The U.S. House of Representatives has backed a resolution seeking to halt American military action in Iran — a symbolic move that deals a political blow to President Donald Trump as efforts to find a deal with Tehran stagnate.

Weeks of complicated talks marked by sharp rhetoric and flare-ups of violence have not managed to reach a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which is essential to oil supplies.

Washington and Tehran have sent divergent message in recent days, with Iran saying Wednesday (June 3, 2026) “no tangible progress” was made, while Mr. Trump again voiced optimism by telling reporters at the White House “it could happen… over the weekend.”

Also Read : West Asia war LIVE

But in the latest episode of violence, Kuwaiti officials said renewed hostilities on Wednesday (June 3, 2026) included an Iranian drone strike on a passenger terminal at Kuwait international airport that killed one person and wounded 63.

In the wake of the flare-ups, four lawmakers from Mr. Trump’s Republican party joined Democrats on Wednesday (June 3, 2026) to vote 215-208 in favour of the public rebuke.

The resolution was largely symbolic, as the U.S. president can veto the measure if it gains Senate approval.

Also Read : ​From bad to worse: On Donald Trump and the war on Iran

“This is a loud and unambiguous message to Donald Trump on behalf of the American people: it’s time to end his deeply unpopular and illegal war of choice in Iran,” Democrats posted on X.

At a congressional hearing, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpiles were at the centre of discussions with Tehran.

Washington insists Tehran must turn over its near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, agree to curb its nuclear activities and re-open the Strait of Hormuz, the key shipping channel for Gulf oil and gas, for any peace agreement to take hold.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said lines of communication with the United States were still open but warned that any Israeli attack on the Lebanese capital Beirut as part of its campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah would trigger a “full-scale resumption” of the conflict.

“Communications with the Americans have not been cut off, and messages have been exchanged regarding the need to stop aggression against Beirut, but no tangible progress has been made in the negotiation process,” the Tasnim news agency quoted Mr. Araghchi as telling Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen TV.

“Any attack on Beirut will have grave consequences and will lead to a full-scale resumption of the war,” he said. “Our armed forces are ready to strike Israel if it attacks Beirut.”

Israel, Lebanon agree ceasefire

In Washington, Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire after two days of direct talks. Notably, the agreement requires a “complete cessation” of fire by Hezbollah.

They further agreed “with the guidance of the United States” to create “pilot zones” in which Lebanese armed forces — which have struggled to contain Hezbollah — “will take exclusive control of the territory to the exclusion of all non-state actors,” a joint statement said.

Further talks were planned in the week of June 22, with a view toward reaching a “comprehensive agreement.”

Israel and Hezbollah, however, have continued to trade fire, with Hezbollah claiming missile attacks on northern Israel Wednesday and Lebanon saying Israeli strikes in the south killed at least nine people, including two paramedics.

Israeli troops are staging their deepest ground offensive into Lebanon in two decades.

A truce to halt the fighting in Lebanon was meant to take hold on April 17 but has never been observed.

‘Playing with fire’

Kuwait’s military condemned the drone strike on its airport as an act of “criminal Iranian aggression.” India’s Foreign Ministry said the one fatality was an Indian national.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards denied attacking the airport and said it was “an error in the American Patriot systems, which landed on the terminal after failing to intercept Iranian missiles.”

The Revolutionary Guards also accused U.S. forces of provoking a response by targeting a tanker and a communications tower on the country’s Qeshm Island.

The fresh attacks constitute one of the more severe tests yet of the April 8 ceasefire that paused more than a month of war sparked by the U.S.-Israeli bombing of Iran, and has largely held despite sporadic exchanges of fire.

Mr. Trump played down the renewed hostilities saying “in that part of the world ceasefire is when you’re shooting in a more moderate manner.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran meanwhile of “playing with fire.”

“Iran surely knows what the (US) president has said, that if necessary, there’ll be a full-scale return to military action,” Mr. Netanyahu said in an interview with U.S. channel CNBC.

Kuwait suspended air traffic and diverted arriving planes to other destinations following the drone attack on the airport, but later restarted Kuwait Airways flights.

The international airport has been targeted several times during the war, and had only fully resumed operations on Monday (June 1, 2026).

Hassan Sheikh, a 40-year-old Pakistani resident of Kuwait who lives near the airport, said he heard explosions throughout the night, adding: “For the first time, my children felt how serious the situation was.”

Published – June 04, 2026 12:32 pm IST

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has written to U.N. Security Council members stressing the need for a continued ‌uniformed U.N. presence in Lebanon after the mandate of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) expires at the year-end.

Mr. Guterres outlined ⁠three options to replace the 7,500-strong UNIFIL in a letter to the 15 members of the Security Council dated Monday (June 1, 2026) and seen by Reuters. They ranged from a ‌light presence with limited capabilities to a more robust force with broader monitoring and de-escalation capabilities, and from around 1,980 to 5,525 uniformed ‌personnel.

The letter included the following details:

* Guterres noted the situation ‌in ⁠Lebanon had deteriorated dramatically since March and that under all proposed ⁠options, a uniformed U.N. presence would be necessary to support a strengthened U.N. political mission seeking a long-term solution to the conflict.

* Option 1 foresees an unarmed military observer presence of 350 personnel, combined with an armed ‌presence for force protection, including four infantry battalions of 750 troops each and a force reserve of 700.

* Such a force would have the capacity to most credibly observe developments along the length of the Blue ‌Line and up to the Litani River, Guterres wrote.

* Option 2 envisages an unarmed military observer presence of 285 personnel, combined with an armed presence for force protection, including two infantry ⁠battalions of 750 troops each and a force reserve of 450.

* This force would focus on the area between the Litani River and the Blue Line ‌and have the capacity to directly monitor some of the Blue Line through its physical presence, including from static observation posts and through patrols.

* Option 3 would involve an unarmed military observer presence of 215 personnel, combined with two light infantry battalions of 450 armed troops each and a quick reaction force of 350 armed troops for force protection.

* It would monitor ‌developments along the Blue Line and up to several km north, including from static positions at critical locations and through mobile observations.

* However, the entirety of the Blue Line could not be continuously monitored without necessary ⁠technological support and there would be no capacity for the force to place ⁠itself between the Lebanese and Israeli forces to help de-escalate tensions. The force would also have only a limited ability to provide information on ‌ceasefire violations.

* Guterres said any future uniformed presence would require air assets for medical evacuations, as well as de-mining and engineering capacities.

* Radar, helicopters, drones and satellite imagery would also enhance the mission’s monitoring capacity

– Reuters

(This article is part of the View From India newsletter curated by The Hindu’s foreign affairs experts. To get the newsletter in your inbox every Monday, subscribe here.)

Three months after Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu launched the war on Iran, Mr. Trump is still negotiating a temporary ceasefire extension and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for economic concessions to Tehran. A deal is yet to be reached. Considering their originally stated aims of regime change in Tehran, the dismantling of Iran’s missile and nuclear programmes and the curbing of its support for regional non-state allies as their major objectives, it is clear that this war has gone rather badly for Washington, as The Hindu’s editorial today points out.

“Mr. Trump’s military campaign has failed to achieve any of its declared objectives. By striking U.S. bases across the Persian Gulf and taking control of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran widened the conflict regionally and economically,” it noted, contending that if Mr. Trump is serious about a negotiated settlement, a deal is within reach. “But if he seeks to achieve through diplomacy what he failed to secure through war, he risks entangling the U.S. in yet another forever war,” the editorial said.

Meanwhile, the United States said on Thursday (May 28, 2026) that it had shot down five drones launched by Iran over the Strait of Hormuz and struck a ground control station in Bandar Abbas, while Iran fired ballistic missiles at an American base in Kuwait, threatening ongoing negotiations to end the war, Stanly Johny reports.

The waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea has emerged as the most consequential battleground of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, with Tehran effectively taking control of the route and rattling energy markets and the global economy. As the only gateway to the high seas from the Persian Gulf, the Hormuz Strait has remained one of the world’s most important waterways for centuries, writes Stanly Johny, in this timely profile of the narrow strait, 50 km wide at its entrance and exit, connecting the Persian Gulf waters to the Gulf of Oman, which joins the Arabian Sea. “One of Mr. Trump’s key demands for a deal today is that Iran should reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which was fully open before Mr. Trump and his ally Benjamin Netanyahu launched this war on February 28.”

Quad meet

After months of anticipation, the foreign ministers of the Quad grouping met last week. However, the forum, which concluded on May 26, 2026, offered little clarity on when the next Quad Summit, to be hosted by India, will take place, Suhasini Haidar and Kallol Bhattacherjee report.

The joint statement issued after the meeting between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio merely noted that they were “looking forward to the next Summit.”

The leaders made no direct reference to the war in Iran, the provocation by the United States and Israel or the torpedoing of an Iranian vessel in the Indian Ocean. Did U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s four-day visit to India succeed in easing tensions between Washington and New Delhi? This week on Worldview, we look at the key takeaways from Rubio’s visit, the outcomes of the Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting, and the major discussions surrounding the ongoing war in Iran. Suhasini Haidar brings us the key takeaways in this latest episode of Worldview.

Even as the future of the grouping’s future engagement has emerged as a key concern, “The Quad could benefit from some reflection on how to ensure that the grouping moves forward in tandem on its worthy objectives, not as one that pulls in different directions,” The Hindu’s editorial observed.

Top 5 stories we are reading this week

1. Inside China’s green transition: Ningbo, in southern Zhejiang Province of China, was once a historic maritime hub shaped by Buddhist culture and trade. It has now emerged as a key hub for showcasing China’s green industrial push, where electric vehicles, advanced manufacturing, and tightly integrated supply chains are powering the country’s bid for global leadership in the technologies of the future. Ananth Krishnan reports from the port city.

2. International law, ‘optional’ for powerful States: Imperfect though it may be, the rules-based order remains humanity’s strongest defence against chaos, writes MP Shashi Tharoor

3. A journey of the heart: Forty days, some 13,000 kilometres, and 24 trains crisscrossing India – retired Sri Lankan official Saman Athaudahetti tells The Hindu about his transformative train adventure through India

4. On Ebola, India must stay alert, not alarmed: India must respond with science, preparedness, surveillance, and calm leadership, certainly not fear, stigma, or panic, writes public health expert Dr. Ishwar Gilada

5. Brinkmanship in the age of growing conflict: The growing reliance on brinkmanship threatens an already fragile global order, writes strategic analyst Arjun Subramaniam.

Published – June 01, 2026 01:13 pm IST

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Vessels anchored at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, May 30, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Tehran’s Milad Tower, the tallest structure in Iran, stands as a symbol of the revolutionary state’s engineering ambitions. Rising 435 metres, including its 120-metre antenna, the tower’s octagonal concrete shaft joins a pod with 12 floors housing observation decks, a cafe, and a museum. Above it, the antenna pierces Tehran’s smoggy skyline. From the deck of the 12th floor, the highest point accessible to visitors, one can take in the vast sprawl of the city, made the capital of the Persian Empire in the late 18th century by Agha Muhammad Khan, founder of the Qajar dynasty. To the north rise the Alborz mountains, the natural barrier separating the Iranian plateau from the Caspian Sea.

Inside the museum, a large 18th-century map of the Gulf drawn by a French cartographer is on display. “You may have heard some countries call the Persian Gulf the Arabian Gulf today,” a local travel assistant told this writer during a visit in February 2022. “Look at this map and reach your own conclusions.” A young woman, who described herself as “a huge fan” of Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, the assistant pointed to the mouth of the Gulf on the map. “This is the Strait of Hormuz,” she said. “This is the gate of the Persian Gulf. And the Iranians hold its key.” It is this geographical key that Iran used to effectively shut the strait after coming under attack by the U.S. and Israel on February 28.

The strait is a narrow corridor, 50 km wide at its entrance and exit, connecting the Persian Gulf waters to the Gulf of Oman, which joins the Arabian Sea. At its narrowest point, between Iran in the north and Oman’s Musandam Peninsula in the south — an exclave separated from mainland Oman by UAE territory — the waterway is just 33 km wide, which means it falls within the overlapping territorial waters of Iran and Oman (up to 12 nautical miles, or 22 km, from their coasts).

As the only gateway to the high seas from the Persian Gulf, the Hormuz Strait has remained one of the world’s most important waterways for centuries. In modern times, separate shipping lanes, as wide as 2 nautical miles, have been marked for inbound and outbound vessels. There is a buffer zone of around 2 nautical miles between the shipping lanes. So the tankers carrying fuel and gas typically navigated highly constrained waters even before the war.

In the 1980s, during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war, both sides targeted fuel tankers in the Persian Gulf, effectively weaponising the waters. In recent years, Iran has repeatedly warned that it would close the waterway if it came under attack. There are eight major islands in the strait, seven of which are controlled by Iran. Islands such as Qeshm, Hormuz, Larak, and Abu Musa sit closer to the shipping lanes, giving Iran a commanding physical advantage over the route. The ownership of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, and Lesser Tunb islands is contested between Iran and the UAE, but they are de facto controlled and administered by Tehran. Since the 1970s, Iran has maintained a military presence on the islands.

Strategic significance

The strait’s strategic significance grew after the oil discoveries in the Persian Gulf region in the early 20th century. The post-War oil boom transformed the entire region. All Persian Gulf countries — Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait — have been more or less dependent on the strait to get access to the Arabian Sea. While Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Oman have ports outside the Gulf waters, others are fully dependent on Hormuz.

During 2023-25, 20% of the world’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) and 25% of seaborne oil passed through the strait. In 2025 alone, 20 million barrels of oil and oil products passed through this route every day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. About 3,000 ships sailed through the strait each month before the war. Hormuz is also a key route for exports of fertilizer from the region, and Gulf countries import food, medicines and tech products through this route.

In June 2025, when Israel bombed Iran, Tehran’s response was largely limited to striking back at Israel. After the U.S. joined the war and attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities, Tehran carried out a token attack on the American base in Qatar and agreed to a ceasefire. The 12-Day War, as it’s known, did not pose any direct threat to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. But in early 2026, when the U.S. was mobilising forces in the region amid threats of another war, Iran had warned that it would retaliate by striking American bases and shutting down the strait. The U.S. and Israel started the war on February 28 by assassinating Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Iran responded by doing what it had vowed to do. It retaliated by attacking Israel and Arab countries in the Gulf. And it took control of the strait. The number of ships passing through the strait daily, which was more than 100 before the war, fell by over 90%.

During the 40 days of bombing, the U.S. and Israel caused immense material damage to Iran. Its aerial and naval infrastructure has been repeatedly hit. But such attacks weren’t enough to force Iran, which used asymmetric warfare to weaponise the waters, to reopen the strait. Iran used cheap, disruptive weapons to impose disproportionate costs on the vessels that ignored its restrictions. Several ships that sought to pass the strait without the IRGC’s permission came under attack. Fuel prices started rising. Insurance and shipping costs soared. Energy-import-dependent economies, particularly India, were hit hard.

Contested terms

When U.S. President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran on April 8, he said Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The truce came into effect, but both sides differed on its terms. Iran demanded a ceasefire in Lebanon as well, but Israel actually stepped up the bombing of Lebanon. Mr. Trump later announced a ceasefire in Lebanon and “prevented” Israel from bombing the country — but the bombing campaign continued. When Iran refused to reopen the strait, Mr. Trump, on April 12, announced a blockade of Iranian ports. He said no Iranian ships would be allowed to pass through the American blockade in the Gulf of Oman. In response, Iran cancelled direct negotiations with the U.S., and pushed the nuclear file down its priority list.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly said that he was close to reaching a deal with Iran. He wants Iran to reopen the Strait in return for the lifting of the U.S. blockade. And Iran should abandon its nuclear programme. Iran, on its side, has established a new body, the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, to manage traffic through and maintain the Hormuz Strait, defying Mr. Trump’s demands. The PGSA has introduced a new email-based permit system for vessels and says all ships passing through the Strait should coordinate with the agency. Result: a diplomatic logjam.

One of Mr. Trump’s key demands for a deal today is that Iran should reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which was fully open before Mr. Trump and his ally Benjamin Netanyahu launched this war on February 28.

Published – May 31, 2026 01:30 am IST

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday (May 29, 2026) he’s holding a White House Situation Room meeting with his advisors as he looks to make a “final determination” on moving forward with a deal to extend the Iran ceasefire.

Mr. Trump confirmed the high-level White House talks the day after The Associated Press and other news outlets reported that U.S. and Iranian negotiators had come to terms on a tentative agreement.

Iran-Israel war LIVE updates – May 29, 2026

The deal would extend the fragile ceasefire by 60 days as new talks are held on Iran’s disputed nuclear programme.

U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance said on Thursday (May 28, 2026) that the sides continued to debate “a couple of language points” and he couldn’t say whether Mr. Trump would approve the proposal.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Friday (May 29, 2026), in a post on X, said that his country has “no trust in guarantees or words,” only actions, and “no step will be taken before the other side acts.”

“We do not gain concessions through talks, but through missiles. In negotiations, we only make them understand that,” wrote Mr. Ghalibaf, who was involved in negotiations in Qatar this week. He added: “The winner of any agreement is the one who is better prepared for war the day after it is signed.”

According to a U.S. official familiar with the matter, the tentative agreement would continue the ceasefire in the 3-month-old war by 60 days and start a new round of talks on Iran’s nuclear programme.

Among the first issues to be negotiated during the 60-day ceasefire would be what will happen to Iran’s highly enriched uranium, said the official, who was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Islamic Republic has 440.9 kilograms of uranium that is enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Mr. Vance said that the sides were going back and forth on “a couple of issues on the nuclear stuff, the highly enriched stockpile, and also the question of enrichment.” He suggested negotiators were trying to strike general terms on the uranium issue in the tentative agreement, with the specifics to be hammered out in the ensuing talks.

Though Mr. Trump and his team said from the start of the conflict that one of their prime objectives was to ensure that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon, Mr. Vance framed the war’s accomplishments as something far less definitive.

U.S., Iran exchange fire threatening peace talks

“We’re in a position where we could substantially set back their nuclear programme, not just during the term of this president but over the long term,” Mr. Vance said. “That’s a very very good thing for the American people.” Iran, which has long maintained its nuclear programme is peaceful, has not publicly committed to giving up the stockpile. It is believed to be buried under a trio of nuclear sites that were badly damaged by US airstrikes last year.

Nuclear analysts have said that Iran might consider China or Russia, which have close relations with Tehran, to be a potential acceptable third party to take possession of the enriched uranium. But Mr. Trump had said that he “wouldn’t be comfortable” with such a plan.

The proposed memorandum makes clear that Iran will not be able to impose tolls on the Strait of Hormuz and that Iran will have to remove all mines from the vital waterway within 30 days, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

During the war, Iran has effectively closed the strait, which had been the conduit for about a fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas. Its closure has sent oil prices skyrocketing around the world.

Iran has said it’s letting some commercial vessels pass — about two dozen daily in recent days, compared with more than 100 a day before the war. But the Islamic Republic also has charged tolls for at least some ships and established a formal gatekeeper agency earlier this month, spurring a new round of U.S. sanctions this week.

Under the tentative agreement, the U.S. would gradually lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports and would also agree to relax sanctions, allowing Iran to sell more of its oil.

Yet even as word of the potential deal emerged, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed additional sanctions on the Iranian military’s oil sales arm. The new penalties extend the Trump administration’s economic pressure campaign on the Islamic Republic.

Iran has insisted that any deal must include an end to Israel’s military operations in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Tensions deepened on Thursday (May 28, 2026) in Lebanon as Israel conducted an airstrike on a southern suburb of the capital, Beirut, and other strikes in the southern coastal city of Tyre. At least 14 people were killed across the country’s south.

Since the ceasefire began about seven weeks ago, the U.S. and Iran have traded strikes and accusations of ceasefire violations. But they have not returned to full-scale hostilities and have kept negotiating.

Published – May 29, 2026 09:21 pm IST

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting
| Photo Credit: Reuters

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 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.”

“An Agreement has been largely negotiated, subject to finalisation between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the various other Countries,” Mr. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, listing a number of West Asia powers along with Turkey and mediator Pakistan.

Also Read: Iran-Israel war LIVE

“In addition to many other elements of the Agreement, the Strait of Hormuz will be opened,” he said.

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.”

“Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,” Mr. Trump said.

His optimistic post came after Iranian officials said gaps remained between the parties, and that the dispute over its nuclear program would not be part of the initial talks. Tehran said it was finalising a 14-point framework for a deal.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei noted what he called “a trend towards rapprochement,” but said, “it does not necessarily mean that we and the United States will reach an agreement on the important issues.”

“Our intention was first to draft a memorandum of understanding, a kind of framework agreement composed of 14 clauses,” he said on State television.

Mr. Baghaei added that he hoped the details of a final agreement could be worked out “within a reasonable timeframe between 30 to 60 days” after the framework is finalised.

‘Another act of folly’

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.”

“Our armed forces have rebuilt themselves during the ceasefire period in such a way that if Mr. Trump commits another act of folly and restarts the war, it will certainly be more crushing and bitter for the United States than on the first day of the war,” Mr. Ghalibaf said.

He issued the warning after meeting in Tehran with Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, a leading figure in international efforts to negotiate an end to the war, which broke out after the United States and Israel attacked the Islamic republic on February 28.

Weeks of negotiations, including historic face-to-face talks hosted by Islamabad, have still not produced a permanent resolution or restored full access to the Strait of Hormuz, choking vast quantities of global oil supply.

‘Neither war nor peace’

The impasse has left ordinary Iranians in limbo.

“The state of ‘neither war nor peace’ is far filthier than war itself,” 39-year-old Tehran resident Shahrzad told AFP.

“I’m about to start a new job, and I’m scared war might break out again, that I’ll end up leaving the job like before, running off to another city out of fear,” she said.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a call with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that Tehran was engaged despite “repeated betrayals of diplomacy and military aggression against Iran, along with contradictory positions and repeated excessive demands” by Washington.

Mr. Araghchi held a bevvy of diplomatic calls, speaking with counterparts from Turkey, Iraq, Qatar and Oman, Iran’s official IRNA news agency said.

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani also spoke with Mr. Trump on Saturday (May 23, 2026), as well as with the UAE president and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

An official Qatari statement said Sheikh Tamim and the Saudi prince discussed efforts “aimed at calming the situation and promoting political solutions.”

On another front in the war, Lebanese state media said Israel struck the country’s south on Saturday (May 23, 2026), as fighting has not stopped despite an April 17 ceasefire.

Lebanon’s military said one strike targeted a Lebanese army barracks in the south and wounded a soldier.

Israel said one of its soldiers was killed on Friday (May 22, 2026) near the border with Lebanon.

Iran-backed Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the war on March 2 with rocket fire at Israel after U.S.-Israeli strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader.

Hezbollah said on Saturday (May 23, 2026) its chief Naim Qassem had received a message from Mr. Araghchi indicating that Iran “will not give up its support” for the Lebanese group.

Published – May 24, 2026 04:37 am IST