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Rubio says 'significant progress' made in Iran talks

PHOTO: Secretary of State Marco Rubio addresses a press conference at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on May 24, 2026.
2:23
Julia Demaree Nikhinson/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
US, Iran inch closer to peace deal 
By David Brennan, Nadine El-Bawab
Last Updated: May 18, 2026, 9:43 AM

President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.

Following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire, initial U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan in April failed to reach a peace deal.

Trump later announced the open-ended extension of the ceasefire and the continuation of a U.S. blockade until negotiations are concluded "one way or the other."

Key Headlines

  • US and Iran making progress on interim agreement, official says
  • Trump says his proposal Iran deal 'the exact opposite' of former President Obama's
  • Trump posts AI image of US drone destroying Iranian ships after announcing 'agreement' with Iran
  • Rubio says 'significant progress' made in Iran talks
  • Trump says agreement 'largely negotiated,' includes Strait of Hormuz reopening
Here's how the news is developing.

May 18, 2026 9:43 AM

IDF orders south Lebanon evacuations amid ongoing strikes

Israel Defense spokesperson Avichay Adraee on Monday issued evacuation orders for the southern Lebanese towns of Harouf, Burj el-Shamali and Dibal ahead of planned Israeli strikes.

Adraee said the IDF would act "forcefully" against alleged Hezbollah targets in those areas, accusing the Iran-aligned militia of "violating the ceasefire."

Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health said on Sunday that the death toll from Israeli strikes on the country since March 2 had risen to 2,988 people. Another 9,210 people have been wounded, the ministry said.

PHOTO: Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Tourzai on May 17, 2026.
Kawnat Haju/AFP via Getty Images
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Tourzai on May 17, 2026.
Kawnat Haju/AFP via Getty Images

May 18, 2026 8:03 AM

Saudi Arabia, UAE condemn fresh drone attacks

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates reported fresh drone attacks on Sunday amid the continued U.S.-Israeli ceasefire and standoff with Iran.

The Abu Dhabi Media Office in the UAE said on Sunday that a drone attack of unspecified origin caused a fire in an electrical generator "outside the inner perimeter" of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the Al Dhafra Region.

The UAE Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the attack came "from the western border direction."

"These attacks constitute a dangerous escalation, an unacceptable act of aggression and a direct threat to the country's security," the statement said. The UAE, it added, "will not tolerate any threat to its security and sovereignty under any circumstances" and reserves the right "to respond to any threats, allegations or hostilities."

Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said on Sunday that its air defenses intercepted three drones "coming from Iraqi airspace."

The ministry said in a post to X that it "reserves the right to respond at the appropriate time and place."


May 18, 2026 10:08 AM

Iran 'better get moving, FAST' and make a peace deal, Trump says

President Donald Trump is saying that Iran "better get moving, FAST," warning that "there won't be anything left of them" if they do not comply with his demands and make a peace deal.

"For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!," Trump wrote on his social media platform early Sunday afternoon.

PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks at an event on maternal healthcare in the Oval Office of the White House, May 11, 2026 in Washington.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
President Donald Trump speaks at an event on maternal healthcare in the Oval Office of the White House, May 11, 2026 in Washington.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The president did not provide a new deadline or timeline for Iran's response, as he has previously.

During an interview in China with Fox News that aired Thursday night, Trump warned that Iran “can make a deal or they get annihilated.”

Last week, Trump called the ceasefire with Iran "unbelievably weak" and "a piece of garbage" after he disapproved of their peace deal proposal response.

-ABC News' Emily Chang



May 18, 2026 10:08 AM

US didn't seek Chinese help to reopen Strait of Hormuz, Greer says

President Donald Trump's top trade envoy said Sunday that the U.S. president exacted a commitment from the Chinese to not "provide material support to Iran," but that the United States did not seek China's direct help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

"When the president went in, he did not go in asking them to take action in the Straits of Hormuz. He was very focused on making sure that they didn't provide material support to Iran. That's a commitment he obtained and confirmed," U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on ABC News' "This Week."

PHOTO: U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer appears on ABC News' "This Week" on May 17, 2026.
ABC News
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer appears on ABC News' "This Week" on May 17, 2026.
ABC News

Greer said China has "a clear interest" in reopening the strait -- "I was in these meetings, and that's what, that's what the Chinese said," he said -- but without getting involved directly, it's unclear whether China's position will do anything to pressure Iran.

"The president isn't seeking to have joint military operations with the Chinese. I don't think the American presidents have ever done that," Greer said. "But obviously we want to make sure that they're not getting in the way of anything we're doing to try to clarify that situation."

-ABC News' Quinn Scanlan


May 24, 2026 10:49 AM

'Serious concern' in Netanyahu's office over possible Iran deal, source says

A source familiar with the situation told ABC News on Sunday that there is "serious concern and disappointment" in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office over a possible deal between the U.S. and Iran to end the ongoing war. The source said that Israeli efforts are ongoing "to improve the outcome of the deal."

An Israeli official told ABC News that the emerging deal appears to be bad because "it signals to the Iranians they have a weapon no less effective than nuclear weapons, and that is the Strait of Hormuz." The official added that it is unclear what will happen after the first phase of the peace deal.

Netanyahu is expected to hold a security meeting with his top defense officials at 7 p.m. local time (12 p.m. ET) to discuss the emerging deal, an Israeli official told ABC News.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller and Rashid Haddou-Riff


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