Iranian president resigns as leadership in Tehran remains divided

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force commander, Esmaeil Qaani, said Monday that Israeli military operations in Lebanon and Gaza could lead Iran and its allies to take steps that could affect maritime traffic in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported.

Reuters also reported the remarks.

“The evil of the Zionists (Israel) in Lebanon and Gaza, in the shadow of the shameless support of America, will mark the determination of the resistance axis to expand support from both fronts, take steps to activate other fronts, and equate the traffic situation of the Bab El Mandeb Strait with the Strait of Hormuz,” Qaani said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel will strike targets in Beirut if Hezbollah continues its attacks and that he delivered the warning to President Donald Trump during a call.

“Tonight, I spoke with President Trump and told him that if Hezbollah does not cease attacking our cities and citizens, Israel will attack terror targets in Beirut,” Netanyahu said in a post shared on X.

“Our stance remains unchanged,” he added.

“Meanwhile, the IDF will continue to operate as planned in southern Lebanon,” Netanyahu said.

A cargo vessel in the Persian Gulf was hit by two explosions southeast of Iraq’s Umm Qasr on Monday, according to reports.

Iraqi security officials said a preliminary assessment suggested the second blast was caused by a drone attack, Reuters reported.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) first received a report of the incident 40 nautical miles southeast of Umm Qasr, Iraq.

The cargo vessel was transiting the Persian Gulf when it experienced a large explosion following a potential impact from an unknown projectile on the starboard side, the UKMTO said.

Later, the UKMTO was informed of a second impact on the cargo vessel, resulting in a fire that has since been extinguished.

“No injuries to the crew were reported. Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO. Authorities are investigating,” the organization said.

Fox News’ Liz Friden contributed to this report.

US forces have redirected 121 commercial vessels and disabled five since the start of the Iranian port blockade, CENTCOM confirmed Monday, underscoring the scale of the operation.

“Thousands of U.S. service members at sea, in the skies, and on land are supporting the ongoing U.S. blockade against Iran,” CENTCOM said in a post on X.

“As of June 1, CENTCOM forces have redirected 121 commercial vessels and disabled five to ensure compliance,” the command added.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that Iran’s foreign minister asked Islamabad to help facilitate de-escalation across the region and support efforts to keep the ceasefire in place between the United States and Iran.

In a post on X, the ministry said Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi made the request during a conversation with Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar.

According to the ministry, Araghchi expressed “serious concern over recent developments in the region, including ceasefire violations in Lebanon by Israel and orders by the Israeli government regarding a potential attack in parts of Beirut.”

“FM Araghchi also appreciated Pakistan’s constructive role in regional diplomacy and requested Pakistan to continue using its good offices to help facilitate de-escalation in the current situation and support efforts to maintain the ceasefire,” the ministry said.

The ministry added that Dar conveyed Pakistan’s “serious concern” and stressed the importance of sustaining the ceasefire to prevent a breakdown of existing understandings.

“Both leaders agreed to remain in close contact,” the ministry said.

President Donald Trump says peace talks are continuing with Iran at a “rapid pace” on Monday after a weekend of stalled negotiations.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social account that progress is being made after Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a truce in separate phone calls with the president.

“Talks are continuing, at a rapid pace, with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump wrote.

Earlier Monday, Trump begrudgingly praised Iran’s negotiators, saying telling NBC News in an interview that their representatives are “better negotiators than they are fighters.”

President Donald Trump says Israel and Hezbollah will observe a new ceasefire after he spoke with both parties on Monday.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and received assurances that Israeli forces will not enter Lebanon’s capital of Beirut.

“I had a very productive call with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel, and there will be no Troops going to Beirut, and any Troops that are on their way, have already been turned back,” Trump wrote.

“Likewise, through highly placed Representatives, I had a very good call with Hezbollah, and they agreed that all shooting will stop — That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel,” he added.

The statement comes after Iranian media says Tehran officials refused to participate in peace talks with the U.S. while Israel continued its attacks on Hezbollah.

An Iraqi terror suspect, Mohammad Al-Saadi, is due to appear at a New York federfal court on Friday after being accused of plotting attacks across the U.S. and Europe, including an alleged plan to assassinate Ivanka Trump.

The scheme against the first daughter is believed to have originated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a revenge plot for the 2021 killing of Gen. Qasem Soleimani.

President Donald Trump says he has not heard from Iran that they are withdrawing from peace negotiations with the U.S.

Trump made the statement in an interview with NBC News on Monday, going on to say that ending talks may not be a problem.

“I think we’ve been talking too much if you want to know the truth. I think going silent would be very good, and that could be that could be for a long time,” Trump said, according to NBC.

“It doesn’t mean we’re going to go and start dropping bombs all over there,” he added. “We’ll just go silent. We’ll keep the blockade. Blockade is a piece of steel.”

Trump went on to say he believes the U.S. can wait out the Iranian regime, saying they are “losing a fortune” due to economic sanctions and the blockade.

Ret. Gen. Jack Keane criticized Iran’s claim that a ceasefire is holding, calling the claim “laughable” during an appearance on Fox News on Monday.

Keane says the regime in Tehran has fired more than 2,400 missiles and drones into northern Israel while trying to stall peace negotiations.

Keane warned that Iran is attempting to drag out peace talks to reach the U.S. midterm elections, assuming President Donald Trump won’t return to a war footing.

U.S. Central Command says it is “communicating and coordinating” with ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.

CENTCOM spokesman Tim Hawkins clarified that American forces are not “escorting” trade vessels, however. The U.S. says President Donald Trump’s “Project Freedom” remains paused.

“Though U.S. forces are not escorting, we continue to communicate and coordinate with commercial ships seeking to freely and safely transit the Strait of Hormuz, a critical international corridor for regional and global economies,” Hawkins said in a statement.

Project Freedom was a short-lived program that would have seen U.S. ships taking a more active role in escorting trade through the strait.

The main difference between Project Freedom and what the U.S. military is doing now, is defensive protection of these ships is not guaranteed or officially being coordinated, a U.S. defense official told Fox.

A Panama-flagged trade vessel was attacked in the Persian Gulf on Monday and suffered a “large explosion,” the U.K.’s Maritime Trade Operations says.

Authorities say the vessel was hit with a projectile on its starboard side. The UKMTO did not name a party responsible for the attack.

The UKMTO did not clarify whether there were any injuries on the ship.

Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade and Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen analyzed Iran’s primary demands for peace negotiations as talks remains stalled Monday.

Tehran’s top issues include relief from sanctions, safeguarding domestic nuclear rights and maintaining sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran is halting its indirect talks with U.S. negotiators in protest against Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iranian state-linked media reported Monday.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency, linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that Tehran is cutting off talks due to the “continued crimes of the Zionist regime in Lebanon.”

The report comes after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted to social media saying Lebanon must be included in the ongoing ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.

“The United States and Israel bear responsibility for the consequences of any breach of the truce,” Araghchi wrote.

Iran’s supreme leader has launched a sweeping counteroffensive against President Donald Trump, attempting to rally Middle Eastern nations into an anti-American alliance, an analyst warned Sunday.

The aggressive maneuvering came hours after Trump pitched an expansion of the Abraham Accords, as an analyst said Tehran is seeking to position itself as the region’s “new sheriff” while forcing Gulf states with backchannels to Iran to choose between Washington’s security umbrella and a “New Islamic Civilization.”

On Sunday, negotiations between Iran and the United States appeared to be ongoing, with Trump not yet signing off on a potential peace agreement.

Trump recently held a phone call with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan and Bahrain to discuss expanding the 2020 Abraham Accords, followed by a May 25 post on Truth Social.

Mojtaba Khamenei issued a direct counter-response on X on May 26, issuing a call for a “New Islamic Civilization” aimed at those same regional capitals.

“I, with sincerity and purity of intention, invite all Islamic countries and governments to friendship and cooperation in goodness, so that by working together we may take steps toward the advancement of the Islamic Ummah and the resolution of the Islamic world’s problems,” Khamenei posted.

Highlighting “the nations of the region” and “common interests that will shape the new order and the future architecture of the region and the world,” he spoke of “the Islamic Ummah and the #New_Islamic_Civilization.”

“The United States will no longer have a safe haven for its mischief and for establishing military bases in West Asia,” he also warned.

“Mojtaba Khamenei’s statement is that the Muslim world should consolidate under Iran’s leadership — the ‘Ummah,’ the ‘new Islamic civilization’ — against the American-led order,” Dr. Omar Mohammed told Fox News Digital.

U.S. forces intercepted two Iranian ballistic missiles targeting American forces based in Kuwait late Sunday night, according to U.S. Central Command.

CENTCOM announced the interception in a statement on X, saying no Americans were harmed in the incident. Kuwait also has not announced any casualties.

“Last night at 11 p.m. ET, U.S. forces successfully intercepted two Iranian ballistic missiles targeting American forces based in Kuwait. These missiles were immediately defeated and no American personnel were harmed,” CENTCOM wrote.

“U.S. Central Command remains vigilant and will continue to protect our forces from Iranian aggression while supporting the ongoing ceasefire,” it added.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted that Lebanon remains included in a ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran on Monday.

“The ceasefire between Iran and the US is unequivocally a ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” Araghchi wrote. “Its violation on one front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts.”

“The US and Israel are responsible for the consequences of any violation,” he added.

Strikes took place on all sides throughout the weekend despite the ceasefire, with Iran launching attacks against the U.S. and Kuwait and the U.S. responding with its own strikes on Tehran.

Israel also carried out strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon after the Iran-backed terrorist organization launched rockets into Israeli territory.

Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Iran for “heinous and repeated” attacks Monday after its forces intercepted multiple missile and drone attacks from Tehran.

Air raid sirens blared across the country in Kuwait this weekend as its air defenses confronted Iranian attacks. The nation’s government has vowed to “take whatever measures are necessary” to defend itself.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterates the State of Kuwait’s condemnation and denunciation, in the strongest terms, of the heinous and repeated Iranian attacks, which represent a dangerous escalation and a direct assault on the security and stability of the State of Kuwait, as well as a flagrant violation of the rules of international law, the United Nations Charter, and Security Council Resolution 2817 of 2026, not to mention the grave threat they pose to the safety of civilians and vital facilities in the country,” Kuwaiti officials said in a statement.

“The Ministry affirms that the continuation and repetition of these aggressions undermine efforts aimed at de-escalating tensions and threaten security and stability in the region, emphasizing the State of Kuwait’s categorical rejection of these aggressive practices,” the statement continued.

“The Ministry also affirms the State of Kuwait’s reservation of its full right to take whatever measures are necessary to preserve its security and defend its territories, holding Iran fully responsible for these heinous aggressions, in accordance with international law, the United Nations Charter, and the relevant Security Council resolutions,” it added.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that Iran has agreed to refrain from developing or otherwise acquiring nuclear weapons, a shift he described as a significant concession in ongoing negotiations while warning further military action is still on the table if talks fail.

Tehran has already agreed not to develop a nuclear weapon, the president said on “My View with Lara Trump,” but he wanted to ensure they wouldn’t be able to simply purchase one, either.

“So now (the agreement) says, ‘We will not develop or in any way purchase a military weapon.’ That’s a big difference. So we’re getting what we want slowly — very tough negotiators,” Trump said. 

“It takes a long time. I’m in no hurry… if you’re going to be in a hurry, you’re not going to make a good deal.”

He said an agreement was preferable because it would allow the Strait of Hormuz to reopen immediately, bringing gasoline prices “tumbling down” and preventing additional casualties.

But if Iran falls short of his terms, “we’re going to end it a different way,” he added.

The U.S. has destroyed the Iranian navy and air force, Trump said, accusing the media of downplaying American success in the region. He also expressed hesitation about wiping out the entirety of Iran’s remaining military because of how long it could take the country to rebuild afterward.

Still, he reserved the right to resume offensive action, saying it could be triggered by the collapse of negotiations or “a deal that wasn’t going to be good for us.”

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Max Bacall.

U.S. Central Command offered new details about a series of strikes it carried out against Iran this weekend after the shootdown of an American MQ-1 drone.

CENTCOM described the attacks as “self-defense strikes” in a statement on Monday, saying they targeted “Iranian radar and command and control sites for drones.”

“The measured and deliberate strikes occurred on Saturday and Sunday in response to aggressive Iranian actions that included the shootdown of a U.S. MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters. U.S. fighter aircraft swiftly responded by eliminating Iranian air defenses, a ground control station, and two one-way attack drones that posed clear threats to ships transiting regional waters,” CENTCOM wrote.

“No American service members were harmed. CENTCOM will continue to protect U.S. assets and interests in response to unwarranted Iranian aggression during the ongoing ceasefire,” the statement continued.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has submitted a letter of resignation to the Office of the Supreme Leader, according to reports.

Citing a source, Iran International reported Sunday that the letter stated the president and his government had been excluded from major decision-making in Iran.

The report also said the ensuing vacuum had allowed hard-line factions within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to take control of key affairs.

In the letter, Pezeshkian reportedly wrote that, under such circumstances, he is unable to govern effectively or fulfill his legal responsibilities and, for that reason, requested to step down immediately.

The outlet said it was unclear whether Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s office would accept Pezeshkian’s resignation.

On Sunday, President Donald Trump described Iranian officials as “very tough negotiators” and emphasized that the United States is taking a patient approach to securing a broader agreement during an interview with Lara Trump.

In April, Trump also said the regime was “seriously fractured,” citing the country’s internal divisions as one reason for extending the ceasefire indefinitely one day before the previous agreement was set to expire.

Fox News’ Emma Bussey contributed to this report.