Top U.S. diplomat Marco Rubio met Saturday (May 9, 2026) with the leader of West Asia ally Qatar, the State Department said, highlighting the Gulf state’s role as a key intermediary for Washington as it awaited Tehran’s response on a peace proposal.
Iran on Saturday said it was still reviewing the United States’ proposal linked to ongoing negotiations over the West Asia conflict and would respond “at the appropriate time”, according to a report by Al Jazeera.
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Israeli strikes across Lebanon on Saturday, killing at least nine people in the south according to authorities, with raids also targeting a highway not far from Beirut outside of Hezbollah’s traditional strongholds.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy has warned that any attack on Iranian oil tankers or commercial vessels would be met with a “heavy assault” on one of the US bases in the region and enemy ships. Iranian state TV reported the warning on Saturday, a day after the United States struck two Iranian oil tankers, while a tenuous ceasefire appeared to be holding.
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