US-Iran News LIVE Updates: Trump says Hezbollah sought halt to fighting; Iran's crude oil exports fall 84% in May

US-Iran News LIVE: Trump has abandoned a proposed military operation to seize Iran's enriched uranium from its atomic sites. The operation would have required weeks of sustained presence in a conflict zone and risked becoming what Trump termed a "Jimmy Carter" moment. The rejection signals restraint as nuclear negotiations proceed. The UN nuclear watchdog sent a report to member states on Thursday repeating calls for Iran to account for its enriched uranium following the bombing of its atomic sites a year ago. "Iran must urgently inform the agency of the fate of its enriched uranium" and permit comprehensive inspections, the IAEA signalled. Trump also attacked a House vote to limit his war powers on Thursday, saying it came during his "final negotiations" to end the war with Iran. An American-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon fractured almost immediately. Within hours of announcement, Israel launched intense strikes on southern Lebanon. Hezbollah's leader, excluded from talks, rejected the deal and his forces fired rockets at Israeli targets. The health ministry in Lebanon reports more than 3,300 deaths and over one million displaced since March. Yet the ceasefire agreement's asymmetry may explain its rapid collapse: Hezbollah faces demands for unilateral ceasefire whilst Israel faces no requirement to withdraw its forces from Lebanese territory. Iran's Quds Force commander demanded Israel withdraw to pre-conflict positions. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned officials that actions causing public frustration would serve adversaries' interests. Broader negotiations to end the US-Iranian war remain stalled over Lebanon's status. Iran insists on terms antithetical to Netanyahu's objective of completely disarming Hezbollah. The temporary ceasefire reflects the incompatibility between Iranian and Israeli positions. Israeli rights group B’Tselem has called on the international community to take action to stop what it described as Israel’s “ethnic cleansing” in the West Bank. The appeal came after 17 diplomatic delegations visited the Palestinian community of Khan al-Ahmar, east of occupied Jerusalem, which the group says is facing forced displacement. B’Tselem warned that international pressure is needed to prevent more communities from being driven from their homes. Iranian official and a US White House adviser exchanged insults on the social media platform X over several days, escalating a dispute over military capabilities. Tensions rose after the Iranian side posted footage of a missile test, prompting a mocking response about artificial intelligence and underground bunkers. The Iranian official replied by referencing reported evacuations of US personnel and strikes on regional bases, ending his post with a smiley face. Oman is resisting US pressure to cut ties with Iran, saying its talks with Tehran focus only on future management of the Strait of Hormuz under international law, with possible oversight from the UN’s International Maritime Organization. The Gulf state, a longtime US ally and traditional mediator in regional disputes, has often played a neutral back-channel role in tensions involving Iran. While maintaining that stance, Oman has also expressed criticism of Israel’s approach to international law and recently condemned Iranian attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait. Iran’s crude oil exports fell sharply in May, dropping 84% from the previous month and 87% below the 12-month average, according to Lloyd’s List. The report said Iran has increasingly relied on smaller tankers to transport crude, as larger VLCCs face a greater risk of interception by US forces. The decline comes after the US began enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports in April, following Iran’s move to impose restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices were little changed on Friday as investors awaited more clarity on US-Iran negotiations, but crude remained on track for strong weekly gains. Brent crude traded near $95 a barrel, up more than 3% for the week, while US crude hovered around $92.73, heading for a gain of over 6%. Markets remain focused on the outlook for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy supplies. Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox protesters blocked Israel’s Highway 1 overnight in opposition to the government’s enforcement of military conscription for religious students. The demonstrations began after police stopped two ultra-Orthodox students and transferred one to military authorities, according to local reports. Large numbers of police and border guards were deployed to disperse the protesters and reopen the highway. Israeli forces continued air and artillery attacks in southern Lebanon, with warplanes launching four missiles near Jabal Amel Hospital in the historic city of Tyre, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency. The strikes came days after an attack near the same hospital killed four people and caused significant damage to the facility. Artillery shelling was also reported in the nearby town of Deir Amas in the Tyre district. US-Iran News LIVE: Two 20-year-old twin brothers, Hassan and Hossein Amiri, have been sentenced to death in Iran on charges of spying for Israel, according to human rights groups. Iran Human Rights said Hassan was arrested in March after authorities allegedly found an image of a bombed site on his phone. The group claims he was tortured into confessing and implicating his brother. Hossein, a car mechanic, was arrested days later. Rights groups say prosecutors based the espionage case on images of damaged buildings, while the brothers deny the allegations. Oil prices stabilized after their first decline this week, with optimism over US-Iran peace talks balancing concerns about a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. Brent crude traded near $95 a barrel after a 2.8% drop on Thursday, while WTI remained below $93. President Donald Trump said talks with Iran were progressing, even as Hezbollah rejected a US-backed ceasefire proposal. WTI is still up more than 6% this week amid uncertainty over negotiations that could restore oil flows through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. US-Iran News LIVE: Abbas Araghchi dismissed comments by President Donald Trump about meeting Mojtaba Khamenei, saying the issue should be viewed “realistically.” Araghchi said security concerns have limited Khamenei’s public appearances but stressed that communication with him remains continuous. He described Mojtaba Khamenei as the leader of the Islamic Republic, saying he plays a central role in governing the country and has full control over state affairs. Araghchi added that the same loyalty once shown to the late leader is now directed toward Khamenei. US-Iran News LIVE: Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said Iran’s missiles were ready to turn northern Israel into “hell” if enemy forces moved toward Beirut’s southern suburbs. Speaking on Iran's state TV, Rezaei also warned the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait that Tehran would not leave them alone after the war if they continued their current approach. US-Iran News LIVE: Qatar’s foreign minister discussed efforts to reduce tensions across the Middle East in a phone call with his French counterpart, as diplomatic efforts continue to prevent further regional escalation. According to Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, the two officials reviewed ongoing attempts to de-escalate tensions through diplomatic channels, including mediation efforts between the United States and Iran. US-Iran News LIVE: Trump said Thursday that Hezbollah had approached the United States seeking an end to the fighting in Lebanon, despite a statement from the group rejecting the terms of a proposed ceasefire. “Hezbollah called us and said, ‘How about stopping?’” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. He described the situation in Lebanon as interconnected with developments involving Iran and said he hoped the country could finally see peace after years of conflict. “It would be really nice if Lebanon could have some peace,” he said. “Lebanon's been under attack for so many years.” Sayantani Biswas is an assistant editor at Livemint with seven years of experience covering geopolitics, foreign policy, international relations and global power dynamics. She reports on Indian and international politics, including elections worldwide, and specialises in historically grounded analysis of contemporary conflicts and state decisions. She joined Mint in 2021, after covering politics at publications including The Telegraph. <br> She holds an MPhil in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur University (2019), with a specialisation in postcolonial Latin American literature. Her research examined economic nationalism through Eduardo Galeano’s Open Veins of Latin America. She also writes on political language, cultural memory and the long shadows of conflict. <br> Biswas grew up in Durgapur, an industrial town in West Bengal shaped by migration, which drew families from across India to the Durgapur Steel Plant. As the only child in a joint family, she spent years listening—almost obsessively—to her grandparents’ testimonies of struggle, fear and loss as they fled Bangladesh during the Partition of 1947. This formative exposure to lived historical memory later converged with her training in Comparative Literature, equipping her to analyse socio-economic structures and their reverberations. <br> Outside the newsroom, she gravitates towards cultural history and critical theory, returning often to texts such as Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. As a journalist, she is committed to accuracy, intellectual rigour and fairness, and believes political reporting demands not only clarity and speed, but historical depth, contextual precision, and a disciplined resistance to spectacle. Stay updated with the latest Trending, India , World and US news.