Iran war day 81: Trump delays attack; Tehran says won’t ‘surrender’ 

United States President Donald Trump said he postponed a planned attack on Iran after requests from the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, adding that “serious negotiations are now taking place” behind the scenes.

The comments suggest renewed diplomatic efforts are under way amid weeks of escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian defended Tehran’s participation in talks while rejecting suggestions that the country was backing down under pressure. “Dialogue does not mean surrender,” he said, adding that Iran had entered negotiations “with dignity, authority, and the preservation of the nation’s rights”.

Meanwhile, there is no letup in Israeli attacks on Lebanon as the death toll crossed 3,000, with at least seven people reported killed on Monday, according to local reports, despite a US-brokered extension of the “ceasefire”.

Here is what we know:

In Iran

• The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its forces struck groups linked to the US and Israel in the western province of Kurdistan, near the border with Iraq. In a statement carried by the ISNA news agency, it said groups from “northern Iraq and acting on behalf of the US and the Zionist regime were attempting to smuggle a large shipment of American weapons and ammunition” into Iran.
• The IRGC said fibre-optic cables passing through the Strait of Hormuz could be brought under a system of permits as Tehran tightens control over the waterway. “Following the imposition of control over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran, citing its absolute sovereignty over the bed and subsoil of its territorial sea … could declare that all fibre-optic cables passing through the waterway are subject to permits,” the IRGC said in a social media post.
• Mohsen Rezaei, a member of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, mocked Trump for setting and then cancelling a deadline for a military attack on Iran, saying Tehran would not surrender under pressure. In a post on X, he said the “iron fist” of Iran’s armed forces and people would force the US “to retreat and surrender”.
• Major-General Ali Abdollahi, commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, warned the US and its allies against making another “strategic mistake or miscalculation”, according to the Tasnim news agency. He said Iranian forces were stronger and more prepared than before, adding that any renewed aggression would face a response “far more powerful” than previous confrontations.

War diplomacy

• Pakistan has been playing a central role in indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran, with Iran saying it delivered its response to the latest US proposal through Islamabad. Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has also expressed support for Pakistan’s mediation efforts aimed at resolving the crisis through diplomatic means.

In the US

• The US president touted a “very positive development” in talks with Iran, which convinced him to postpone a planned military attack. He said allies in the Middle East told him “they are getting very close to making a deal” that would leave Iran without nuclear weapons.
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US has extended its sanctions waiver for Russian oil cargoes already at sea by 30 days, as global energy prices continue to surge due to the war. The latest “temporary 30-day general license” will “provide the most vulnerable nations with the ability to temporarily access Russian oil currently stranded at sea,” he said in a social media post.
• Matt Duss, executive vice president at the Center for International Policy, said Trump’s insistence that Iran accept zero uranium enrichment had made a deal impossible. In a post on X, he called the demand a “poison pill” pushed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and “warmongers” in Washington who “wanted a war”, adding that negotiations could resume if Trump reversed the position.
• Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna, reporting from Washington, DC, said the war is becoming a growing political problem for Trump as Americans face rising living costs and economic pressure linked to the conflict. While Trump has dismissed concerns and insisted conditions will improve once the conflict ends, Hanna said, many voters remain unconvinced, with dissatisfaction threatening to shape the November midterm elections and potentially hurt Republicans at the ballot box.
• Henry Ensher, a former US ambassador to Algeria, said Trump is under growing pressure not to launch further attacks on Iran because there are “no good military options”. He told Al Jazeera that a large-scale attack could “draw major criticism if it fails to change Iran’s behaviour”.

In Lebanon, Gaza and Iraq

• Lebanon death toll: Israeli strikes have killed more than 3,000 people in Lebanon since March 2, the Ministry of Public Health said. “The total cumulative toll of the aggression from March 2 to May 18 is now as follows: 3,020 martyrs and 9,273 wounded,” the ministry said, with 211 people aged 18 and below and 116 healthcare workers among those killed.
• Hezbollah’s drone attack on Israeli troops: The Lebanese group said it attacked Israeli soldiers with drones in the southern town of Rachaf in retaliation for deadly Israeli strikes on villages in the south. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
• Western Iraq operations intensify: Iraqi forces carried out large-scale sweeps in western desert areas following unconfirmed reports of covert Israeli military sites in the region. Iraqi authorities have denied the existence of any unauthorised foreign bases on their territory.
• Israeli raids in Ramallah: Israeli forces stormed several areas in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, including the villages of al-Mughayyir and Abu Falah. According to the Wafa news agency, there were confrontations in al-Mughayyir after Israeli troops fired toxic gas canisters.
• Gaza-bound aid ships seized: Organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla say Israeli forces continued to intercept vessels heading to Gaza in international waters. They said the vessel Perseverance, carrying volunteers from Australia, Belgium, Canada and France, was attacked and its crew detained. About 30 vessels remain en route after at least 47 vessels were seized, they said. Malaysia, Qatar and Turkiye have condemned the Israeli action.