Web Desk/AFP

This live blog follows the latest developments across the Middle East crisis, including regional diplomacy, maritime security, ceasefire negotiations, and economic fallout.<hr style="line-height: 2;">Catch up: Yesterday&rsquo;s top developments<ul style="list-style-type: square;"><li style="line-height: 2; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">US military strikes southern Iran targeting missile sites and boats &ldquo;laying mines&rdquo; in &ldquo;self-defense&rdquo;</li><li style="line-height: 2; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Explosions reported in Bandar Abbas with Iranian state media saying situation under control</li><li style="line-height: 2; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Trump proposes transferring Iran&#39;s uranium to the US or destroying it domestically under international monitoring.</li><li style="line-height: 2; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Trump conditions Iran peace deal on Saudi Arabia and Qatar normalizing relations with Israel</li><li style="line-height: 2; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Iran restores internet access suspended since February attacks began.</li><li style="line-height: 2; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hezbollah claims drone attacks on Israel while Netanyahu escalates strikes in Lebanon</li></ul><hr style="line-height: 2;"> Rubio says Iran deal still possible within days despite US strikes Published: May 26, 2026 | 2:21 GMT | by AFP US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that a deal with Iran was still possible despite new American strikes that cast doubt on their fragile ceasefire. &quot;There were some talks going on in Qatar today, so we&#39;ll see if we can make progress. I think it&#39;s a lot of talking back and forth going on about specific language in the initial document, so it&#39;ll take a few days,&quot; Rubio told reporters in Jaipur during an official visit to India. &quot;The president&#39;s expressed his desire to make it. He&#39;s either going to make a good deal or no deal,&quot; he said. <hr> WTI crude price falls over 5% despite new US strikes on Iran Published: May 26, 2026 | 00:52 GMT | by AFP The price of the main US benchmark for oil fell more than 5% on Tuesday, despite US forces launching new strikes on Iran. Around 00:30 GMT, the price of West Texas Intermediate was down 5.46% at $91.33 a barrel. However, North Sea Brent crude was up 1.6% at $97.68 a barrel. Oil prices plunged below $100 on Monday as investors raised expectations of a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, following signs that Washington and Tehran were edging closer to a deal. <hr> US CENTCOM strikes Iran as Trump urges Qatar and Saudi Arabia join Abraham Accords Published: May 26, 2026 | 00:48 GMT | by Web Desk The United States military struck southern Iran while President Donald Trump set new conditions on the ongoing peace negotiations, urging Qatar and Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel as a prerequisite for ending the conflict. The US Central Command said it targeted &ldquo;missile launch sites&rdquo; and Iranian &ldquo;boats laying mines,&rdquo; characterizing the action as &ldquo;self-defense&rdquo; during an ongoing ceasefire, according to The Guardian. Explosions were also reported in the port city of Bandar Abbas, with the Iranian state news agency Mehr stating the situation remained under control. The US President also laid out a nuclear disposal framework in a Truth Social post, proposing Iran&#39;s enriched uranium be transferred to the United States for destruction or destroyed domestically under international oversight. <hr> Canada&#39;s Carney calls treatment of Gaza flotilla activists &#39;unacceptable&#39; Published: May 26, 2026 | 00:44 GMT | by AFP Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday denounced the &quot;appalling treatment&quot; of activists aboard the Gaza-bound aid flotilla as &quot;unacceptable,&quot; in a call with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, according to a statement. Last week, Israel&#39;s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir sparked widespread condemnation and a diplomatic backlash by posting a video mocking the activists after they were seized in international waters by Israeli soldiers. In the video dozens of activists, including 12 Canadian citizens, were forced to kneel with their foreheads to the ground and their hands tied. In the call, Carney called for an independent investigation and &quot;strongly condemned&quot; remarks by Ben Gvir, according to the statement. Last week, Canada said it was summoning the Israeli ambassador over the incident.

Middle East

Americas

US military strikes southern Iran targeting missile sites and mining boats as Trump sets new conditions on peace negotiations, urging Qatar and Saudi Arabia to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel.

LIVE: US CENTCOM strikes Iran as Trump urges Qatar and Saudi Arabia join Abraham Accords

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi is expected to arrive in Islamabad tonight with a small team, government sources said. A second round of Islamabad peace talks between the United States and Iran is expected as a result of important talks and discussions with the Pakistani mediation team, the sources added. A US logistics and security team is also already in Islamabad for the negotiation process.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is expected to arrive in Islamabad tonight with a small team, government sources said. (Image credits: AFP)

Foreign Affairs

A second round of Islamabad peace talks between the United States and Iran is expected as a result of important talks and discussions with the Pakistani mediation team. 

Iranian delegation led by FM Araghchi expected to arrive in Islamabad tonight: govt sources

BEIJING: President Xi Jinping vowed Tuesday that China would play a &quot;constructive role&quot; in promoting peace talks in the Middle East as he urged respect for the sovereignty of nations in the war-torn region, state media reported. Xi made the comments as he met with Abu Dhabi Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Beijing, where he outlined proposals for maintaining peace in the Middle East and Gulf. &quot;Xi Jinping stressed China&#39;s principled stance of promoting peace and urging talks, and reiterated it will continue to play a constructive role on this,&quot; state news agency Xinhua said. His comments were part of four proposals he put forth as a way to promote peace in the Middle East, according to state broadcaster CCTV. &quot;The sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity of the Gulf countries in the Middle East should be sincerely respected,&quot; Xi said. &quot;Safeguarding the authority of international rule of law cannot mean &#39;use when it suits, lose when it doesn&#39;t,&quot; he added. While he did not elaborate in detail, Xi also stressed the need to safeguard a UN-based world order, and coordinate on security and development issues. The Abu Dhabi royal is one of several leaders from countries impacted by the Middle East war to visit Beijing this week. Vietnam&#39;s To Lam and Russia&#39;s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also touched down in the Chinese capital on Tuesday, hoping to boost cooperation on the conflict, as well as bilateral issues. The Russian foreign ministry has said Lavrov and China&#39;s top diplomat Wang Yi would discuss the situation in the Middle East during their meeting, which follows a call this month during which the pair agreed to work together to deescalate tensions. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is also visiting Beijing this week, for a trip largely focused on bilateral trade ties. Nevertheless, Sanchez told reporters on Tuesday that China can play an &quot;important role&quot; in the Middle East.

China

Xi made the comments as he met with Abu Dhabi Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Beijing, where he outlined proposals for maintaining peace in the Middle East and Gulf.

Xi says China to play 'constructive role' in promoting Mideast peace talks

HONG KONG: Oil prices surged and stocks sank Monday after US-Iran peace talks fell apart and Donald Trump announced a blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, adding to fears of energy supplies from the Middle East. Negotiations in Islamabad at the weekend fell apart with the US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance blaming Iran&#39;s refusal to give up its nuclear program and Tehran hitting out at &quot;maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade&quot;. The news dealt a blow to hopes for an end to the six-week conflict, which has sent crude prices soaring, pushing inflation up and sending shivers through the global economy. Oil prices which tumbled last week after the United States and Iran agreed to a ceasefire jumped around eight percent Monday, with both contracts topping $100 a barrel. Equities fell across Asia, with Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul off at least one percent, while Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei and Jakarta were also down. In a lengthy social media post, US President Donald Trump said his goal was to clear the strait of mines and reopen it to all shipping. But he said that Iran must not be allowed to profit from controlling the waterway through which a fifth of global oil and gas usually passes. &quot;Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz,&quot; Trump wrote on Truth Social. &quot;Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!&quot; He said the blockade would only apply to vessels travelling to or from Iranian ports. The US military said Sunday it will blockade all Iranian Gulf ports on Monday at 1400 GMT, effectively seizing control of maritime traffic. Iran&#39;s Revolutionary Guards said its security forces had full control over the strait and warned enemies would be trapped in a &quot;deadly vortex&quot; in case of any &quot;wrong move&quot;. Iran&#39;s navy chief Shahram Irani called Trump&#39;s threat &quot;ridiculous and funny&quot;, according to state TV. After the talks the highest-level meeting between the two sides since the 1979 Islamic revolution Vance said Washington had made Tehran its &quot;final and best offer,&quot; adding: &quot;We&#39;ll see if the Iranians accept it.&quot; Iran&#39;s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the rivals had been &quot;inches away&quot; from a deal, writing on X that &quot;Iran engaged with US in good faith to end war&quot;. But he added &quot;we encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade&quot;. Nicole Grajewski, an assistant professor at the Center for International Research at Sciences Po in Paris, warned that a US blockade was &quot;not a minor coercive signal&quot; but would rather be considered an effective resumption of the war. Fawad Razaqzada, a market analyst at <a data-fr-linked="true" href="//Forex.com" id="isPasted" style="color: rgb(0, 115, 230);">Forex.com</a> said: &quot;The fundamental issue remains trust or rather, the lack of it between two long-standing adversaries who still appear some distance from common ground.&quot; Investors are also keeping an eye on attempts to resolve the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, as Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he was pushing to ensure the withdrawal of Israeli forces. &quot;We will continue to work to stop this war, to ensure the Israeli withdrawal from all our lands, the return of all the prisoners, to rebuild our destroyed villages and towns, and the safe return of the displaced,&quot; Salam said. The prospect of the Middle East crisis continuing for the foreseeable future ramped up inflation fears and weighed on gold amid expectations interest rates would be kept elevated. Data Friday highlighted the impact of the conflict on prices, with the US consumer price index spiking at 3.3% in March, its highest since May last year. Key figures at around 0230 GMT West Texas Intermediate: UP 8.0% at $104.33 a barrel Brent North Sea Crude: UP 6.9% at $101.73 a barrel Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.0% at 56,357.40 (break) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.0% at 25,627.75 Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1% at 3,981.08 Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1686 from $1.1728 on Friday Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3401 from $1.3463 Dollar/yen: UP at 159.67 yen from 159.19 yen Euro/pound: UP at 87.20 pence from 87.11 pence

A stockbroker walks past share prices on a digital board during a trading session at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) in Karachi

Business

Oil prices jumped and global markets fell after Donald Trump announced a Strait of Hormuz blockade following the collapse of US–Iran talks.

Articles tagged with "US-Iran peace talks"

LIVE: US CENTCOM strikes Iran as Trump urges Qatar and Saudi Arabia join Abraham Accords

Iranian delegation led by FM Araghchi expected to arrive in Islamabad tonight: govt sources

Xi says China to play 'constructive role' in promoting Mideast peace talks

Oil surges, stocks fall as Trump says to blockade Strait of Hormuz

LIVE: US CENTCOM strikes Iran as Trump urges Qatar and Saudi Arabia join Abraham Accords