Iran war live: Tehran vows ‘no retreat’; Vance says US ‘making progress’

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• Trump has landed in Beijing for a meeting with Chinese leader Xi. The visit follows several weeks of failed attempts by Washington to persuade China to help restart US negotiations with Iran and de-escalate the crisis surrounding the Strait of Hormuz.
• US Vice President JD Vance expressed optimism about talks with Iran, noting that progress is occurring despite Trump’s dismissal of Tehran’s latest proposal on ending the war.
• Iran’s military said it is maintaining “the highest level of readiness” and “there is no room for retreat” as the future of the ceasefire with the US remains unclear.
• The UAE has officially refuted an announcement from Netanyahu’s office that claimed the Israeli prime minister conducted a “secret visit” to the Emirates during the war on Iran.
• Despite a so-called ceasefire, Israel continued its military campaign across southern Lebanon on Wednesday, launching a series of strikes that killed more than 20 people and left dozens of others wounded.
• Nickolay Mladenov, a leading diplomat for Trump’s Board of Peace managing the Gaza “ceasefire”, suggested that Hamas could participate in a future political framework in Gaza, provided the group agrees to surrender its weapons.
• Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem hit back at remarks made by Mladenov, criticising him for failing to address Israeli violations of the ceasefire and the continued obstruction of humanitarian aid entering Gaza.
• The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reports that several Palestinians, including children, have been injured following an Israeli attack in Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza.
• Iran’s foreign minister has accused Kuwait of an illegal maritime intervention, saying: “Kuwait has unlawfully attacked an Iranian boat and detained four of our citizens in the Persian Gulf.”
• The International Energy Agency forecasts a historic decline in the global oil supply, predicting it will drop to 3.9 million barrels per day this year as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz take a toll.
• According to UNICEF, the death toll for children in Lebanon has risen to 200 since the resumption of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel on March 2, with an additional 806 children reported injured.

A coalition of six Arab nations has submitted an urgent letter to the United Nations condemning Iran’s “escalation” and rejecting Tehran’s claims of unilateral control over the Strait of Hormuz.

The letter signed by Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Jordan was delivered to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UN Security Council on Wednesday, according to the Bahrain News Agency (BNA).

The move follows Iranian declarations regarding a new “administration” and “legal rules” for the strategic waterway.

The coalition characterised Iran’s claims as “rejected allegations” that threaten regional sovereignty and maritime law.

“No single country … may claim the right to impose unilateral administration,” the letter states.

The coalition issued six urgent demands, including a public withdrawal of administration claims over the strait, an unconditional reopening of the waterway and full legal compensation for all damages incurred.

The statement also condemned a recent drone attack on an Emirati ADNOC tanker, calling it a “flagrant violation” of UNSC Resolution 2817, which is a binding mandate adopted in March 2026 that condemns Iranian missile and drone strikes against the Gulf states and Jordan, and strictly prohibits any interference with international navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Washington hopes to convince China to play a more active role in persuading Iran to change its behaviour in the Gulf.

This comes as Trump landed in China on Wednesday and is expected to meet President Xi Jinping on Thursday and Friday.

Hezbollah says its fighters launched 17 attacks on Israeli forces inside southern Lebanon on Wednesday.

In a statement, the group detailed operations using rockets, drones and roadside bombs, with attacks primarily targeted at gatherings of Israeli soldiers and military vehicles in several border towns and valleys.

Iran’s Araghchi has warned that states “colluding” with Israel against Tehran would be held accountable.

“Netanyahu has now publicly revealed what Iran’s security services long ago conveyed to our leadership,” Araghchi wrote on X, referring to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office having said he visited the UAE during the war.

“Enmity with the Great People of Iran is a foolish gamble. Collusion with Israel in doing so: unforgivable. Those colluding with Israel to sow division will be held to account.”

• Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli PM made a “secret visit” to the UAE during the war with Iran, which his office said led to a “historic breakthrough”.
• The UAE rejected this claim as “baseless”, saying that its relationship with Israel “is not based on secrecy or clandestine arrangements”.
• Netanyahu’s former spokesperson and chief of staff Ziv Agmon corroborated the claim and said he accompanied the PM on the trip.
• He said Netanyahu was received in Abu Dhabi “with the honour of kings”, adding that the UAE’s president drove Netanyahu in his “personal car from the plane to the palace”.
• Following the announcement, Iran’s FM Araghchi said Netanyahu “revealed what Iran’s security services long ago conveyed to our leadership”.
• He added that “enmity” with Iran is a “foolish gamble” and that those “colluding with Israel to sow division will be held to account”.
  

  

Armed Israeli settlers have attacked Palestinian homes in Hebron with stones, injuring a Palestinian citizen and a foreign activist, according to Wafa.

The settlers attacked the home of Muhammad al-Jabarin in the eastern area of Shaab al-Batim in Masafer Yatta, injuring his son, Fadi, and damaging their house.

In the village of Al-Mughayyir in Ramallah, Israeli settlers fired flares and tear gas.

Iran’s mission to the UN has dismissed a proposed US-backed resolution threatening sanctions over Tehran’s actions in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a post on X, Iran said that Washington’s attempt to portray the resolution’s co-sponsors as evidence of broad international support is “both absurd and deceptive”.

“No number of coerced co-sponsorships can legitimise Washington’s ongoing internationally wrongful acts against Iran,” Tehran’s mission wrote.

It cited the “maritime blockade, attacks on and illegal seizure of Iranian commercial vessels, and hostage-taking of their crews in a manner resembling piracy”.

Tehran held a send-off ceremony for the national football team ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Crowds gathered in Enghelab Square, waving flags and cheering as players dressed in red and black tracksuits appeared on stage.

“The national team players in the World Cup will represent the people, the country’s fighters, the leader and the country,” Mehdi Taj, the president of the Iranian Football Federation, said.

Some fans held placards honouring the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed during the war.

At least 23 children have been killed and 93 wounded in Lebanon since the start of the “ceasefire”, according to the Health Ministry.

In a press release, UNICEF reported that the number of children killed since March 2, when fighting between Hezbollah and Israel resumed, has increased to 200, with 806 wounded.

When Trump meets his counterpart in Beijing, a new item will be added to the long list of issues of mutual interest and potential disagreement between the US and China: the war in Iran.

US officials have suggested that China should play a greater role in pushing Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but analysts say Beijing will require concessions from the US, likely over Taiwan, if it were to aid in resolving the crisis.

Inderjeet Parmar, professor of international politics at City St George’s, University of London, told Al Jazeera that China may demand opposition to Taiwanese independence in exchange for putting pressure on Iran to reopen the strait.

Read our article here to find out what concessions China may ask of the US in exchange for exerting influence on Iran.

Iran has released on bail a prominent human rights lawyer who was arrested in early April in a crackdown during the war, Iranian news agencies and her daughter have said.

Nournews, affiliated with Iran’s top security body, said Nasrin Sotoudeh was freed on bail, without referring to any charges she might still face. Mehraveh Khandan, Sotoudeh’s daughter, confirmed her mother’s release on social media.

Sotoudeh, recipient of prizes including the 2012 Sakharov Prize from the European Parliament, has been jailed multiple times on security charges linked to her human rights advocacy.

Lebanon’s health sector is buckling under the pressure of mounting casualties and increasing attacks on its facilities by Israel.

Since early March, nearly 9,000 people have been wounded in Israeli strikes that have also killed more than 100 paramedics.

At least 200 children are among those killed while nearly 800 have been wounded.

“I was playing beside the ambulance when we heard the sound of warplanes. My mother called me back into the house, but then the explosion happened,” said Hussein, one of the children wounded in an attack.

“I was thrown to the ground, and the next thing I remember was being in my father’s arms.”

His father Wael is a paramedic. He says he has repeatedly seen similar scenes, but says it was not easy having had to rescue his own family.