Friday 29 / May / 2026
Trump lays out demands for deal, says US naval blockade will now be lifted
In his latest post on the Truth Social platform, US President Donald Trump laid out his demands for a deal with Iran to end the conflict.
"Iran must agree that they will have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb," Trump said. "The Hormuz Strait must be immediately open, no tolls, or unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions. All water mines (bombs), if any will be terminated (we have removed, through detonation, numerous such mines with our great underwater mine sweepers. Iran will complete the immediate removal and/or detonation of any mines that are left, which will not be many!)."
"Ships caught in the Strait due to our amazing and unprecedented Naval Blockade, which now be lifted, may start the process of 'heading home!'"
"The enriched material, sometimes referred to as 'Nuclear Dust,' which is buried deep underground with virtually collapsed mountains, caused by our powerful B2 Bomber attack 11 months ago, sitting on top of it, will be unearthed by the United States (which, it is agreed, is the only Country, along with China, with the mechanical capability of doing so!), in close coordination and conjunction with the Islamic Republic of Iran, plus the International Atomic Energy Agency, and DESTROYED. No money will be exchanged, unfurther notice," Trump said.
Trump said he is in the Situation Room now to make a final determination on a ceasefire deal with Iran.
Earlier:
Israeli army crossed Litani River, Netanyahu says
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli army forces crossed the Litani River in southern Lebanon, approximately 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the border between the two countries.
"We are also active in Beirut, in the Beqaa Valley, across the whole front," Netanyahu said during a visit at an army base located at Israel's northern border, adding the Israeli military is hitting Islamist militant group Hezbollah״hip and thigh."
This means the Israeli military is now operating beyond the so-called yellow line, the area in which its troops stayed as part of the ceasefire agreement reached with Lebanon in April 2026.
Despite the agreement, both Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have continued carrying out strikes in each other's direction, with each side blaming the other for violating the ceasefire.
Netanyahu and his government came under pressure in Israel due to the daily drone attacks in the country's north, bringing the Israeli leader to promise an escalation in the military operation against Hezbollah in recent days.
Iran has no trust in the US' words, Ghalibaf warns
Iran's official speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the country's top negotiator in the talks with the US, says Tehran has no trust in any promises given by Washington.
"We don't have any trust in guarantees through words, only actions are our criteria," he posted on his X account.
Ghalibaf also added that those who are to be considered as winners to come out of any negotiation are those "getting ready for war from the following day."
The Iranian official's post comes as reports over a potential agreement between the two countries over ending the war could be edging nearer.
World heritage sites in danger due to fighting, Lebanon says
Lebanon's Culture Minister Ghassan Salame warned of a "serious danger" to heritage sites due to the Israeli bombardments in the country's south.
"Bombings fell very close to the ruins of Tyre," Salame told AFP, referring to the ancient Phoenician city acknowledged by UNESCO as a World Heritage site in 1984, also mentioning the medieval Beaufort castle being directly hit.
"The intensification of the battles means that these sites are in serious danger."
Despite officially having a ceasefire in place, Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollahhave been exchanging blows, with both accusing each other of violating the agreement to justify their strikes.
Lebanon placed 79 sites across the country under increased UNESCO protection, meaning any damage caused to them could become" potential grounds for prosecution," the UN organization said.
Most Israelis support increasing military action in Lebanon: poll
A new poll has found that Israelis are largely supportive of using increased military means against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
A May 2026 poll by the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) found that 58% of Israelis think the country should "deepen" its fighting against the Iran-backed Islamist militia. The number increases to 69.5% when it comes to Israeli Jews.
The poll also found that a similar number of Israelis (57%) believe the Israeli military should establish a buffer zone in Lebanon's south, where Israeli forces would be stationed permanently to defend Israeli towns near the border from Hezbollah drone and missile fire.
Almost half of Israelis (48%) think the security situation with Lebanon has worsened, with only 28% arguing it has gotten better.
The Israeli government, a right-wing coalition that includes ministers from far-right parties, is facing increased pressure domestically to tackle the ongoing Hezbollah drone attacks, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promising an increase in strikes in Lebanon as a result.
Israeli and Lebanese military officials are set to meet for security talks at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., later on Friday.
Israel calls UN blacklisting for sexual violence 'shameful and absurd'
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has slammed the UN's addition of Israeli entities to a blacklist of sexual violence in conflict zones, calling the decision "shameful and absurd."
"Today’s decision must be understood in its true context: an attempt to create a fake symmetry between Israel and the real sexual atrocities committed by Hamas," the ministry wrote on its X account.
The country ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, called the decision a "disgrace," blaming UN head Antonio Guterres for "campaigning against Israel."
"We're done with this secretary-general. We will not cooperate with him or his representatives anymore," Danon said in a video in Hebrew.
The blacklist also includes Hamas — classified as a terrorist organization by the US, the EU and Israel, among other governments — which was added following the October 7, 2023, attacks in Israel.
Israel to take over more Gaza territory, Netanyahu says
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel is aiming to tighten its grip on the Gaza Strip.
"We are now in 60% of the territory of the Gaza Strip. You know what? We were at 50%, we moved to 60%," he said Thursday at the Jordan Valley Conference, which took place in the occupied West Bank.
Netanyahu said Israel would move to control 70% of the enclave in a bid to put more pressure on the Palestinian group Hamas.
"The most important thing is to continue leveraging our power, to increase it," Netanyahu said.
Defense Minister Israel Katz, meanwhile, vowed that what he called the "voluntary migration" of Palestinians out of the largely destroyed Gaza Strip "will be implemented."
"It will all happen at the right timing and in the right way," Katz posted on his X account.
Human rights organizations have warned that such a move could amount to ethnic cleansing.
