Britain on Monday slapped sanctions on a dozen Iran-linked individuals and entities accused of involvement in “hostile activities” by Tehran targeting the UK or other countries.

Updating its official sanctions list, the Foreign Office in London imposed the UK travel bans and asset freezes on nine people, two shadow banking exchange houses and the allegedly criminal Zindashti network.

The UK government had already sanctioned its alleged leader, Naji Ibrahim Sharifi-Zindashti, in 2024 alongside the United States, labelling him the head of international drug and trafficking cartel.

The European Union sanctioned his network last year, with London, Washington and Brussels all claiming it is connected to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security and accusing it of conducting assassination and kidnapping operations against Tehran’s critics.

The latest UK curbs follow a string of attacks over recent months against the Jewish community in Britain, and repeated warnings from officials that hostile states are intent on using proxies for such purposes.

Zindashti’s nephew, Turkish national Ekrem Abdulkerym Oztunc, was among the nine people sanctioned Monday by Britain.

London also targeted five members of the Zarringhalam family — Farhad, Fazlolah, Mansour, Nasser and Pouria — said to have helped finance efforts to “destabilise” the UK.

Mansour, Nasser and Fazlolah Zarringhalam were sanctioned by the US last year for their involvement in Iran’s “shadow banking” network.

The US Treasury said the trio had “collectively laundered billions of dollars” for Iran through a network of front companies in the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong.

London also added Berelian Exchange and GCM Exchange, two US-sanctioned Iran-based exchange houses linked to them, to its sanctions list.

Iranians Nihat Abdul Kadir Asan and Reza Hamidiravari, and Azerbaijani national Namiq Salifov, were the other three individuals hit with the British travel bans and asset freezes.

The Middle East war triggered the world’s largest energy shock with market recovery likely to extend into 2027 even if the Hormuz blockade is lifted soon, Saudi oil giant Aramco’s CEO told investors Monday.

A day earlier, Aramco had announced a net profit rise of more than 25 per cent in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year, fuelled by higher oil prices as exports remain blocked in the Strait of Hormuz.

“The energy supply shock that began in the first quarter is the largest the world has ever experienced,” said Aramco CEO and president Amin H. Nasser.

“If the Strait of Hormuz opens today, it will still take months for the market to rebalance, and if its opening is delayed by a few more weeks, then normalisation will last into 2027,” he added.

Crude prices jumped during the first quarter from the mid $60s in early February to more than $100 a barrel in March as Iran’s shutdown of the key waterway sparked a global energy crisis.

The market has seen an “unprecedented supply loss of about a billion barrels of oil”, he said, putting the figure at roughly 880 million barrels.

“If the current disruptions continue at this rate, the market will lose around 100 million barrels for every week the Strait of Hormuz remains closed,” he added.

The loss was offset in part by oil flows bypassing Hormuz, the release of strategic government petroleum reserves and Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline — which avoids the blockaded strait, he said.

Saudi Arabia has used the pipeline at its maximum capacity of 7 million barrels per day to deliver oil despite the blockade.

US-Iran talks have failed to produce a lasting deal following a truce last month, with US President Trump on Sunday rejecting Tehran’s response to Washington’s proposal as “totally unacceptable”.

“If and when normal trade and shipping resumes, we anticipate very robust return to demand growth significantly higher than the initial estimate for the growth in 2026,” Nasser said.

The oil-rich Gulf has borne the brunt of Iran’s attacks during the war, with Tehran targeting US assets but also civilian infrastructure, including energy facilities.

In Saudi Arabia, facilities in Riyadh, the Eastern Province and the industrial city of Yanbu were all targeted. This included infrastructure for oil and gas production, transport and refining, and petrochemical plants and power facilities.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he plans to suspend a federal gasoline tax as consumers deal with surging energy prices in the wake of the Iran war.

Responding to a reporter’s question at the White House, Trump said he would be taking the step, with the suspension to remain in place “till it’s appropriate.”

“It’s a small percentage, but you know it’s still money,” he said.

US federal taxes on gasoline amount to 18.4 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon for diesel, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

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

Trump ally Senator Josh Hawley said he would introduce legislation to do so on Monday. In the House, Republican Anna Paulina Luna made a similar pledge to introduce a bill “this week.”

US fuel prices have skyrocketed since Trump launched the war on Iran, with gasoline and diesel both up about 50 percent since late February.

Iran’s retaliatory action has included virtually closing the key Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas passes.

On Monday, the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in the United States was $4.52, with diesel at $5.64, according to the AAA motor club.

Suspending the federal fuel tax would bring those prices down by about four percent.

State taxes on fuel, which average 32.61 cents per gallon for gasoline and 34.76 cents for diesel according to the EIA, would be unaffected by the move.

US President Donald Trump said Monday that the Iran ceasefire is on “life support” and that he is considering restarting naval escorts through the Hormuz Strait waterway as he seeks “complete victory” in the war.

Amid growing pressure at home over the war’s impact on the US economy, Trump warned that Iran’s rejection over the weekend of Washington’s demands meant the already tenuous ceasefire is now “unbelievably weak.”

“I would say it’s one of the weakest right now, it’s on life support,” he told reporters in the White House. “I would say the ceasefire is on massive life support.”

Separately, Trump told Fox News that he was considering renewing a US attempt to escort oil and other commercial shipping through Hormuz, but that he had not yet taken a final decision.

The initiative, dubbed Operation Freedom, was first launched on May 6 but abandoned less than two days later.

The United States sent Iran a set of conditions for easing the conflict, mostly related to preventing the country from being able to expand its nuclear programme.

At the weekend, Iran sent counter-proposals, which Trump told reporters on Monday were “garbage.”

The impasse does not mean the United States will back off, Trump said.

“We’re going to have a complete victory,” he said. Iran thinks “I’ll get tired of this. I’ll get bored, or I’ll have some pressure. But there’s no pressure.”

Asked if he was still willing to negotiate with Iran, Trump said the leadership there was divided into “moderates” and “lunatics.”

“The lunatics want to fight til the end. You know, it’ll be a very quick fight.”

Iran said on 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 starting negotiations to halt the Middle East war.

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

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

The exchange unnerved global energy markets, with crude prices rising by more than four percent before dropping back slightly in afternoon London trading and a top executive warning the crisis could last for years.

“The energy supply shock that began in the first quarter is the largest the world has ever experienced,” the CEO and president of Saudi oil giant Aramco, Amin Nasser, told investors.

“If the Strait of Hormuz opens today, it will still take months for the market to rebalance, and if its opening is delayed by a few more weeks, then normalisation will last into 2027,” he said.

Hunger and starvation

Aside from energy — in peacetime a fifth of the world’s oil and LNG exports pass through Hormuz — the world also faces a shortage of fertiliser, much of which comes from Gulf ports, and hence food for tens of millions of people.

“We have a few weeks ahead of us to prevent what will likely be a massive humanitarian crisis,” Jorge Moreira da Silva, executive director of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), told AFP.

“We may witness a crisis that will force 45 million more people into hunger and starvation.”

Trump did not say what had offended him in Iran’s response, but Tehran’s foreign ministry said it had called for an end to the US naval blockade and to the war “across the region” — implying a halt to Israel’s strikes targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Crucially, ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told reporters, Iran demanded the “release of assets belonging to the Iranian people, which have for years been unjustly trapped in foreign banks”.

This would be not just a return to the status quo before the United States and Israel launched the war on February 28 but a victory for the Islamic government’s long-standing campaign against its economic isolation.

“We did not demand any concessions. The only thing we demanded was Iran’s legitimate rights,” Baqaei said.

An end to international sanctions would also diminish Washington’s leverage over Tehran as it tries to secure a lasting end to Iran’s nuclear enrichment.

The US, Israel and their allies have long accused Iran of seeking an atomic bomb, an accusation Tehran has repeatedly denied.

‘It’s not over’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted the conflict would not end until Iran’s nuclear facilities are destroyed.

“It’s not over, because there’s still nuclear material — enriched uranium — that has to be taken out of Iran,” he told US broadcaster CBS’s 60 Minutes.

“There’s still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled,” he said.

The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said Iran’s counter-proposal had included the possibility of diluting some of its highly enriched uranium, with the rest transferred to a third country.

Iran had sought guarantees that the transferred uranium would be returned if negotiations failed or Washington abandoned the agreement, sources told the Journal.

Trump is expected to press China’s President Xi Jinping — a major buyer of Iranian oil — on the Iran issue when he visits Beijing on Thursday, according to a senior US official.

‘Restraint over’

The lack of a path to a resolution has focused concern on the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran is restricting maritime traffic and setting up a payment mechanism to charge tolls for crossing ships.

US officials have stressed it would be “unacceptable” for Tehran to control the international waterway.

The US Navy is also blockading Iran’s ports, at times firing on ship to disable them or boarding and diverting them.

In a social media post on Sunday, the spokesman for the Iranian parliament’s national security commission warned Washington: “Our restraint is over as of today.”

“Any attack on our vessels will trigger a strong and decisive Iranian response against American ships and bases,” Ebrahim Rezaei said.

Rejecting US President Donald Trump’s criticism of Tehran’s response to the latest US proposal to end the ongoing conflict, a senior Iranian official called Washington’s demands “unreasonable” and described Tehran’s offer as both “generous and responsible.”

Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said the response, which was sent to Pakistan on Sunday, included calls for an end to the war, the lifting of the blockade on Iranian ports, the release of frozen Iranian assets, and guarantees for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

“These demands are legitimate and designed to ensure regional security,” Baghaei said, adding that the plan also sought stability in Lebanon and the broader Middle East.

Baghaei criticised the US for rejecting Tehran’s response, warning that such actions have “undermined stability and security in the region.”

He defended Iran’s commitment to diplomacy but stressed that Iran was not afraid of military threats.

“Whenever we are forced to fight, we will fight, and whenever there is room for diplomacy, we will seize that opportunity,” he said.

The spokesman emphasised that Iran’s decisions are guided by national interests and a determination to safeguard the well-being of its citizens.

“Diplomacy has its own rules,” Baghaei said, “and Iran has consistently shown its commitment to protecting its people while pursuing regional stability.”

Iran has downplayed President Donald Trump’s response to its latest peace proposal, maintaining that the US reaction is of little importance, sources said on Monday.

Iran sent its response to the latest US proposal to end the Iran war via Pakistani mediators on Sunday, but President Trump quickly rejected it as “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” in a social media post, causing a setback to diplomatic efforts to resolve the standoff in the Persian Gulf.

Citing a source, Tasnim News Agency said, “Trump’s reaction is of no importance. No one in Iran is working on formulating a plan to satisfy the American president.”

The statement highlights the widening gap between Washington and Tehran.

The US has stressed that any long-term agreement must address Iran’s nuclear programme, missile capabilities, and role in regional waterways.

Iran, in turn, has maintained that sanctions relief and formal recognition of its maritime rights must take precedence.

Trump’s rejection of the Iranian response included no details.

In an earlier post, he accused Tehran of “playing games” with the United States for nearly 50 years, adding: “They will be laughing no longer!”

US President Donald Trump’s swift rejection of Iran’s response to a US peace proposal ​sent oil prices surging higher on Monday amid concerns the 10-week-old conflict will drag on, keeping shipping through the Strait of Hormuz paralysed.

Days ‌after the US floated an offer in the hopes of reopening negotiations, Iran on Sunday released a response focused on ending the war on all fronts, especially Lebanon, where US ally Israel is fighting Hezbollah.

Tehran also included a demand for compensation for war damages and emphasised Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state TV said.

It also called on the US to ​end its naval blockade, guarantee no further attacks, lift sanctions and end a US ban on Iranian oil sales, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said.

Within ​hours, Trump dismissed Iran’s proposal with a post on social media.

“I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, ⁠without giving further detail.

The US had proposed an end to fighting before starting talks on more contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme.

Oil prices jumped $3 a barrel on Monday ​following news of the continued stalemate that leaves the narrow Strait of Hormuz largely closed.

Before the war, the waterway carried one-fifth of the world’s oil supply and ​has emerged as one of the central pressure points in the war.

Surveys show the war is unpopular with US voters, facing sharply higher gasoline prices less than six months before nationwide elections that will determine whether Trump’s Republican party retains control of Congress.

The US has also found little international support, with NATO allies refusing calls to send ships to open the Strait of Hormuz without a ​full peace deal and an internationally mandated mission.

It’s not clear what fresh diplomatic or military steps may be ahead.

Trump is expected to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday. ​

With mounting pressure to draw a line under the war and the global energy crisis it has ignited, Iran is among the topics Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to ‌discuss.

Trump has ⁠been leaning on China to use its influence to push Tehran to make a deal with Washington.

Addressing whether combat operations against Iran were over, Trump said in remarks aired on Sunday: “They are defeated, but that doesn’t mean they’re done.”

Radical Israeli regime leader Benjamin Netanyahu said the war was not over because there was “more work to be done” to remove enriched uranium from Iran, dismantle enrichment sites and address Iran’s proxies and ballistic missile capabilities.

The best way to remove the enriched uranium would be through diplomacy, Netanyahu ​said in an interview that aired Sunday on ​CBS News’ 60 Minutes.

But he did ⁠not rule out removing it by force.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a social media post that Iran would “never bow down to the enemy” and would “defend national interests with strength.”

Despite diplomatic efforts to break a deadlock, the threat to shipping lanes and ​the economies of the region remained high.

Recent days have seen the biggest flare-ups in fighting in and around the Strait since ​a ceasefire began.

On Sunday, ⁠the United Arab Emirates said it intercepted two drones coming from Iran, while Qatar condemned a drone attack that hit a cargo ship coming from Abu Dhabi in its waters.

Kuwait said its air defences had dealt with hostile drones that entered its airspace.

Clashes have also continued in southern Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, despite a ⁠US-brokered ceasefire announced ​on April 16.

An end to hostilities with Iran would not necessarily bring an end to the ​war in Lebanon, Netanyahu said in the 60 Minutes interview, in which he also said Israeli planners had underestimated Iran’s ability to choke off traffic through the Hormuz Strait.

“It took a while for them to understand ​how big that risk is, which they understand now,” he said.

Iran has sent its response to a US proposal aimed at ending the more than two-month war to mediator Pakistan, Iran’s IRNA news agency said on Sunday.

According to Iran’s proposal, the current phase of negotiations will focus exclusively on the ending of hostilities in the region, a source familiar with the matter told IRNA.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed receiving Iran’s response in his speech during a ceremony held in Islamabad to mark the one-year anniversary of the Marka-e-Haq.

Shehbaz Sharif, while mentioning Pakistan’s role in the Iran-US talks, said he had been informed by Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir that Iran’s response had been received.

According to Reuters sources on both sides, the development aims to conclude a temporary memorandum of understanding under which the ceasefire would be extended, and ships would be allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

The sources said that after this initial framework, a full agreement would be negotiated, which would also include discussions on resolving other complex and long-standing differences, including Iran’s nuclear programme.

Iran’s Oil Terminals Company denied reports of ​an oil leak near Kharg ‌Island on Sunday, according to state media, after satellite imagery ​this week appeared to show a large slick west of the ⁠country’s main oil export ​hub in the Gulf.

The company’s ​chief executive said inspections had found no evidence of leaks from storage ​tanks, pipelines, loading facilities ​or tankers operating near the island. ‌He ⁠added that the Marine Emergency Mutual Aid Centre (MEMAC), a regional marine pollution body, had ​also reported ​no ⁠sign of leakage in the area.

The official said ​Iranian teams had conducted ​additional ⁠field inspections and laboratory testing after the reports emerged ⁠and ​had not identified “even ​the smallest trace” of leakage.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Khamenei met a senior military commander on Sunday and was told the country’s armed forces were fully prepared to confront any attack by the “American-Zionist enemy,” according to a report by Iranian Fars news agency.

Commander of the Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters Major General Ali Abdollahi told Khamenei that Iranian forces possessed high readiness in morale, defensive and offensive preparedness, strategic plans and military equipment needed to confront hostile actions.

He warned that if Iran’s enemies committed any “strategic mistake, aggression, or invasion,” Iranian forces would respond “swiftly, intensely, and powerfully.”

Abdollahi also said the armed forces would, “with full obedience” to the supreme leader’s orders, defend “the ideals of the Islamic Revolution, our beloved land Iran, sovereignty, national interests, and the brave Iranian nation until the last breath and to the death.”

The meeting marked the second in-person meeting involving the supreme leader in recent days, according to the statement.

Iran’s army warned on Sunday that countries adhering to US sanctions against the Islamic Republic may encounter difficulties navigating the Strait of Hormuz.

Army spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia made the remarks in an interview with IRNA published on Sunday, days after a failed US military campaign aimed at reopening the strategic waterway.

“Countries that comply with the US in imposing sanctions against Iran will definitely face problems passing through the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.

Iran closed the Strait following the February 28 US-Israeli strikes and intensified controls last month after President Donald Trump imposed a blockade on Iranian vessels and ports, violating a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire that began on April 8.

The US launched “Project Freedom” on Monday to reopen the strait, but abandoned the move within 24 hours after encountering strong Iranian resistance.

“The Americans tried to break our control by escorting destroyers, but Iranian forces’ steadfast response forced them to withdraw,” Akraminia said, adding that Iran now enforces a legal and security system requiring all vessels to coordinate with Tehran.

He asserted that the 40-day US-Israeli aggression failed to disrupt Iran’s political balance, instead strengthening national unity, and warned that new measures await any future miscalculations by the enemy.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday morning received a telephone call from Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Jassim Al Thani, during which the two leaders discussed the evolving regional situation and ongoing peace efforts in the region.

During their warm and cordial conversation, both leaders exchanged views on recent developments and reviewed progress regarding peace initiatives aimed at promoting regional stability.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed Pakistan’s sincere appreciation for Qatar’s continued and steadfast support for Pakistan’s peace initiatives, reaffirming the strong brotherly relations between the two countries.

Both sides underscored the importance of constructive engagement by all parties to ensure the success of ongoing peace efforts and maintain regional harmony.

Prime Minister Shehbaz conveyed his warm regards to Amir of Qatar His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and said he was looking forward to the Amir’s upcoming visit to Pakistan.

He said the visit of the Qatari Amir would further strengthen and expand the enduring partnership and bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Qatar.

Israel set up a clandestine military outpost in the Iraqi desert to support its air campaign against ​Iran and launched air strikes against Iraqi troops who ‌nearly discovered it, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter, including US officials.

Israel built the installation, ​which housed special forces and served as a ​logistical hub for the Israeli air force, with the ⁠knowledge of the US just before the start of ​the US-Israeli war against Iran, the newspaper said.

It also included ​search-and-rescue teams positioned to assist any downed Israeli pilots, the Journal said.

Reuters could not independently verify the report.

There was no immediate ​response from the Israeli prime minister’s office to a ​Reuters request for comment.

The base was almost discovered in early March after ‌Iraqi ⁠state media said a local shepherd reported unusual military activity, including helicopter movements in the area.

Iraqi troops were dispatched to investigate, but Israeli forces used air strikes to keep ​them at a ​distance and ⁠prevent the site from being discovered, the paper said, citing one of the sources.

The ​Journal cited a complaint filed with the United ​Nations ⁠later in March in which Iraq said the attack involved foreign forces and airstrikes and attributed it to the US.

⁠The ​WSJ cited a person familiar with ​the matter as saying the United States was not involved in the ​attack.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Miami and discussed the evolving situation in the Middle East.

The meeting underscored Qatar’s role as a key intermediary for Washington as it awaited Tehran’s response to a proposed peace plan.

“The Secretary expressed appreciation for Qatar’s partnership on a range of issues,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement.

“The Secretary and the Foreign Minister also discussed US support for Qatar’s defence, and the importance of continued close coordination to deter threats and promote stability and security across the Middle East.”

Rubio had earlier indicated that Washington expected a response from Iran within hours, but as of Saturday, there were no signs of progress on the proposal, which aims to formally end the war before addressing more contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme.

The meeting in Miami comes as Qatar continues to facilitate dialogue between the warring parties.

A Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker was reported sailing toward the strait on Saturday en route to Pakistan, in what sources described as a confidence-building move approved by Iran.

If completed, it would be the first transit of a Qatari LNG vessel through the strait since the conflict began.

Rubio emphasised the importance of continued cooperation with Qatar to maintain regional stability and security, though the statement did not specifically mention Iran.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy has issued a stern warning that any attacks on its oil tankers or commercial vessels will prompt a “heavy assault” on US bases and naval assets in the region, as a fragile ceasefire between the two nations shows signs of strain.

The warning, reported by Iranian state television, comes a day after the United States targeted two Iranian oil tankers, raising questions about the stability of the month-old ceasefire the US maintains is still in effect.

The US military stated the tankers were attempting to bypass its blockade of Iranian ports.

In a separate statement, Brigadier General Seyyed Majid Mousavi, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force, declared that Iran’s advanced missiles and drones are fully prepared to strike US targets and enemy vessels across the Persian Gulf, awaiting only the order to fire.

“The missiles and aerospace drones are locked on the enemy, and we are waiting for the firing order,” he said on social media Saturday evening.

The announcement follows a series of recent confrontations in the region.

After US forces conducted strikes on Iranian vessels near Jask, the IRGC navy reportedly executed a swift counterattack using anti-ship ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and high-explosive drones. According to Iranian sources, the strikes inflicted substantial damage on US assets, forcing the vessels to retreat.

Authorities reported eight people killed in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Saturday, with more raids targeting a highway south of Beirut outside Hezbollah’s traditional strongholds and far from the centre of ongoing fighting.

The fresh attacks came in spite of a three-week-old ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah that has done little to halt daily exchanges of fire, mostly in south Lebanon.

Hezbollah said on Saturday that it had targeted troops in northern Israel with a drone 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.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA), meanwhile, reported a series of Israeli strikes across the south, including one on the town of Saksakiyeh.

The health ministry said that raid “resulted in an initial toll of seven martyrs, including a girl, and 15 wounded, including three children”.

The ministry reported that another Israeli strike on a motorbike in the city of Nabatieh hit “a Syrian national and his 12-year-old daughter”.

“After they managed to move away from the site of the first strike, the drone attacked a second time,” killing the father, the ministry said, adding the drone then targeted the girl “directly for a third time”.

The girl was undergoing life-saving surgery, it added.

Israel’s military had called on residents of nine villages to evacuate, saying it would act “forcefully” against Hezbollah, though neither of the two locations of the fatal strikes were included in the warnings.

NNA also reported that the “Israeli enemy launched two strikes on the Saadiyat highway”, referring to a location around 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Beirut. It later reported a third strike nearby.

An AFP correspondent saw two destroyed cars and emergency workers along the road, which links Beirut with southern Lebanon.

‘A new phase’

Under the terms of the ceasefire released by Washington, Israel reserves the right to act against “planned, imminent or ongoing attacks”.

Earlier on Saturday, its military said it had struck more than 85 Hezbollah infrastructure sites in the past 24 hours.

Israeli troops are also operating inside an Israeli-declared “yellow line”, running around 10 kilometres (six miles) inside Lebanon along the border, where residents have been warned not to return.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah on Saturday warned of “a new phase, in which the resistance (Hezbollah) will not accept a return to pre-March 2”.

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East conflict on March 2 when it launched rockets at Israel to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in US-Israeli strikes.

Even before then, Israel had carried out regular strikes targeting the group — accusing it of seeking to rearm — despite a 2024 ceasefire intended to end the last war between the foes.

Until March, Hezbollah had largely refrained from firing back.

“When it attacks our villages and suburbs, the enemy must expect a response, and this is what the resistance is doing,” Fadlallah said, alluding to an Israeli attack this week on Beirut’s southern suburbs that it said killed a Hezbollah commander.

In addition to its drone attack in northern Israel, Hezbollah on Saturday also claimed attacks on Israeli military targets inside Lebanon using rockets and drones.

Lebanese and Israeli representatives are set to hold a fresh round of direct talks in Washington next week.

A first meeting was held days before US President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire in Lebanon, and the second round was held as he announced a three-week extension.

Fadlallah said the meetings amounted to a “path of concessions”, reiterating his party’s call for the government to withdraw in favour of indirect talks.

Bahrain’s interior ministry said on Saturday that the country’s security services had dismantled an organisation accused of links to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and arrested 41 of its suspected members.

Sunni-ruled Bahrain, which has a large Shia population and houses a major US military base, was hard-hit by Iranian attacks on the Gulf, launched in response to US and Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic.

“In accordance with previous investigations carried out by the prosecutor’s office in cases of espionage on behalf of foreign entities and sympathy for Iranian aggression, the security services dismantled an organisation linked to the Revolutionary Guards,” the ministry said in a statement, referring to Iran’s ideological army.

The ministry added that 41 people had been arrested.

Human rights activist Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei said earlier on X that authorities had carried out “arrests against some of the country’s most prominent Shia religious figures”.

“This move is unprecedented and has not occurred on this scale even during the peak of the 2011 repression,” said Alwadaei of London-based NGO Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD).

In 2011, protests demanding an elected government rocked the Gulf nation, sparking a crackdown on dissent.

The ruling family accused Tehran of having trained and supported the demonstrators in order to overthrow it, which the Islamic Republic denied.

Since the Middle East war began, Bahrain has cracked down on those expressing support or sympathy for Tehran.

Human Rights Watch said in March that dozens had been arrested.

Last month, the kingdom stripped 69 people of citizenship for expressing support for Tehran, and on Thursday its parliament expelled three MPs who opposed a royal decree on citizenship cases.

Iran’s football federation said on Saturday that the men’s national team will take part in the 2026 World Cup this summer, but demanded that joint hosts the United States, Mexico and Canada agree to its conditions amid the Middle East war.

The call comes after Canada refused entry to the federation’s chief last month before the FIFA Congress because of his links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the ideological arm of Iran’s military, which it designated as a terror group in 2024.

Iran’s presence at the tournament, which will take place between June 11 and July 19, has been shrouded in uncertainty since the eruption of war in the Middle East in February following strikes by the United States and Israel.

“We will definitely participate in the 2026 World Cup, but the hosts must take our concerns into account,” the Iranian federation said on its official website.

“We will participate in the World Cup tournament, but without any retreat from our beliefs, culture, and convictions.”

The Iranian football federation (FFIRI) president Mehdi Taj told state TV on Friday that Tehran has 10 conditions for attending the global spectacle, seeking assurances over the country’s treatment.

The conditions include visas being granted and respect for the national team staff, the team’s flag and its national anthem during the tournament, as well as demands for high security at airports, hotels and routes to the stadiums where they will play.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has insisted that Iran’s footballers would be welcome at the tournament.

But he warned that the US may yet bar entry to members of the Iranian delegation with ties to the IRGC, which it also designates as a terrorist organisation.

“All players and technical staff, especially those who have served their military service in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or IRGC, such as Mehdi Taremi and Ehsan Hajsafi, should be granted visas without any problems,” said Iranian football chief Taj.

FIFA chief Gianni Infantino has reiterated that Iran will play their World Cup games in the United States as scheduled.

Iran, who are due to be based in Tucson, Arizona, during the World Cup, face New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt in Group G.

The Iranians open their World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15.

“No external power can deprive Iran of its participation in a cup to which it has qualified with merit,” the Iranian federation said on Saturday.

The UK will send a destroyer to the Middle East ahead of any international mission to help protect shipping in the key Strait of Hormuz, its defence ministry said Saturday.

“The pre-positioning of HMS Dragon is part of prudent planning that will ensure that the UK is ready, as part of a multinational coalition jointly led by the UK and France, to secure the strait, when conditions allow,” a ministry spokesperson told AFP.

Britain and France said last month that military plans to secure the Strait of Hormuz were coming together and would succeed in restoring trade flows through the vital passage.

The MoD said deploying HMS Dragon would strengthen the confidence of commercial shipping and support mine clearance efforts once hostilities end.

At a two-day meeting in London in April involving more than 44 countries, military planners discussed the practicalities of a multinational mission led by the UK and France to protect navigation in the key waterway.

Some 40 countries are understood to have agreed to participate in plans for the mission to free up navigation in Hormuz.

Before the US-Israel war on Iran started on February 28, about a fifth of the world’s oil was shipped through the strait.

But that has dwindled in past months. Iran largely closed the strait, throwing global markets into turmoil and driving up oil prices. The US later imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports in response.

On Saturday Iran questioned the seriousness of American diplomacy to bring about a ceasefire in the wake of renewed naval clashes in the Gulf region.

In an incident on Friday, a US fighter jet fired on and disabled two Iranian-flagged tankers that Washington accused of challenging its naval blockade of Iran’s ports. The US action prompted Iranian retaliatory attacks.

It came after a flare-up overnight Thursday to Friday in the strait, where Iran is seeking to extract tolls from foreign vessels and wield economic leverage over the US and its allies.

Iran’s oil infrastructure may be the source of a suspected slick off a key island export terminal, but satellite images showed it was “much reduced” Saturday, an environmental group said.

Satellite images in past days appeared to show an oil slick spreading off the coast of the Islamic Republic’s Kharg Island.

It was not immediately clear what had caused the apparent spill off the west coast of the small Gulf island.

“The cause and origin of the slick remain unknown and cannot be determined conclusively from the available imagery alone,” a UK-based non-governmental organisation, the Conflict and Environment Observatory, told AFP.

“While offshore infrastructure in the wider area could be a potential source, we are unable to identify a definitive point of origin or attribute the spill to a specific cause at this time,” said Leon Moreland from the observatory.

But he added “the slick appears visually consistent with oil based on analysis” of imagery from the Copernicus Data Space browser.

Some media reports, including by Fox News, suggested Iran’s oil storage facilities may be coming under strain as a US naval blockade disrupts the country’s ability to export or store crude.

Moussa Ahmadi, head of the Iranian parliament’s energy commission, told ISNA news agency on Saturday there was “no official report so far confirming” that Iran’s oil facility was leaking due to strained storage facilities.

“Production in various oil fields in the country continues incessantly and without any problem,” he said.

Earlier, Jafar Pourkabgani, a lawmaker representing the coastal city of Bushehr, dismissed the reports as “false”.

“The stains observed in satellite images around the resilient Kharg Island are related to oil and ballast water waste from oil tankers, which was dumped into the sea by a European oil tanker to the detriment of the environment,” he said, according to state television.

Moreland said there was “no obvious evidence of additional active spills around the island, although the earlier slick can still be observed moving south”.

Copernicus images on Saturday appeared to show that the suspected slick was “much reduced” from the first pictures seen on Wednesday, the observatory added.

It put the spread of the original slick at about 44 square kilometres (17 square miles).

But Orbital EOS, which monitors oil spills, told The New York Times the spill appeared to cover more than 20 square miles (52 square kilometres) as of Thursday.

Kharg Island is at the heart of Iran’s oil export industry, a lynchpin of the country’s battered economy. It sits off Iran’s Gulf coast, hundreds of kilometres northwest of the narrow, strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Iran largely closed the strait at the start of its conflict with the United States and Israel on February 28. The United States has since imposed a blockade of Iranian ports. Many tankers are stranded in the area as a result of both blockades.

Iran questioned the seriousness of American diplomacy on Saturday in the wake of renewed naval clashes in the Gulf, while keeping Washington waiting for a response to its latest negotiating position.

US President Donald Trump had said on Friday that he was expecting Iran’s response to Washington’s latest proposal for a deal to extend a fragile truce and launch peace talks — “supposedly tonight”.

But if Iran did send Pakistani mediators a response, there was no public sign of it, and Tehran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called into question the reliability of the US leadership in a call with his Turkish counterpart.

“The recent escalation of tensions by American forces in the Persian Gulf and their numerous actions in violating the ceasefire have added to suspicions about the motivation and seriousness of the American side in the path of diplomacy,” he said, according to an Iranian account of the call published by the ISNA news agency.

In an incident on Friday, a US fighter jet fired on and disabled two Iranian-flagged tankers that Washington accused of challenging its naval blockade of Iran’s ports.

An Iranian military official told local media the country’s navy had responded “to American terrorism with strikes” and that “the clashes have now ceased”.

The latest incident came after a previous flare-up overnight Thursday to Friday in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital international sea lane that Iran is seeking to control to extract tolls from foreign vessels and wield economic leverage over the US and its allies.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated on Friday that it was “unacceptable” for Tehran to control the key oil route.

Washington has sent Iran, via Pakistani mediators, a proposal to extend the truce in the Gulf to allow for talks on a final settlement of the conflict launched 10 weeks ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Friday that the proposal was still “under review”, according to ISNA.

Oil slick

Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, met with US Vice President JD Vance in Washington on Friday and discussed the Pakistani-led efforts to broker a permanent peace.

Iran has attacked sites in Qatar during the war, pointing to the wealthy emirate’s role as the host of a major US air base.

Meanwhile, satellite images have shown that an oil slick is spreading off the coast of Iran’s Kharg Island, a key oil export terminal for the Islamic republic.

It was not immediately clear what had caused the apparent spill, which was off the island’s west coast and appeared to cover more than 20 square miles (52 square kilometres), according to global monitor Orbital EOS.

A UK-based non-governmental organisation, the Conflict and Environment Observatory, told AFP that by Saturday the slick was “much reduced”, and may have been caused by leaking oil infrastructure.

Kharg Island is at the heart of Iran’s oil export industry, a lynchpin of its battered economy, and lies in the Gulf far north of the narrow Strait of Hormuz.

Following the start of the war on February 28, Iran largely closed the strait, throwing global markets into turmoil and driving up oil prices. The US later imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports in response.

On Sunday, Trump announced a US naval operation designed to reopen the strait to commercial shipping, only to abandon it on Tuesday in favour of a return to negotiations.

Saudi sources told AFP the kingdom had refused permission for the US military to use its bases and airspace for the Hormuz operation, with one saying Riyadh “felt it would just escalate the situation and would not work”.

Lebanon front

A parallel ceasefire in Lebanon is also under strain.

Lebanese state media reported three strikes south of Beirut on Saturday despite a three-week-old ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.

An AFP correspondent saw two stricken cars and emergency workers in attendance along a highway that links Beirut with the country’s south, 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the capital.

The strikes come as Lebanon and Israel, officially at war since 1948, are to hold direct negotiations in Washington next week, which Hezbollah vehemently opposes.

The US and Iran appeared no closer on Saturday to finding an end ​to their war after the two sides traded fire in the Gulf amid a tenuous ceasefire, while a US intelligence analysis concluded Tehran could ‌withstand a naval blockade for months.

Recent days have seen the biggest flare-ups in fighting in and around the Strait of Hormuz since a ceasefire began a month ago, and the United Arab Emirates came under renewed attack on Friday.

Washington has been awaiting Tehran’s response to a US proposal that would formally end the war before talks on more contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear program.

Speaking in Rome ​on Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US was expecting a response that day, although an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said Tehran was ​still weighing its response.

Clashes test ceasefire

Sporadic clashes continued on Friday between Iranian forces and US vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, ⁠Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported.

The Tasnim news agency later cited an Iranian military source saying the situation had calmed but warning more clashes were possible.

The US ​military said it struck two Iran-linked vessels attempting to enter an Iranian port, with a US fighter jet hitting their smokestacks and forcing them to turn back.

Tehran has ​largely blocked non-Iranian shipping through the strait since the war began with US-Israeli airstrikes across Iran on February 28.

Before the war, one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passed through the narrow waterway.

The US imposed a blockade on Iranian vessels last month.

But a CIA assessment indicated Iran would not suffer severe economic pressure from a US blockade of Iranian ports for about another four ​months, according to a US official familiar with the matter, raising questions over President Donald Trump’s leverage over Tehran in a conflict that has been unpopular with voters and ​US allies.

A senior intelligence official characterised as false the “claims” about the CIA analysis, which was first reported by the Washington Post.

Clashes extended beyond the waterway.

The UAE said its air defences ‌engaged with ⁠two ballistic missiles and three drones from Iran on Friday, with three people sustaining moderate injuries.

Iran has repeatedly targeted the UAE and other Gulf states that host US military bases.

In what the UAE called a major escalation, Iran stepped up attacks this week in response to Trump’s announcement of “Project Freedom” to escort ships in the strait, which he paused after 48 hours.

Trump said on Thursday the ceasefire, announced on April 7, was still holding despite the flare-ups, while Iran accused the US of breaching it.

“Every ​time a diplomatic solution is on the ​table, the U.S. opts for a ⁠reckless military adventure,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday.

Iran’s Mehr news agency reported that one crew member was killed, 10 wounded and six missing after a US navy attack on an Iranian commercial ship late on Thursday.

US pursues diplomacy

The US has found little international support in the conflict.

After meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Rubio questioned ​why Italy and other ⁠allies were not backing Washington’s efforts to reopen the strait, warning of a dangerous precedent if Tehran were allowed to control an international waterway.

While pursuing diplomacy, the US also ratcheted up sanctions to pressure Iran.

Days before Trump travels to China to meet President Xi Jinping, 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.

Treasury said in a statement it was prepared to act against any foreign company supporting illicit Iranian commerce and could impose secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions, including those connected to China’s independent ​oil refineries.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to depart for China on an official visit on May 23, sources said on Saturday.

The sources said during the May 23 to May 25 visit, the prime minister will hold meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Chinese prime minister.

The visit, considered highly significant given the current regional situation, will include consultations on the ongoing US-Iran conflict and its implications.

Several bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoUs) are also expected to be signed during the trip.

Cabinet ministers and senior officials will accompany the prime minister.

In addition, he will participate in the 75th-anniversary celebrations of Pakistan-China friendship, the sources added.

The sources highlighted that the trip aims to further strengthen bilateral cooperation and deepen strategic ties between the two countries amid evolving regional challenges.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has reportedly captured an oil tanker in a “special operation” in the Gulf of Oman, while the United States said it disabled two tankers attempting to enter Iranian ports.

The incidents came hours after the US and Iran exchanged fire in the Strait of Hormuz, threatening the fragile ceasefire and ongoing efforts to negotiate a lasting truce.

In a statement carried by Fars News Agency, an IRGC spokesperson said the Ocean Koi was seized for attempting to “disrupt oil exports and the interests of the Iranian nation.”

State-run Press TV released footage showing Iranian forces boarding the vessel, which is registered in Barbados, according to MarineTraffic.

Separately, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces disabled two Iranian-flagged tankers trying to access ports in the Gulf of Oman.

CENTCOM commander Admiral Bradley Cooper said US troops remain “committed to full enforcement of the blockade of vessels entering or leaving Iran.”

Earlier Friday, both sides exchanged fire in the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump said Iran had attacked three US Navy destroyers, while Iran’s top joint military command accused Washington of violating the truce by targeting an Iranian tanker and another ship, leaving 10 sailors wounded and five missing.

The Iranian command also claimed US air strikes hit civilian areas on Qeshm Island and said it retaliated by striking US vessels east of the strait and south of Chabahar port.

Trump later downplayed the exchange as a “love tap,” denying any breach of the current pause in fighting.