The United Arab Emirates denies reports circulating regarding an alleged visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the UAE.

Netanyahu has now publicly revealed what Iran's security services long ago conveyed to our leadership.
Enmity with the Great People of Iran is a foolish gamble. Collusion with Israel in doing so: unforgivable.
Those colluding with Israel to sow division will be held to account.

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) May 13, 2026

US Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked the latest Democratic-led effort to end the Iran war until it is authorized by Congress, but the measure edged closer to passage as a third Republican voted to advance the bill.

The Senate voted 50-49 not to advance the war powers resolution, nearly along party lines. Three Republicans joined every Democrat but one in backing the measure sponsored by Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon.

US President JD Vance said on Wednesday he believes progress is being made in negotiations with Iran to end hostilities, after President Donald Trump rejected Tehran's latest proposal as unacceptable.

"I think that we are making progress. The fundamental question is do we make enough progress that we satisfy the President's red line?" Vance told reporters at the White House. "And the red line is very simple. He needs to feel confident that we put a number of protections in place such that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon." 

A drone strike hit an Iranian opposition camp north of Iraq's Erbil, security sources said on Wednesday adding that an arms and ammunition depot inside the camp was targeted.

Iran's foreign minister said Wednesday that Tehran had the right to respond after he accused Kuwait of attacking an Iranian boat and arresting four of its citizens in the Gulf, calling for their release.
"In clear attempt to sow discord, Kuwait has unlawfully attacked an Iranian boat and detained 4 of our citizens in the Persian Gulf. This illegal act took place near island used by the U.S. to attack Iran. We demand immediate release of our nationals and reserve right to respond," Abbas Araghchi wrote on X.

Lebanon said 10 more people were killed in Israeli strikes in the country's south on Wednesday, bringing the day's toll to at least 22 dead.

The health ministry said six people "including three children and two women" were killed in the town of Arab Salim, while another child was killed in a strike on Harouf and three more people "including two children" were killed in Roumin, all in south Lebanon.

Dr. Araghchi is traveling to India to participate in the BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting.#Minab168 pic.twitter.com/HHiTBYXuQT

— Iran In Hyderabad (@IraninHyderabad) May 13, 2026

Oil prices climbed on Tuesday as US-Iran talks stalled, while South Korean calls for a social tax on AI profits dragged down the tech-rich Kospi index.

Seoul plunged five percent after a top official proposed a "national dividend" to redistribute excess corporate profits from artificial intelligence.

South Korea is riding an AI chip boom driving massive earnings for tech giants Samsung and SK hynix and sending the Kospi to record highs in recent weeks.

In Southeast Asia's biggest economy Indonesia, Jakarta was also down, falling two percent after the rupiah hit a record low against the dollar.

The burst of activity in Seoul and Jakarta contrasted with subdued markets elsewhere, with traders sitting on the sidelines amid uncertainty over the Middle East war.

Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Bangkok, Manila and Singapore were marginally lower, while Taipei and Kuala Lumpur were up.

Tokyo closed 0.5 percent higher after Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said Tokyo and Washington were "coordinating very well" on currency policy during US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's visit.

(AFP)

Reconstruction work is underway on the B1 Bridge in Karaj, which was targeted during the US-Israel aerial campaign.

President Donald Trump said on Monday that the ceasefire with Iran was "on life support," after dismissing Tehran's response to a US peace proposal as "stupid."

Trump's swift rejection of Iran's response on Sunday has fueled concerns that the 10-week-old conflict will drag on and continue to paralyse shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

"I would call it the weakest right now, after reading that piece of garbage they sent us, I didn't even finish reading it," Trump said of the ceasefire. "It's on life support."

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he intended to suspend a federal gasoline tax "for a period of time" as consumers cope with surging energy prices in the wake of the Iran war.

"We're going to take off the gas tax for a period of time, and when gas goes down, we'll let it phase back in," Trump told CBS News.

Suspending the tax would require an act of Congress, where Trump's Republican party holds a razor-thin majority in both houses. (AFP)

Global stock markets diverged while oil prices rose after US President Donald Trump rejected Iran's terms for ending the war in the Middle East.

Oil prices spiked more than four percent, before easing to gains of under two percent as trading opened in New York.

As tensions escalate across West Asia, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has established a dedicated special control room to manage the safety of millions of Indian nationals in the Gulf.

During an inter-ministerial briefing on Monday, officials confirmed that while the situation remains volatile, coordinated efforts are underway to facilitate repatriations and ensure the stability of maritime trade.

Additional Secretary Aseem R Mahajan stated that the MEA is working "round-the-clock" to monitor developments and maintain contact with state governments to streamline information sharing for anxious families.

Mahajan provided a comprehensive breakdown of flight operations, noting that while some regions remain restricted, overall connectivity is improving. The Indian Embassy in Tehran has successfully facilitated the movement of 2,549 Indian nationals out of Iran via land border routes. Indians are currently advised to avoid all travel to Iran.

Iran said Monday it had demanded the release of its frozen assets and the end of a US blockade of its ports, after President Donald Trump angrily rejected Tehran's terms for ending the Middle East war.

The sharp exchange of messages raised the spectre of a return to open conflict in the Gulf, dashed hopes of a quick negotiated deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping and sent oil prices higher.

Trump reacted with fury after Iran responded to the latest US proposed outline for peace talks with a counteroffer he deemed, in a brief social media post, "TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE".

Israel's Iron Dome has been nearly 99 per cent effective against missiles from Hamas and Hezbollah militants and has knocked out most missiles from Iran, the chairman of state-owned Iron Dome maker Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd said.

Rafael's Yuval Steinitz told a conference of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs that since the October 2023 Hamas raid on Israel, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon combined have fired some 40,000 rockets at Israel.

"Iron Dome intercepted most of them with success rates that (are) not 100% but close to 100%. It's around 98%, even 99%, so it's not perfect, but almost," Steinitz said.

Trump on Sunday accused Iran of "playing games" and laughing at America for decades, but said it soon would be made to stop -- without commenting directly on reports of Tehran's response to Washington's latest peace proposal.

"Iran has been playing games with the United States, and the rest of the World, for 47 years (DELAY, DELAY, DELAY!)," Trump said on his Truth Social platform. 

He also accused Tehran of "laughing at our now GREAT AGAIN Country" but added: "They will be laughing no longer!"

Trump is expected to press Chinese President Xi Jinping on Iran when he visits Beijing this coming week, a senior administration official said Sunday, as the US leader seeks a deal to end the Middle East war.

"I would expect the president to apply pressure," the official said in a call with reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding that Trump has done so in previous calls with Xi.

Iranian authorities have released Nobel peace prize winner Narges Mohammadi on bail following growing alarm over her health and she has already been transferred to Tehran for medical treatment, her supporters said Sunday. 

After 10 days of hospitalisation in Zanjan in northern Iran where she had been serving her sentence, Mohammadi "has been granted a sentence suspension on heavy bail", her foundation said in a statement.

The UK and France will on Tuesday host a multinational meeting of defence ministers on military plans to restore trade flows through the Strait of Hormuz, the British government said.

The announcement came hours after Iran warned London and Paris against sending warships to the region.

"The Defence Secretary John Healey will co-chair a meeting of over 40 nations, alongside his French counterpart, Minister Catherine Vautrin, for the multinational mission's first Defence Minister's meeting," a British defence ministry statement said Sunday.

President Donald Trump said Sunday he has rejected Iran's response to a US proposal for ending the Middle East war, deeming it "totally unacceptable."

"I have just read the response from Iran's so-called 'Representatives.' I don't like it -- TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!" Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, without providing further details.

The British military said a ship caught fire after being hit by an unknown projectile off the coast of Qatar.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said the attack caused a small fire on the bulk carrier, which was extinguished.

The attack happened 23 nautical miles (43 kilometers) northeast of Qatar's capital, Doha, the UKMTO said. There were no reported casualties.

Israel carried out strikes across Lebanon, killing at least nine people in the south according to authorities, with raids also targeting a highway not far from Beirut outside of Hezbollah's traditional strongholds.

Hezbollah said it had targeted troops in northern Israel with drones on at least two occasions in response to the continued strikes.

The Israeli military said "several" explosive drones were launched into Israeli territory, with one army reservist severely wounded and two others moderately injured in one of the attacks.

Top US diplomat Marco Rubio met with the leader of Mideast ally Qatar, the State Department said, highlighting the Gulf state's role as a key intermediary for Washington as it awaited Tehran's response on a peace proposal.

"The Secretary expressed appreciation for Qatar's partnership on a range of issues," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement on the meeting between Rubio and Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who is also Qatar's foreign minister.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards threatened to target US sites in the Middle East if its tankers come under fire, Iranian media reported, as Washington was left waiting for Tehran's response to its latest negotiating position.

"Any attack on Iranian tankers and commercial vessels will result in a heavy attack on one of the American centres in the region and enemy ships," the Guards said, a day after US strikes on two Iranian tankers in the Gulf of Oman.

The US Treasury on Friday announced sanctions against 10 individuals and companies, including several in China and Hong Kong, for aiding efforts by Iran's military to secure weapons and raw materials used to build Tehran's Shahed drones.

The Treasury move, first reported by Reuters, comes days before US President Donald Trump plans to travel to China for a meeting with President Xi Jinping and as efforts to end the war in Iran have stalled.

US President Donald Trump said Friday that he was expecting Iran's response to Washington's latest proposal on a deal to ending the Middle East war by "tonight."

"I'm getting a letter supposedly tonight, so we'll see how that goes," Trump told reporters outside the White House.

The US Department of State said that the next round of intensive talks between Israel and Lebanon, aimed at advancing a comprehensive peace and security agreement between the two countries as well as addressing the Hezbollah issue, will take place on May 14 and 15, with Washington set to facilitate the discussion.

Hezbollah said it launched a swarm of drones at an airbase in northern Israel on Friday, after having claimed another attack targeting an Israeli base earlier in the day.

The Iran-backed group said the launches were in response to an Israeli attack on Beirut's southern suburbs on Wednesday, as well as ongoing strikes in Lebanon's south.

The prime minister of Qatar, a key intermediary, was visiting Washington Friday to meet Vice President JD Vance to discuss Iran, a source familiar with the matter said.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani plans to speak to Vance about "US-Qatar relations and the situation in Iran, with a focus on LNG markets and regional stability," the source said on condition of anonymity.

Iran has seized the oil tanker Ocean Koi in the Gulf of Oman over an alleged attempt to disrupt Iran's oil exports, Iranian state media said on Friday, quoting an army statement.

It said the Barbados-flagged tanker was carrying Iranian oil and "was trying to harm and disrupt oil exports .... by exploiting regional conditions".

The oil tanker - which has been under US sanctions since February - was escorted to the southern coast of Iran and handed over to the judicial authorities, according to state media.

The seizure came after US and Iranian forces clashed in the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman.

The US military struck two empty Iranian-flagged oil tankers on Friday that it said were seeking to violate the ongoing U.S. blockade, US Central Command said in a post on X, adding that a third Iranian-flagged vessel had been disabled on Wednesday.

"All three vessels are no longer transiting to Iran," Central Command said.

https://t.co/rOZfFGtptY

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) May 8, 2026

Hezbollah on Friday said it launched missiles at a military base in northern Israel in retaliation for Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs despite a truce.

In a statement, the group said it targeted a base south of the Israeli city of Nahariya. The Israeli military had said earlier that sirens sounded in several northern cities.

Israel struck Beirut's southern suburbs on Wednesday, killing a Hezbollah commander in the first attack on the area in a month.

Stock markets slid and oil prices steadied Friday as US-Iran clashes in the Strait of Hormuz jolted hopes for a deal to end the Middle East war and reopen the crucial waterway.

Global equities had enjoyed a strong run this week while oil prices fell sharply on growing optimism that the 10-week conflict will soon be over.

However, the risk-on mood has been tempered by news that US forces struck Iranian military targets after an attack on three American destroyers in the strait.

"Once again, the news flow on the geopolitical front has shown that the path towards a lasting agreement is anything but linear," said analyst Chris Weston at financial group Pepperstone.

He added that "traders have had to rethink the assumptions on the trajectory of the conflict".

The dollar retreated against main rivals, also awaiting key US jobs data due Friday.

The United Arab Emirates on Friday said an Iranian missile and drone attack on the country resulted in three moderate injuries.

"The UAE air defence systems engaged 2 ballistic missiles and 3 UAVs launched from Iran, resulting in 3 moderate injuries," the defence ministry said on X.

The UAE has reported multiple missile and drone attacks from Iran this week, the first since a ceasefire came into effect last month.

Iran had previously denied launching recent attacks on the UAE.

This is the first evidence that suggests Russia could have provided Tehran with innovative weapons in large enough numbers that could inflict many casualties on American and allied forces.

Before the conflict's outbreak, a fifth of the world's total petroleum and gas passed through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iraq's oil ministry has denied US accusations against its deputy minister, who the United States hit with sanctions over alleged support to Iran as Washington escalates pressure on Baghdad to break with Iranian-linked groups. The US State Department on Thursday announced sanctions on Ali Maarij al-Bahadli, saying he "abused his government position to divert Iraqi oil in support of the Iranian regime and its terrorist proxies."

It accused him of fraudulently mixing Iraqi and Iranian oil as part of a scheme to help Iran avoid sanctions. His ministry said late Thursday that "it denies the accusations" against Bahadli and stressed "the importance of transparency in addressing all... accusations on the basis of evidence and facts," according to the INA state news agency. 

The ministry said it was prepared to investigate the matter, but added that "crude oil export operations, marketing, loading onto tankers, and related procedures" were not part of Bahadli's job.

After entities run by an Iraqi businessman were sanctioned over the same accusations last year, Iraq's state oil marketing company SOMO denied that any oil mixing operations were taking place in the country's ports or territorial waters to help Iran.

The Iran war’s shaky ceasefire was further strained on Friday as the United Arab Emirates responded to a missile and drone attack hours after the U.S. said it thwarted attacks on three Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz and retaliated against Iranian military facilities. There were no immediate reports of damage in the UAE.

Iran and the US are trading blows as their negotiators are seeking a deal to end the fighting, but so far they’ve avoided a return to all-out fighting. It's not clear how close the two sides are to deal on issues like Iran's nuclear program, which the U.S. and Israel vowed to halt when they launched the war on Feb. 28, or the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway that Iran has all but closed in a bid to pressure the global economy.

On Thursday, Tehran said it was examining the latest US proposals for ending the war delivered to it via Pakistan, which is serving as a mediator.

Saudi Arabia is frustrated with the American commander-in-chief's "erratic handling of the war", due to which Middle Eastern nations, especially the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have borne the brunt of Iran's retaliatory strikes.

Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref has claimed that the Islamic Republic will soon be marking a "great victory" in its ongoing confrontation with the United States and Israel, as reported by the state-run Press TV. Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref voiced defiant optimism on Thursday regarding the international constraints currently facing the country. He signalled that the period of economic and diplomatic isolation was nearing its end, suggesting an imminent shift in the nation's fortunes.

"We will soon hold our victory celebration, and the sanctions and pressures that have been imposed on the Iranian nation over recent years will be lifted with the great victory of the Iranian nation," Aref was quoted as saying. His remarks underscored a conviction that Tehran is on the verge of overcoming the systematic external pressures applied against it in recent years.

These pronouncements were made against a backdrop of renewed hostilities, as both nations engaged in an exchange of fire within the strategic Strait of Hormuz on the same day. Tehran has levelled accusations against Washington for allegedly violating the standing ceasefire, while American officials have maintained that they do not intend to escalate the situation and that the truce remains operational.

US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was still in place despite an Iranian attack on three American destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz that fanned fears Friday that the truce was faltering. The US military said it carried out strikes on Iranian military targets in response, although Tehran charged that it was Washington that had initiated the exchange of fire.

The latest violence threatens to unravel a fragile truce in effect since April 8 that brought an end to weeks of US-Israeli attacks on the Islamic republic, which has retaliated with strikes across the Middle East and by blocking the strait, a vital route for oil and gas shipments.

The United Arab Emirates said Friday that its air defences were "engaging missile and drone attacks originating from Iran".

Asked in Washington Thursday if the Iran ceasefire was still on, Trump said: "Yeah, it is. They trifled with us today. We blew them away. They trifled. I call that a trifle."

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X that Iranian forces launched "multiple missiles, drones and small boats" at the three US warships, but none were hit, and that it "eliminated inbound threats and targeted Iranian military facilities responsible."

"CENTCOM does not seek escalation but remains positioned and ready to protect American forces," it said.

The United States on Thursday urged Iran to free jailed Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, who is believed to have had two heart attacks in recent weeks.

"We'll knock them out a lot harder, and a lot more violently, in the future, if they don't get their Deal signed, FAST!", US President Donald Trump said as the US military carried out strikes on Iranian military targets Thursday.

Oil rose and US stock futures slipped in early trade on Friday, after the United States and Iran exchanged fire and put a month-long Middle East ceasefire in doubt. US crude futures, which are lower for the week, jumped more than 2 per cent from Thursday's close to $96.8 a barrel.

S&P 500 futures slipped about 0.2 per cent and Nikkei futures pointed to a slightly lower open for Japanese shares, which soared to record highs on Thursday. Iran's top joint military command said the US targeted an Iranian oil tanker and another ship entering the Strait of Hormuz.

The US military said it acted in self-defence after Iran attacked Navy destroyers that were passing through the strait. It said Iran did not hit any US assets in the attack and U.S. President Donald Trump told ABC News that the ceasefire with Iran remained in place.

The US military said it intercepted Iranian attacks Thursday on three Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz and “targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking US forces," highlighting the fragility of the month-old ceasefire between the two countries. US Central Command said in a social media post that US forces intercepted “unprovoked Iranian attacks” and responded with self-defence strikes.

The US military said no ships were hit. It said it doesn’t seek escalation but “remains positioned and ready to protect American forces". Meanwhile, Iranian state media said the country’s armed forces exchanged fire with “the enemy” on Qeshm Island in the strait. It is the largest Iranian island in the Persian Gulf, home to about 150,000 people. It also houses a water desalination plant.

Iranian state media also reported loud noises and defensive fire in western Tehran. In southern Iran, explosions were heard near Bandar Abbas, semiofficial Iranian news agencies Fars and Tasnim said. The reports did not identify the source of the blasts.

US President Donald Trump dismissed Iran's attacks on three American warships Thursday as "a trifle," saying he considered the ceasefire still active.

Asked during a visit to see renovations of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool if the Iran ceasefire was still on despite the attacks, Trump said: "Yeah it is. They trifled with us today. We blew them away. They trifled. I call that a trifle."

China’s foreign minister on Wednesday called for a comprehensive ceasefire in the Iran war, the latest spark of optimism that the two-month war could end soon. Wang Yi, speaking after meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, said China was “deeply distressed” by the conflict. Araghchi was visiting Beijing for the first time since the war with the US and Israel started February 28.

China’s close economic and political ties to Tehran give it a unique position of influence. The Trump administration is pressing China to use that relationship to urge the Islamic Republic to open the Strait of Hormuz.

News that Iranian officials were travelling to China ahead of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping lifted market sentiment.

Iran accused the United States of violating a ceasefire by targeting two ships at the Strait of Hormuz and attacking civilian areas, the country's top joint military command said early on Friday.

The US targeted "an Iranian oil tanker travelling from Iran's coastal waters near Jask toward the Strait of Hormuz, as well as another vessel entering the Strait of Hormuz near the Emirati port of Fujairah", a spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said in a statement carried by state media.

"At the same time, with the cooperation of some regional countries, they carried out air attacks on civilian areas along the coasts of Bandar Khamir, Sirik, and Qeshm Island."

The skirmishes raised concerns over the viability of a shaky ceasefire that had largely held for the previous month. But Donald Trump insisted it remained intact despite new violations, which he described as a "love tap".