Middle East roundup: Iran says US committed ‘gross violation’ of ceasefire agreement

This live blog follows the latest developments across the Middle East crisis, including regional diplomacy, maritime security, ceasefire negotiations, and economic fallout.

Catch up: Yesterday’s top developments

• Tehran calls on Baghdad to ensure Iraqi territory not used to threaten Iran

• Iran accuses US of violating ceasefire over past 48 hours

• Strikes hit south Lebanon city as Israel expands ground operations
• Khamenei says US regional influence declining
• Iran says over 1,500 schools damaged during recent conflict

US reimposes sanctions on UN expert on Palestinians

Published: May 27, 2026 | 22:12 GMT | by Web Desk

The United States on Wednesday reimposed sanctions on Francesca Albanese, a UN expert on the Palestinian territories who has harshly criticized Israel, after an appeals court overruled an earlier order prohibiting the action.

A notice on the Treasury Department's website showed that it had reimposed a sanctions designation on Albanese that blacklists her globally, making it impossible for her to use major credit cards or carry out bank transacti

ons.

Hezbollah says it carried out 37 attacks on Israeli forces in southern Lebanon

Published: May 27, 2026 | 21:12 GMT | by Web Desk

Hezbollah says it launched 37 military operations on Wednesday against Israeli forces inside southern Lebanon.

The group stated that its fighters targeted Israeli troops, vehicles, and engineering equipment across multiple locations, focusing heavily on the towns of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah and Odaisseh, as well as positions near Naqoura, Debel and Rab el-Thalathine.

Oil prices continue to slide as investors monitor US-Iran negotiations

Published: May 27, 2026 | 20:45 GMT | by Web Desk

Oil prices have fallen more than 5% as investors await updates on a framework of a US-Iran deal to end their conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reported.

Brent crude futures have dropped to $94.29 a barrel, while US oil futures have fallen to $88.68 a barrel.

Both benchmarks touched their lowest in a month earlier on Wednesday and settled at their lowest since April 17. The losses more than erased Brent’s gains from Tuesday.

Israel kills chief of Hamas armed wing in Gaza strike

Published: May 27, 2026 | 20:03 GMT | by AFP

Israel said on Wednesday it had killed the new head of Hamas's armed wing in Gaza, Mohammed Odeh, after killing his predecessor earlier this month, despite an ongoing ceasefire.

In a joint statement, the Israeli military and the Shin Bet domestic security agency said Odeh died on Tuesday, saying he had been appointed head of the brigades after the May 15 killing of Ezzedine al-Haddad.

Trump claims ‘nobody’s going to control’ the Strait of Hormuz

Published: May 27, 2026 | 17:59 GMT | by Web Desk

Speaking to reporters after the cabinet meeting, US President Donald Trump said no one will control the Strait of Hormuz.

“We’ll watch over ⁠it, but nobody’s ⁠going to control it,” Trump added, “that’s part of ⁠the negotiation ⁠that we ⁠have.”

Iran's president appreciates Pakistan's peace efforts

Published: May 27, 2026 | 17:01 GMT | by Web Desk

During a telephonic call between Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian and Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pezeshkian appreciated Pakistan's role in mediating the conflict, according to a statement from the Pakistani prime minister's office.

"The Iranian president expressed his profound gratitude to the Prime Minister and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir for Pakistan’s important role in the efforts to bring peace to the region," the statement said.

Trump says US 'not satisfied yet' on deal with Iran

Published: May 27, 2026 | 16:10 GMT | by AFP

US President Donald Trump said that “Iran very much wanted to make a deal, but that the US is not satisfied with it yet," while addressing a cabinet meeting at the White House. 

In the same meeting, Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated that Iran cannot and will not have nuclear weapons.

Israel strikes near south Lebanon's Tyre

Published: May 27, 2026 | 15:40 GMT | by AFP

Strikes hit the outskirts of the south Lebanon city of Tyre on Wednesday, state media and an AFP correspondent reported, after the Israeli army issued an evacuation warning for swathes of the city and its surroundings.

The state-run National News Agency (NNA) said that "Israeli enemy warplanes launched a strike on the outskirts of Tyre", also reporting another raid near the city despite a ceasefire. An AFP correspondent in Tyre also reported at least one strike in the city's vicinity.

Israeli army issues evacuation order for south Lebanon's Tyre city, surrounding areas

Published: May 27, 2026 | 13:55 GMT | by AFP

The Israeli army issued an evacuation warning on Wednesday for residents of the city of Tyre in south Lebanon and the surrounding areas, saying it was about to strike Hezbollah targets there.

"Urgent warning to the residents of the city of Tyre and the surrounding camps and neighborhoods as shown on the map,” Avichay Adraee, the Israeli army's Arabic-language spokesperson, wrote on X, attaching a map of the Tyre region with some localities highlighted.

Oil prices drop 5% on US-Iran optimism

Published: May 27, 2026 | 12:33 GMT | by AFP

Oil prices plunged Wednesday on rekindled hopes for progress in US-Iran talks aimed at ending the war in the Middle East.

Brent North Sea crude, the international benchmark, fell five percent to $94.61 a barrel, while the main US contract, WTI, tumbled 5.9 percent to $88.31 a barrel.

Iran turns to land borders, northern ports

Published: May 27, 2026 | 06:33 GMT | by Web Desk

Iran was relying on land borders and northern ports to maintain trade flows amid the US naval blockade in the south, the economy minister said on Wednesday.

Ali Madanizadeh said land crossings and ports on Iran’s northern coast were part of the government’s plan to keep imports, exports and supply chains moving.

Iran Guards official says 'low' possibility of renewed war with US

Published: May 27, 2026 | 04:33 GMT | by AFP

An Iranian Revolutionary Guards official said on Wednesday that renewed war with the United States was unlikely but warned that Iran stood ready against any attack.

"The possibility of war is low because of the enemy's weakness, the armed forces are lying in wait with full magazines," said Mohammad Akbarzadeh, deputy political chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, was quoted by Tasnim news agency as saying.

"Do not doubt that we will turn the area from Chabahar to Mahshahr into a graveyard for aggressors," he said, naming places at each end of Iran's lengthy southern coast.

Pakistan FM, UN chief discuss Middle East diplomacy

Published: May 27, 2026 | 03:57 GMT | by Web Desk

Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York, discussing regional developments and Pakistan’s efforts to promote dialogue and diplomacy for lasting peace and stability in the Middle East.

According to the Foreign Office, the two leaders also exchanged views on a range of international issues including UN Security Council reforms, the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, Afghanistan and Palestine.

The statement said Secretary-General Guterres appreciated Pakistan’s “active engagement and contributions to international peace and security” as well as its support for the broader United Nations agenda.

Gazans mark a dark Eid

Published: May 27, 2026 | 02:06 GMT | by AFP

New clothes for children, sacrificial sheep and Eid biscuits, the hallmarks of the Muslim holiday, are all either unaffordable or unavailable in Gaza, casting a shadow over what is usually a time of celebration and joy.

"I go to the market only to look around because I cannot afford to buy anything. Whenever I ask about prices, I return heartbroken," Nadia Abu Shamala, a Palestinian resident of Gaza, told AFP.

New strikes threaten ceasefires in Iran, Lebanon

Published: May 27, 2026 | 00:15 GMT | by AFP

Tehran on Tuesday accused Washington of breaching their ceasefire and warned it was ready to retaliate after overnight US strikes, while Israeli bombardment in Lebanon left dozens dead, threatening an increasingly fragile truce there.

The Brent benchmark oil price jumped up by more than three percent after US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the new wave of bombings targeting Iranian missile sites and mine-laying boats, while China urged both sides to respect the truce and to resolve their dispute peacefully.

Iranian state media reported overnight blasts in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, near the Strait of Hormuz, and the country's Revolutionary Guards said its forces had downed a US drone entering its airspace and had fired at an F-35 fighter jet.

"The US terrorist army, continuing its illegal and unjustified actions since the ceasefire...has, in the past 48 hours, committed a gross violation of the ceasefire in the Hormozgan region," the Iranian foreign ministry said.

It added that Tehran "will not leave any evil unanswered and will not hesitate to defend the Iranian nation," without elaborating.

Lebanon says Israeli strikes kill 31 on Tuesday

Published: May 26, 2026 | 23:13 GMT | by AFP

Lebanon said Israeli strikes on the country's south killed 31 people on Tuesday, as Israel said it was intensifying attacks despite a truce in its war with Hezbollah.

In a statement, the health ministry said 31 people, including at least four children and three women, were killed in attacks and 40 wounded. Fourteen were killed in Burj al-Shamali near Tyre.

Casualties rise as Israeli strikes hit Gaza City, Khan Younis

Published: May 26, 2026 | 01:52 GMT | by AFP

 The death toll from Israeli air strikes on the Remal neighbourhood west of Gaza City has risen to four, according to a source at al-Shifa Hospital.

Ongoing Israeli artillery shelling is also targeting areas in the city of Khan Younis, as well as the Bureij and Jabalia camps, according to the report.

This follows separate reports of Israeli attacks across several areas of the enclave on Tuesday, which killed 11 people.

Tehran calls on Baghdad to ensure Iraqi territory not used to threaten Iran

Published: May 26, 2026 | 23:52 GMT | by AFP

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reports that the deputy secretary of Tehran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Bagheri Kani, called on Baghdad to take action to ensure that Iraqi territory and airspace are not used to threaten or attack Iran.

According to the report, Bagheri Kani said that the roots of such threats must be eliminated, adding that Iran remains ready to engage in active cooperation with Iraq to address the issue.

The remarks were made during a meeting with Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji on the sidelines of the 14th Moscow International Security Conference.