from January to April.

With no educational system left, more than "600,000 children will be out of school for the third year running," Soeripto said.

Maxman added that a lack of sanitation and hygiene materials means families are exposed to disease from open sewage, and vital water and sanitation systems and services are still destroyed or in disrepair.

Republican leaders of the US House of Representatives unexpectedly canceled a vote on Thursday on a resolution seeking to end the Iran war unless President Donald Trump obtains Congress' authorisation, two days after a similar measure advanced in the US Senate.

The vote had been scheduled to take place late Thursday afternoon, just before lawmakers left Washington for their Memorial Day recess.

The House had blocked three previous war powers resolutions in close votes earlier this year, with near-unanimous support from Republicans, underscoring the strong backing for the Iran war and the president within his party.

But the margins had become increasingly narrow - the last resolution failed on a tie vote - as weeks passed since the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran on February 28. Thursday's measure looked likely to pass, given expected defections by a handful of Republicans and the absences of others.

"We had the votes without question, and they knew it," Representative Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told reporters after the vote was canceled.

He said the chamber's Republican leaders had delayed the vote until early June, after the Memorial Day recess.

Democrats, and a few Republicans, have called on Trump ​to come to Congress for authorization to use military force, noting that the U.S. Constitution says that Congress, ​not the president, can declare war. They have expressed concerns that Trump may have entered the country into a long conflict without setting out a clear strategy.

A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Thursday that no deal has been reached with the US, but gaps have been narrowed, adding that Iran's uranium enrichment and Tehran's control over the Strait of Hormuz remain among the sticking points. 

US President Donald Trump said Thursday he would try to make it to his eldest son's wedding but that it was "bad timing" because of the Iran war.

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.

But at the same time Trump is working on a deal to end his unpopular war with Iran, which has sunk the president's poll ratings and sparked voter anger over the cost of living ahead of November's midterm elections.

"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.

"That's one I can't win on. If I do attend, I get killed. If I don't attend, I get killed -- by the fake news of course," Trump said.

"Hopefully they're going to have a great marriage."

Known as Don Jr, the president's son is an executive vice president at The Trump Organization, the family's luxury real estate conglomerate, and a vocal proponent of his father's right-wing MAGA political agenda.

The US decision to remove Francesca​ Albanese, a UN expert on the ‌Palestinian territories, from a list of sanctioned individuals is temporary and does not reflect a policy change, a State Department spokesperson said on Thursday.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has held discussions with Egypt's top diplomat, Badr Abdelatty, Doha's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The two discussed bilateral relations as well as developments in the region, currently reeling from uncertainty as the fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran.

Abdelatty and Al Thani talked about "efforts aimed at de-escalation" and the need for "all parties to respond" to such efforts,  the ministry added.

The United States on Thursday sanctioned nine Hezbollah-linked individuals it accused of "obstructing the peace process in Lebanon," as Israeli strikes on the southern part of the country continued despite a ceasefire.

"Hezbollah is a terrorist organization and must be fully disarmed," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

"Treasury will continue to take action against officials who have infiltrated the Lebanese government and are enabling Hezbollah to wage its senseless campaign of violence against the Lebanese people and obstruct lasting peace."

Among those sanctioned on Thursday were Hezbollah MPs Hassan Fadlallah, Ibrahim al-Moussawi and Hussein al-Hajj Hassan, and executive council leader Mohamed Abdel-Mottaleb Fanich.

Washington has also sanctioned Mohammad Reza Sheibani, the Iranian ambassador-designate to Lebanon who was declared persona non grata and ordered to leave the country in March.

Others sanctioned on Thursday included Ahmad Asaad Baalbaki and Ali Ahmad Safawi of Hezbollah political ally Amal, and serving Lebanese military officers Brigadier-General Khattar Nasser Eldin and Colonel Samir Hamadi.

In a separate statement, the US State Department said it was offering a reward of up to $10 million "for information leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms of Hezbollah

The Adalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel said a court in Ashkelon has ordered the release of Zohar Regev, the sole Gaza flotilla activist not released on Thursday.

Regev, who holds Israeli citizenship, was released under restrictive conditions, including a NIS 5,000 self-guaranty bond as well as a 60-dya ban on entering the Gaza Strip, Adalah said.

The activist was also subjected to "severe mistreatment" at the Shikma Prison were she was detained, the NGO said, and faced harassment over her wearing of the hijab.

An Israeli raid targeting a motorcycle in the town of Ain Baal, in south Lebanon's Tyre district, has injured several, the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) said on Thursday.

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States does not want tolls on the Strait of Hormuz and will retrieve Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

"We will get it. We don't need it, we don't want it. We'll probably destroy it after we get it, but we're not going to let them have it," Trump told reporters at the White House. 

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday renewed criticism of NATO for not supporting the US war on Iran, as he headed to alliance talks in Sweden.

"There are many countries in NATO that agree with us that Iran can't have a nuclear weapon, that Iran is a threat to the world," Rubio told reporters in Miami before leaving for the talks among NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden.

President Donald Trump "said, fine, I'm going to do something about it," Rubio said.

"He's not asking them to commit troops. He's not asking them to send their fighter jets in. But they refuse to do anything," he said.

"We were very upset about that."

Iran has summoned the editor-in-chief of the official news agency IRNA for explanations over the publication of images of a woman without hijab, authorities and a rights group said Thursday.

Wearing the headscarf in public has been mandatory for women since shortly after the Islamic revolution in 1979, in what was long seen as an ideological pillar of the clerical leadership.

The Iranian judiciary's Mizan Online website said IRNA's editor-in-chief "was summoned to the culture and media prosecutor's office to provide explanations" after the publication "of images showing a woman without observing the Islamic laws and regulations of the country".

It added that "the outlet was also warned to remove the material".

A US-based rights group said IRNA published the photo report on Tuesday and removed the images from its website just a few hours later.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) added that the report showed a woman without the compulsory hijab while at home tending to a baby.

"Marzieh Mousavi, the photographer of the project, emphasised on her Instagram page that the main focus of the story was not... clothing or appearance, but rather the story of temporarily caring for an abandoned newborn," it said.

Campaigners from the Gaza-bound flotilla arrested by Israeli soldiers before being expelled landed at Istanbul international airport Thursday.

Two other flights from Israel chartered by Turkey's foreign minister are also due to arrive there.

German prosecutors charged two men Thursday with planning to kill a prominent pro-Israel public figure and spying on Jews on behalf of Iranian secret services.

Danish national Ali S. is charged with espionage, attempted murder, attempted arson and sabotage, prosecutors in Karlsruhe said. His alleged Afghan complice Tawab M. is accused of attempted murder.

The two men were remanded in custody in Germany following their arrest last year in Denmark and subsequent extradition.

Ali S. allegedly spied on the head of the German-Israeli Society, the former Greens MP Volker Beck, as part of plans to assassinate him, prosecutors said.

The suspect is further said to have spied on the president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, as well as two Jewish grocers in Berlin as part of plans to carry out arson attacks, prosecutors added.

Prosecutors say Ali S. in early 2025 took orders from the Quds Force, the foreign operations branch of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

They allege he made contact by May last year with Tawab M., who said he was ready to supply weapons to a third party in an attempt to kill Beck.

Beck called on Berlin to expel the Iranian ambassador as well as consular officials.

"Jewish life and a commitment to the Jewish and democratic state are repeatedly threatened with murder and attacked by the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran on German soil," he said.

The UN rights chief deplored the execution Thursday of two more men in Iran, saying Tehran was instrumentalising the war with the United States and Israel to further stifle dissent.

"Since the military escalation began, at least 34 people have been executed on political and national security charges, including in the context of the January protests. It is unacceptable that the Iranian authorities are instrumentalising the current conflict to further stifle dissent," Volker Turk's office said on X.

A Turkish court on Thursday annulled the 2023 congress of the main opposition Republican People's Party in which current chairman Ozgur Ozel was elected, dealing a potentially big blow to President Tayyip Erdogan's political challengers.

The Ankara court said former chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu should replace current leader Ozel. 

The world oil market risks entering a "red zone" by the upcoming summer season should there be no progress on ending the Middle East war, the head of the International Energy Agency warned Thursday.

"We may be entering the red zone (on supplies) in July or August if we don't see that there are some improvements in the (war) situation," Fatih Birol said at the Chatham House think tank in London.

Iran has effectively halted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes launched in late February, choking off oil and gas traffic and sending prices soaring.

While a surplus of oil in the market before the war has helped absorb the energy shock, "stocks are eroding", Birol said.

He warned that it will take "a lot of time" for production and refining capacity to return to pre-war levels.

Birol previously said that commercial oil stocks are falling "very fast", even with the release of strategic reserves by governments worldwide.

The IEA has coordinated the release of 426 million barrels from emergency stocks by its 32 member countries, and said this month that around 164 million barrels have already been drawn.

Lebanon's Health Ministry says Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,089 people and wounded at least 9,397 since 2 March, when Israel resumed its war on the country.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza says the death toll from Israel's genocide war has reached at least 72,775, with more than 172,750 wounded since October 2023.

The ministry added that since the alleged 11 October ceasefire, the number of those killed by Israel has risen to 883, with 2,648 wounded, while 776 bodies have been recovered from under the rubble.

France has dismissed US President Donald Trump's idea of NATO playing a role in an international mission to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

"Our position is clear and constant. It is that the North Atlantic Treaty applies to ⁠the North Atlantic. It ⁠is neither its purpose, nor in reality the appropriate ⁠alliance, for it  ⁠to be focused ⁠on an issue in the Middle East and on ‌Hormuz," said a spokesperson for the French foreign ministry.

Mourners gathered in a southern Lebanese town on Thursday to bury victims from an Israeli airstrike earlier this week that killed 14 people, the deadliest single bombing raid on Lebanon since the announcement of an alleged ceasefire last month.

The toll from Israel's strike on the town of Deir Qanoun En-Nahr on Tuesday included four children and three women, said Lebanon's health ministry.

Dozens of people gathered in the southern town on Thursday to bury the victims, carrying pictures of three children and their parents who were killed in the bombing raid.

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The world oil market risks entering a "red zone" by the upcoming summer season, should there be no progress on ending the US-Israeli war on Iran, the head of the International Energy Agency warned Thursday.

"We may be entering the red zone (on supplies) in July or August if we don't see that there are some improvements in the (war) situation," Fatih Birol said at the Chatham House think tank in London.

Israel's Foreign Ministry says all foreign activists that it abducted from the Global Sumud flotilla in international waters and forcibly taken to Israel have now been deported.

Rats have overrun a major Israeli naval training base in Haifa, exposing signs of decay and dysfunction inside Israel's military infrastructure as the country presses ahead with its wars across Gaza, Lebanon and the wider region.

Military authorities reportedly failed to adequately address the infestation despite repeated complaints from base workers and staff.

One kitchen worker described conditions inside the facility as "rotten and exposed", claiming rats entered through holes in walls, air conditioning ducts and decaying plumbing systems.

The worker recounted finding a rat inside a cooking pot while preparing meals at the base, describing the scene as "one of the most shocking things" he had witnessed.

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Today, Thursday, the Kuwaiti Public Prosecution referred defendants with suspected ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to court.

They were reported detained after they were monitored by members of the armed forces following their alleged illegal entry into the state's territory, crossing the maritime borders into a prohibited military zone.

Today, Thursday, Advisor to the Emirati President, Anwar Gargash, criticised Iran's plan to control the Strait of Hormuz, describing it as a "pipe dream," following Tehran's announcement that its control over the vital waterway includes Emirati waters.

Italy asks the European Union to sanction far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who posted a video showing detained activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla kneeling with their hands tied and foreheads on the ground.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani says on X that he has requested sanctions against Ben Gvir "for the unacceptable acts committed against the flotilla, seizing the activists in international waters and subjecting them to harassment and humiliation, in violation of the most basic human rights."

A nome del Governo italiano ho appena formalmente chiesto all’Alto Rappresentante @kajakallas di includere nella prossima discussione dei Ministri degli Esteri UE l’adozione di sanzioni contro il Ministro per la sicurezza nazionale israeliano Ben-Gvir per gli inaccettabili atti…

— Antonio Tajani (@Antonio_Tajani) May 21, 2026

The French President's special envoy to Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said that the country is "in a dangerous situation," welcoming at the same time the continuation of the talks that provide a "horizon" for exiting the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

Le Drian said on BFM TV and RMC Radio, "Lebanon is in a dangerous situation in terms of its unity and territorial integrity," pointing to the division of "the Lebanese components toward Hezbollah and toward Israel."

"Lebanon's territorial integrity is threatened because part of its territory is occupied by Israel, and another part is occupied by Hezbollah, and it serves Iranian interests, that is, the interests of a foreign power," he added.

Despite this, he welcomed the continuation of the truce, considering that it opens "a horizon for a period of 45 days during which we will continue the discussion."

He considered that the Lebanese leaders on this path are "at a high level" and “brave,” referring to their request to negotiate directly with the Israeli government to get their country "out of this circle and reach a path that restores to the Lebanese state the means of work and existence."

He also considered that the involvement of the United States in the negotiation process is "positive," "even if Israel refused to let France be part of this discussion, even though the Lebanese requested that."

The United States Treasury has removed Francesca Albanese from its sanctions list, a week after a federal judge blocked the measures imposed by the Trump administration over her advocacy for Palestinian rights and accountability for Israeli actions in Gaza.

The Treasury quietly published an update on its website, placing the UN special rapporteur under "International Criminal Court-related Designation Removal", without offering further explanation.

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Turkey on Thursday said it was sending charter flights to Israel to repatriate hundreds of Gaza flotilla activists, after Israeli forces abducted them in international waters, which sparked global condemnation.

"We plan to bring our citizens and participants from third countries to Turkey via special charter flights we will organise today," Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in a statement.

Foreign ministry sources said "three flights" with a capacity for "more than 400 passengers" were being sent to Ramon airport, some 20 kilometres (14 miles) from the southern Israeli resort city of Eilat.

Around 50 vessels set sail from Turkey on 14 May seeking to break Israel's decades-long illegal blockade of the besieged Palestinian territory and were joined at sea by a handful of others.

Israeli forces began abducting the activists off Cyprus on Tuesday, with Israeli officials and the flotilla organisers saying some 430 activists were taken.

Footage posted by the far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir showed the activists being forced to kneel, their hands tied behind their backs, foreheads on the ground.

The images sparked a wave of global shock and disgust.

Flotilla organisers said the activists would arrive at Istanbul airport on the European side of the city at around 6:00 pm (1500 GMT).

Local media said 78 Turkish nationals were among those participating in the flotilla.

Iran's Supreme Leader has issued a directive that the country's near-weapons-grade uranium should not be sent abroad, hardening Tehran's stance on one of the main US demands at peace talks.

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei's order could further frustrate US President Donald Trump and complicate talks on ending the US-Israeli war on Iran.

"The Supreme Leader's directive, and the consensus within the establishment, is that the stockpile of enriched uranium should not leave the country," said one of the two Iranian sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

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Full oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz will not return before the first or second quarter of 2027, even if the Middle East conflict ended now, the head of the United Arab Emirates' state oil firm ADNOC said.

The outlook is among the most pessimistic among top industry executives and underscores the prolonged economic impact of the US-Israeli war on Iran, which has triggered what the International Energy Agency has called the largest-ever energy crisis because of the near-closure of the Strait.

After being attacked by the US and Israel, Iran established de facto control over the waterway, a chokepoint for about a fifth of the world's oil supply. The resulting surge in energy prices has pushed inflation higher and fanned fears of an economic downturn.

"Even if this conflict ends tomorrow, it will take at least four months to get back to 80% of pre-conflict flows, and full flows will not return before the first or even second quarter of 2027," ADNOC CEO Sultan Al Jaber said during an Atlantic Council event on Wednesday.

In the most expensive primary race in House history, Israel critic Thomas Massie of Kentucky lost to a candidate backed by AIPAC and US President Donald Trump, drawing a clear red line by the Republican establishment on dissent of Israel.

Read more below, from TNA's correspondent in the US:

The Palestinian Wafa news agency reported that at least four Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza.

Two Palestinians were killed in areas under Israeli military control in the al-Mawasi area of Rafah governorate in southern Gaza.

Another person was killed in al-Qarara, northeast of Khan Younis, also in southern Gaza, with the fourth killed and others were wounded when an Israeli quadcopter drone dropped a bomb on a group of Palestinians in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza.

Wafa also said that another Palestinian was wounded when an Israeli drone dropped a bomb near the Halawa refugee camp in Jabalia in northern Gaza.

Hezbollah announced that its members carried out, between 12 midnight and 2 am Thursday, a massive attack on all positions of the Israeli army occupying the towns of Dibal and Rishaf and the vicinity of the town of Hadada, with ambushes and heavy missile launches, in repeated waves.

Tehran "is responding to a text sent by the US", Iran's ISNA news agency reported on Thursday, adding that Pakistan's army chief's visit to Tehran was to minimise gaps and help reach an official announcement of understanding.

Adalah, the Palestinian legal rights organisation representing the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla activists, said that all the activists were released from Israeli detention ahead of their deportation, "except for activist Zohar Regev, whose detention hearing will be held today."

According to the organisation's statement, four activists have already left the country via Ben Gurion Airport. 

Twenty Iranian sailors onboard a vessel seized by the US have returned to Tehran from Islamabad, Iran's IRNA outlet is reporting.

"The release was achieved after intensive consultations between the Iranian Foreign Minister and his Pakistani and Singaporean counterparts," the report noted.

The Jordanian Hashemite Charitable Organisation, in coordination and cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs, the Jordanian Armed Forces, and the World Food Programme, sent the fifth relief convoy to the Republic of Lebanon.

The authority said in a statement that the convoy consists of 25 trucks loaded with medicines, baby formula, and foodstuffs, and its dispatch is a continuation of Jordanian humanitarian efforts to support our brothers and mitigate the effects of difficult humanitarian conditions.

The convoy carries basic medical and food aid to support the health sector, enhance food security, and meet the needs of the most affected children and families, thereby helping to alleviate the growing humanitarian burden.

The Secretary-General of the Commission, Hussein Al-Shibli, said, "The continued sending of relief convoys to Lebanon reflects Jordan’s firm commitment to its humanitarian mission," adding that Jordan, under its leadership and people, will remain present alongside its brothers in various circumstances.

"These convoys represent an extension of an ongoing humanitarian role based on rapid response and organised institutional work, ensuring that support reaches the areas and families most in need," he added.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares says 44 activists who took part in the Global Sumud Flotilla are likely to be deported from Israel to Spain through Turkey on a flight leaving at about 13:00 GMT.

After the Israeli navy abducted the activists in international waters earlier this week, Spain condemned Israel's actions, demanding the immediate release and safe return of its nationals.

Spain has also summoned Israel's charge d'affaires after Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir released a video abusing the activists.

Iran on Thursday hanged two men convicted of armed rebellion and membership in "separatist terrorist groups", the latest in a string of executions linked to the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Since the start of the war by Israel and the United States in February, Iran has ramped up executions, with many of the convicts hanged over anti-government protests that took place across Iran early this year.

Iran's judiciary said the two men executed on Thursday were involved in armed attacks against security forces and assassination plots in western Iran.

"Ramin Zaleh and Karim Maroufpour were hanged for membership in separatist terrorist groups, forming a group with the aim of disrupting the country's security, armed rebellion through the formation of criminal groups, shooting and carrying out assassination attempts," the judiciary's Mizan Online website reported.

It was not immediately clear when they were arrested, but the judiciary said they had been trained to become "leaders in the unrest".

Iran is the world's second-most prolific executioner after China, according to rights groups including Amnesty.

Since the war broke out, the country has executed several people for alleged espionage or on security-related charges.

Earlier this month, Iran hanged a man convicted of selling information to Israeli intelligence. It previously executed an aerospace engineering student on the same charge.

Iran has already restarted some of its drone production during the six-week ceasefire that began in early April, CNN reported on Thursday, citing two sources familiar with US intelligence assessments.

US intelligence indicates Iran’s military is rebuilding much faster than initially estimated, the report added, citing four sources.

According to the report, the rebuilding process includes replacing missile sites and launchers, and producing critical weapons systems that were destroyed during the war. 

A US official said that some intelligence assessments indicate that Iran will be able to restore its attack capability using drones within at least six months, and "surpassed all the timelines that the intelligence community had."

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the United States was ready to proceed with war on Tehran if Iran did not agree to a peace deal soon.

On Wednesday evening, Egypt discussed developments in the ongoing negotiations between the United States and Iran with both Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held two phone calls with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, during which they discussed "continuous coordination regarding the rapid developments taking place in the region, and joint efforts to contain the current state of tension and reduce escalation."

During the two calls, Abdelatty expressed Egypt's appreciation for US President Donald Trump's position "to allow dialogue and diplomacy to resolve differences and spare the region the risk of sliding into broader confrontations."

The Egyptian Foreign Minister stressed "the utmost importance of continuing the US-Iranian negotiation process until a balanced agreement is reached that achieves the interests of all parties."

He also stressed the need for any agreement to take into account "the security concerns of the countries of the region, foremost of which is the security and stability of the sister Arab Gulf states," considering this "a fundamental pillar of Egyptian and Arab national security."

Several countries have summoned Israeli ambassadors and condemned Israel's far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, after footage emerged showing detained activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla being restrained and humiliated following their abduction by Israeli forces in international waters.

The diplomatic backlash erupted on Wednesday after Ben-Gvir published a video on X showing activists being dragged through Ashdod Port by masked Israeli officers, forced to kneel with their hands zip-tied behind their backs, and lined up inside a warehouse.

The footage, which Ben-Gvir captioned with the words: "That's how we welcome terror supporters. Welcome to Israel", triggered outrage across Europe and beyond, with governments accusing Israel of violating basic standards of human dignity.

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According to the Lebanese National News Agency, Israeli warplanes unleashed a wave of airstrikes at dawn in the area between the towns of Tura and Janata in the Tyre district in southern Lebanon.

Also, Israeli artillery shelling targeted the town of Qabrikha in the Marjayoun district.

British no-frills airline EasyJet said Thursday that its losses deepened in the six months to the end of March after the Middle East war sent jet fuel prices soaring.

The headline loss after tax came in at $506 million for the first half of its financial year, a 27 per cent rise from the period a year earlier, as the US-Iran conflict also upended travel plans, the carrier said in a statement.

EasyJet said, "it has been impacted by the Middle East conflict through higher fuel costs and lower forward visibility".

It confirmed an estimate given in April that the Mideast war had increased fuel costs by around $33 million.

While the group saw no disruption to fuel supplies, the second half of its financial year "will be impacted by the conflict in the Middle East, with higher fuel costs and near-term uncertainty around customer demand".

"Overall bookings for the summer period are behind where they were at this point last year," it added.

Two South Korean activists who were on the Gaza aid flotilla and were recently abducted by Israeli forces in international waters have been freed, the presidential office in Seoul said. 

They are the first to be released from more than 400 activists abducted by Israel from the flotilla.

"The Israeli side immediately deported the two South Korean nationals without placing them in a detention centre," according to the Yonhap news agency.

"The Lee Jae Myung government expresses strong regret over Israel's detention of our nationals during its seizure. However, it highly appreciates Israel's immediate release of our nationals and welcomes this," a Korean official told the agency.

Arsenal supporters and pro-Palestinian activists have criticised the club’s new sponsorship deal with Deel, whose Israeli co-founder publicly backed Israel during the Gaza genocide.

English Premier League champions Arsenal FC have come under fire after unveiling a new sleeve sponsor linked to Israeli founders and pro-Israel statements made during the war on the besieged Palestinian enclave.

The London club announced that US-based payroll and HR company Deel will feature on the team's left sleeve from the 2026-2027 season under a multi-year agreement.

This comes as Arsenal officially won the English Premier League title on Tuesday for the first time in 22 years, after rivals Manchester City only managed a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth.

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According to agencies, Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir is flying to Tehran to bolster mediation efforts between the US and Iran. 

US President Donald Trump had a tense call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday over their disagreements on resuming the Iran war, according to CNN.

CNN reported that Netanyahu pushed for renewing attacks in the hour-long conversation, while Trump wants to exhaust diplomatic efforts before turning to military action against Iran.

Trump administration officials and Israeli officials reportedly told CNN that Washington's negotiations with Tehran frustrated Netanyahu, who argued that delaying the resumption of the war benefits Iran.

A similar report appeared in the US media outlet Axios, which also described a call between the two leaders as "tense".

The United States has removed Francesca Albanese, a UN special rapporteur on the ‌occupied Palestinian territories, from its list of sanctioned individuals, according to the US Treasury Department website.

The removal comes a week after a federal judge temporarily blocked the sanctions, finding that the Trump administration likely violated her free-speech rights by imposing the measures after she criticised Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.

The Iranian state-run agency Nour News quotes Foreign Ministry spokesperson ​Esmaeil Baghaei as saying, "We have received US views and are reviewing them."

Pakistan continues to mediate exchanges of messages between Tehran and Washington, he added, noting that several rounds of communication have taken place based on Iran’s original 14-point framework.