KOENIG

Iran does not intend to "surrender" as it enters into diplomatic dialogue with the Unietd States, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a Twitter/X post on Monday.

"Dialogue does not mean surrender," Pezeshkian said. "The Islamic Republic of Iran enters into dialogue with dignity, authority, and the preservation of the nation's rights, and under no circumstances will it retreat from the legal rights of the people and the country."

This comes as a response to US President Donald Trump, who said on Monday he had paused a planned attack against Iran after Tehran sent a peace proposal to Washington, and that there was now a "very good chance" of reaching a deal limiting Iran's nuclear program.

The bill, titled  “Reciprocal action by military and security forces of the Islamic Republic,” is one of several pieces of legislation aimed at formalizing the threats made by the regime against world leaders.

In a post on Truth Social, the US president wrote: "I have been asked by the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, and the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to hold off on our planned Military attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow, in that serious negotiations are now taking place, and that, in their opinion, as Great Leaders and Allies, a Deal will be made, which will be very acceptable to the United States of America, as well as all Countries in the Middle East, and beyond. This Deal will include, importantly, NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR IRAN!".

Iran said Monday that it had responded to a new US proposal aimed at ending the war, and that exchanges were continuing despite Iranian media reports describing Washington’s demands as “excessive.”

The statement came amid reports that Israel and the US were preparing for the possibility of renewing strikes on Iran, and a day after US President Donald Trump warned that the “clock is ticking” for Tehran to agree to a deal, “or there won’t be anything left of them.” Trump has repeatedly set deadlines for Iran to meet various ultimatums and then backed off.

Two Middle East officials told the New York Times that the United States and Israel “are engaged in intense preparations, the largest since the cease-fire took effect,” for a possible renewal of attacks on Iran this week. In previous terms for a deal dismissed by Trump, Iran has refused to relinquish its stockpile of 60%-enriched uranium, and insisted on the “right” to enrichment. It denies seeking nuclear 

The U.S. has again rejected an Iranian proposal to end the conflict between the two countries, according to a new report. 

Iran has set up a new body to govern passage through the Strait of Hormuz, and launched an official X account for the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) on Monday – even as an American source warned that President Donald Trump has only days left of patience with Tehran before he moves toward military action.

An American source told the Qatari network Al Jazeera that "President Donald Trump's patience has begun to run out as a result of the failure to achieve progress in negotiations with Iran."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuand US President Donald Trump spoke on Sunday about the president's visit to China. 

The pair also discussed developments with Iran.

"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 Truth Social after the call.

Thousands of people on Sunday streamed onto the National Mall for a daylong prayer rally filled with worship music and speakers ranging from Christian leaders to administration officials.

Long lines stretched in the nation’s capital despite the hot and humid weather as people made their way into the event.

The stage design included arched stained-glass windows, set underneath grand columns resembling a federal building, depicted the nation's founders alongside a white cross.

House Speaker Mike Johnson led the prayer of rededication at 7h 29m into the stream.

Israel and the United States are carrying out their most intense preparations yet to renew attacks on Iran, possibly as soon as next week, two Middle Eastern officials told The New York Times on Friday.

According to US officials cited by the newspaper, options for renewed operations in Iran include launching a more intense bombing campaign against military and infrastructure sites; conquering Iran’s key oil export hub of Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf; and putting commandos on the mainland to extract nuclear material buried under the rubble.

Extracting the highly enriched uranium would risk several casualties and require thousands of supporting forces to create a perimeter around an area of operation and likely engage with Iranian ground troops, the Times cited military officials as saying.

The United States on Friday announced a 45-day extension of a porous ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, even as the Iran-backed terror group continued to clash with IDF soldiers and launch missiles and drones into Israeli territory.

Israel said that it had targeted Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip and the head of the terror group’s military wing, in an airstrike in Gaza City on Friday. While there was no immediate confirmation that he was killed, news of the strike prompted a joyous response from several of the hostages he had personally held and many hailed the apparent death of the last of the major architects of the October 7, 2023, massacre.

The strike, which came amid a shaky ceasefire between Israel and the terror group, hit a residential building in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood. Footage from the scene showed a huge cloud of dust and smoke rising from the shattered, burning building.

Minutes after the airstrike, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz released a statement confirming that they had given the order to target Haddad, calling him the “commander of Hamas’s military wing and one of the principal architects of the October 7 massacre.”

U.S. President Donald Trump wrapped up his visit to China on Friday, insisting that relations with Beijing are improving despite sharp differences over Iran, Taiwan and trade.

The Iran war featured prominently in Trump’s talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, with the White House saying the two leaders agreed on the need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

“I am not going to be much more patient,” Trump told Fox News. “They should make a deal.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a stark warning to President Donald Trump that Taiwan could trigger "clashes and even conflicts" between the world’s two superpowers, injecting a note of potential confrontation into an otherwise upbeat summit in Beijing.

"President Xi stressed to President Trump that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-U.S. relations. If it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability. Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said following the meeting.

The White House, however, downplayed the exchange, with a senior administration official telling Fox News Digital that "both sides reiterated their long-stated stance on the issue and everyone understands each other’s position."

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated on Wednesday Washington’s stance that Iran must not obtain a nuclear weapon, adding that he would welcome a more active role from China in helping resolve the Mideast conflict.

“Iran is an example of a bilateral issue that is irreconcilable. Their clerical regime wants a nuclear weapon and the world, led by President [Donald] Trump, says that can’t happen,” Rubio told Fox News aboard Air Force One while en route to Beijing to join the U.S. delegation and the president for the first diplomatic visit to China in nine years.

Financial Times: Xi Jinping has warned Donald Trump that the “Taiwan question” was critical to US-China relations, adding that it could lead to “conflict” if badly managed as the two opened a high-stakes summit in Beijing. Meeting on Thursday in the Great Hall of the People, where the two leaders were also expected to discuss issues such as Iran and their trade war, Xi sought to impress upon Trump how seriously China’s Communist Party government regards its claims over Taiwan.

“The Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations. If handled properly, the overall stability of bilateral relations can be maintained,” said Xi, according to state news agency Xinhua. “If mishandled, the two countries could face confrontation or even conflict, pushing the entire China-US relationship into a highly dangerous situation.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed on Wednesday that he had made a secretive visit to the United Arab Emirates and met with its leader, President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, during the US-Israeli war with Iran earlier this year.

The meeting resulted in a “historic breakthrough” in relations between Israel and Abu Dhabi, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

The announcement was the latest sign of increased cooperation between the two countries during the war, after reports on Wednesday said that the heads of Israel’s two main intelligence agencies had also made secret trips to the Gulf state to help it shore up its defensive and offensive capabilities in the face of Iranian missile and drone attacks.

The United Arab Emirates foreign ministry denies a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office that he secretly visited the UAE during the war against Iran, calling it “entirely unfounded.”

Coalition whip Ofir Katz submits a bill to dissolve the Knesset and trigger elections, co-sponsored by all of the parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition.

President Donald Trump warned Monday that the fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran may be on the verge of collapse, casting new urgency over what a renewed conflict could look like as negotiations appear to be breaking down over Tehran’s nuclear program.

"I would say the ceasefire is on massive life support where the doctor walks in and says, 'Sir, your loved one has approximately a 1% chance of living,'" Trump told reporters, signaling deep skepticism that current diplomacy will hold.

The comments came after Trump rejected an Iranian-backed proposal that focused on ending the U.S. blockade while delaying more difficult negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program — an approach the administration appears to view as unacceptable.

Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with the US said on Monday the Islamic Republic is “ready to deliver a well-deserved response to any aggression,” as US President Donald Trump reportedly considered restarting the war after negotiations with Tehran reached a dead end.

“Mistaken strategy and mistaken decisions will always lead to mistaken results,” Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X. “The whole world has already figured this out.

“We are prepared for all options; they will be surprised,” he wrote.

In an update to its report, JINSA’s review found U.S. forces had redirected 62 vessels that had attempted to breach the blockade as of May 11, and disabled four more. That is up from 44 vessels redirected at the time the report was first issued. The blockade began on April 13.