Israel's far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said Tuesday that the International Criminal Court prosecutor has requested an arrest warrant against him, accusing the Palestinian Authority of pushing for the move.
Smotrich said he would retaliate by ordering the evacuation of the Palestinian Bedouin community of Khan al-Ahmar in the occupied West Bank.
President Donald Trump warned Tuesday that the United States may strike Iran again -- a day after he said he had held off a major assault in hopes of a peace deal -- but Tehran's army threatened to open "new fronts" if he went ahead.
Trump told reporters at the White House that he had been just "an hour away" from relaunching Washington's attacks on Iran before postponing the order, after weeks of a fragile ceasefire and talks to end the war, which began on February 28.
Iranian authorities held mass public weddings in Tehran for couples who signed up to a state-sponsored scheme declaring their readiness to sacrifice their lives in the war against the US and Israel.
The ceremonies conducted late on Monday involved hundreds of couples in several major squares in the capital, including more than 100 in the vast Imam Hossein square in central Tehran, according to reports in Iranian media.
Gathered around a Revolutionary Guard in central Tehran, an audience of Iranians is learning to use an AK-47 assault rifle, in case it falls to them to defend the country from renewed US attacks.
For nearly half an hour, the soldier demonstrates different types of ammunition and how to assemble and disassemble the Kalashnikov using illustrated boards set up behind him on Haft-e Tir Square.
A former Libyan prison boss was described as a "notorious torturer" known as the "Angel of Death" who raped, murdered and abused detainees, the International Criminal Court heard on Tuesday.
The ICC was kicking off three days of hearings against Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri, 47, suspected of 17 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed at Mitiga prison near Tripoli between February 2015 and early 2020.
Oil prices eased and stocks wavered on Tuesday, with investors tracking a potential deal between the United States and Iran and rising bond yields sounding the alarm on interest rate expectations.
The yield on 30-year US Treasury bonds hit its highest level since during the global financial crisis 19 years ago, hitting as high as 5.19 percent during the session, compared to around 4.6 percent before the US-Israel war on Iran began in February.
The move indicated growing market unease over inflation, energy prices and fiscal worries.
US President Donald Trump said he was postponing a planned attack on Iran scheduled for Tuesday at the request of Gulf leaders amid "serious negotiations" with Tehran.
Trump's sudden announcement on social media on Monday came after Iran said it had responded to a new US proposal aimed at ending the war.
Trump said he would "hold off on our planned Military attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow," in a message on his Truth Social network.
Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:
- 'Good progress' in Iran talks -
US Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday that Iran talks are making "good progress" but Washington was "locked and loaded" to restart military operations if there is no deal.
Vance's comments came hours after President Donald Trump said he had come within an hour of ordering fresh strikes and gave Tehran "two or three days" to reach an agreement.
- Strike on nuclear plant condemned -
The first attack targeting an Arab nuclear site has sent a symbolic warning to the United Arab Emirates and its allies, even as Iran and the US remain in negotiations to end the Middle East war, analysts say.
An unclaimed drone struck an electrical generator on Sunday near the Arab world's first nuclear power plant in Barakah in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, triggering a fire but causing no injuries nor radiation leak.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was slightly higher last week, returning to levels in line with the average recorded since the start of the Middle East conflict after hitting a wartime low.
A total of 55 commodities vessels crossed the strategic waterway between May 11 and 17, according to data from maritime tracking firm Kpler as of Monday morning.
