Iran war updates: Trump warns of attacks in ‘two or three days’ if no deal

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We’ll be closing this live page soon. Here are the main developments of the day:

• The US Senate has voted to advance a War Powers Resolution, designed to halt the military campaign in Iran unless Trump receives congressional approval.
• Trump told reporters that the US could launch a renewed strike on Iran by early next week if negotiations to end the conflict fail, noting that further attacks might become necessary.
• Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi warned that a resumption of hostilities would “feature many more surprises” and that Tehran is ready to down additional US aircraft.
• Briefing the UN Security Council, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi warned of “grave” risks after Sunday’s drone strike at the UAE’s Barakah nuclear power plant.
• Israeli bombardment has killed at least 3,042 people in Lebanon since early March, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
• Israeli forces have intercepted another vessel from the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, making the total number of boats intercepted at least 61, while nine others remain en route to Gaza.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, has written on X that a US claim about the elementary school in Minab that was hit by a missile is a “baseless fabrication and an appalling lie”.

Baghaei said that US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper’s earlier statement that the Shajareh Tayyebeh school was located on an active Iranian cruise missile site was “a clear attempt to obscure the severe reality of the 28 February missile attacks, which resulted in the tragic slaughtering of over 170 school children and their teachers”.

The spokesman added that “targeting an active educational institution during school hours constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law and is a clear war crime”.

“The civilian nature of the site cannot be obscured by technical misrepresentations,” he said, adding that the US authorities “responsible for ordering and executing this catastrophic assault must be held fully accountable under international law”.

Iran’s UN mission has accused Washington of “spreading lies, false accusations, and disinformation against Iran and its peaceful nuclear programme” at the Security Council.

The US “continues to violate international law through unlawful maritime blockades, and unwavering support for the Israeli regime’s crimes and atrocities across the region,” the Iranian mission said in a post on X.

“In fact, the culprit and the thief are now playing the role of prosecutor and judge, trying to whitewash his own crimes.”

The criticism from Tehran comes as a resolution drafted by the US and Gulf countries on the Strait of Hormuz has reportedly gained support from about two-thirds of UN member states, ahead of a possible vote.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted global fertiliser supplies, with about one-third of the world’s fertiliser normally passing through the waterway.

The UN has warned that if disruptions continue, up to 45 million more people could be pushed into hunger, bringing the global total facing food shortages to a record 363 million.

Al Jazeera’s Laura Khan explains:

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi has briefed the UN Security Council on the situation at the UAE’s Barakah nuclear power plant following Sunday’s drone strike.

“While radiation levels remain normal and offsite power has been restored, the situation is of grave concern”, Grossi wrote on X after the briefing.

He said he told the Security Council that “attacks against nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes are unacceptable and carry undeniable risks for people and the environment”.

Grossi said he was in contact with leaders across the Gulf region, and confirmed that the IAEA would continue doing everything within its mandate to help ensure nuclear safety and support efforts towards a diplomatic path forward.

He also said he would travel to the Gulf soon.

Today I briefed the @UN Security Council #UNSC on the situation at the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the UAE 🇦🇪 following Sunday’s drone strike.

While radiation levels remain normal and offsite power has been restored, the situation is of grave concern. As I told the Council,… pic.twitter.com/5XnGWcPbzG

— Rafael Mariano Grossi (@rafaelmgrossi) May 19, 2026

Hezbollah says its fighters launched 26 attacks against invading Israeli forces positioned inside Lebanese territory on Tuesday.

According to a statement, the group’s fighters are engaging in a ground clash with Israeli troops trying to advance to the area around the town of Haddatha.

The group also said it attacked gatherings of Israeli troops in different towns, including Rachaf, Naqoura, and Biyyada, using drones, rockets and artillery shells.

The National News Agency (NNA) reports that Israeli air strikes on the Nabatieh district in southern Lebanon killed nine people, including a woman.

About 12 people were wounded, including two women.

In the Tyre district, a strike in the town of Hanaway injured 10 people, leaving one person in critical condition. Another strike in the town of Maarakeh wounded seven people, including a child and three women, according to the NNA.

Kenya’s public transport operators have suspended a nationwide strike that has paralysed central Nairobi for two days, leaving streets empty and businesses shuttered.

The strike was called to protest rising fuel costs. Bus owners are demanding that the government cut diesel prices by 40 percent by reducing taxes and levies.

Authorities have blamed the war on Iran for price hikes, but many Kenyans remain sceptical. The suspension allows one week of negotiations, after which the strike may resume.

Watch our video report below:

A top commander of US forces in the Middle East avoided taking responsibility for an attack on a school in Iran that killed about 170 people, mostly schoolchildren, on day one of the war insisting a “complex” probe continues.

Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, told a congressional oversight panel “the school itself is located on an active IRGC cruise missile base,” making the investigation “more complex than the average strike”. IRGC stands for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The attack killed 73 boys, 47 girls, 26 teachers, seven parents, a school bus driver, and another adult in the southern city of Minab on February 28. The United States has repeatedly avoided assuming responsibility for the tragedy.

Cooper was responding to questioning by House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith, who said “in the past, when we’ve had these types of mistakes, they have been quickly acknowledged, even if a further investigation is necessary”.

Cooper promised to share the results of the investigation when it was complete. Smith responded by saying, “So that’s a ‘no.’ We will not take responsibility for something we very obviously did.”

European aviation giant Airbus has asked its teams to cut “non-essential expenses” by 10 percent because of turbulence over the US-Israeli war on Iran.

“We are asking for your support in adopting several cost containment measures to help our company navigate this unstable situation,” said a document seen by AFP news agency.

“Our specific focus is on significantly pausing all activities and costs that are not strictly essential to our industrial activities and operations … We aim to reduce these costs by -10 percent compared to the 2025 baseline.”

The memo asked teams not to “engage in any new expenses or any subcontracting activities that are not strictly essential”, singling out “team events, team boosters, corporate events, events for other stakeholders, and participation in conferences and events”.

An Iranian citizen who holds permanent residency in the United States has been released from prison in Iran and returned to the US, according to a human rights group.

Shahab Dalili was jailed in 2016 when he visited Iran for his father’s funeral. He was imprisoned for allegedly “cooperating with a hostile government”. Dalili strongly denied the charges he was detained on.

“Shahab Dalili, an Iranian citizen and US permanent resident who had been imprisoned in Evin Prison, was released after serving 10 years in prison. Following his release, he returned to the United States,” the Human Rights Activists News Agency said in a statement.

Israeli officials say they are locked and loaded and on high alert. Political and military officials held a meeting yesterday on their preparedness for a possible strike on Iran.

We just heard from Benjamin Netanyahu last week in an interview where he said there are still targets that he would like to hit in Iran right now.

The major talking point across news channels is a possible resumption of hostilities against Iran.

There is a difference of opinion between political leaders and the military. The military wants to keep the blockade, not necessarily strike Iran.

They want the Iranian people from inside to be so hurt economically that they may rise up against the government in Iran.

Politically, though, that is a different story. We have to remember that, in Netanyahu’s case, politically and personally, he wants to always be in a state of war. He is currently dealing with an impending corruption case.

So, the feeling in Israel is not if they will strike Iran, but when. Whether President Trump will allow that to happen or resume hostilities against Iran remains to be seen.

The body has comdemned “the complete destruction by the Israeli enemy of the primary health care center supervised by the Health Authority, in the town of Al-Maashouq – Tyre District yesterday, Monday, May 18,” in a statement carried by the country’s National News Agency.

This attack brings the number of health facilities targeted by Israel to 31, the statement said.

“These repeated attacks are a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, which stipulates the protection of paramedics, medical and ambulance facilities and health centers, at a time when the Israeli enemy continues to target the medical sector with its staff and centers, disregarding international norms and laws”, it added.

Israel has targeted and killed numerous Lebanese paramedics since it intensified its assault on the country on March 2.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has strongly condemned Israel for intercepting aid ships bound for the Gaza Strip, saying it amounts to “a new crime aimed at covering up Israeli crimes of genocide [and] starvation” in the coastal enclave.

“The Ministry views this aggression as complete piracy and a grave violation of the rules of international law,” it said in a statement.

It also raised concerns about the treatment of flotilla participants taken into Israeli custody after the ships were intercepted.

The ministry urged the international community, including the UN and the European Union, to impose immediate sanctions on Israel “for committing crimes in international waters” and pressure the country to end its siege on Gaza.

The UAE and France have signed a new defence agreement during an official visit by a UAE Minister of State for Defence Mubarak bin Fadhel al-Mazrouei

“The two sides also witnessed the signing of a Defence Cooperation Agreement, reflecting the depth of bilateral relations and the shared commitment to advancing military and defence collaboration between the UAE and France,” a statement by the UAE Ministry of Defence said in a post on X.

“They discussed ways to strengthen defence and strategic relations between the two friendly nations,” it added.

The announcement comes as the UAE has faced repeated ⁠Iranian missile and drone attacks since the US and Israel began attacking Iran on February 28.