by Theleaders | May 18, 2026 1:43 pm
PARIS, May 18 — Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:
Trump makes fresh threats
President Donald Trump issued a new warning to Iran yesterday, saying the Islamic republic had to move quickly to end the conflict that has shaken the Middle East and sent energy prices climbing.
“For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!”
The war began February 28, when US and Israeli forces launched major strikes on the Islamic republic, but peace negotiations have stalled since the April 8 ceasefire and sporadic attacks continue.
Israeli strikes in Lebanon
An Israeli missile strike on an apartment in eastern Lebanon yesterday killed an Islamic Jihad commander and his 17-year-old daughter, Lebanese state media said. Emergency workers were searching the rubble for survivors of the blast on the outskirts of the city of Baalbek.
Meanwhile, Israeli strikes on towns in southern Lebanon killed five people, including two children, and left at least 15 people wounded, the Lebanese health ministry said.
Israeli attacks since the start of the war have killed more than 2,900 people in Lebanon, including more than 400 since the truce began on April 17, according to Lebanese authorities.
Saudi Arabia intercepts drones
Saudi Arabia said yesterday it had intercepted and destroyed three drones that had entered from Iraqi airspace.
Defence ministry spokesman Turki al-Maliki said the drones had entered yesterday morning and that the ministry “reserves the right to respond at the appropriate time and place”.
Israeli kills 5 in Gaza
Israeli strikes and gunfire yesterday killed five people in Gaza, where at least 871 people have been killed in persistent violence since an October ceasefire, health officials in the Palestinian territory said.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said Israel is has almost achieved its goal of eliminating all those responsible for orchestrating the October 7 attack.
“I promised that every single architect of the massacre and the hostage-taking would be eliminated down to the last one, and we are very close to completing this mission,” Netanyahu said during the weekly cabinet meeting.
No US concessions
Iranian media said Washington had failed to make any concrete concessions in its latest response to Iran’s proposed agenda for negotiations to end the war.
The Mehr news agency said: “The US, offering no tangible concessions, wants to obtain concessions that it failed to obtain during the war, which will lead to an impasse in the negotiations.”
Drone strike outside UAE nuclear plant
A drone strike triggered a fire near a nuclear power station in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, authorities said, reporting no injuries or impact on radiation levels.
The fire was “in an electrical generator outside the inner perimeter of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the Al Dhafra Region, caused by a drone strike,” the Abu Dhabi Media Office said.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry condemned the attack as a “threat” to the region, as did UN nuclear agency chief Rafael Grossi, who posted on X that “military activity that threatens nuclear safety is unacceptable”. — AFP
Pakistani mediators in Tehran
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met yesterday in Tehran with Iran’s chief negotiator and speaker of parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
“Some governments in the region believed that the presence of the US would bring them security, but recent events showed that this presence is not only incapable of providing security, but also creates the grounds for insecurity,” Ghalibaf said after the meeting.
Islamabad has been mediating peace talks between Iran and the US and last month hosted a high stakes meeting between delegations from both sides.
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