Middle East crisis: Iran’s foreign ministry says US broke ceasefire with overnight strikes – as it happened
From 1d agoThe day so far
Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on his Telegram channel that Gulf powers will no longer be a shield for US bases and the US will no longer have a safe haven in the region. The post followe overnight attacks on Iran by the US, testing the ceasefire agreed in April.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said it reserved the “legitimate and definite” right to retaliate against any ceasefire violations by the US. It added that its air defence units had shot down a US MQ-9 drone and fired at a fighter jet that had entered Iranian airspace.
Israeli forces have begun operating beyond its so-called ‘Yellow Line’ in south Lebanon, which runs around 10km (six miles) deep inside Lebanese territory, a military official confirmed to AFP. “The IDF is operating in a targeted manner beyond the Forward Defence Line in order to remove direct threats to the citizens of the State of Israel and IDF troops, in accordance with the directives of the political echelon,” the military official said when asked about reports that the military had begun ground operations beyond its demarcation line.
Iran’s vice-president said on Tuesday that the government has taken the first steps to restore the internet after a near-total blackout since war with the United States and Israel broke out in late February. “The first step toward free and regulated access to cyberspace has been taken,” vice-president Mohammad Reza Aref said in a post on X, adding that the demands of Iranians “will be fulfilled.”
Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would continue providing support for peace talks during a phone call with Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian, the Turkish presidency said on Tuesday. Erdogan said the conflicts in the region had cast a shadow over the Muslim Eid holiday period, adding that he believed the Iranian people would overcome the challenges.
Brent crude oil rose 3% on Tuesday after the news of the US strikes on Iran. The strikes added to uncertainty about whether a deal will be imminently reached to end the war and open up shipping flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
An Israeli airstrike on a village in eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley killed 12 people, AP reports, citing the country’s state-run National News Agency. Rescue workers said a dozen bodies were pulled out of the rubble following an intense wave of overnight strikes targeting swaths of southern and eastern Lebanon.
Israel has issued an expropriation order for land in the occupied West Bank near the site of a Biblical prophet’s grave north of Jerusalem, an Israeli NGO reported on Tuesday. The site, known as Nabi Samuel, is believed in Christian, Jewish, and Muslim tradition to include the grave of the Biblical figure of prophet Samuel, and includes a mosque owned by Palestinian religious authorities, the Waqf.
United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said that a tanker had reported an external explosion on the vessel’s port side, 60 nautical miles off Oman’s capital Muscat. In a post on X, UKMTO said the vessel and its crew were safe, although the tanker reported that some bunker fuel was discharged into the sea. UKMTO urged vessels to transit with caution and report suspicious activity.
Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man inside the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said on Tuesday. “A citizen... was killed by Israeli fire in the Jenin camp, and ambulance crews transported his body to Jenin Government Hospital,” the Ramallah-based ministry said in a statement, without specifying when he was killed.
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Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is “intensifying” its military operations in Lebanon, with the IDF operating with “large forces on the ground” in order to take control of “strategic areas”.Earlier, a military official confirmed to AFP that Israeli forces had begun operating beyond its so-called “yellow line”, which marks the 10km (six miles) area deep inside southern Lebanon which Israel is already occupying. A reminder that these expanded ground operations are all despite a ceasefire that has been in place since 17 April. Israel has continued to intensify its strikes on Lebanon, killing thousands of people while claiming it is acting to remove threats from Hezbollah.\n \n
Meanwhile, the proposed peace agreement between Iran and the US seemed to remain on the table on Tuesday despite US bombings of Iranian targets – the first military action by Washington since the 8 April ceasefire. The Iranian foreign ministry denounced the US attack – aimed at missile launchers and efforts to lay fresh mines in the strait of Hormuz – as “an act of bad faith” and “a definitive violation of the ceasefire” and said it would not leave aggression unanswered. But it did not pull out of the talks that were continuing under the joint mediation of Pakistan and Qatar. Here’s our report.\n \n
US Central Command denied reports that that US navy has “quietly” resumed so-called ‘Project Freedom’ in the strait of Hormuz. “US forces are not currently escorting commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz,” Centcom said in a statement shared on X.It comes after The Wall Street Journal (paywall) reported, citing US military officials, that the US navy “had quietly guided a Greek supertanker laden with two million barrels of crude oil as it crossed the waterway off the Omani coast”.\n \n
Oil rose back above $100 a barrel on Tuesday, after the fresh US strikes on Iran dashed hopes of a breakthrough, with experts saying that whatever the outcome of peace talks, the global energy market may now be past the “point of no return”. Here’s our story.\n","elementId":"9052f1c9-d685-4d54-8d92-e0b10bca6648"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":false,"summary":true},"blockCreatedOn":1779826149000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"22.09 CEST","blockLastUpdated":1779828111000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"22.41 CEST","blockFirstPublished":1779828111000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"22.41 CEST","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"22.41","title":"The day so far","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Tue 26 May 2026 22.41 CEST","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Tue 26 May 2026 06.11 CEST"},{"id":"6a15ea9e8f0803c3c6f957fb","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
“Under the direction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz, the IDF has just carried out a strike in Gaza targeting Mohammed Odeh – the new commander of the military wing of the Hamas terrorist organisation and one of the architects of the October 7 massacre,” said a joint statement issued by Netanyahu and Katz.","elementId":"b3107a31-dcec-40ac-bc73-7e1e1b5e7ead"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Odeh was appointed as chief of the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades after his predecessor Ezzedine Al-Haddad was killed in a strike in Gaza earlier in May.","elementId":"da76809f-eed6-48ce-b5a0-3166584efb84"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
“Odeh served as head of Hamas intelligence during the October 7 massacre and was appointed approximately one week ago as successor to Ezzedine Al-Haddad,” the statement from Netanyahu and Katz said.","elementId":"68149169-b1bc-4da1-b0ed-14c5ee133df8"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
“Odeh was responsible for the murder, abduction, and injury of numerous Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers,” it continued.","elementId":"feb68f24-dd2c-4ece-a081-1fab42481d73"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1779821214000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"20.46 CEST","blockLastUpdated":1779822866000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"21.14 CEST","blockFirstPublished":1779822212000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"21.03 CEST","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"21.03","title":"Israel says it targeted new Hamas armed wing chief in Gaza strike","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Tue 26 May 2026 22.41 CEST","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Tue 26 May 2026 06.11 CEST"},{"id":"6a15e7fb8f083196193de4bd","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
US Central Command has denied reports that that United States navy has “quietly” resumed so-called ‘Project Freedom’ in the strait of Hormuz.","elementId":"5e2512e4-8871-45b5-8f1d-934d284b6955"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
“US forces are not currently escorting commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz,” Centcom said in a statement shared on X.","elementId":"96530309-16ec-46b1-90c6-0ad84d5c54e6"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
It comes after The Wall Street Journal (paywall) reported, citing US military officials, that the US navy “had quietly guided a Greek supertanker laden with two million barrels of crude oil as it crossed the waterway off the Omani coast”.","elementId":"e2d2787e-a304-49f6-8b3b-d1e6d80cf7e2"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Donald Trump announced earlier this month that the US would help guide oil tankers through the strait, but Washington shelved the operation after only 36 hours following a backlash from Gulf allies and Iranian attacks on vessels.","elementId":"d259824c-e20b-4eb9-aad9-8914c8ed2789"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1779820539000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"20.35 CEST","blockLastUpdated":1779826497000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"22.14 CEST","blockFirstPublished":1779821017000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"20.43 CEST","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"20.43","title":"Centcom denies report that it has 'quietly' resumed 'Project Freedom' in strait of Hormuz","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Tue 26 May 2026 22.41 CEST","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Tue 26 May 2026 06.11 CEST"},{"id":"6a15d6f58f0803c3c6f95733","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel is “intensifying” its military operations in Lebanon, with the IDF operating with “large forces on the ground” in order to take control of “strategic areas”.","elementId":"487a5658-bbd4-4d40-9e0c-1e7d721f8f60"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Earlier, we reported that a military official confirmed that Israeli forces had begun operating beyond its so-called ‘yellow line’, which marks the 10km (six miles) area deep inside southern Lebanon which Israel is already occupying.","elementId":"0933d90d-dfe5-4bc1-b4b8-fe248bb1e147"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
A reminder that these expanded ground operations are all despite a ceasefire that has been in place since 17 April. Israel has continued to intensify its strikes on Lebanon, killing thousands of people while claiming it is acting to remove threats from Hezbollah.","elementId":"635d907b-d42f-4124-8d84-55bec36d1176"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1779816181000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"19.23 CEST","blockLastUpdated":1779816903000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"19.35 CEST","blockFirstPublished":1779816806000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"19.33 CEST","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"19.33","title":"Netanyahu says Israel ‘intensifying’ military operations to take control of 'strategic areas' in Lebanon","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Tue 26 May 2026 22.41 CEST","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Tue 26 May 2026 06.11 CEST"},{"id":"6a15cccc8f0803c3c6f95698","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"\n \n
Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on his Telegram channel that Gulf powers will no longer be a shield for US bases and the US will no longer have a safe haven in the region. The post followe overnight attacks on Iran by the US, testing the ceasefire agreed in April.\n \n
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said it reserved the “legitimate and definite” right to retaliate against any ceasefire violations by the US. It added that its air defence units had shot down a US MQ-9 drone and fired at a fighter jet that had entered Iranian airspace.\n \n
Israeli forces have begun operating beyond its so-called ‘Yellow Line’ in south Lebanon, which runs around 10km (six miles) deep inside Lebanese territory, a military official confirmed to AFP. “The IDF is operating in a targeted manner beyond the Forward Defence Line in order to remove direct threats to the citizens of the State of Israel and IDF troops, in accordance with the directives of the political echelon,” the military official said when asked about reports that the military had begun ground operations beyond its demarcation line.\n \n
Iran’s vice-president said on Tuesday that the government has taken the first steps to restore the internet after a near-total blackout since war with the United States and Israel broke out in late February. “The first step toward free and regulated access to cyberspace has been taken,” vice-president Mohammad Reza Aref said in a post on X, adding that the demands of Iranians “will be fulfilled.”\n \n
Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would continue providing support for peace talks during a phone call with Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian, the Turkish presidency said on Tuesday. Erdogan said the conflicts in the region had cast a shadow over the Muslim Eid holiday period, adding that he believed the Iranian people would overcome the challenges.\n \n
Brent crude oil rose 3% on Tuesday after the news of the US strikes on Iran. The strikes added to uncertainty about whether a deal will be imminently reached to end the war and open up shipping flows through the Strait of Hormuz.\n \n
An Israeli airstrike on a village in eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley killed 12 people, AP reports, citing the country’s state-run National News Agency. Rescue workers said a dozen bodies were pulled out of the rubble following an intense wave of overnight strikes targeting swaths of southern and eastern Lebanon.\n \n
Israel has issued an expropriation order for land in the occupied West Bank near the site of a Biblical prophet’s grave north of Jerusalem, an Israeli NGO reported on Tuesday. The site, known as Nabi Samuel, is believed in Christian, Jewish, and Muslim tradition to include the grave of the Biblical figure of prophet Samuel, and includes a mosque owned by Palestinian religious authorities, the Waqf.\n \n
United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said that a tanker had reported an external explosion on the vessel’s port side, 60 nautical miles off Oman’s capital Muscat. In a post on X, UKMTO said the vessel and its crew were safe, although the tanker reported that some bunker fuel was discharg
