Iran said on Saturday (May 2) that it was up to the United States whether to pursue a negotiated settlement or to return to open war, but that Tehran was ready for either outcome.

“Now the ball is in the United States’ court to choose the path of diplomacy or the continuation of a confrontational approach,” deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told diplomats in Tehran, according to state broadcaster IRIB.

“Iran, with the aim of securing its national interests and security, is prepared for both paths,” he said. - AFP

Lebanese armed forces commander General ‌Rudolf Haykal and U.S. ⁠General Joseph Clearfield met in Beirut ‌to discuss the security ‌situation ‌in ⁠Lebanon and ⁠regional developments, the army said on Saturday (May 2) in ‌a statement.

Mr. Clearfield heads a committee monitoring ‌a U.S.-backed ceasefire in fighting between Israel ⁠and Iran-backed Hezbollah. The participants ‌at the meeting underlined the importance of the Lebanese army’s ‌role and the need to support it ⁠during the current phase, ⁠the statement said. - Reuters

China will not comply with U.S. sanctions against five firms targeted for purchasing Iranian oil, Beijing’s Commerce Ministry said on Saturday (May 2, 2026). China is a key customer for Iranian oil, mainly through independent “teapot” refineries that rely on discounted crude from the Islamic republic.

Representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader in India, Abdul Majeed Hakeem Ilahi on Saturday (May 2) characterised the ongoing tensions between his country and the Israel-U.S. alliance as a state of “no war, no peace”.

Calling for an immediate halt to the conflict, he said the global stability hinges on those who initiated the war.

He questioned why countries affected by the war and suffering from the energy crisis are not pressuring the U.S. and Israel to stop the aggression.

Mr. Ilahi said Iran did not want the conflict, but was compelled to respond amid continued attacks, even as negotiations were expected to continue. - PTI

Representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader in India, Abdul Majeed Hakeem Ilahi on Saturday (May 2) characterised the ongoing tensions between his country and the Israel-U.S. alliance as a state of “no war, no peace”.

Calling for an immediate halt to the conflict, he said the global stability hinges on those who initiated the war.

He questioned why countries affected by the war and suffering from the energy crisis are not pressuring the U.S. and Israel to stop the aggression.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Ilahi said Iran did not want the conflict, but was compelled to respond amid continued attacks, even as negotiations were expected to continue. - PTI

Two activists who participated in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla have been brought to Israel for questioning, the Israeli foreign ministry said on Saturday (May 4, 2026), after the vessels were intercepted by Israeli forces this week.

Spaniard Saif Abu Keshek, and Thiago Avila, a Brazilian, are now in Israel and “will be transferred for questioning by law enforcement authorities”, the Ministry said on X, adding that the two activists were affiliated with an organisation sanctioned by the U.S Treasury department. -- AFP

Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon kill at least seven people and wounded others on Saturday (May 2, 2026) as hostilities continue between Israel and Hezbollah despite a ceasefire.

The Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday (May 2, 2026) came as Israel’s military issued a new warning for residents of nine southern villages to evacuate.

Israel’s military and Lebanon’s Hezbollah have kept up their attacks despite a ceasefire in place since April 17.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported an airstrike on a car in the village of Kfar Dajal that killed 2 people, while another hit a home in the village of Lwaizeh killing three. NNA also reported a strike on the village of Shoukin that killed two people.

Israel’s military Arabic-language spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Ella Waweya, posted on X that the Israeli air force carried out about 50 airstrikes over the past 24 hours, saying that they targeted Hezbollah infrastructure and members. -- AP

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday (May 1, 2026) he was “not satisfied” with Iran’s latest proposal in negotiations to end the war between the countries, rejecting the plan almost as soon as it was delivered.

Tehran delivered the new proposal for talks with the U.S. via Pakistan, which is acting as a mediator between the two sides, even as its Revolutionary Guards warned that American warships “will burn” like U.S. bases in the region, if Iran is attacked again.

U.S. President Donald Trump warned Tehran on Wednesday (April 29, 2026) that it should “get smart soon” and capitulate to Washington’s demands for tight controls on its nuclear programme, as a U.S. naval blockade turned the screws on Iran’s economy.

The aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attack strongly tipped the scales in Israel’s priorities towards security. What began as a military response in Gaza expanded to conflicts spanning multiple fronts, including Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Iran. But with revised growth forecasts, domestic concern about the country’s finances, and surging defence expenditure, is the Israeli economy really resilient to the shocks of its intensifying operations?

When the war broke out more than two years ago, Israel’s resilience stemmed from existing macroeconomic assets such as low debt-to-GDP ratio, high foreign exchange reserves and strong trade. But reports and data show that these assets are losing their standing.

President Donald Trump has joked that the U.S. Navy will take on Cuba on the way home from Iran.

“Cuba’s got problems,” Mr. Trump said in one of several digressions in his Friday evening (May 1, 2026) speech before the non-profit Forum Club of the Palm Beaches.

An Iranian proposal so far rejected by U.S. President Donald Trump would open shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and end the U.S. blockade of Iran while leaving talks on Iran’s ‌nuclear programme for later, a senior Iranian official said.

— Reuters

NATO said it was “working” with the United States to understand Washington’s decision to slash its troops in Germany by 5,000 following a spat between the leaders of the two nations.

“We are working with the U.S. to understand the details of their decision on force posture in Germany,” the bloc’s spokesperson said on X. Read more

— AFP

Germany’s Defence Minister said the withdrawal of American troops from Germany had been expected and that Europe needed to do more to ensure its own security.

“That U.S. troops are withdrawing from Europe and also from Germany was to be expected,” Boris Pistorius said in a statement sent to AFP by his ministry. “We Europeans must take greater responsibility for our security,” he added.

The Pentagon had announced the withdrawal of about 5,000 troops from Germany within the next year, the latest rift in transatlantic ties over the West Asia war.

— AFP

The United States is warning shipping companies that they could face sanctions for making payments to Iran to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

The alert posted by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control adds another layer of pressure in the standoff between the U.S. and Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

About a fifth of the world’s trade in oil and natural gas typically passes through the strait at the mouth of the Persian Gulf in peacetime. Read more

— AP

Iran executed two men accused of spying for ⁠Israel, including one accused of gathering intelligence ‌near the Natanz nuclear ‌site ‌in ⁠central Isfahan province, ⁠Iranian media reported.

They quoted the judiciary as ‌saying Yaghoub Karimpour and Nasser Bakarzadeh were hanged after ‌being found guilty of intelligence cooperation with ⁠Israel and its spy agency, Mossad.

They ‌said Karimpour passed sensitive information to a Mossad officer, while ‌Bakarzadeh was accused of collecting details on government and ⁠religious figures and ⁠key sites, including ‌in the Natanz area. 

— Reuters

An Iranian military official said that a renewed conflict with the United States was “likely”, as peace talks remain stalled and U.S. President Donald Trump criticised Iran’s latest proposal in negotiations.

“A renewed conflict between Iran and the United States is likely, and evidence has shown that the United States is not committed to any promises or agreements,” Mohammad Jafar Asadi of the military’s central command centre, Khatam al-Anbiya, was quoted as saying by Iran’s Fars news agency.

— AFP

Eatery owners in Shimla have condemned the steep hike of ₹993 in commercial LPG cylinder prices and cautioned that it would fuel inflation, as food prices would also go up as a consequence.

“Our fear that the government may increase the LPG cylinder prices after the Assembly elections in the five States has come true. This is the second time since the start of the U.S.-Israel-Iran war that the rates have been revised. The price of a 19 kg commercial cylinder has touched ₹3,071 now,” said a local shopkeeper.

The price of a 5 kg cylinder has gone up from ₹549 to ₹810, registering a 48% increase, which would hit small consumers such as labourers and petty workers, he said.

— PTI

Summer is still a few months away, but the streets of Croatia’s old town of Dubrovnik are already teeming with tourists from all over the world. It’s usually a sign of a strong season ahead, but this year uncertainty hangs in the air.

Global instability triggered by the Iran war and surging fuel prices have brought unpredictability to the tourism industry, including in Dubrovnik, Croatia’s top Adriatic Sea destination that draws millions of visitors annually.

The stakes for Croatia’s economy are high: The tourism sector is one of the country’s key sources of income and is largely dependent on international travellers.

— AP

Iran has inflicted unprecedented damage to U.S. bases in various countries of the Gulf region, an investigative report by CNN revealed.

In Camp Buehring, Kuwait, where American soldiers had one of the biggest U.S. military hubs in the Gulf, the once-bustling American micro-city in the desert is nearly empty and heavily damaged after a weeks-long barrage of Iranian missiles and drones, CNN reported.

Kuwait was one of many U.S. military facilities in the oil-rich Arabian Peninsula targeted by Iran, even as the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran’s defence capabilities. A CNN investigation found evidence of unprecedented destruction.

— ANI

Lebanon’s health ministry said 13 people were killed in Israeli strikes in the south, including in a town where Israel’s army had issued an evacuation order despite a ceasefire.

The strikes in Habboush killed eight people, including a child and two women, and wounded 21 others, the ministry said, raising an earlier toll.

Other strikes in Zrariyeh killed four people, two of them women, and wounded four more, it said.

— AFP

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday (April 30, 2026) that the country would “safeguard” its “nuclear and missile” capabilities and lay down new rules for managing the Strait of Hormuz, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said a blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place until a nuclear deal is reached.

Hezbollah’s cheap fibre-optic drones are creating new challenges for Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, forcing the military to adapt its tactics against an increasingly lethal threat.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday (May 1, 2026) he was “not satisfied” with Iran’s latest proposal in negotiations to end war between the countries, rejecting the plan almost as soon as it was delivered.

“They want to make a deal, I’m not satisfied with it, so we’ll see what happen,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House. 

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the withdrawal of about 5,000 troops from Germany within the next year, the Pentagon said, in the latest spat with a European leader over the West Asia war.

The announcement came after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened earlier this week to remove troops from NATO ally Germany amid a row with its chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who said that Iran was “humiliating” Washington at the negotiating table.

“We expect the withdrawal to be completed over the next six to twelve months,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.

— AFP