Summary
Key updates
US says it struck Iranian military sites, Tehran responds with air base attack
Israel's Netanyahu orders military to attack targets in Beirut's southern suburbs
Alan Caulfield
US says it struck Iranian military sites, Tehran responds with air base attack
The U.S. said it struck Iranian military sites at the weekend and Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Monday it had targeted a U.S. base in response, the latest exchange of attacks amid negotiations to end the three-month-old war.
The U.S. and Iran have sporadically exchanged strikes since their ceasefire took effect in early April as diplomacy aimed at a more durable agreement drags on. A similar exchange occurred last Thursday and was described in near-identical terms by both sides.
The weekend U.S. strikes on Iran's Gulf coast were in response to "aggressive Iranian actions that included the shootdown of a U.S. MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters," the U.S. Central Command said in a post on X.
"U.S. fighter aircraft swiftly responded by eliminating Iranian air defences, a ground control station, and two one-way attack drones that posed clear threats to ships transiting regional waters," CENTCOM said, adding it will continue to protect U.S. assets and interests during the ongoing ceasefire.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Monday it had targeted an air base used by the U.S. in response to the attack on southern Iran, without identifying which base.
Air defences in Kuwait, where a major U.S. base is located, were intercepting missile and drone attacks on Monday as sirens sounded across the country, the state news agency KUNA reported, without providing further details.
The war launched by the U.S. and Israel on February 28 has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and caused global economic pain by pushing up energy prices due to Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
STOP NEGATIVE 'CHIRPING', TRUMP SAYS
In a late night social media post, U.S. President Donald Trump did not mention the exchange of hostilities, repeating his as-yet unproven claim that Iran "really wants to make a deal".
He berated critics, including what he described as "seemingly unpatriotic Republicans", for negative “chirping” about negotiations to end the conflict.
"Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end - It always does!" he said.
Trump is under pressure to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and get U.S. gasoline prices down ahead of the November congressional elections, as voters show increasing frustration over rising prices. At the same time, he faces a potential backlash from Iran hawks in his own party over any concessions to Tehran.
Oil prices rose about 2% in Asia on Monday as the lack of progress in negotiations kept traders on edge.
Trump has said his key aim in the war is to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon with its highly enriched uranium. Tehran has consistently denied it has plans to do that.
The two sides remain at odds on several other issues, such as Tehran's demands for the lifting of sanctions and the release of tens of billions of dollars of Iranian oil revenues frozen in foreign banks.
Israel's war in Lebanon with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia is another major impediment.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he had ordered troops to move further into Lebanon in the battle against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with both Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Netanyahu on the diplomatic negotiations between Israel and Lebanon and has proposed a plan to allow for "gradual de-escalation," a U.S. official said.
Reuters
Alan Caulfield
Israel's Netanyahu orders military to attack targets in Beirut's southern suburbs
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday ordered the military to attack targets in the Lebanese capital Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh.
"Following repeated violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon by the terrorist group Hezbollah and the attacks against our cities and citizens, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the IDF to attack terrorist targets in the Dahiyeh district in Beirut," a statement from Netanyahu's office said.
Israeli troops and Hezbollah have continued to trade fire since a mid-April ceasefire, with Hezbollah resorting to the use of cheap, easy-to-assemble kamikaze drones that are hard for air defences to thwart and that have killed several Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.
The fighting in Lebanon has been the broadest spillover of the Iran war, displacing more than 1.2 million Lebanese through Israeli strikes and evacuation orders since March 2, when Hezbollah began firing rockets and drones into Israel to back its ally Iran.
The incursion has so far killed more than 3,370 people, according to the Lebanese government. Israel says 24 of its soldiers and four civilians have been killed over the same period. Tens of thousands of Israelis in the country's north have also been displaced by Hezbollah rockets and drones.
Reuters
Residents begin to flee Beirut's southern suburbs. Reuters
Alan Caulfield
Iran says lack of trust, contradictory US positions, Israeli attacks on Lebanon are delaying peace talks
A delay in the diplomatic process to end the U.S.-Iran war can be explained by a lack of trust, Washington's contradictory positions and Israel's attacks on Lebanon, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday.
"Negotiations have started amid severe suspicion and mistrust, and the exchange of messages is taking place in this atmosphere," Baghaei said.
"The other party is constantly changing its views and putting forward new or contradictory demands (...) it is natural that this situation will prolong negotiations," he said, adding that Tehran viewed Israeli actions in the region, including in Lebanon, as inseparable from the U.S.
Reuters
Alan Caulfield
Volodymyr Zelensky wants progress on peace talks with Russia before winter
Seoirse Mulgrew
This blog has concluded for the day. Tune back in tomorrow for all the latest updates.
Seoirse Mulgrew
Khamenei adviser says Trump 'betraying diplomacy' with blockade and excessive demands
Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, said on Saturday that U.S. President Donald Trump was "betraying diplomacy for the third time" by continuing a naval blockade imposed on Iran and making what he described as excessive demands in negotiations.
Reuters
Seoirse Mulgrew
Trump remains in excellent health, White House memo says
U.S. President Donald Trump (79) remains in "excellent health, with strong cardiac, pulmonary, neurological and overall physical function", the White House said in a memo on Friday, citing results from a medical examination this week.
After his visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Tuesday, his third in 13 months, Trump said "everything checked out perfectly."
Trump, the oldest person to assume the presidency, frequently casts himself as more energetic and fitter than Joe Biden, his Democratic predecessor, who left office last year at age 82 after facing questions about his fitness for the job.
Still, recent photographs showing a blotchy neck rash have added to questions about Trump's health, following images in July 2025 of swollen ankles and a bruised hand concealed with makeup.
Reuters
Reuters
Seoirse Mulgrew
Pentagon chief says U.S. ready to restart strikes on Iran if no deal
The U.S. is ready to restart attacks on Iran if a deal cannot be reached, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Saturday, as negotiators from Washington and Tehran worked to bridge major differences blocking an agreement.
"Our ability to recommence if necessary...we are more than capable," Hegseth said in Singapore.
"Our stockpiles are more than suited for that, both there and around the globe, so we're in a very good place," he added.
Hegseth, speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's premier forum for defence leaders, militaries and diplomats, said the U.S. has not turned its back on the Asia-Pacific region despite being engaged in conflict with Iran.
"We can do two things at one time. We're super-charging our defence industrial base so that we're building 2X, 3X, 4X the munitions very soon to ensure that all of our (operations) plans are properly funded throughout the world," he said.
The Pentagon chief said President Donald Trump was "patient" and wants to make a "great deal" that ensures Iran does not get a nuclear weapon.
On Friday, Trump said he would meet in a secure White House room to make a "final determination" on a proposal to end the Iran war, which would extend an early-April truce for another 60 days, giving negotiators time to forge a permanent end to the conflict.
The war launched by the U.S. and Israel on February 28 has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and caused global economic pain by pushing up energy prices due to Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Reuters
Seoirse Mulgrew
Good morning and welcome back to the Irish Independent's live blog on the war in the Middle East. Stay tuned for all the latest updates.
Amy Blaney
Trump to decide imminently on Iran deal, says Hormuz Strait must open
- Trump to make decision on extending ceasefire with Iran
- Iranian official says political understanding reached
- Trump says ships trapped in Hormuz can start moving out
- Iranian news agency says Trump wants 'fabricated victory'
U.S. President Donald Trump said he would decide on Friday over a potentialdeal with Iran to extend their ceasefire that would need to include opening the Strait of Hormuz and dismantling Tehran's capacity to make a nuclear weapon.
"I will be meeting now, in the Situation Room, to make a final determination," he said, referring to the White House's nerve centre for monitoring global crises.
Sources had said a deal was in the offing to extend a truce in place since early April for another 60 days to allow oil and gas shipments to resume through the strategic waterway while negotiators tackle tricky issues such as Iran's nuclear program.
"Iran must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb. The Hormuz Strait must be immediately open, no tolls, for unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions," Trump said, adding that nuclear material would be "unearthed" by the U.S.
A senior Iranian source told Reuters that a political understanding over the war had been reached but not yet finalized.
Iran's semi-official Fars news agency, citing sources, said there was a "mixture of truth and falsehood" in Trump's comments which were an "attempt to portray a fabricated victory."
After the U.S. lifts its blockade on Iranian ships, the strait would be reopened but under Tehran's arrangements, Fars said. There was no provision to destroy nuclear materials in the sides' Memorandum of Understanding, the agency said, though there was agreement to release $12 billion of Iran's frozen assets.
Thousands dead, global economy suffering
The war launched by the U.S. and Israel on February 28 has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and caused global economic pain by pushing up energy prices due to Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices fell LCOc1 and stocks rose on Friday over the potential deal. MKTS/GLOB
In his post on Truth Social, Trump said mines would be removed from the strait and ships trapped there may start to go home: "Say HELLO to your wives, husbands, parents, and families from me, your favorite President!"
He added that no money would be exchanged "until further notice" - a possible reference to Iran's demands for toll payments in the strait, war damage reparations or a release of Iranian funds frozen abroad.
Kazakhstan has signalled it is willing to take Tehran's stockpile of uranium enriched close to weapons-grade levels if the U.S. reaches a deal with Iran, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, told the Financial Times.
Kazakhstan hosts an internationally controlled bank of low-enriched uranium to ensure fuel supplies for power stations in International Atomic Energy Agency member states.
In further diplomatic movement, the foreign minister of mediator Pakistan, Ishaq Dar, arrived in Washington on Friday for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Iran also wants sanctions lifted, U.S. forces withdrawn from the region, and for any peace deal also to end U.S. ally Israel's offensive in Lebanon.
Israel has displaced hundreds of thousands of people with a push deep into Lebanon in pursuit of Iran's main ally, the Hezbollah group.
Israeli strikes have pummelled Lebanon's south and east plus its capital Beirut, killing more than 3,200 people, according to Lebanon's health ministry.
Israel says 23 of its soldiers and four civilians have been killed over the same period.
Reuters
"I will be meeting now, in the Situation Room, to make a final determination," he said, referring to the White House's nerve centre for monitoring global crises.
Sources had said a deal was in the offing to extend a truce in place since early April for another 60 days to allow oil and gas shipments to resume through the strategic waterway while negotiators tackle tricky issues such as Iran's nuclear program.
"Iran must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb. The Hormuz Strait must be immediately open, no tolls, for unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions," Trump said, adding that nuclear material would be "unearthed" by the U.S.
A senior Iranian source told Reuters that a political understanding over the war had been reached but not yet finalized.
Iran's semi-official Fars news agency, citing sources, said there was a "mixture of truth and falsehood" in Trump's comments which were an "attempt to portray a fabricated victory."
After the U.S. lifts its blockade on Iranian ships, the strait would be reopened but under Tehran's arrangements, Fars said. There was no provision to destroy nuclear materials in the sides' Memorandum of Understanding, the agency said, though there was agreement to release $12 billion of Iran's frozen assets.
Thousands dead, global economy suffering
The war launched by the U.S. and Israel on February 28 has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and caused global economic pain by pushing up energy prices due to Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices fell LCOc1 and stocks rose on Friday over the potential deal. MKTS/GLOB
In his post on Truth Social, Trump said mines would be removed from the strait and ships trapped there may start to go home: "Say HELLO to your wives, husbands, parents, and families from me, your favorite President!"
He added that no money would be exchanged "until further notice" - a possible reference to Iran's demands for toll payments in the strait, war damage reparations or a release of Iranian funds frozen abroad.
Kazakhstan has signalled it is willing to take Tehran's stockpile of uranium enriched close to weapons-grade levels if the U.S. reaches a deal with Iran, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, told the Financial Times.
Kazakhstan hosts an internationally controlled bank of low-enriched uranium to ensure fuel supplies for power stations in International Atomic Energy Agency member states.
In further diplomatic movement, the foreign minister of mediator Pakistan, Ishaq Dar, arrived in Washington on Friday for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Iran also wants sanctions lifted, U.S. forces withdrawn from the region, and for any peace deal also to end U.S. ally Israel's offensive in Lebanon.
Israel has displaced hundreds of thousands of people with a push deep into Lebanon in pursuit of Iran's main ally, the Hezbollah group.
Israeli strikes have pummelled Lebanon's south and east plus its capital Beirut, killing more than 3,200 people, according to Lebanon's health ministry.
Israel says 23 of its soldiers and four civilians have been killed over the same period.
Reuters
Seoirse Mulgrew
Iran sees Trump's comments on possible deal as 'mixture of truth and falsehood', Fars reports
Iran views comments by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding a possible agreement with Tehran as "a mixture of truth and falsehood", Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency reported on Friday, citing informed sources.
A memorandum of understanding between Iran and the United States was still in the final stages of ratification in Iran, and no final decision had yet been made, the sources said.
Reuters
Seoirse Mulgrew
Iran's Araqchi says discussed Hormuz and its future administration with Oman's FM
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday 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.
Reuters
Reuters
Seoirse Mulgrew
US and Iranian negotiators reach tentative deal to extend ceasefire
Seoirse Mulgrew
On average 11 children killed or injured every 24 hours in past week in Lebanon, says UN children's agency
An average of 11 children have been killed or injured every 24 hours in Lebanon in the last week, as Israel expanded strikes across the country in spite of a ceasefire being in place.
Heavy Israeli strikes hit towns and villages in southern Lebanon overnight on Wednesday and into Thursday, after Israel declared a new swathe of the area "a combat zone".
On Thursday, an Israeli strike hit a building in the southern suburbs of Beirut amid a ceasefire that has failed to halt fighting between Israeli troops and Hezbollah in south Lebanon.
A total of 77 children have been killed or injured in the last seven days, UNICEF said. Since the ceasefire began in April, 55 children have been killed, and 212 injured, according to the agency.
UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires described the toll as “staggering”.
The ceasefire announced by Washington on April 16 was meant to halt the war raging between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah since March 2.
Reuters
Denise Calnan
UN to place Israel on sexual violence in conflict blacklist, Israeli envoy says
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations said his country had been added to a U.N. blacklist of sexual violence in conflict zones, alongside Hamas.
"This is a political decision! Disconnected from the facts and reality!" Danny Danon said in a post on X, referring to a report due to be published soon. Danon was informed about it during a phone call with the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, a post on X by the Israeli mission to the U.N. said.
In Guterres' annual report to the Security Council on conflict-related sexual violence, published in August last year, he put Israel and Russia "on notice" that they could this year be added to the list of parties "credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for patterns of rape or other forms of sexual violence."
The U.N. in Geneva and Hamas did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment on Friday.
In a separate post on Thursday, Danon said equating Israel with Hamas marked a "new low". He added that Israel had responded in detail to each allegation and had invited U.N. representatives to visit and examine the situation, but that they had chosen not to do so.
Israel's foreign ministry said late on Thursday that it would sever all ties with Guterres.
“Given that Antonio Guterres has chosen to violate every standard of honesty, integrity and professionalism, Israel has decided to sever all ties with the Secretary-General’s Office and will wait until a new U.N. Secretary-General is appointed,” the ministry posted on X.
Asked about Danon’s comments at a regular briefing on Thursday, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said: "I can tell you from the Secretary-General's point of view, his door remains open to Israeli representatives, as to the other 192 member states and the two observer states."
Guterres' warning in August resulted from "significant concerns regarding patterns of certain forms of sexual violence that have been consistently documented by the United Nations."
At the time, Danon dismissed the concerns as baseless.
In his warning to Israel, Guterres said he was "gravely concerned about credible information of violations by Israeli armed and security forces" against Palestinians in several prisons, a detention centre and a military base.
Palestinian militant group Hamas - whose October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel triggered the war in Gaza - was listed in the August report as a group "credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for patterns of rape or other forms of sexual violence" in armed conflict. Hamas has categorically rejected the allegations.
Olivia Le Poidevin, Reuters