Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Wednesday that Washington was seeking Tehran’s surrender through various means, including a naval blockade. “The enemy, in its new design, is seeking, through a naval blockade, economic pressure and media manipulation, to destroy the country’s cohesion in order to force us to surrender,” Ghalibaf said in a voice message published on his official Telegram channel. The influential speaker of the Iranian parliament did not elaborate on the prospects for a peace plan with the United States, as Tehran continues to review elements of a US proposal. A source close to Hezbollah is saying a senior commander of the group’s elite Radwan force was killed in Israel’s attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs, Agence France-Presse is reporting. The source told the news agency on condition of anonymity that “Malek Ballout, the operations commander in the Radwan force”, was killed in Wednesday’s strikes – the first on the area in weeks amid a ceasefire. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier said his military targeted “the commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan force”. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency had reported that “Israeli warplanes launched an attack, targeting Ghobeiri” in the southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold. A building was seen covered in rubble after the strike as people left the area with their belongings. A Lebanese security source told AFP on condition of anonymity that the strike hit an apartment in which Radwan leaders were holding a meeting. At least 11 other people were killed in strikes across the south and east, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that a deal with Iran to end the war was “very possible” following “very good talks” over the past 24 hours. Repeating his usual lines about how “badly” Iran “wants to make a deal” and how the US has “won” the war, the US president added: “We’ll see whether or not they are agreeing. And if they don’t agree, they’ll end up agreeing shortly thereafter. That’s the way it is.” Israel’s military carried out strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs for the first time in weeks since the Israel-Lebanon truce went into force on 17 April. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the IDF was targeting the unnamed commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan force. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah. Despite the ceasefire, Israel has continued to carry out extensive air and artillery attacks and raids in southern Lebanon, claiming it is targeting Hezbollah targets. Israel has killed dozens of people in these attacks and continues to force residents across the area to leave their homes and villages. Hezbollah says it has continued to strike back in retaliation for these “violations” of the truce. Lebanon’s health ministry puts the total number of people killed since 2 March, when Israel launched its unprecedented offensive, at more than 2,700 people and over 8,300 wounded. US Central Command said US forces in the Gulf of Oman “enforced blockade measures by disabling an Iranian-flagged unladen oil tanker” that was attempting to sail towards an Iranian port. Centcom said repeated warnings were given to the vessel and the crew failed to comply, so US forces shot at and disabled the vessel from a navy jet. French president Emmanuel Macron called for “all parties to lift the blockades” to allow for the resumption of traffic in the strait of Hormuz, following a meeting with Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian. “All parties must lift the blockade of the strait, without delay and without conditions. We must durably return to the regime of full freedom of navigation that prevailed before the conflict,” Macron said in a post on X. “The return of calm in the strait will help advance negotiations on the nuclear issue, the ballistic issue, and the regional situation.” Emmanuel Macron earlier called for “all parties to lift the blockades” to allow for the resumption of traffic in the strait of Hormuz, following a meeting with Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday. “All parties must lift the blockade of the strait, without delay and without conditions. We must durably return to the regime of full freedom of navigation that prevailed before the conflict,” the French president said in a post on X. He also condemned “the unjustified strikes against Emirati civilian infrastructure and several ships”. Iran has denied recent attacks on the United Arab Emirates, despite the UAE’s defence ministry reporting several waves of missile and drone interceptions, as well as a strike on the Fujairah oil industrial zone, in recent days. Citing the multinational mission proposed by France and the UK seeking to secure shipping in the critical waterway, Macron went on: “Recent events clearly demonstrate the usefulness that such a mission would have. I have invited the Iranian president to seize this opportunity, and I intend to discuss this matter with President [Donald] Trump.” “The return of calm in the strait will help advance negotiations on the nuclear issue, the ballistic issue, and the regional situation,” he added. First responders gather at the site of Israeli airstrikes in the Haret Hreik neighbourhood of Beirut’s southern suburbs on Wednesday. Earlier, Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that a deal with Iran to end the war was “very possible” following “very good talks” over the past 24 hours. Repeating his usual lines about how “badly” Iran “wants to make a deal” and how the US has “won” the war after decimating Tehran’s military capabilities, Trump added: We’ll see whether or not they are agreeing. And if they don’t agree, they’ll end up agreeing shortly thereafter. That’s the way it is. Trump repeated his claim that Iran has agreed to never have a nuclear weapon “among other things”, a claim that has not been confirmed by Tehran. He also told reporters that there is “never” a deadline for a negotiated agreement. The US president was later asked a question on getting enriched uranium from Iran as he left an event in the East Room of the White House. “We’re going to get it,” Trump told the reporter. Asked how the United States would do this, Trump repeated: “We’re going to get it.” Since users of the leading prediction market Polymarket have been able to wager on the outcomes of war, fears have been raised that those betting on bombs falling from the sky may be privy to non-public information about military strikes. There has been much reported about suspicions of insider trading on war, but who exactly is believed to be placing these bets has remained unclear. In February, Israeli authorities charged two suspects with committing security offences, bribery and obstruction of justice, alleging they used classified information to bet on the timing of military operations on Polymarket. The claims in the indictment follow reporting in the Guardian in January, which revealed a cluster of jointly funded Polymarket accounts wagering on strikes involving Iran and Israel between June 2025 and January 2026, generating profits of about $156,000, according to publicly available blockchain data. Since then, there have been growing reports of possible insider trading on prediction markets – where traders can bet using crypto wallets, particularly around the Iran war, with suspicious accounts racking up millions of dollars in profits. Now, after local journalists successfully appealed to narrow a gag order, Tel Aviv court documents allege more about the people who prosecutors say have profited by betting on lethal military strikes and how they received their information. The United Arab Emirates said its ties and its international and defense partnerships were a “purely sovereign matter,” rejecting an earlier statement by Iran saying that Abu Dhabi’s cooperation with the US threatened Iran’s security and national interests. The UAE’s foreign ministry said the Gulf country reserves its full sovereign, legal, diplomatic and military rights to address any “threat, allegation or hostile act”. The dispute between the two countries come after the UAE reported being attacked in the past days by Iran after four weeks of relative calm since the ceasefire was announced by the US. Tehran denied carrying out operations against the UAE in recent days, however it warned of a “crushing response” if any action was launched from the UAE against Iran. A CMA CGM container ship was attacked while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, injuring crew members and damaging the vessel, while another vessel run by the French group exited the Gulf. The San Antonio was hit on Tuesday, with injured seafarers evacuated for medical treatment, CMA CGM, the world’s third-largest container shipping line, said. Another CMA CGM ship, the Saigon, was sailing along the coast of Oman south of the country’s capital Muscat, after tracking as being inside the Gulf up to Tuesday, vessel data showed. The company confirmed the vessel had exited the Gulf, Reuters reports. US president Donald Trump said the situation in Iran is “very much under control” after the president told the regime to accept a deal to end the war in the Middle East or face a new wave of US bombing “at a much higher level and intensity than it was before” in a post on Truth Social. He also claimed Tehran wants to “make a deal very much”, while noting the ongoing naval blockade in the strait of Hormuz is “unbelievable”. “[Iran is] not getting anything through one way or the other, so they’re out of business,” Trump said. “We’ll see whether or not they are agreeing, and if they don’t agree, they’ll end up agreeing shortly thereafter.” The president added 111 missiles had been fired by Iran at a US aircraft carrier and were all intercepted. Israel’s military has carried out strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs for the first time in weeks since the Israel-Lebanon truce went into force on 17 April. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the IDF was targeting the unnamed commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan force. In a joint statement with his defence minister Israel Katz, Netanyahu said: The Israeli army has struck in Beirut to target the commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan force, in an attempt to neutralise him. Radwan operatives, under his command, were responsible for firing at Israeli communities and for attacks on Israeli soldiers. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah. Netanyahu said earlier that he will speak to Donald Trump later on Wednesday about the ongoing US-Iran negotiations to end the war. Despite the ceasefire, Israel has continued to carry out extensive air and artillery attacks and raids in southern Lebanon, claiming it is targeting Hezbollah targets. Israel has killed dozens of people in these attacks and continues to force residents across the area to leave their homes and villages. Hezbollah says it has continued to strike back in retaliation for these “violations” of the truce. Lebanon’s health ministry puts the total number of people killed since 2 March, when Israel launched its unprecedented offensive, at more than 2,700 people and over 8,300 wounded. Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that any agreement with Israel needs to ensure guarantees, as Tel Aviv has “violated” the cessation of hostilities despite Hezbollah’s commitment to it. Berri said that Iran’s foreign minister had confirmed that Lebanon would be part of any deal the US secures to end the war, adding that he hoped the US-Iran negotiations would reach a “positive conclusion soon”. US Central Command has said that US forces in the Gulf of Oman “enforced blockade measures by disabling an Iranian-flagged unladen oil tanker” that was attempting to sail towards an Iranian port earlier on Wednesday. Centcom said repeated warnings were given to the Iranian-flagged vessel and the crew failed to comply, so US forces shot at and disabled the vessel from a navy jet. “US forces disabled the tanker’s rudder by firing several rounds from the 20mm cannon gun of a US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet,” the statement said. “Hasna is no longer transiting to Iran. The US blockade against ships attempting to enter or depart Iranian ports remains in full effect.” The US president, Donald Trump, has issued a fresh ultimatum, telling Iran to accept a deal to end the war in the Middle East or face a new wave of US bombing “at a much higher level and intensity than it was before”. The social media announcement on Wednesday was the latest in a rapid series of dramatic and often contradictory changes in policy and came amid reports the US was claiming progress in stalled negotiations between Tehran and Washington. Trump said that it was “too soon” to consider face-to-face talks with Tehran, according to an interview with the New York Post as the US waited for a response to its proposal to end the war. Trump posted earlier on social media that the war with Iran could soon end and oil and natural gas shipments could restart. Ebrahim Rezaei, the spokesperson of the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission, has poured cold water on the Axios report claiming the US and Iran were nearing a one-page memorandum to end the war, saying it was an “American wishlist [and] not a reality”. In a fiery statement on X, he said: “Americans will not gain in a lost war what they failed to achieve in face-to-face negotiations. Iran has its finger on the trigger and is ready; if they do not surrender and grant the necessary concessions, or if they or their lapdogs attempt any mischief, we will respond with a harsh and regrettable response. Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Wednesday that Washington was seeking Tehran’s surrender through various means, including a naval blockade. “The enemy, in its new design, is seeking, through a naval blockade, economic pressure and media manipulation, to destroy the country’s cohesion in order to force us to surrender,” Ghalibaf said in a voice message published on his official Telegram channel. More than 50 cargo ships have been turned back or returned to port as a result of the ongoing US naval blockade of Iran, the US military has said. The sanction remains in place despite Donald Trump pausing a naval mission to reopen the strait of Hormuz and free stranded vessels, given what he described as “great progress” towards an agreement to end the war with Tehran. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy has announced the strait of Hormuz could reopen following the end of “threats from aggressors”, Reuters reports, citing state media. The IRGC navy said the safe and stable transit through the key waterway could be possible. It follows Donald Trump’s remarks yesterday that he has paused his “Project Freedom” to open the strait of Hormuz due to “great progress” being made towards a “complete and final agreement” with Iran. France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier group is moving into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden as part of efforts by France and Britain to prepare for a future mission to help freedom of navigation on the strait of Hormuz, France’s military said on Wednesday. The French Armed Forces ministry said in a statement that the aircraft carrier group had crossed the Suez canal on Wednesday, en route to the south of the Red Sea. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of the general staff, Eyal Zamir, said the military was prepared to launch a new offensive against Iran if needed. Speaking to troops today in the town of Khiam in southern Lebanon, where Israeli strikes have continued despite a ceasefire, Zamir said they have “no restrictions as to using force” and claimed the IDF has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah operatives since the Iran war began, the Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported. An Israeli strike in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa valley on Wednesday killed four people, Lebanon’s health ministry said, with local media reporting the attack took place before the Israeli army issued a warning to evacuate the area along with 11 other towns. “An Israeli enemy raid on the town of Zellaya in West Bekaa resulted in four martyrs, including two women and an elderly man,” the ministry said. Oil prices have continued to slide with the Brent crude global benchmark falling 9.2% to $99.79 a barrel – the first time it has been below $100 since 22 April. It follows reports that the US and Iran were closing in on an agreement to bring an end to the war. Iran has also reportedly announced that the strait of Hormuz could reopen after Donald Trump paused his so-called “Project Freedom” to guide commercial ships out of the economically vital waterway. The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has asked the European Commission to activate its blocking statute to prevent compliance with US sanctions on the international criminal court (ICC) over its investigation into Israel’s actions in Gaza. The EU blocking statute is a legal mechanism that would effectively allow European companies to ignore the US sanctions. The UN has called on Israel to immediately release two activists taken from a Gaza aid flotilla, and demanded an investigation into “disturbing accounts” they had been severely mistreated. Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian activist Thiago Avila were among dozens of activists on a flotilla attempting to transport aid to Gaza when it was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters near Crete last Thursday. The two men are being held in a prison in Ashkelon in southern Israel. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of the general staff, Eyal Zamir, said the military was prepared to launch a new offensive against Iran if needed. Speaking to troops today in the town of Khiam in southern Lebanon, where Israeli strikes have continued despite a ceasefire, Zamir said they have “no restrictions as to using force” and claimed the IDF has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah operatives since the Iran war began, the Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported. The military chief also said the IDF maintains a list of targets ready for an attack in Iran, in coordination with the US. #MiddleEastCrisis #IranUSNegotiations #Hezbollah #BeirutStrikes #StraitOfHormuz #NavalBlockade #DonaldTrump #IsraelLebanon #IranNuclearDeal #RegionalSecurity
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