Vessels sail through the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, May 22, 2026. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian meets with the Chief of Defence Forces of Pakistan, Field Marshal Asim Munir, in Tehran, May 23, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced hope of progress on ending the war with Iran, as he looked to Pakistani mediators to help advance efforts to strike an agreement.

Previous comments by President Donald Trump had suggested weeks of stop-start negotiations to strike a permanent end to the war were teetering on the “borderline” between a deal and renewed attacks.

“I believe the Pakistanis will be travelling to Tehran today. So hopefully that’ll advance this further,” Mr. Rubio told reporters on Thursday (May 21, 2026).

A ceasefire on April 8 halted the war launched weeks earlier by the United States and Israel, but negotiation efforts, including historic face to face talks hosted in Islamabad have so far failed to yield a lasting agreement.

Pakistan’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi, who is widely considered close to Pakistan’s powerful army chief Asim Munir, visited Iran for the second time in a week on Wednesday.

Iranian media, including the ISNA news agency, had reported based on unnamed sources that Munir could himself visit Tehran as early as Thursday, but there was no comment from Pakistan authorities about any travel plan for the army chief.

Beijing did however, announce that Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will travel on Saturday (May 23, 2026) to China, which has also been involved in mediation efforts to end the war.

‘Borderline’

Though open warfare and strikes across the Gulf have reduced, the impasse continues to weigh on the world economy.

In April, Pakistan hosted the only direct negotiations, which Munir helped mediate, between US and Iranian officials to take place since February 28, when the war began.

But the talks ultimately failed, with Tehran accusing Washington of making “excessive demands”.

Since then, the two sides have exchanged multiple proposals, with the threat of renewed conflict looming all along.

“It’s right on the borderline, believe me,” Mr. Trump told reporters Wednesday (May 20, 2026). “If we don’t get the right answers, it goes very quickly. We’re all ready to go.”

He said a deal could come “very quickly” or “in a few days”, but warned Tehran would have to provide “100% good answers”.

Mr. Rubio also criticised NATO allies for their refusal to help in the war against Iran.

“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.”

‘Forceful response’

Tehran was on alert for the possibility of renewed armed conflict with chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warning Washington on Wednesday of a “forceful response” if Iran were to be attacked.

“The enemy’s movements, both overt and clandestine, show that despite economic and political pressure, it has not abandoned its military objectives and is seeking to start a new war,” Mr. Ghalibaf said.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the Islamic republic was examining points received from Washington, while repeating Tehran’s demands for the release of its assets frozen abroad and an end to a US naval blockade.

Despite fiery rhetoric against Iran, Trump is under political pressure at home to find a resolution as energy costs rise.

The ceasefire halted the fighting but has not reopened the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway that normally carries about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas.

The future of Hormuz remains a key sticking point in negotiations, with fears growing that the global economy will feel more pain as pre-war oil stockpiles deplete.

Iran imposed a Hormuz blockade as part of its retaliation in the war, allowing only a trickle of vessels through in recent weeks while introducing a toll system.

Iran’s new body overseeing Hormuz said its claimed area of control extends to Emirati waters, drawing a sharp rebuke from Abu Dhabi.

Relations between Iran and the United Arab Emirates have been severely strained since the war, after Tehran launched missile and drone strikes against Gulf countries in response to US-Israeli attacks.

Hormuz carries around a third of global fertiliser shipments, raising concerns of higher food prices and shortages if the closure drags on.

Lebanon strikes

On another front in the war, Lebanese state media reported that an Israeli strike on Thursday damaged a hospital in Lebanon’s south.

Since a truce began on April 17, Israel has continued to launch strikes, carry out demolitions and issue evacuation orders in south Lebanon, saying it is targeting Hezbollah, which has also kept up attacks.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Israeli attacks have killed at least 3,089 people in Lebanon since March 2.

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the West Asia war with rocket fire at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in U.S.-Israeli strikes.

The United States on Thursday (May 21, 2026) sanctioned nine Hezbollah-linked individuals it accused of “obstructing the peace process in Lebanon”.

Published – May 22, 2026 08:10 am IST

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press aboard Air Force One en route to the U.S. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing on May 14, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP

President Donald Trump warned the ceasefire in the West Asia war was on “life support” Monday (May 11) after rejecting the latest counteroffer from Iran, which said its military stood ready to respond to any act of aggression.

The president’s angry reaction to Iran’s position – delivered in response to a U.S. proposal – sent oil prices soaring and dashed hopes that a deal could be quickly negotiated to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping.

After slamming the reply as “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE,” Mr. Trump insisted the United States would see a “complete victory” over Iran, adding that the truce, which has largely halted fighting in the Gulf for over a month, was on its last legs.

– AFP

Iran denied on Thursday (May 7, 2026) attacking a South Korean cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz this week, as U.S. President Donald Trump said a deal to end the war was “very possible” but warned Washington would resume bombing if talks failed.

Also read: West Asia war updates on May 7, 2026

Tehran’s embassy in Seoul said it “firmly rejects and categorically denies” allegations that its armed forces were behind a blast aboard the Panama-flagged HMM Namu, which caught fire on Monday (May 4, 2026) while transiting the strategic waterway with 24 crew members on board.

Mr. Trump later claimed Iran had “taken some shots” at the vessel and urged South Korea to join U.S.-led efforts to restore shipping through the strait.

The war, launched by the United States and Israel in late February, saw Iran respond with attacks across West Asia and impose a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, rattling global energy markets.

Despite Mr. Trump’s optimism, Iran has yet to respond to a new US proposal, with its chief negotiator warning that Washington was seeking to force the Islamic republic’s “surrender.”

Signs that the foes could return to the table after weeks of deadlock grew after Mr. Trump halted a short-lived military operation to reopen the strait, citing hopes for a deal.

Trump on peace deal

“We’ve had very good talks over the last 24 hours, and it’s very possible that we’ll make a deal,” Mr. Trump told reporters Wednesday (May 6, 2026).

But he had warned earlier that if Iran did not honour what had been agreed, bombing would resume “at a much higher level and intensity”.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the U.S. proposal remained “under review” and Tehran would communicate its position to mediator Pakistan “after finalising its views”.

Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has led Iran’s negotiations, warned that Washington sought “through a naval blockade, economic pressure and media manipulation, to destroy the country’s cohesion in order to force us to surrender”.

U.S. news outlet Axios, citing two officials, reported both sides were close to agreement on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for nuclear negotiations.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a key figure in initial talks in Islamabad, said he was “very hopeful that the current momentum will lead to a lasting agreement that secures durable peace and stability for the region and beyond”.

Macron presses Tehran

French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian in a phone call Wednesday that attacks on UAE civilian infrastructure and ships near the strait were “unjustified”, urging all parties to lift their dual blockade in the waterway “without delay and without conditions”.

Pezeshkian told Macron that any full reopening of the strait required the lifting of the US naval blockade, adding that “excessive demands, threatening statements, and failure to adhere to necessary frameworks by the United States have further complicated the path of diplomacy”, according to the Iranian presidency.

The call came as France’s aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle transited the Suez Canal en route to the southern Red Sea, where it will pre-position for a possible multinational mission to restore navigation in the strait.

Mr. Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are leading the initiative, which more than 40 countries have joined in military planning.

Israel-Lebanon

On the Lebanese front, Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs on Wednesday (May 6, 2026) in the first such attack in nearly a month, killing a senior Hezbollah commander from its elite Radwan force, a source close to the Iran-backed group told AFP.

At least 11 others were killed in strikes across the country’s south and east, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said.

The Israeli military said in a statement Thursday that an “explosive drone impact” had wounded four of its soldiers — one severely — in southern Lebanon the previous day.

Published – May 07, 2026 12:25 pm IST

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media before boarding Air Force One for departure to Miami, Florida, at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, on May 2, 2026
| Photo Credit: Reuters

File photo shows a man takes a cellphone photo as missiles fired from Iran. Image used for representation purpose only.
| Photo Credit: AP

Security Council members attend a meeting on maritime safety at U.N. headquarters in New York City, on April 27, 2026
| Photo Credit: Reuters