Middle East crisis live: Iran says handing over enriched uranium a ‘non-starter’ as strait of Hormuz remains shut

Two tankers were turned around by Iran’s military as they tried to pass through the strait of Hormuz, the country’s news agency Tasmin has reported.

Reuters reported that it came after the continuing US blockade on Iran.

The vessels, sailing under the flags of Botswana and Angola, were forced to change course after what the report described as “unauthorised transit” through the strategic waterway.

• Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on Saturday that the recent talks with the US had made progress but gaps remained over nuclear issues and the strait of Hormuz. “We have had progress but there is still a big distance between us,” he told state media, referring to talks last weekend. “We made progress in the negotiations, but there are many gaps and some fundamental points remain.”

• Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian weighed in on Sunday about Donald Trump and efforts to quash Iranian nuclear capabilities. “Trump says Iran cannot make use of its nuclear rights but doesn’t say for what crime. Who is he to deprive a nation of its rights?” Pezeshkian said.

• In more nuclear news, Iranian deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh told the Associated Press that contrary to Trump’s earlier claims, Iran will not hand over its enriched uranium to the US.

• In Lebanon, killing and destruction has continued despite a fragile ceasefire. An Israeli soldier was killed in southern Lebanon in an incident that severely wounded another soldiers and moderately injured four more, while another succombed on Saturday to injuries incured in another incident. Meanwhile, the state-run National News Agency is reporting that the Israeli military has demolished homes in the twons of Bayyada and Naqoura and have blocked roads leading to several towns. Lebanese state media also reported that Israeli forces on on Saturday began demolishing homes in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil and other border towns where Israeli troops are present.

• Earlier, a UN peacekeeper was killed and three others were injured in an attack that UN secretary-general António Guterres has strongly condemned. Both Emmanuel Macron, president of France, and the group known as the UN Interim Force in Lebanon blamed Hezbollah, but the militant group has denied involvement.

• In Gaza, the Israeli military killed two Unicef-contracted truck drivers at a water point in the northern Gaza forcing the UN agency to suspend its operations in the area, Unicef said.

Iranian journalists working in London say they fear for their lives after a recent spate of threats and physical attacks, which they blame on a Tehran regime intent on silencing Persian-language news media such as BBC Persian and Iran International.

On Wednesday, the London offices of Iran International, a news channel that opposes the regime in Tehran, were the target of an attempted arson attack, with an “ignited container” thrown into the car park of a neighbouring building, according to the Metropolitan police.

Speaking after the attack, one journalist at Iran International says violence had become normalised to staff. “Our minds are ignoring these ugly things automatically.

“Today, our British staff said to us, ‘How brave you are, bravo!’ But to tell you the truth, what really happens is that we are fucked up. We’ve tricked our brains into normalising these threats and not fearing at all because otherwise we will need to go to the mental hospital.”

Tom Levitt, Deepa Parent and Maryam Foumani have the story:

Here are some more images coming out of Lebanon today of residents forced to traverse broken bridges and destroyed roads to return home during the temporary ceasefire:

UN secretary-general António Guterres has strongly condemned the killing of a French peacekeeper and the wounding of three others in an attack in southern Lebanon, spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement to the Associated Press.

The UN peacekeeping force came under attack with small-arms fire on Saturday morning, with two of the injured hurt seriously, France’s president and the force known as UNIFIL said.

Both Emmanuel Macron, president of France, and the group known as the UN Interim Force in Lebanon blamed Hezbollah, but the militant group has denied involvement.

A set of mismanaged and premature media announcements by Donald Trump and Tehran has led to the collapse of progress towards a peace settlement between Iran and the US.

The recent missteps ended with Iran saying it would reinstate a complete block on the movement of commercial shipping through the strait of Hormuz and that it would not allow any of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to be exported out of the country.

Iran will not hand over its enriched uranium to the US, Iranian deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh told the Associated Press, despite earlier claims made by Donald Trump.

On Friday, Trumpsaid that Washington would work with Tehran to recover Iran’s enriched uranium to bring back to the US.

“I can tell you that no enriched material is going to be shipped to United States,” Khatibzadeh said. “This is non-starter and I can assure you that while we are ready to address any concerns that we do have, we’re not going to accept things that are nonstarters.”

In that same interview, Khatibzadeh accused the US of holding firm on demands Iran deems to be excessive.

“We are still not there yet to move on to an actual meeting because there are issues that the Americans have not yet abandoned their maximalist position,” Khatibzadeh said.

The Israeli military demolished homes in the towns of Bayyada and Naqoura in southern Lebanon on Sunday, according to the state-run National News Agency.

Israeli forces also blocked roaded leading to several towns, the news agency said.

An Israeli soldier was killed in southern Lebanon this week during a temporary ceasefire, said Israeli Defense Forces.

Lidor Porat, a 31-year-old sergeant first class, was killed in an incident in which another soldier was severely injured, four soldiers were moderately injured, and four additional soldiers were lightly injured, the IDF said.

On Saturday, Barak Kalfon, a 48-year-old command sergeant major, died after being previously wounded . Kalfon had been injured during combat in southern Lebanon. Three other soldiers are injured in that same incident.

Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian was quoted in the state-affiliated Iranian Student News Agency on Sunday about Donald Trump and efforts to quash Iranian nuclear capabilities, Reuters reports.

“Trump says Iran cannot make use of its nuclear rights but doesn’t say for what crime. Who is he to deprive a nation of its rights?” Pezeshkian was quoted as saying.

Here are some images coming out of the Middle East today:

The world has lost more than $50bn worth of crude oil that has not been produced since the Iran war began nearly 50 days ago, according to analysts and Reuters calculations. The aftershock of the crisis is expected to be felt for months and even years to come, they say. Since the crisis began at the end of February, more than 500m barrels of crude oil and condensate have been knocked out of the global market, according to Kpler data – the largest energy supply disruption in modern history.

Those 500m barrels of oil lost to the market are equivalent to curtailing aviation demand globally for 10 weeks; no road travel by any vehicle globally for 11 days; or no oil for the global economy for five days, said Iain Mowat, principal analyst at Wood Mackenzie.

It also nearly equals a month of oil demand in the US, according to Reuters estimates.

Trump has praised Israel, a US ally, in its war on Iran, saying in a social media post on Saturday night: “Whether people like Israel or not, they have proven to be a GREAT Ally of the United States of America.”

He said other allies had “shown their true colors in a moment of conflict and stress”.

Welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.

Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on Saturday that the recent talks with the US had made progress but gaps remained over nuclear issues and the strait of Hormuz. “We have had progress but there is still a big distance between us,” he told state media, referring to talks last weekend. “We made progress in the negotiations, but there are many gaps and some fundamental points remain.”

President Donald Trump said the US was having “very good conversations” with Tehran but warned against “blackmail” over the key shipping channel. He later praised war ally Israel in a social media post, adding that other allies had “shown their true colours in a moment of conflict and stress”.

It comes after Iranian officials reversed the reopening of the strait of Hormuz and reimposed restrictions on the vital shipping lane after the US said it would not end its blockade of Iranian ports.

A UK maritime agency reported that Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) ships had fired at a tanker as it attempted to pass through the strait on Saturday. Reuters reported an Indian-flagged vessel carrying crude oil had also been attacked while in the waterway.

Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya joint military command said on Saturday that Tehran had restored the strait to its “previous status” and was now “under strict management and control by the armed forces”.

Trump convened a White House Situation Room meeting on Saturday morning to discuss the renewed crisis according to reporting from Axios. A senior US official said that unless there is a breakthrough in peace talks, it appears that the war could reopen within days.

In other developments:

• After the initial talks between the US and Iran last weekend in Pakistan, the Iranian deputy foreign minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said a second date cannot be set until both sides “have agreed on the framework”.

• Iran’s supreme national security council, the country’s highest decision-making body under the supreme leader, said it is reviewing “new proposals” put forward by the US, according to Iranian media.

• Hezbollah has denied it was involved in the deadly attack against UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, which killed a French soldier. A UN peacekeeper was killed and three others were injured after a patrol came under attack from “non-state actors”, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon said.

• Israeli forces on Saturday began demolishing homes in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil and other border towns where Israeli troops are present, Lebanese state media reported.

• The Israeli military killed two Unicef-contracted truck drivers at a water point in the northern Gaza Strip, forcing the UN agency to suspend its operations in the area, Unicef said.

• Pope Leo XIV said that it is “not in my interest at all” to debate Trump about the Iran war, but that he would continue preaching the Gospel message of peace.

• Trump left the White House Saturday afternoon to play golf, despite Iran’s re-closure of the strait of Hormuz in response to the US blockade of Iranian ports.