Iran FM says deal depends on end to ‘excessive’ US demands
Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi told his Omani counterpart that reaching a deal with the United States to end the Middle East war depended on Washington dropping its “excessive demands”, Tehran’s foreign ministry said.
“The Iranian minister of foreign affairs… indicated that arriving at a final agreement depended on ending the American party’s attitude based on excessive demands and shifting and contradictory positions,” the ministry said in a summary of a call between the ministers.
Trump says now making ‘final determination’ on Iran deal
US President Donald Trump said he was now making a “final” decision on whether or not to strike a peace deal with Iran.
“I will be meeting now, in the Situation Room, to make a final determination,” Trump said in a lengthy social media post, stressing that Iran must agree never to have nuclear weapons and to open the Hormuz shipping lanes.
Rubio meets Pakistani FM amid talks on Iran war
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with his Pakistani counterpart at the State Department in Washington on Friday, as negotiations aimed at ending the war with Iran drag on.
The meeting with Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar –whose country is acting as mediator between the United States and Iran – came days after Rubio’s visit to India, Pakistan’s historic rival.
The two officials did not address the press.
Vice President JD Vance said late Thursday that progress had been made toward an agreement between the United States and Iran.
Iran says no trust in US ‘words’, waiting for Washington to act
Iran’s top negotiator said that Tehran would only trust Washington’s actions, not its words, after US Vice President JD Vance said progress had been made on a deal to extend a ceasefire and provide a framework for peace talks.
President Donald Trump has remained notably silent about the deal despite US sources telling AFP it only needed his sign-off, underscoring the unpredictability of talks three months after the conflict engulfed the Middle East and shook the global economy.
“We place no trust in guarantees or words; only actions matter. No step will be taken before the other side acts first,” Iran’s Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X.
The parliament speaker, who led Tehran’s delegation at peace talks with the US in Pakistan last month, also warned that Iran had gained leverage not “through talks, but through missiles” fired at US bases and allies in the region when war broke out on February 28.
Palestinians mourn the ten people killed in Eid strikes as Netanyahu vows wider control of Gaza
Dozens of Palestinians in Gaza City gathered on Thursday for funeral prayers for 10 people killed in Israeli strikes the night before, including five children and an elderly person, as well as a Hamas militant.
More than 20 people were injured in the strikes, according to Shifa Hospital.
Video from the scene showed flames pouring from an upper-floor window of a building, while bystanders rushed to carry wounded people, including children, to ambulances.
Lebanon president tells Rubio that Israel truce crucial to talks progress
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that a ceasefire with Israel was crucial, as Israeli and Lebanese military delegations meet at the Pentagon.
A statement from Aoun’s office said that during a phone call, the president “emphasised the need to exert all efforts to reach a ceasefire, considering it an essential gateway to moving on to any other step”.
Iran’s Araqchi says discussed Hormuz and its future administration with Oman’s FM
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said he had discussed the Strait of Hormuz and its future administration with Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi in line with their sovereign responsibilities and international law.
In a post on X, Araqchi said he also expressed Iran’s solidarity with Oman in the face of any threat.
Israeli plan to seize more of Gaza means ‘more children will suffer’: UN
The UN warned that an Israeli plan to take control of 70 percent of Gaza is sure to increase suffering among children already hit by the impacts of severe overcrowding.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he had ordered the military to take control of more territory in the Gaza Strip, in defiance of the terms of a fragile ceasefire that took effect in October.
He said the military had controlled 50 percent of the territory under the terms of the ceasefire, then advanced to take over 60 percent.
“My directive is to move to… 70 percent,” he said.
Netanyahu says Israeli forces have crossed southern Lebanon’s Litani River
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israeli forces had crossed Lebanon’s Litani River, which runs around 30 kilometres north of the countries’ shared border.
“Our forces have crossed the Litani, they have moved up to the commanding terrain. We are operating in Beirut, in the Beqaa, across the entire front and are hitting Hezbollah head on,” he said during a visit to troops near the border, according to a video released by his office.
Pakistan foreign minister set to discuss Iran with Rubio in Washington
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Washington on Friday for talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that are expected to include the latest developments in negotiations on ending the Iran war.
A first round of peace talks in Pakistan concluded without a pact but Reuters cited sources as saying on Thursday that Tehran and Washington had reached an initial agreement, to extend a ceasefire announced in April and lift restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
‘We gain concessions not through talks, but through missiles,’ Iran’s top negotiator Qalibaf says
Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said in a post on X that Tehran does not trust guarantees and words, and would judge by actions, adding that Iran would not act unless the other side did first.
Vance says progress made as US-Iran deal awaits Trump green light
US Vice President JD Vance said Washington and Tehran are close to agreeing on a deal to extend their ceasefire in the Iran war, but the potential breakthrough still hangs on President Donald Trump’s approval.
Trump remained notably silent into Friday morning, despite US sources telling AFP a deal just needed his sign-off, underscoring the volatility of talks three months after the war rattled the Middle East and the global economy.
“It’s hard to say exactly when or if the President is going to sign the MOU,” Vance told reporters on Thursday. “We’re going back and forth on a couple of language points. We’ve made a lot of progress here.”
The possible Iran-US memorandum of understanding has seen changes in recent days, and the text has not yet been finalised
Man charged in UK with assisting foreign intelligence service linked to Iran
A Greek national has been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service, believed to be Iran’s, over the targeting of a journalist working for the London-based television station Iran International, British police said .
Counter-terrorism police said Ioannis Aidinidis, 46, who resides in Munich, Germany, was arrested on Saturday, May 16, and had been charged under Britain’s National Security Act.
Aidinidis is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court later on Friday.
Police said allegations were believed to relate to Iran and to the targeting of a British-based journalist at Iran International, which is critical of Tehran’s government.
Lebanese, Israeli officers to meet in Washington as Israel pursues strikes
Lebanese and Israeli military delegations were to hold security talks at the Pentagon, during which Beirut will demand Israel halt its attacks, which have intensified in recent days.
The development comes as the United States and Hezbollah’s backer Iran, were negotiating with Tehran, which insists the fighting in Lebanon must be included in any agreement ending the Middle East war.
Also on Friday, the Israeli military issued evacuation warnings for seven southern Lebanese towns, two of them around 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Israel.
How close are Washington and Tehran to ending the Iran war?
The United States and Iran have reached an agreement to extend a ceasefire, allow shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and lift a US blockade and some sanctions on Iran, sources told Reuters, but the deal has not been finalised.
An agreement would represent a big step towards ending a war that has pushed the world towards an energy crisis, though the underlying dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme would only be thrashed out in talks over subsequent weeks.
Iran Guards kill two Kurds in hiding after protests, rights groups say
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have killed two Kurdish activists in the west of the country who went into hiding following anti-government protests in January, two rights groups said.
Iranian media confirmed the incident, which took place on Thursday, but said that the men were armed, had been instigators of “riots”, and were killed by security forces when they opened fire from their hideout in the western province of Kermanshah.
Brothers Meisam Visi and Mojtaba Visi, adherents of the Yarsan faith, had been living in hiding after the January protests, the Norway-based Hengaw rights group said.
The Yarsan faith is a fusion of other religions and beliefs that dates back to the 15th century.
The brothers were shot dead by Revolutionary Guards who surrounded their hideout early on Thursday in a village in the Dalahu district of the province and opened fire “without warning”, Hengaw added.
Germany says Israeli plans to take more of Gaza are cause for concern
The German government is concerned about Israeli plans to take more of Gaza, a foreign ministry spokesperson said, adding that Germany opposes a permanent division of the Palestinian territory.
Danish intelligence says Iran poses increased terror threat
Danish intelligence said that Iran was playing a larger role when it came to the threat of terrorism against the Scandinavian country, adding that the threat assessment was mirroring global developments.
The Danish national security and intelligence service, PET, said the overall threat to Denmark remained at four on their five-point scale, but added that in recent years the threats had “changed significantly in character”.
“Over the past year state actors have become increasingly important to the terror threat. We assess that this applies in particular to Iran, which poses a threat especially to Israeli and Jewish interests as well as certain Iranian dissidents in Europe, including Denmark,” Finn Borch Andersen, head of PET, said in a statement.
“The threat from Iran emanates from the Iranian intelligence services, which make use of both criminal networks and the recruitment of operatives in Europe to plan and carry out attacks,” he added.
