newsline24

Iran says Trump’s threats against Oman ‘dangerous’ and ‘bullying’

We have a statement from the Iranian foreign ministry in which the spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, described Donald Trump’s threats against Oman as “dangerous” and “bullying”.

He was quoted as saying:

Threats to “destroy” a United Nations member state that has always played a constructive, effective, and responsible role in regional peace and security and has used its noble efforts in the service of regional peace and stability as a mediator in diplomatic processes for many years are not only a violation of the fundamental principle of prohibiting the threat of the use of force, but also another dangerous sign of the normalisation of lawlessness and bullying in international relations.

As a reminder, the US president said yesterday that he would “blow up” Oman if it entered an agreement with Iran to manage shipping in the strait of Hormuz.

Netanyahu orders IDF to occupy 70% of Gaza, up from 50%

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday he had ordered the country’s military to take control of 70% of the Gaza strip, in defiance of the terms of a fragile ceasefire that took effect in October.

“We are currently squeezing Hamas. We now control 60% of the territory in the strip,” he said at a conference in an occupied West Bank settlement, according to a video aired by Israel’s Channel 12 network.

He said the military had controlled 50% of Gaza under the terms of the ceasefire, adding: “My directive is to move to… 70%”.

“We’re squeezing them from all [sides]. We’ll deal with what’s left afterwards.”

US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent threatened Thursday to target Oman if it helped impose a tolling system in the key strait of Hormuz, warning of sanctions against parties involved.

“Oman, in particular, should know that the US Treasury will aggressively target any actors involved – directly or indirectly – in facilitating tolls for the Strait and any willing partners will be penalized,” Bessent warned in a post on X.

Donald Trump shares draft Iran peace agreement with Israel and other allies

Patrick Wintour

Donald Trump has circulated a draft peace agreement for the war with Iran among allies including Israel as both sides try to prevent fresh breaches of the ceasefire escalating out of control and scuppering any deal.

In an attempt to speed up the negotiations, Pakistan‘s foreign minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, will fly to Washington on Friday to meet his US counterpart, Marco Rubio.

Tehran targeted a US air base in Kuwait on Thursday after Washington struck what it described as an Iranian drone operation near the strait of Hormuz, highlighting the fragile situation as both sets of negotiators refuse to cede ground on final points of disagreement.

The draft Trump has shared is not vastly different to the one that has been circulating across the Middle East for days, under which the strait of Hormuz would be opened to commercial shipping, the US blockade of Iranian ports would by lifted and Iran would be given access to as much as $12bn (£9bn) in frozen assets.

The aim would be for commercial shipping in the strait to return to pre-war levels within 30 days and for negotiations envisaged to last as long as 60 days to commence on the future of Iran’s nuclear programme. This would include discussions about its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, a time-limited suspension of further enrichment and supervision by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog.

China is pressing for the UN security council to ratify any agreement.

US media report draft 60-day deal agreed – but not yet approved by Trump

Axios is reporting that the US and Iran have reached an agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire and launch negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.

However, US president Donald Trump still needs to give final approval, according to two American officials.

Israel is breaking all contact with United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, the country’s ambassador announced Thursday, saying it was “outrageous” that Israel has been blacklisted over accusations of sexual violence in war zones.

“We are done with this secretary-general,” ambassador Danny Danon said in a video posted on X.

Pakistan’s foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, is set to meet US secretary of state Marco Rubio in Washington today, the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement.

Islamabad is continuing its mediation efforts to negotiate a peace agreement to bring an end to the Iran war. Dar has been in the US for the UN security council and other meetings in New York.

Pakistani foreign Mohammad Ishaq Dar at a UN security council meeting on Tuesday. Photograph: Seth Wenig/AP

US to shut down Iranian airlines’ access to landing spots, refuelling and ticket sales, says Bessent

The US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said Washington will be shutting down Iranian airlines’ access to landing spots, refuelling and ticket sales.

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent speaks to the media in Paris, France on 16 March. Photograph: Abdul Saboor/Reuters

In a post on X, he said the US has sanctioned Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), a government agency Tehran established on 5 May handling transit fees for vessels in the strait of Hormuz.

Bessent wrote:

The US treasury continues our Economic Fury campaign against the Iranian regime.

Their troops are not getting paid, the police are not reporting for work, and Kharg Island is shut down. The Iranian economy and currency are in free fall.

Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) is a joke, and today Treasury has sanctioned it. We have warned any corporate or state entities against paying tolls or hiding them as aid payments.

Forming a Wall of Steel, the US Naval Blockade has ensured a record low amount of Iranian crude on the water. We will also be shutting down both Iranian airlines’ access to landing spots, refueling, and ticket sales.

Only a satisfactory outcome in negotiations will end the downward spiral.

Here are some of the latest images from Beirut, where the Israeli military launched an attack in its first strike on the Lebanese capital since 6 May:

People clear the debris at the site of an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs. Photograph: Raghed Waked/Reuters

People inspect the damage at the site. Photograph: Raghed Waked/Reuters

A man stands next to a damaged vehicle at the site of the strike. Photograph: Raghed Waked/Reuters

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards threatened a “firm response” on Thursday in the event of renewed attacks, after the United States carried out a strike the country’s south.

“If this action is repeated, the US military will face a firm response,” the Guards said in a statement on their Sepah News website.

Overnight, the Israeli military pounded the coastal city of Tyre, Lebanon’s fourth-largest city, killing at least 14 people across the south of the country in its ongoing military escalation against the Hezbollah group ahead of the Washington talks.

Among those killed in the flurry of strikes were five women and children and a Lebanese soldier. Dozens of others were wounded, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry and the state-run National News Agency.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported that an Israeli strike on Beirut targeted an apartment building in the southern Choueifat area.

It was not immediately clear who or what was targeted in the building, but the Times of Israel reported that the IDF was attempting to assassinate an IRGC-linked military leader. Citing a security source, the newspaper reported that the target was Ali al-Husni, described as “the head of the missile force in the Imam Hossein Division, an Iranian militia that operates alongside Hezbollah”.

It is the first time in over three weeks that Israel has attacked the Lebanese capital.

Kuwait says Iranian attacks on its territory a ‘dangerous escalation’

Kuwait has now named Iran as the culprit behind the attempted missile and drone attacks against the Gulf state, describing it as a “dangerous escalation”.

Earlier, the Kuwaiti armed forces said it had intercepted drones and missiles that were launched towards the country, but did not say who was behind the attacks. The US and UAE placed the blame squarely on Iran.

In a statement, the Kuwaiti foreign ministry said it expressed the country’s “strongest condemnation and denunciation of the criminal Iranian attacks that targeted the territory of the state of Kuwait with missiles and drones, in a dangerous escalation”.

It added:

The ministry affirms this escalation comes at a time when earnest efforts are being exerted by a number of brotherly and friendly countries to reduce tensions, de-escalate, and spare the region further escalation, which amplifies the gravity of these attacks and undermines diplomatic efforts aimed at preserving regional security and stability.

Associated Press reported that Israeli fighter jets struck a southern suburb of Beirut but it was not clear what the target was.

According to AFP, citing a Lebanese military source, the Israeli strike hit an apartment south of the capital.

IDF says its carried out strike in Beirut

The IDF said it carried out a strike in the Lebanese capital Beirut, which had been largely spared of attacks since a fragile ceasefire took effect on 17 April.

In a post on X, it said: “The IDF has just carried out a targeted strike in Beirut; further details to follow.”

The most recent Israeli strike on Beirut was on 6 May, when the IDF carried out an airstrike in the southern suburbs known as the Dahiyeh.

We will bring you more as we get it.

US accuses Iran of ceasefire violation after missile intercepted by Kuwaiti forces

The US Central Command said an Iranian missile was intercepted by Kuwaiti forces, as it accused Tehran of an “egregious ceasefire violation”.

In a statement posted on social media, it said:

Iran launched a ballistic missile toward Kuwait that was successfully intercepted by Kuwaiti forces. This egregious ceasefire violation by the Iranian regime occurred hours after Iranian forces launched five one-way attack drones that posed a clear threat in and near the strait of Hormuz. All drones were successfully intercepted by US forces which also prevented a sixth drone launch from an Iranian ground control site in Bandar Abbas.

US Central Command and regional partners remain vigilant and measured as we continue to defend our forces and interests from unjustified Iranian aggression.

UAE condemns Iran for strikes on Kuwait

The UAE has condemned “in the strongest terms” what it described as Iranian drone and missile attacks on Kuwait.

Earlier, the Kuwaiti armed forces said its air defences were intercepting “hostile missile and drone attacks” this morning, but did not say how many and where they were launched from.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted an unnamed American military base in retaliation against US strikes on the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas near the strait of Hormuz, according to the Iranian state broadcaster Irib.

In a statement, the UAE’s foreign ministry said the attacks constituted “a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of Kuwait and a threat to its security and stability”.