- US military says it carried out 'self-defence' strikes in Iran, including on missile launch sites
- Rubio says Iran deal still possible within days despite US strikes
- Iran's supreme leader says regional powers will no longer be a shield for US bases
- Israeli strike on village in eastern Lebanon kills 12
- Iran partially restores internet access after months-long shutdown
- Trump says no country will control Strait of Hormuz
Lebanese army says Israeli strike in southern Lebanon killed a soldier
Trump says no country will control Strait of Hormuz
US President Donald Trump said the Strait of Hormuz will be open to everyone and not controlled by any country under any deal reached with Iran.
"We'll watch over it, but nobody's going to control it. That's part of the negotiation that we have," Trump told a meeting of his cabinet.
Israeli military claims all areas south of Lebanon's Zahrani River are 'combat zones'
The Israeli military said that all areas south of Lebanon's Zahrani River, which runs roughly 40 kilometres north of the Israel-Lebanon border, were considered "combat zones" and urged residents to head north.
"In light of the repeated violations of the ceasefire agreement by the terrorist organisation Hezbollah, the IDF will act against it with great force," the military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee alleged on X. "We advise the residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate to the north of the Zahrani River, as all areas south of the river are considered combat zones."
Israel's offensive in southern Lebanon has driven more than one million people from their homes. Israeli troops continue to occupy swathes of the country's south, saying their presence there is necessary to protect Israel's northern towns.
Trump says US not satisfied yet on deal with Iran
US President Donald Trump told a cabinet meeting that Washington was not satisfied with an Iran deal yet.
"Iran is very much intent, they want very much to make a deal. So far they haven't gotten there ... we're not satisfied with it, but we will be. We will be either that or we'll have to just finish the job," Trump told reporters at a cabinet meeting at the White House.
Trump says Iran would not get sanctions relief in exchange for giving up highly enriched uranium
US President Donald Trump said that Iran would not get sanctions relief in exchange for giving up highly enriched uranium, according to an interview with PBS News.
Israeli strikes hit outskirts of Tyre in southern Lebanon
White House says Iran report on draft deal is 'complete fabrication'
The White House has described an Iranian state television report about a framework deal with the United States to end the Middle East war as a "complete fabrication".
The Iranian report cited a draft outline of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that it said included a US commitment to lift the naval blockade on Iran and withdraw its forces from the Gulf region.
"This report from Iranian controlled media is not true and the MOU they 'released' is a complete fabrication. Nobody should believe what Iranian state media is putting out. FACTS MATTER," the White House said on X as it lashed out at US media for reporting the Iranian claims.
Israel tells residents of Tyre in southern Lebanon to leave their homes
The Israeli army called on residents of the city of Tyre in south Lebanon and the surrounding areas to leave their homes, alleging it was about to strike Hezbollah targets there.
"Urgent warning to the residents of the city of Tyre and the surrounding camps and neighborhoods as shown on the map – In light of the terrorist Hezbollah organisation violating the ceasefire agreement and targeting Israeli territory, the IDF is compelled to act forcefully against it," Avichay Adraee, the Israeli army's Arabic-language spokesperson, wrote on X, attaching a map of the Tyre region with some localities highlighted.
"The IDF does not intend to harm you. For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately, according to the area shown on the map, and move north of the Zahrani River."
More than one million people have been driven from their homes in Lebanon due to renewed fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Israeli troops continue to occupy swathes of the country's south.
Hamas statement confirms death of senior commander in Gaza Mohammad Odeh
Lebanese army says Israeli strike killed one soldier in Beqaa
The Lebanese army said that a soldier had been killed in an Israeli air strike near his post in Beqaa and that it had retrieved his body.
It said the retrieval was delayed from the previous day due to the security situation in the area.
Iran says draft US deal would reopen Hormuz shipping and end naval blockade
Iran's state TV said Tehran had obtained a draft of an initial unofficial framework for a memorandum of understanding with the United States.
Under the framework, Iran would restore commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels within a month, while the United States would withdraw military forces from Iran's vicinity and lift a naval blockade.
State TV said the framework, which excludes military vessels and envisages Iran managing ship traffic through the strait in cooperation with Oman, was not yet finalised and that Tehran would take no steps without "tangible verification".
It added that if a final agreement was reached within 60 days, it could be approved as a binding U.N. Security Council resolution.
Iran says US, Israel goal still to overthrow Islamic republic
Iran's intelligence ministry said on Wednesday that the goal of the United States and Israel remained to overthrow the Islamic Republic and break up the country.
"The enemy is now pursuing through other means the objective of overthrowing and partitioning the country, which it openly declared at the beginning of the recent war but failed to achieve through military attack," the ministry said in a statement carried by Iranian media.
Hezbollah says clashed with Israeli troops north of Lebanon's Litani river
Hezbollah said its fighters clashed with Israeli forces in a town north of the Litani river on Wednesday, a day after Israel's military said it was expanding its ground operations in the country's south.
In a statement, the Iran-backed group said its fighters "clashed with the enemy forces at point-blank range" in the town of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, located at the edge of an Israeli-declared "yellow line" in south Lebanon where its soldiers have been operating.
Iran Guards official says 'low' possibility of renewed war with US
An Iranian Revolutionary Guards official said on Wednesday that renewed war with the United States was unlikely but warned that Iran stood ready against any attack.
"The possibility of war is low because of the enemy's weakness, the armed forces are lying in wait with full magazines," said Mohammad Akbarzadeh, deputy political chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, was quoted by Tasnim news agency as saying.
"Do not doubt that we will turn the area from Chabahar to Mahshahr into a graveyard for aggressors," he said, naming places at each end of Iran's lengthy southern coast.
China allows fresh urea exports amid Iran war-fuelled fertiliser crisis
China has issued export quotas for urea fertiliser, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, a move that could help ease soaring global prices for one of the world’s most widely used crop nutrients after supply disruptions linked to the Iran war.
One of the world's largest fertiliser exporters, China banned exports of many categories in March to protect domestic farmers from the surge in prices triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a large share of global fertilisers and their inputs normally flow.
Iran war threatens Sudan's already fragile agricultural sector
As the US's conflict with Iran continues to block crucial shipping lanes, Sudanese farmers are warning that it is disrupting food production in an already unstable nation. The country is still in the midst of a war between the army and the RSF paramilitary, and fuel and fertiliser price hikes are forcing cutbacks in summer planting. FRANCE 24's Clemence Waller tells us more from the ground.
Israel says it targets new Hamas leader in Gaza as Palestinians report 3 dead
Israel carried out a pair of airstrikes in Gaza City late Tuesday, killing at least three people and injuring 12, hospital officials said. The strike took place on the eve of Eid al-Adha, a major Muslim holiday.
In a joint statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister, Israel Katz, said the strikes had targeted the new leader of Hamas' military wing. They identified him as Mohammed Odeh and called him “one of the architects” of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that triggered over two years of war.
The strike came less than two weeks after Israel killed the previous head of Hamas' military wing, Izz al-Din al-Haddad.
Yesterday's key developments:
- The United States has violated the ceasefire with strikes in Iran 's southern Hormozgan province, Iran's foreign ministry said in a statement Tuesday.
- Iran's vice president said that the government has taken the first steps to restore the internet after a near-total blackout since war with the United States and Israel broke out in late February.
- Israeli media reported that the military had expanded its ground operations in southern Lebanon beyond the "Yellow Line".
- Lebanon 's health ministry said the cumulative toll from the Israeli offensive since March 2 had reached 3,213 dead and 9,737 wounded by May 26.
Please find all the latest updates from Tuesday, May 26 here.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, Reuters and AP)
