US-Iran news LIVE: Trump said that US will wait for Tehran’s response for a ‘few days’

US-Iran news LIVE: Israel’s army chief Lieutenant Colonel Eyal Zamir on Wednesday said the military was at its highest alert level, as Tehran and Washington traded threats of war.

“At this moment, the IDF (military) is on the highest level of alert and prepared for any development,” Zamir said at a meeting of all division commanders, according to a statement issued by the military.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had earlier warned that the war would expand beyond the region if the US and Israel resumed attacks, after President Donald Trump said he would strike again unless Tehran agreed a peace deal.

US-Iran news LIVE: Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Wednesday praised Donald Trump’s decision to “give diplomacy a chance” after the US president announced earlier that he had called off planned strikes on Iran.

The minister wrote on social media that the kingdom “highly appreciates the US President Donald Trump’s decision to give diplomacy a chance to reach an acceptable agreement to end the war”.

The minister added that Saudi Arabia remained supportive of ongoing mediation efforts carried out by Pakistan and urged Iran to seize “the opportunity to avoid the dangerous implications of escalation”.

US-Iran news LIVE: The White House says Trump will be at the June 15-17 meeting in Evian-les-Bains, in the French Alps.

The war in Iran promises to be a major point of contention, as Trump has said US allies haven’t done enough to help open the Strait of Hormuz.

But Trump also wants to use discussions to reframe development conversations so they can better focus on investment partnerships that benefit investors as well as recipient nations, the White House says.

He’ll further seek to promote global innovation around artificial intelligence development, boost critical mineral supply chain resilience and strengthen international actions against drug smuggling and further tougher immigration policies. And Trump will use the meeting to promote US energy exports, the White House says.

US-Iran news LIVE: US President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews near Washington, DC, said: “I’m in for three months and much of it’s been ceasefire.”

“We’re going to give this one shot. I’m in no hurry,” he said.

He then said that the US “has essentially taken over” Iran.

US-Iran news LIVE: Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Wednesday said the United States was seeking to restart the war and still hoped the Islamic republic would surrender.

“The enemy’s movements, both overt and clandestine, show that despite economic and political pressure, it has not abandoned its military objectives and is seeking to start a new war,” Ghalibaf said in an audio message carried by Iranian media.

“Close monitoring of the situation in the United States reinforces the possibility that they still hope for the surrender of the Iranian nation,” he said.

US-Iran news LIVE: Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said, “We’re going to give this one shot. I’m in no hurry. You never think, oh, the midterms, I’m in a hurry. I’m in no hurry.”

He added, “Ideally, I’d like to see a few people killed as opposed to a lot. We could do it either way, but I’d like to see a few people killed. I just wonder whether or not they have the good of the people because some of the things they’re doing to me mean they don’t have the good of the people, and they have to have the good of the people.”

US-Iran news LIVE: The UAE demanded on Wednesday that Iraq “immediately” prevent further attacks from its territory, following an accusation by the Emirates that a drone targeting a nuclear plant was launched from there.

The foreign ministry in a statement called on “Iraq to prevent all hostile acts originating from its territory urgently and without conditions”, saying there was a “need to address those threats promptly, immediately, and responsibly”.

On Sunday, an unclaimed drone attack struck an electrical generator near the Arab world’s only nuclear power plant in Barakah in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, triggering a fire but causing no injuries or radiation leak. Two other drones were intercepted.

(With AFP inputs)

US-Iran news LIVE: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards navy said on Wednesday that 26 vessels, including oil tankers, container ships and other commercial vessels, transited the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours in coordination with Iran, state media reported.

The IRGC navy added that transit through the waterway was ongoing, with permits obtained and coordination carried out with the force.

US-Iran news LIVE: UAE ADNOC chief executive Sultan Al Jaber said on Wednesday the country had moved ahead in 2025 with plans for a new pipeline designed to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, and the project was now already 50% complete.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed directed the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) to fast-track the West-East Pipeline project during an executive committee meeting, ADMO said, adding the pipeline is under construction and expected to start operating next year.

US-Iran news LIVE: Italy’s government said on Tuesday that Israel’s treatment of Flotilla activists trying to take aid to Gaza was unacceptable and that it would summon the Israeli ambassador for an explanation.

A strongly worded statement by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Italy “demands an apology for the treatment” of the activists and the “total disrespect” for the Italian government’s requests.

US-Iran news LIVE: Iran has not decided yet whether its foreign minister will take part in a United Nations Security Council meeting on May 26, ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told ISNA on Wednesday.

“Considering China’s rotating presidency of the UN Security Council and its plan to hold a special meeting of foreign ministers on issues related to international peace and security, our country’s foreign minister has also been invited to participate in this meeting.”, Baghaei said.

US-Iran news LIVE: A South Korean oil tanker safely transited the Strait of Hormuz, the country’s foreign ministry said Wednesday, marking the first passage by a South Korean vessel through the waterway since the Iran war began.

One South Korean oil tanker “transited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, May 20, and is continuing its voyage,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

“Approximately 10 South Korean crew members are on board the vessel.”

The announcement followed earlier comments by Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, who told the National Assembly that the tanker was “passing through” the strategic waterway at the time of his remarks.

“It is the first South Korea-flagged ship to pass through the Strait of Hormuz since the Iran war began,” a foreign ministry official told AFP earlier.

US-Iran news LIVE: Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei marked the second anniversary of former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s death by urging officials across the Islamic Republic to strengthen what he described as service, unity and continuity in governance.

The most significant part of his message focused on the ongoing war, where he said Iran was facing what he called a historic resistance against “two global terrorist armies”, Iran International reported.

US-Iran news LIVE: US President Donald Trump threatened to resume strikes on Iran in the coming days as part of the push for a deal to end the war, after he said he had just called off a US attack.

“I hope we don’t have to do the war, but we may have to give them another big hit,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday. When asked how long he would wait, he said: “Well, I mean, I’m saying two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Something maybe early next week — a limited period of time.”

US-Iran news LIVE: Israel moved closer on Wednesday to a snap election after lawmakers gave an initial nod to dissolve parliament, with opinion polls showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would lose the first national vote since the 2023 Hamas attacks.

Lawmakers voted almost unanimously for an early ballot in a preliminary reading of a bill to disband the 120-seat Knesset. If it receives final approval, a process that could take weeks, Israel could hold an election several weeks ahead of an October 27 deadline.

US-Iran news LIVE: Pakistan’s interior minister headed to Iran on Wednesday for the second time this week amid an impasse between Tehran and Washington over a proposal to end the war, Iranian state media reported.

“Mohsin Naqvi travelled to Tehran to meet officials from the Islamic republic,” Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported, citing diplomatic sources in Islamabad.

Pakistan has been mediating between Iran and the United States, with Naqvi previously in Tehran on Saturday to “facilitate” the process between Tehran and Washington, according to Iranian media.

US-Iran news LIVE: The Jordanian military announced it had shot down a drone of unknown origin in its airspace on Wednesday. No casualties were reported.

“This morning, the Jordanian Armed Forces engaged with a drone of unknown origin that entered Jordanian airspace and was brought down in Jerash Governorate, without any injuries,” the military said of an area located around 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of the capital Amman.

US-Iran news LIVE: Israeli warplanes have targeted the town of Ghandouriyeh in the Bint Jbeil district, southern Lebanon, the country’s National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Another raid was launched in the area between Ghandouriyeh and Abbasiyeh in the Tyre district, and the Israeli army artillery shelled the town of Siddiqin.

US-Iran news LIVE: Activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla have been taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod after their vessel was intercepted in international waters, according to the Adalah rights group.

The organisation said participants, who were attempting to deliver humanitarian aid and challenge the blockade on Gaza, were “forcibly removed” and taken into Israeli territory against their will.

It described the incident as part of broader Israeli policies toward Gaza. The flotilla had set sail from Turkiye last week as part of renewed efforts by activists to break the maritime blockade.

US-Iran news LIVE: Iran remains under a near-total internet shutdown that has now lasted 82 days, according to internet monitoring group NetBlocks.

The disruption reportedly began shortly after the outbreak of the US-Israel war in late February and has severely limited online access nationwide. It follows an earlier 20-day blackout during anti-government protests in January.

US-Iran news LIVE: Xi Jinping told Putin that an immediate ceasefire is urgent in the US-Israeli war on Iran. Xi warned that resuming hostilities would be dangerous and spoke of the importance of continued negotiations.

Israeli forces freshly raided the occupied West Bank, arresting 20 people in Hizma, east of Jerusalem.

South Korea’s foreign minister Cho Hyun said one of their oil tankers carrying two million barrels of crude is transiting the Strait of Hormuz in coordination with Iran.

Oil prices fell after Trump suggested the Iran war could end “very quickly.”

At least 19 people were killed and 17 injured in Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon.

US-Iran news LIVE: Israeli forces carried out fresh raids across the occupied West Bank, with at least 20 people arrested in Hizma near Jerusalem, according to Wafa news agency.

More arrests were reported in areas including Nablus, Ramallah and Hebron. Israeli settlers reportedly cut electricity poles in Madama village, while army bulldozers demolished a cement factory west of Ramallah. Forces also stormed Deir Abu Daif village near Jenin.

US-Iran news LIVE: US President Donald Trump said a possible attack on Iran is currently “on hold” as tensions continue around the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has previously proposed charging tolls for ships using the key waterway, while Washington has rejected the idea and imposed a naval blockade on vessels linked to Iranian ports.

US-Iran news LIVE: El Al, Israel’s national airline, reported a first-quarter net loss of $67 million as the war on Iran disrupted commercial flights and kept Israeli airspace largely closed. The carrier said higher fuel costs and currency pressures also hit revenues, while total war-related losses reached $145 million.

US-Iran news LIVE: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have warned that the conflict could expand far beyond the Middle East if the United States resumes military attacks. Iranian military officials said Tehran would open “new fronts” using new tactics and equipment in response to any renewed aggression, while stressing that the country has strengthened its combat capabilities during the ceasefire period.