- 12m ago(01:00 GMT)
UN nuclear nonproliferation talks end without agreement
UN member states were unable to reach an agreement after four weeks of talks on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament goals, the diplomat leading the talks has said.
“Despite our best efforts… it is my understanding that the conference is not in a position to achieve agreement on its substantive work,” Vietnam’s Do Hung Viet, the president of the conference, told reporters in New York.
“I do not intend to put the document forward for adoption,” he said.
A late draft of the conference text, seen by the AFP news agency, said that Tehran, which does not have nuclear weapons, must “never” develop them.
Negotiators were reviewing the decades-old Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), under which 191 countries agreed that nuclear weapons would be limited to the five countries that possessed them before January 1, 1967: China, France, Russia, the UK and the US.
Four other countries now have nuclear weapons – India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea. Although, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), 90 percent of the world’s 12,241 nuclear warheads were in US or Russian hands as of January 2025.
- 27m ago(00:45 GMT)
Lawyer challenges UK foreign secretary over Gaza remarks
Prominent international lawyer Tayab Ali has publicly challenged Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper over an apparent contradiction between the UK’s stated concern for Gaza and its continued military cooperation with Israel.
Ali, the director of the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians, quoted Cooper’s remarks at the Global Partnerships Conference, in which Cooper had said that Gaza’s healthcare system had collapsed and that the UK would keep pushing for humanitarian access. Cooper repeated the comments in a social media post.
Ali responded with his own post, noting that the UK “continues to cooperate militarily with Israel and still actively protects Israel’s war criminals with impunity from accountability”.
The UK remains one of Israel’s key military allies, maintaining arms sales, intelligence sharing and military cooperation.
🚨 The UK is one of the main states that continues to cooperate militarily with Israel and still actively protects Israel’s war criminals with impunity from accountability despite knowing that Israel wilfully did this 👇 https://t.co/ZEeU4x7xHp
— Tayab Ali (@tayab_ali_) May 22, 2026
- 42m ago(00:30 GMT)
Trump faces mounting domestic pressure over costs of war
Jason Campbell, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, notes that Trump has repeatedly said that the US-Israel war on Iran will be over “soon”.
Trump made similar remarks a few hours ago, telling a crowd of supporters during a speech in New York state that “it’ll be over with soon”.
But despite the rhetoric, Campbell said the world is largely in “wait-and-see mode” as to whether a deal can actually be reached amid a flurry of diplomacy in Tehran.
Campbell added that the Trump administration appears to face more pressure to de-escalate the situation than Iran does.
“Tehran has for decades been able to withstand a high amount of pressure, be it economic or – in the last few weeks, certainly – [on] security. And I think they think they can absorb more,” he said.
“Whereas for President Trump, the oil prices here, domestically, and worldwide have gone up considerably. You have very influential elections coming up here in the United States [the midterms]… Time is not a neutral factor here for the White House.”
Trump delivers remarks during a rally in Suffern, New York, on May 22, 2026 [Kena Betancur/EPA] Advertisement - 57m ago(00:15 GMT)
Pakistan’s army chief arrives in Tehran: What we know
Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, has arrived in Tehran. It is his second such visit as Islamabad continues efforts to mediate between the US and Iran.
This is what we know:
- Munir led Pakistani efforts to bring Iran and the US to a ceasefire on April 8, earning praise from Iranian officials and Trump, and his latest visit to Tehran comes as Iran considers a new proposal from the US.
- Speaking to Turkiye’s Anadolu news agency, a Pakistani official said Munir was visiting to discuss progress on the mediated US-Iran talks and other “important issues”.
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that “slight progress” was made during talks with Iran, but that Iranian officials have sent more mixed signals on where things stand.
- Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni welcomed Munir on his arrival in Tehran, but Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson dampened expectations of an imminent breakthrough, saying that Munir’s presence in Tehran did not suggest that “we have reached a turning point or a decisive situation”.
- “We cannot necessarily say that we have reached a point where an agreement is close,” spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said. “The focus of the negotiations is on ending the war. Details related to the nuclear issue are not being discussed at this stage.”
- Another Iranian official, speaking to the Tasnim news agency, said that while progress had been made, no issue should be considered resolved until all are.
Pakistan’s army general and the chief of army staff, Asim Munir, in Tehran, Iran, in 2023 [File: Iranian Presidency/Anadolu via Getty Images] - 1h ago(00:07 GMT)
WATCH: Israeli blockade traps would-be Hajj pilgrim in Gaza
For years, 64-year-old Najia Abu Lehia dreamed of performing the Hajj with her husband.
But before they could make the pilgrimage, her husband died during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
Now, as millions journey to Mecca, thousands like her are stranded in Gaza by Israel’s ongoing blockade of the Palestinian territory.
Watch below:
- 1h ago(00:03 GMT)
A recap of recent developments
- Mediated efforts to end the US-Israel war on Iran continue, with Pakistan’s military chief, Asim Munir, arriving in Tehran on Friday.
- Trump has said that Venezuelan oil has “paid for the cost of the war [on Iran] about 25 times over”.
- Washington’s “excessive demands” are the main obstacle to reaching a deal, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
- Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that 35 ships transited the Strait of Hormuz with Iran’s permission over the last 24-hour period.
- The death toll from Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2 has surpassed 3,111.
Blue tents set up by the Lebanese government for people who fled their homes and villages in Beirut’s southern suburbs and southern Lebanon, due to Israeli attacks, May 22, 2026 [AFP] - 1h ago(00:00 GMT)
Welcome
Hello, and welcome to our live coverage of the ceasefire in the US-Israel war on Iran, as well as Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.
Stay with us for the latest news and analyses from across the Middle East and beyond.
You can find our updates from Friday, May 22, here.
A member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s volunteer Basij force demonstrates how to handle an assault rifle during a weapons training class for civilians in Tehran, Iran, on May 19, 2026 [Vahid Salemi/AP]
Live updatesLive updates,
Iran war live: Tehran says diplomacy continues but no deal yet with US
Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 3,111 people since March 2, with 9,432 injured, according to Lebanese Health Ministry.
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Al Jazeera Live
Published On 23 May 2026
- Pakistan’s powerful army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, arrived in Tehran on Friday as efforts intensified to mediate a peace agreement between Iran and the United States, but Iranian officials have tempered hope for a quick deal.
- Iran’s state media quoted the Foreign Ministry’s spokesman as saying that differences in mediated talks between Tehran and Washington are “deep and significant”.
- At least 15 Gaza aid flotilla activists have reported incidents of sexual assault, including rape, at the hands of Israeli forces after their abduction from vessels sailing in international waters, the organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla said.
- Nine countries, including Australia, Canada, France and Germany, have issued a joint statement calling on Israel to cease illegal settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and ensure accountability for settler violence against Palestinians.
- Israel continues to launch air strikes on southern Lebanon after killing about a dozen people on Friday, including attacks on health facilities and emergency workers, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry and media reports.
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