US President Donald Trump said Sunday he has told negotiators “not to rush” a deal with Iran, even as talks advance. An Israeli official said Trump told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu any agreement must include the full dismantling of Iran’s nuclear programme. UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan joined a call with regional leaders to discuss developments and diplomatic efforts aimed at regional stability. Meanwhile, Lebanon reported 11 killed in an Israeli strike in the south as a fragile ceasefire continues to fray. Follow our live coverage for the latest updates.07:42 PM, 24 May 2026Netanyahu says Trump agrees Israel has right to defenceIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that US President Donald Trump had reaffirmed his support for Israel's right to defend itself against threats on all fronts, including from Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon."President Trump reiterated Israel's right to defend itself against threats on all fronts, including in Lebanon," Netanyahu said in a statement following a conversation between the two leaders on Saturday night.07:28 PM, 24 May 2026Oman, Iran discuss navigation security and US-Iran talksOman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi has received a verbal message from Iranian Foreign Minister Dr. Seyed Abbas Araghchi during a meeting with visiting Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi and a diplomatic delegation in Muscat.According to details, the message was delivered within the framework of ongoing consultations between the two neighbouring countries and focused on developments in Iranian-US talks mediated by Pakistan, as well as efforts to support their success.Discussions also covered the resumption of safe and sustainable freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, with both sides stressing the importance of strengthening maritime security and protecting trade and supply chains in line with international law.07:25 PM, 24 May 2026Israel PM says he and Trump agreed any final Iran deal must end 'nuclear threat entirely'Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he and US President Donald Trump had agreed that any final deal with Iran must fully end the Islamic republic's "nuclear threat"."President Trump and I agreed that any final agreement with Iran must eliminate the nuclear threat entirely. This means dismantling Iran's uranium enrichment facilities and removing enriched nuclear material from its territory," Netanyahu said in a statement, referring to a conversation between the two leaders on Saturday night.06:35 PM, 24 May 2026Trump says US will not 'rush into a deal' with IranPresident Donald Trump said Sunday that he had told US negotiators "not to rush into a deal" with Iran, amid anticipation that an agreement to end the war in the Middle East was close."The negotiations are proceeding in an orderly and constructive manner, and I have informed my representatives not to rush into a deal in that time is on our side," Trump wrote on his Truth Social account."The Blockade will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed."Get updated faster and for FREE: Download the Gulf News app now - simply click here.06:15 PM, 24 May 2026Lebanon says Israeli strike Saturday killed 11, including six women, childLebanon's health ministry said Sunday that an Israeli strike the previous day in the country's south killed 11 people including six women and a child, despite a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war."The Israeli enemy strike on the town of Sir al-Gharbiyeh in the Nabatieh district resulted in a massacre whose final toll is 11 dead including a child and six women, and nine wounded including four children and a woman," the ministry said in a statement.05:59 PM, 24 May 2026IRGC says 33 ships crossed Strait of Hormuz in 24 hoursIran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy has said that 33 ships, including oil tankers, container ships and other commercial vessels, crossed the Strait of Hormuz over the past day after receiving permission.According to a statement carried by Fars News Agency, the crossings were carried out with coordination and security support provided by the IRGC Navy, underscoring continued regulation of traffic through one of the world’s most sensitive maritime chokepoints.05:54 PM, 24 May 2026Israeli strikes hit south, east LebanonIsraeli strikes hit Lebanon on Sunday, both before and after Israel's military issued an evacuation warning for 10 villages in the south and east, state media reported.Israel's military has continued to strike what it says are Hezbollah targets in Lebanon despite a ceasefire that began on April 17 and that was recently extended for several weeks.The Iran-backed group has also maintained attacks on Israeli targets in southern Lebanon and across the border, including firing rockets on Sunday at Israeli troops operating on Lebanese territory.Lebanon's official National News Agency reported Israeli strikes on multiple locations in south and east Lebanon on Sunday, in some cases causing casualties.Some of the raids came before the Israeli military's warning, which covered 10 villages in the south and the eastern Bekaa valley.05:47 PM, 24 May 2026Trump told Netanyahu will insist final Iran deal ends nuclear US President Donald Trump has assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he will hold firm on his demand for the dismantling of Iran's nuclear programme, as a condition in any final agreement with Tehran, a senior Israeli official told AFP."President Trump made clear that he will remain steadfast in the negotiations regarding his longstanding demand for the dismantlement of Iran's nuclear programme and the removal of all enriched uranium from Iranian territory, and that he will not sign a final agreement absent these conditions," the official said, referring to a conversation between the two leaders on Saturday night.05:02 PM, 24 May 2026Trump shares AI image of US plane attacking Iran-flagged vesselsUS President Donald Trump has posted an AI-generated image on Truth Social depicting an Iranian Navy vessel being struck and destroyed by what appears to be a US drone, accompanied by the caption “Adios.”The post comes alongside reports suggesting progress in ongoing diplomatic talks with Iran, highlighting a stark contrast between negotiation signals and highly provocative imagery shared online.03:56 PM, 24 May 2026Israel military issues evacuation warning for nearly dozen villages in LebanonIsrael's military on Sunday warned residents of around a dozen villages in southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate their homes ahead of expected strikes against alleged Hezbollah targets."For your safety, we urge you to immediately move at least 1,000 metres away from the areas mentioned," the military's Arabic-language spokesman, Colonel Avichay Adraee, said in a post on X, listing the names of the villages.03:39 PM, 24 May 2026Bahrain sentences 9 to life over alleged IRGC links Bahrain's criminal court has sentenced nine defendants to life imprisonment and two others to three years in prison in two separate cases involving alleged links to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).The head of Bahrain’s Terror Crimes Prosecution said the 11 defendants were convicted of communicating with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard with the intent to carry out hostile and terrorist acts against the kingdom and harm its national interests.03:25 PM, 24 May 2026Britain's navy prepares to clear mines in the Strait of HormuzAboard the RFA Lyme Bay docked off the coast of Gibraltar, hundreds of British sailors are waiting to be deployed for a mine-clearing mission to the Strait of Hormuz that is still in doubt.U.S. President Donald Trump has lashed out at allies for not doing more to support the United States' war effort in Iran, whose chokehold on the strait has crippled international shipping and sent energy prices soaring. In March, Trump told NATO allies to "go get your own oil" and secure the strait themselves.On the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, the U.K.'s Royal Navy is preparing to do that - but only once a peace agreement is reached. Trump said Saturday that a deal with Iran has been "largely negotiated" after calls with Israel and other allies in the region, but it still needs finalizing.Britain's Armed Forces Minister Al Carns took a small group of reporters to visit the RFA Lyme Bay as it prepares for a possible international operation, led by the U.K. and France, to secure the strait. As Carns spoke, the amphibious landing vessel, docked at the gateway to the Mediterranean, was being loaded with ammunition and mine-hunting sea drones equipped with sonar.With a crew of several hundred sailors, the RFA Lyme Bay will soon depart Gibraltar to link up with the U.K. destroyer HMS Dragon and allied ships for air support before sailing through the Suez Canal to the Persian Gulf."Which other country can pull together 40 nations and come up with a solution to deal with a complex problem that we couldn't predict because we weren't involved?" asked Carns, responding to a question from The Associated Press about what Trump wants from his British ally.02:48 PM, 24 May 2026UAE President and leaders discuss regional developments