Iran war updates: Trump warns Tehran ‘clock is ticking’ for deal with US
These were the updates on the US-Israel war on Iran and Israel’s attacks on Lebanon from Sunday, May 17, 2026.
Iranian economy struggles: Shop owners say rising prices push customers away
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- US President Donald Trump says the “clock is ticking” for Iran to make a peace deal and threatens that “there won’t be anything left of them” if Tehran fails to do so.
- Iran’s Mehr news agency says the US failed to offer any real concessions in its latest response to Iran’s proposal for a negotiating agenda.
- A drone strike in the UAE’s Al Dhafra region caused an electrical generator fire at the Barakah nuclear power plant.
- Israel says it attacked 100 sites in southern Lebanon in two days, after negotiators agreed to a 45-day extension to the purported “ceasefire”.
- Iran says it will soon reveal its plan to manage traffic and charge shipping tolls in the Strait of Hormuz.
- The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza reports six deaths and 19 injuries over the past two days, including two new deaths. Four bodies were recovered from under the rubble.
- 18 May 2026 - 23:59(23:59 GMT)
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- 17 May 2026 - 23:45(23:45 GMT)
Here’s what happened today
This live page will soon close. But before we go, here are some of the day’s top developments:
- An Israeli air strike hit Lebanon’s Baalbek, killing a Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander and his daughter, Lebanese state media reported.
- The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has denounced an Israeli plan to seize up to 20 properties near the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem.
- The Iranian police chief, Ahmad-Reza Radan, has said that more than 6,500 “traitors and spies” have been arrested since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran.
- Saudi Arabia says it has intercepted three drones launched from Iraq.
- Israeli attacks across Gaza have killed at least five Palestinians.
- A drone attack earlier today caused a fire at an electrical generator at the Barakah nuclear power plant in the UAE’s Al Dhafra region.
- Lebanon has suffered more than $25bn in direct and indirect losses since Israel’s war on the country started in 2024, according to the Lebanese Business Association.
- 17 May 2026 - 23:15(23:15 GMT)
WATCH: Three community kitchen workers among 8 killed by Israel in Gaza
Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip have killed at least eight Palestinians, including three in Deir el-Balah, and others in Khan Younis and Beit Lahiya.
Sunday’s attack on the central city of Deir el-Balah targeted a community kitchen, with all three victims being community kitchen workers.
Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary has more from Gaza City:
Advertisement - 17 May 2026 - 23:00(23:00 GMT)
Unidentified ship approaches Gaza-bound flotilla, says activist on board
A Spanish activist on board one of dozens of vessels sailing towards Gaza in an attempt to break Israel’s blockade says a military ship has approached the flotilla.
Pablo Quesada Martin wrote on X that what appeared to be a military vessel had been spotted near the flotilla, prompting security protocols to be activated.
Israel has a long history of intercepting and detaining activists attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, which the UN considers an occupied territory.
Last month, Israeli forces intercepted 22 vessels near the Greek island of Crete.
We’ve spotted what seems to be a military vessel on one side of the flotilla, says @pabloqmartin_ | follow @gbsumudflotilla for live feed pic.twitter.com/hZsND0987G
— Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) May 17, 2026
- 17 May 2026 - 22:45(22:45 GMT)
Trump posts Middle East map with US flag overlay
Trump has posted an uncaptioned image of a map of the Middle East, with the US flag overlaid across the region and red arrows pointing to Iran, on Truth Social.
[Truth Social/@realDonaldTrump] - 17 May 2026 - 22:31(22:31 GMT)
Israeli air strike hits Lebanon’s Baalbek, killing PIJ commander and daughter
An Israeli air strike hit an apartment near the southern entrance of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, killing a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) commander and his 17-year-old daughter, Lebanese state media said.
The National News Agency reported that a guided missile struck the home at midnight. The victims were identified as Wael Abdul Hali and his daughter, Rima.
- 17 May 2026 - 22:30(22:30 GMT)
Palestinian Foreign Ministry denounces Israeli plan to seize properties near Al-Aqsa Mosque
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has denounced as “ethnic cleansing” an Israeli plan to seize up to 20 properties near the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem.
The properties are located in a neighbourhood adjacent to the mosque, regarded as Islam’s third-holiest site.
Israel today approved a plan to seize between 15 and 20 properties in the Bab as-Silsila area.
The Palestinian ministry said the move forms part of a broader effort to gradually displace Palestinians from the area while increasing the number of Israeli residents.
Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory are illegal under international law and pose a major obstacle to the establishment of a future Palestinian state.
- 17 May 2026 - 22:15(22:15 GMT)
WATCH: Trump warns Iran ‘time is of the essence’ as talks remain stalled
Trump has warned Iran that “time is of the essence” as negotiations between Washington and Tehran remain deadlocked. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Iran must “get moving fast” towards a deal or face severe consequences.
Al Jazeera’s AlMigdad Alruhaid reports from Tehran on the latest developments:
- 17 May 2026 - 22:00(22:00 GMT)
Iranian FM speaks with Turkish counterpart
Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi has spoken with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, about the latest developments in the stalled US-Iran negotiations and the broader regional situation.
Türkiye has been working behind the scenes to help bring an end to the war, while also reinforcing its border with neighbouring Iran amid concerns that worsening conditions could trigger a large-scale movement of people into the country.
Advertisement - 17 May 2026 - 21:45(21:45 GMT)
Iran warns UAE against deepening ties with Israel
Tehran has not “closed the door to friendship in dealing with the United Arab Emirates, but they should know that Iran’s patience has limits”, the ISNA news agency quoted Mohsen Rezaei, former IRGC commander and secretary of Tehran’s Expediency Council, as saying.
“We are aware that there are relations and exchanges between the UAE and Israel; the UAE should not become entangled in Israel’s plots and schemes,” Rezaei said.
The UAE was the target of some of Tehran’s most intense attacks during the Israel-US war on Iran, and recent reports suggest the UAE may have carried out retaliatory strikes of its own.
- 17 May 2026 - 21:30(21:30 GMT)
India condemns drone strikes on UAE, calls for restraint
India’s Foreign Ministry says it is “deeply concerned” at the drone strikes that hit the Barakah nuclear power plant in the UAE.
“Such actions are unacceptable and represent a dangerous escalation. We urgently call for restraint and a return to dialogue and diplomacy,” the ministry says.
- 17 May 2026 - 21:30(21:30 GMT)
Trump’s rhetoric may force his hand on Iran military action
Trump is known for his “bombastic” comments, but whether his language will be matched by increased US military activity remains to be seen, Adam Clements, a US foreign policy analyst, told Al Jazeera.
Clements said it would also be worth watching whether others in the Trump administration follow the same line of messaging in the coming days.
After Trump’s latest threatening social media posts towards Iran, it is “plausible” that the US leader might feel he “has gone so far” with his escalatory rhetoric, and that he “can’t turn back”, Clements said.
“It’s possible that he [Trump] could do something for a few days, a week of a renewed air campaign, and then state that the US military has achieved their military objectives and declare a ‘victory’,” Clements said.
- 17 May 2026 - 21:15(21:15 GMT)
Israel enforces controversial death penalty law on Palestinians in occupied West Bank
The Israeli military’s Central Command chief Avi Bluth has signed an order extending Israel’s death penalty law to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, reports Haaretz.
The law applies to those who commit an act “with the aim of denying the existence of the State of Israel”, it added.
According to the Israeli daily, legal and security officials warned against applying legislation in the West Bank, as Palestinians there are not Israeli citizens.
In March, the Knesset passed the controversial one-sided bill for Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis in acts of “terror”, and refrained from imposing the same penalty on Jewish Israelis convicted of killing Palestinians.
The bill has been various number of countries worldwide.
- 17 May 2026 - 21:00(21:00 GMT)
WATCH: How Hormuz blockade is hurting traders and shoppers in southern Iran
Local businesses are feeling the economic shockwaves of the war in Bandar Abbas, on Iran’s southern coast directly facing the Strait of Hormuz,
“This fish used to sell for two million tommans, but now it’s dropped to 750,000, and customers say it’s too expensive,” a fishmonger told Al Jazeera.
Watch our report below:
- 17 May 2026 - 20:45(20:45 GMT)
Iran says more than 6,500 ‘traitors and spies’ arrested since war began
The Iranian police chief, Ahmad-Reza Radan, has said that more than 6,500 “traitors and spies” have been arrested since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran, according to state broadcaster IRIB.
- 17 May 2026 - 20:30(20:30 GMT)
Iran FM discusses ‘regional developments’ with France and Turkiye
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has held two separate calls with his French and Turkish counterparts discussing “bilateral issues, the latest regional developments, and current diplomatic trends”.
- 17 May 2026 - 20:15(20:15 GMT)
Iran blames US and Israel for regional ‘insecurity’
The Iranian and South Korean foreign ministers have discussed the situation in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.
Abbas Araghchi said “insecurity imposed on the region and its global consequences are the result of the aggressive actions of the United States and the Zionist regime against Iran, and they must be held accountable by the international community for these violations of the law and the crimes they have committed”.
On their phone call, South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun emphasised the necessity of “establishing maritime security and safety in the region and the world,” adding that he hoped “the diplomatic process would reach a conclusion as soon as possible”.
- 17 May 2026 - 20:09(20:09 GMT)
Saudi Arabia intercepted three drones launched from Iraq: Defence Ministry
Three drones were intercepted and destroyed after entering Saudi Arabia’s airspace, having been launched from Iraq earlier this morning, the kingdom’s defence ministry has said, citing its spokesperson, Major General Turki Al-Maliki.
Saudi Arabia “reserves the right to respond at the appropriate time and place, and will take and implement all necessary operational measures to respond to any attempt to infringe on the Kingdom’s sovereignty, security, and the safety of its citizens and residents on its territory”, the spokesperson’s statement read.
- 17 May 2026 - 20:00(20:00 GMT)
Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least five people so far today
Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip have killed at least five Palestinians today, including three in Deir el-Balah, and others in Khan Younis and Beit Lahiya.
The attack on the central city of Deir el-Balah targeted a community kitchen and all three victims were charity workers, our colleague Hind Khoudary reported from Gaza City.
“This shows that Israel is not only targeting people, but also organisations serving the community across Gaza,” Khoudary added.
Reacting to the same attack, Hamas said it was “a deliberate war crime and a renewed scene of the ongoing genocide against our people in the Gaza Strip”.
“This occurs amid an unjustified international silence and inaction that emboldens the occupation to continue its massacres, in blatant disregard for all international values, norms, and laws,” said the armed group’s statement.
Read more here.
- 17 May 2026 - 19:45(19:45 GMT)
WATCH: Israeli strike on aid kitchen in Gaza kills three charity workers
An Israeli attack in Gaza targeted a community kitchen killing three charity workers in the central city of Deir el-Balah. At least six Palestinians have been killed across the Strip today.
Watch our report below: