US Iran War News Highlights: Trump warns Tehran will ‘pay the price’ for taking ‘too long’ to negotiate peace deal

India's foreign ministry on Wednesday condemned the attack on commercial tanker Settebello off the coast of Oman. It confirmed that three Indian seafarers remain unaccounted, while 21 other Indian crew members were successfully rescued amid Iran crisis.

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President Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that he would renew US attacks on Iran, saying Tehran had taken too long to agree a deal to end the Middle East war and accusing its negotiators of "playing us for suckers."

The remarks came after Iran and the US once again traded fire following the downing of an American helicopter, further straining a ceasefire that took effect in April but has been marked by sporadic flare-ups of violence.

The exchange drew international calls for restraint on the eve of the World Cup, which the US is co-hosting and Iran is participating in, including from the head of the United Nations who cautioned against a return to all-out war.

(AFP)

Iranian armed forces spokesperson Abolfazl Shekarchi said Tehran has demonstrated its ability to respond firmly to US threats, after President Donald Trump indicated he was moving closer to ordering strikes on Iran’s power plants and bridges, according to Al Jazeera.

Speaking to Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency, Shekarchi said Iran had answered all of Trump’s threats and insisted that the country would “not back down”.

Iran's ambassador in Vienna on Wednesday called a new resolution passed by the UN nuclear watchdog demanding access to Tehran's nuclear sites "counter-productive" and an obstacle to talks with Washington.

Ambassador Reza Najafi told AFP the International Atomic Energy Agency resolution was "politically motivated" and "legally flawed".

The vote "cannot help and, would be indeed counterproductive to the current situation," he added. "It further complicates, the volatile, situation, volatile ceasefire, and the unfinished negotiations between Iran and the US."

(AFP)

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Wednesday caution about the risk of return to "full war" in the Middle East after Iran and the United States exchanged strikes, as per AFP.

"We should not minimize the risks of a lesser fire becoming full fire, or in another word -- full war," Secretary-General Guterres said at a meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in the tinderbox region

OPEC oil output in May hit its lowest in more than two decades, a Reuters survey found, as a US naval blockade cut Iran's exports and Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz slashed exports by other Gulf producers.

Output by the 11-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries fell by 1.06 million barrels per day month-on-month to 16.13 million bpd, the survey found.

That was the lowest monthly figure since at least 2000, according to Reuters surveys, and well below the levels seen during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 when demand collapsed.

The figures exclude the United Arab Emirates which quit OPEC as of May 1.

(Reuters)

Oil prices climbed following Trump's latest warning, with US West Texas Intermediate crude rising 2.17% to USD 90.11 per barrel. The global benchmark, Brent crude, also gained 1.9% to reach USD 93.19 per barrel, as per Reuters.

Germany's ILA air show opened on Wednesday under the twin shadows of the Iran war and the collapse this week of a flagship Franco-German fighter jet project, clouding what is meant to be one of Europe's premier aerospace showcases.

The Berlin event, which dates back to 1909, puts a large slice of Europe's defence industry on display as companies pitch new technology to governments and military buyers.

It also highlights the push by European manufacturers to narrow the gap with US rivals and persuade governments to back them as the region ramps up defence spending.

(Reuters)

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has requested members of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board of governors not to permit the nuclear watchdog to be used as a “US political instrument”, according to Al Jazeera.

He reportedly sent a letter to the foreign ministers of the countries represented on the board.

He termed a US-drafted UN resolution against Iran’s nuclear programme as “politically motivated” and “made in bad faith”.

During an event in Tehran, according to state news agency IRNA, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran “must move” beyond the current “no war, no peace” situation in the region.

“War is certainly not in the country’s interest, but if they seek to violate our dignity, our land, and our territory, we will not surrender."

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Tehran has taken much time to negotiate an agreement and would now "have to pay the price" after Iran and the United States carried out strikes.

Trump said on X, "Iran is all talk and no action. They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!"

The chief justice of Iran’s North Kohrasan province says it confiscated assets from 47 individuals allegedly linked to “hostile networks”, as per Al Jazeera.

“Following intelligence monitoring and judicial measures, 14 cases have been filed against individuals who collaborated with the enemy in various ways, and the necessary orders have been issued to identify and seize the assets of these individuals,” Hojjatoleslam Reza Baratizadeh was cited as saying by Iranian news outlet IRNA.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, accused the US of “harming” diplomatic efforts to end the war through repeated ceasefire violations, shifting positions and contradictory messages, while also blaming Israel of the same with its military operations in Lebanon.

In a statement carried by Iranian media, Baghaei said: The diplomatic process does not happen in a vacuum. To advance any negotiation or diplomatic process, you need a minimal space to be able to advance the work of diplomacy.

The biggest exchange of fire between the US and Iran since a ceasefire was announced on 8 April has cast doubt on efforts to bring an end to the war and Donald Trump’s claims that a deal can be reached.

Iran US War News LIVE: After asking Lebanon's Ansarieh residents to evacuate ahead of planned strikes, the Israeli army has again issued threats to Ghassaniyeh and Houmine al-Faouqa, asking their residents to leave their homes before impending attacks.

Iran US War News LIVE: Day after agreeing tp pause attack on Iran, the Israeli military has yet again ordered Ansarieh village residents to leave the area and move to north of Zahrani river.

Iran US War News LIVE: Amid the escalations, Iran has put the ball in Gulf countries' court, saying it is their responsibility to halt US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

Iran US War News LIVE: Air raid sirens have blared across Bahrain for the second time today as Iran strikes locations in the Gulf after American retaliation to apache helicopter downing.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held overnight calls with his Turkish and Saudi counterparts to discuss the fallout from US strikes on southern Iran. Araghchi condemned the strikes as a violation of Iranian sovereignty and territorial integrity, and said Tehran retained an inherent right to self-defence and a reciprocal response from its armed forces.

Jordan's military said on Wednesday it had intercepted and shot down five missiles launched from Iran towards Azraq. "The interception resulted in debris falling, but there were no casualties or material damage," the military said.