U.S. President Donald Trump. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump said he had secured guarantees from Iran that it would not develop nuclear weapons, as reports emerged he had sent a tougher peace proposal back to Tehran.

Israel-Iran war LIVE on May 31, 2026

Any tweaks to the proposal could prolong even further an agreement to formally end the West Asia war and open the Strait of Hormuz maritime route after weeks of efforts to secure a deal despite fractious rhetoric and the occasional flare-up of armed conflict.

The New York Times and Axios media outlets reported on Saturday (May 31, 2026) that Mr. Trump had sent back a new framework to be considered by Iran with “tougher” terms, though it was not immediately clear what that entailed.

Mr. Trump has said his priorities for any deal include stopping Iran from any nuclear weapon development and reopening the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.

“The one guarantee that I have to have is that there will be no nuclear weapons. They’ve agreed to that, and it was very interesting,” he told his daughter-in-law Lara Trump in an interview broadcast on her Fox News program on Saturday (May 30, 2026) night.

But Tehran has previously cast doubt on Mr. Trump’s assertions and the parties appeared far apart on their key priorities.

Iran has said it requires the release of $12 billion in frozen assets before it moves to substantive talks on issues such as its nuclear program and called earlier Trump comments that its enriched uranium — a precursor for nuclear weapons — would be destroyed “baseless”, according to Iranian media.

Tehran has also insisted that Lebanon must be included in any end to the war despite ongoing fighting, with Beirut accusing Israel of a “scorched-earth policy” as its forces advanced and carried out further airstrikes it says target Iran-backed group Hezbollah.

After Mr. Trump and U.S. officials earlier said they were on the brink of striking a deal, he struck a less urgent tone and hinted at renewed military action in the Fox interview.

“I’m in no hurry,” he said. “Slowly but surely we’re getting, I think, what we want and if we don’t get what we want, we’re going to end in a different way.”

Flare ups

That echoed comments from Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, who said at a defence summit in Singapore on Saturday (May 30, 2026) that Washington was “more than capable” of restarting the war if necessary.

Though daily strikes throughout Iran and the Gulf have stopped since Tehran and Washington struck a temporary ceasefire in April followed by historic talks hosted by Pakistan, bursts of armed conflict have continued.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had shot down a U.S. military drone “about to enter Iranian territorial waters to conduct hostile operations”, Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB reported, an incident that has not been confirmed by the United States.

Earlier in the week, the worst fighting since the fragile ceasefire broke out when U.S. forces carried out strikes on the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, countered by retaliatory fire from Iran.

Nevertheless, diplomacy has continued with Mr. Trump under pressure to reach an agreement that would lift the U.S. and Iranian competing blockades around the Strait of Hormuz that have choked international oil supplies and threatened the global economy with rising prices.

After Mr. Trump said on social media that Tehran would charge “no tolls” on ships passing through the strait once the blockades were lifted under any deal, Iranian news agency Fars cited sources saying “no such clause appears in the text of the agreement.”

Iran’s ISNA news agency on Saturday (May 30, 2026) cited lawmaker Alireza Salimi as saying a plan “to implement Iran’s management and sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz will soon be approved by parliament.”

Expanded Lebanon operations

Israel’s military issued evacuation warnings for more villages in south Lebanon on Saturday (May 30, 2026), a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces had pushed more than 30 kilometres (20 miles) into the country.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused Israel of pursuing a “scorched-earth policy and collective punishment”, and called for “a swift and real ceasefire.”

Israel’s military confirmed it was expanding its ground offensive in a statement released early on Sunday (May 30, 2026), saying “a significant number” of its forces had advanced past the Litani river and were carrying out expanded operations against Hezbollah in the Beaufort Ridge and Wadi al-Saluki area.

A truce between Israel and Hezbollah began on April 17 but has never been observed, with both sides accusing each other of violating it.

In early March, Tehran-backed Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in U.S.-Israeli strikes, prompting Israel to carry out near-daily air raids in Lebanon and launch a ground invasion.

Israel and Lebanon began direct talks in April, with a fourth round expected in the coming week.

Published – May 31, 2026 01:01 pm IST

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio prepares to board his plane at Jaipur International Airport in Jaipur, India on May 26, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP

Pakistan’s powerful army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir arrived in Tehran on Friday (May 22, 2026), with Islamabad mediating as the Islamic Republic examines a new U.S. proposal to end the West Asia war.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, however, said the visit did not necessarily mean “we have reached a turning point or a decisive situation”.

The disagreements between Iran and the United States were “deep and extensive”, he added in quotes carried by Iran’s ISNA news agency.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had earlier voiced hope of progress on ending the war, which broke out on February 28 when the U.S. and Israel launched attacks against Iran.

A ceasefire on April 8 halted the conflict, but negotiation efforts, including historic face to face talks hosted in Islamabad have so far failed to yield a lasting 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.

Pakistan’s military said in a statement that Mr. Munir had “arrived in Tehran as part of ongoing mediation efforts”.

It said he had been welcomed by Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni and Pakistani counterpart Mohsin Naqvi.

Mr. Naqvi visited Iran for the second time in a week on Wednesday (May 20, 2026) and met President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Mr. Baqaei said a delegation from Qatar had also held talks with the Iranian Foreign Minister on Friday (May 22, 2026).

“In recent days, many countries — both regional and non-regional — have been trying to help bring the war to an end… However, Pakistan remains the official mediator.”

Pakistan, Iran’s eastern neighbour, hosted in April the only direct negotiations between U.S. and Iranian officials to take place since the war began.

Mr. Munir was at the centre of the action during that round of talks, greeting both delegations on their arrival and displaying bonhomie with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance.

But the talks ultimately failed, with Iran accusing the U.S. of making “excessive demands”.

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

Hormuz

Iranian media had reported on Thursday (May 21, 2026) that Mr. Munir had been due in Tehran that day in order to continue “talks and consultations” with Iranian authorities.

Mr. Rubio later said to reporters of the Pakistani visit: “Hopefully that’ll advance this further.”

On Friday (May 22, 2026), he said that Mr. Trump’s “disappointment” with America’s NATO allies over a lack of support in the Iran war would need to be “addressed”.

Mr. Rubio added that he told European countries they may have to come up with a “Plan B” to help force open the Strait of Hormuz if the war with Iran drags on.

Tehran effectively closed the key shipping lane, through which large amounts of oil and gas usually travel, in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli strikes launched in February.

The future of the Strait of Hormuz remains a key sticking point in negotiations, with fears growing that the global economy will be hit hard as pre-war oil stockpiles are depleted.

European Union nations moved on Friday (May 22, 2026) towards imposing sanctions on Iranian officials and others responsible for blocking the strait.

Mr. Baqaei also listed the situation in the strait and a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports as issues to be examined.

“The issue of ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, is very important,” he added.

Lebanon front

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.

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 3,111 people in Lebanon since March 2.

The Ministry said Israeli strikes on the south killed 10 people on Friday (May 22, 2026), including six rescuers and a child.

The Israeli military also announced a separate airstrike that killed two people in an area in southern Lebanon where it is fighting Hezbollah.

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

It marked the first time Lebanese officers have been sanctioned by the United States.

Published – May 23, 2026 02:25 am IST

A file image of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Satellite images are beginning to be released giving a glimpse into the toll of the Iran war, with ships ablaze in an Iranian port and destroyed buildings at American bases in the region.

Information has so far been scarce about the damage being done across the West Asia, particularly when it’s inside closed military facilities, since the war started on Feb. 28.

The images come from Planet Labs PBC, a San Francisco-based firm used by media outlets, including The Associated Press. Planet Labs has put a two-week delay on its imagery becoming public, citing concerns its imagery could be used by “adversarial actors.”

High-resolution images also have been published by competing firms. Other providers, like the U.S. Geological Survey, have been publishing lower-resolution imagery as well that’s been useful.

The United States and Israel have been striking a wide variety of targets, including leadership figures in Iran, military bases, missile and air defense sites and positions of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and its volunteer force, the Basij. Iran has responded with drone and missile fire targeting Israel and nearby Gulf Arab nations.

Here’s a look at what’s visible in a selection of Planet Labs’ pictures, as well as others.

Some of the most dramatic images from Planet Labs so far have been in Bandar Abbas, home to a major Iranian military port next to the crucial Strait of Hormuz connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

Images taken on March 2 show ships ablaze at the port. The U.S. military’s Central Command has been targeting Iran’s naval assets and says it has sank or damaged more than 100 Iranian vessels so far in the war.

Planet Labs’ images from March 6 show damage to several buildings at the Parchin military base outside Tehran, Iran’s capital.

Israel’s military said its Parchin strikes hit “infrastructure used for the production of essential components for the development of various weapons.” The site has been linked to Iran’s ballistic missile program as well.

The island kingdom of Bahrain, home of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, has seen heavy Iranian fire targeting both military bases and oil installations. A March 1 image by Planet Labs shows a major building at the base destroyed, as well as two radomes — geodesic domes covering radar antennas — likely by Iranian missile and drone fire. A later, March 6 Planet Labs photo showed another building damaged.

The Navy has not offered a clear breakdown in the damage done so far at the base, but Iran has repeatedly claimed to have attacked it. Online videos have also shown incoming fire targeting the base. During the 12-day war in June, Iran attacked and destroyed a similar radome at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, used for secure communications.

An Iranian attack targeted Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base and caused damage there.

A March 1 photo from Planet Labs shows damage to one of the buildings at the massive air base serving as the forward headquarters of the U.S. military’s Central Command, which is prosecuting the war.

Qatar and the U.S. have not acknowledged the damage.

An Iranian attack also targeted Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base and caused damage there, according to a March 15 photo.

Satellite images, taken March 15 by an Airbus Defense and Space Pléiades Neo satellite and analyzed by the AP, show damage at Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra Air Base. Damage can be seen at one set of hangars to the northwest of the facility. Another hangar to the southeast of the facility appears shredded by fire, with an adjacent hangar sustaining roof damage. It’s unclear what was in the hangars.

Al Dhafra typically hosts some 2,000 American troops and has served as a major base of operations for everything from armed drones to F-35 stealth fighters in recent years. The U.S. military for years only vaguely referred to Al Dhafra as a base in “southwest Asia” before the UAE became more willing to acknowledge the American presence there.

In Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, there’s damage seen at France’s Camp de la Paix naval base. Satellite images from March 3 show damage to two large hangarlike buildings at the facility. The base is near Zayed Port, in Abu Dhabi, and close to its Cultural District that includes the Louvre Abu Dhabi and other major museums both open and still under construction.

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Landsat satellites also have been key in spotting major fires. Imagery from Landsat taken on Monday showed a fire at Dubai International Airport after an Iranian drone strike set a fuel tanker ablaze at the world’s busiest airport for international travel, causing a plume of noxious black smoke.

Another fire was also seen on Monday at Oman’s southern port in Salalah, which came under attack from suspected Iranian drones on March 11, though Tehran has denied launching them in its campaign targeting Gulf Arab states. The fire apparently has been burning since then.

Published – March 31, 2026 06:09 pm IST

Smoke rises in the sky after blasts were heard in Manama, Bahrain, on February 28, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Houthi fighters march during a rally. File.
| Photo Credit: AP