Tehran on Tuesday accused Washington of breaching the ceasefire and warned it was ready to retaliate after overnight U.S. strikes, while Israeli bombardment in Lebanon left dozens dead, threatening an increasingly fragile truce there.

The Brent benchmark oil price jumped up by more than three percent after U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the new wave of bombings targeting Iranian missile sites and mine-laying boats, while China urged both sides to respect the truce and to resolve their dispute peacefully.

Iranian state media reported overnight blasts in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, near the Strait of Hormuz, and the country’s Revolutionary Guards said its forces had downed a US drone entering its airspace and had fired at an F-35 fighter jet.

-AFP

U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran’s enriched uranium can be turned and destroyed in the U.S., but his preference is for it to be destroyed “in place” or at “another acceptable location,” under the supervision of the IAEA.

Mr. Trump’s comment marks a shift in his repeated statements that Iran hand over its enriched uranium to the US as a sticking point of any potential deal.

“The Enriched Uranium (Nuclear Dust!) will either be immediately turned over to the United States to be brought home and destroyed or, preferably, in conjunction and coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, destroyed in place or, at another acceptable location, with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent, being witness to this process and event,” Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

-PTI

The U.S. military said it carried out “self-defence” strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and boats placing mines, even as President Donald Trump said on social media that negotiations were “proceeding nicely”.

The strikes were done “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces”, but the military was “using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire”, Capt. Tim Hawkins, U.S. Central Command spokesman, said in a statement on Monday.

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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Hezbollah in a statement Sunday of trying to plunge Lebanon “back into chaos.”

Mr. Rubio denounced what he called Hezbollah’s “reckless call to overthrow Lebanon’s democratically elected government” and said the pro-Iran armed group was “actively trying to drag Lebanon back into chaos and destruction.”

Naim Qassem, the leader of Hezbollah, said earlier that “the people have the right to go down onto the streets and to bring down the government” in response to Israeli strikes and US sanctions on the Al-Qard Al-Hassan financial institution.

-AFP

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf met with chief of Defence Forces of Pakistan, Field Marshal Asim Munir, in Tehran, Iran, on May 23, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
Iranian Parliament Speaker Office/WANA via Reuters

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Sunday (May 24, 2026) that he hoped Pakistan could soon host the next round of peace talks between Iran and the United States. “Pakistan will continue its peace efforts with utmost sincerity and we hope to host the next round of talks very soon,” Mr. Sharif, whose country has played a key role in mediating between Washington and Tehran, posted on X.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday (May 23, 2026) a deal with Iran had been “largely negotiated,” with the proposal including opening the crucial Strait of Hormuz, though the agreement was “subject to finalisation.” Among the West Asia countries whose leaders joined a call on Saturday (May 23, 2026) to discuss the deal were Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain, Mr. Trump said. He added that he had a separate call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying it “likewise went very well.”

Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf had warned earlier that Washington would face a tough response if it resumed hostilities, after U.S. media reports raised the prospect of new strikes and Iranian officials accused the U.S. side of making “excessive demands.

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“In line with the recent practice of exchanging messages, Iran has also once again submitted its text in 14 points through the Pakistani mediator after making amendments,” an Iranian official said, according to the Tasnim news agency.

Tasnim quoted another Iranian official as saying that the U.S. has agreed to waive sanctions on Iran during the negotiation period. Iran has insisted that removal of all sanctions on the country should be part of a final agreement. “The United States has proposed a waiver of OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) sanctions until a final understanding is reached,” the agency reported.

A file image of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Pool via Reuters

The amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli has arrived in the West Asia, U.S. Central Command said on Saturday (March 28, 2026), as speculation soars about the possible deployment of U.S. ground troops in Iran.

The ship, which is usually based in Japan, arrived in the region on Friday, Centcom said in a post on X, noting that the vessel is the flagship for a contingent of “about 3,500” Marines and sailors.

The group also includes “transport and strike fighter aircraft, as well as amphibious assault and tactical assets,” it said.

Emergency responders said a man was killed in Israel on Friday after the Israeli military reported missiles fired from Iran.

The Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service said a man was killed in Tel Aviv following the latest attack, which triggered air raid sirens in Jerusalem.

Two other men, aged 65 and 50, were wounded in Tel Aviv and taken to hospital, MDA said.

A 37-year-old and a 21-year-old were wounded by shrapnel in the southern Israeli town of Kuseife and taken to hospital, MDA added.

-AFP

Japan has no plan to dispatch naval vessels to escort vessels in West Asia, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Monday, after ⁠U.S. President Donald Trump called on allies to protect tankers traversing through the Strait of Hormuz.

“We have ‌not made any decisions whatsoever about dispatching escort ships. We are ‌continuing to examine what Japan can ‌do independently ⁠and what can be done ⁠within the legal framework,” Ms. Takaichi told parliament.

-Reuters