Trump says no rush to end Iran war; anger grows over video of Gaza flotilla activists – Middle East crisis live

Fresh questions have been raised over the US and Israeli effort to depose the Iranian regime after it was claimed that Israel wanted to put the populist Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power.

Ahmadinejad’s turbulent presidency from 2005 to 2013 was marked by incendiary attacks on Israel but he recast himself as a critic of the regime and champion of the poor after falling out with the supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

It is claimed that Israel bombed a security building close to his Tehran home to help him escape house arrest but he became uneasy about the operation.

The plans reported by the New York Times, were widely seen as implausible or disinformation put out by Ahmadinejad’s supporters or the Israeli intelligence services.

However, the episode shows that the US and Israel overestimated opposition to the regime and their own ability to bring it down it with airstrikes. You can read the full story here:

The Irish foreign minister, Helen McEntee, has joined in the condemnation of the footage showing detained Gaza-bound activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla with their hands tied behind their back kneeling as their heads touch the floor (see post at 14.11 for more details).

McEntee demanded the immediate release of the “illegally detained” activists, among whom is the sister of Irish President Catherine Connolly. McEntee said she was “appalled and shocked” by the video, which was shared on X by far-right national security ministerItamar Ben Gvir.

It was published after Israeli forces intercepted the flotilla’s vessels at sea and began detaining hundreds of foreign activists at the southern port of Ashdod. The Global Sumud Flotilla was attempting to deliver much needed aid to Gaza, which is under an Israeli maritime blockade.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, has accused the US of “seeking a new round of war” as he vowed his country “will not bow down to force”.

In a statement on his Telegram channel, Ghalibaf said: “The enemy has imposed a difficult war on our beloved Iran, and today, more than ever, it is clear that we are in a war of wills, and whoever wins this war of wills will write Iran’s history and determine Iran’s future.”

His remarks came as US president Donald Trump threatened Iran with renewed military action, saying he has given Tehran “two to three days” to reach a deal to end the conflict.

Ghalibaf said the US was still hoping Iran would surrender and respond favourably to Washington’s demands.

“We must strengthen our readiness to respond powerfully and effectively to possible attacks,” he said, adding the US will “regret attacking Iran again”.

According to the Reuters news agency, Donald Trump has told reporters he was in no rush to bring his war on Iran to an end. The US president said achieving the mission’s objectives was more important than setting a timeline for its conclusion.

The White House said in early April Trump’s objectives in Iran was to “obliterate Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal and production capability, annihilate its navy, sever its support for terrorist proxies, and ensure the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism never acquires a nuclear weapon.”

While there is little doubt that waves of US and Israeli airstrikes heavily degraded Iran’s military capabilities, many of Trump’s core objectives remain unfulfilled and he is now essentially trying to get back to the status quo of the strait of Hormuz being freely open to international vessels.

A stockpile of highly enriched uranium is also still believed to remain buried following US and Israeli airstrikes last June, Iran still supports proxy militant groups such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis and Iran reportedly retains much of its pre-war missile stockpile despite US-Israeli attacks.

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has criticised national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over a video he posted on social media showing him mocking detained activists from the Gaza flotilla.

Netanyahu said he instructed the activists to be deported from Israel as soon as possible.

“Israel has every right to prevent provocative flotillas of Hamas terrorist supporters from entering our territorial waters and reaching Gaza. However, the way that minister Ben Gvir dealt with the flotilla activists is not in line with Israel’s values and norms,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

“I have instructed the relevant authorities to deport the provocateurs as soon as possible.”

Adding to the growing criticism against Ben-Gvir is Hamas, which said the footage released by Israel’s far-right national security minister was evidence of Israeli leaders’ “moral depravity”.

“We, in the Hamas movement affirm that the scenes of torture and humiliation orchestrated by the criminal, fascist Zionist minister, Ben-Gvir, during the arrest of activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla, are an expression of the moral depravity and sadism that govern the mentality of the leaders of the criminal enemy entity,” the group said in a statement, according to AFP.

Shortly after Meloni’s statement, the Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Saar, also slammed Ben-Gvir for sharing the video, saying he is “not the face of Israel”.

In a post on X, Saar said: “You knowingly caused harm to our state in this disgraceful display – and not for the first time.

“You have undone tremendous, professional, and successful efforts made by so many people – from IDF soldiers to foreign ministry staff and many others.

“No, you are not the face of Israel.”

Ben-Gvir, who visited the port of Ashdod where he was filmed mocking the flotilla activists, hit back, saying “anyone who comes to our territory to support terrorism and identify with Hamas will get slapped”.

The Global Sumud Flotilla that attempted to deliver aid to Gaza, which is under an Israeli maritime blockade, was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off the coast of Cyprus on Monday.

The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, and foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, have condemned the “unacceptable” treatment of Gaza flotilla activists detained by Israel, after an Israeli minister posted a video of them bound and forced to kneel.

“It is unacceptable that these protesters, including many Italian citizens, are subjected to this treatment that is detrimental to human dignity,’ they said in a statement, according to the Italian Ansa news agency.

“The Italian government is immediately taking all necessary steps at the highest institutional levels to secure the immediate release of the Italian citizens involved. Italy also demands an apology for the treatment of these protesters and for the total disregard shown for the Italian government’s explicit requests.”

They said the government would summon the Israeli ambassador for an explanation.

Their comments followed a video shared on social media by the Israeli far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, showing activists kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs and foreheads on the ground. “Welcome to Israel,” he wrote in an accompanying message.

The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Turkey last week in the latest attempt by activists to breach Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian territory. Israeli authorities said 430 activists aboard the flotilla were taken to Israel after their vessels were intercepted in international waters near Cyprus.

Gaza’s health ministry said in its latest update that at least one person has been killed and 16 others injured in Israeli attacks across the territory over the past day.

The health ministry says 881 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire in October 2025.

It says that 72,773 people have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since October 2023, when Isreal launched its assault on the territory following the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed.

The UAE’s foreign ministry has condemned what it described as “ terrorist attacks” launched by drones from Iraq, days after a drone attack on the Barakah nuclear energy Plant in Abu Dhabi.

As the Guardian’s defence and security editor, Dan Sabbagh, notes in this analysis piece, Reactor no 3 at the Barakah nuclear plant lost vital off-site power for about 24 hours after the attack on Sunday, forcing it to rely on emergency diesel generators.

The UAE’s defence ministry said on Tuesday that three drones targeting the plant had originated from Iraqi territory, suggesting a pro-Iranian proxy group was most likely to have been behind the strike.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but Tehran and its proxies have launched drone attacks targeting Gulf Arab states since the US-Israeli war started their war on Iran on 28 February.

In a post on X published on Wednesday, the UAE’s foreign ministry wrote:

In a statement, the ministry of foreign affairs affirmed the UAE’s strongest condemnation and absolute rejection of the heinous terrorist attacks launched from Iraqi territory targeting vital civilian infrastructure in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, in flagrant violation of their sovereignty and airspace, and a clear breach of international law, international humanitarian law, and the UN charter.

The ministry stressed the necessity for the government of the Republic of Iraq to urgently and unconditionally prevent all hostile acts originating from its territory, and to address these threats urgently, immediately, and responsibly in accordance with relevant international and regional laws and conventions.

Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has issued a written statement on the second anniversary of the death of former president Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash.

Khamenei said Iran is mounting a “unique historical resistance against two global terrorist armies”, referring to the US and Israel. “This makes the burden of the Islamic Republic’s officials – from the leadership and heads of forces to all levels of managers – heavier than in the past,” he added, according to a statement published by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Khamenei has yet to appear in public since becoming the supreme leader of Iran after the killing of his father and predecessor, Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the war.

Gaza is in a grim limbo more than seven months after Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire deal: no reconstruction is under way, the so-called Board of Peace is struggling with funding and Palestinian technocrats chosen to run the strip are sidelined in Egypt.

In a 15 May submission to the UN security council, the Board of Peace said the “principal obstacle” to realising Trump’s plan for Gaza was Hamas’s refusal to hand over its weapons and cede control of the strip – but several people familiar with the body said funding shortfalls could jeopardise the effort.

Nine countries pledged $7bn (£5bn) to a “Gaza relief” package at the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace, which Trump chaired. But only the United Arab Emirates and Morocco have sent funds, according to a person familiar with its operations.

The group has received $23m to fund its operations, as well as an injection of $100m to fund a future Palestinian police force, the person said. In sum, that amounts to $1.75 for every $100 pledged.

The UN has estimated the total cost of rebuilding Gaza to be upward of $70bn over decades.

Several countries that initially pledged funds to the Board of Peace (BoP) are now reluctant to pay, after months of stalled diplomacy and no progress on the ground, according to five people familiar with the organisation.

“Countries are hesitant to pay their portions,” said one diplomat familiar with international negotiations about Gaza, who was not authorised to speak publicly. The Iran war has provided cover for delays to payments, another source said.

Read more here:

Activists who were onboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that was intercepted by Israeli naval forces are being detained at an Israeli port before being taken to prison, an Israeli rights group and the flotilla’s organisers said on Wednesday.

The flotilla was making a renewed attempt to deliver aid to war-shattered Gaza after earlier missions were also intercepted by Israel in international waters. Video footage showed Israeli forces opening fire on at least two flotilla vessels on Tuesday, with Israel saying those were warning shots.

Organisers say they aim to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian assistance, something aid bodies say is still in short supply despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in place since October 2025 that includes guarantees of increased aid.

Activists aboard past flotillas that were intercepted by Israel were deported after being detained. Ships from the flotilla had set sail for a third time on Thursday from southern Turkey.

Israel’s Knesset have advanced a bill to dissolve parliament. Lawmakers on Wednesday voted to advance a bill submitted by the ruling coalition of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu which would dissolve parliament and pave the way for early elections.

In a preliminary reading, 110 out of the parliament’s 120 lawmakers voted in favour and 0 against the bill, which will now pass to a committee before three more parliamentary readings.

The vote comes at a pivotal time for Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister. Israel has been at war with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran, fronts that remain volatile and could have an impact on the election.

Netanyahu still faces a long-running corruption trial. Israel’s President Isaac Herzog is mediating talks to broker a plea deal in the case, which could see the 76-year-old Netanyahu retiring from politics as part of the deal.

Netanyahu’s health could also be an issue. He recently disclosed that he was successfully treated for prostate cancer and in 2023 he was fitted with a pacemaker.