Iran and US agree on ceasefire deal framework, but still need Trump’s approval
· France 24This liveblog is no longer being updated.
29/05/2026 - 03:32
This liveblog is no longer being updated.
29/05/2026 - 00:53
US military denies that Iranian forces downed a US aircraft
29/05/2026 - 00:52
Iran's football team still missing US visas for World Cup
Iran's football team still lacks US visas and is not competing in the World Cup on "equal terms" because of its difficulty in training ahead of the tournament, its ambassador to Mexico said Thursday.
Ambassador Abolfazl Pasandideh visited the northwestern Mexican border city of Tijuana, where Iranians have relocated their training camp. They were originally planned to be based in Tucson in the US state of Arizona.
The ambassador told a news conference that "the country to the north" – meaning the US – had not followed through on its responsibility of hosting the Iranian team.
"We don't know whether or not they're going to give the players their visas," he added.
28/05/2026 - 23:58
Vance says 'not there yet' but deal with Iran close
US Vice President JD Vance on Thursday told reporters that Washington was "not there yet" with Iran but that the parties were close, adding that the US was in a position where it could substantially set back Tehran's nuclear programme.
28/05/2026 - 23:55
Lebanon condemns Israeli strikes near historic sites in south
Lebanese authorities on Thursday decried Israeli attacks near UNESCO-protected historic sites and landmarks in the country's south.
Culture Minister Ghassan Salame "made numerous contacts with his counterparts worldwide and relevant international organisations to draw their attention to the huge damage to archaeological sites and heritage districts" in south Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency said.
He highlighted the ancient city of Tyre and Beaufort Castle in the Nabatieh district, emphasising that "a large number of these sites enjoy enhanced protection from UNESCO, making it necessary to protect them from any Israeli air or artillery attack".
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on X that "nothing can justify the ongoing attacks on the Tyre and Nabatieh regions and the destruction of their historical landmarks".
28/05/2026 - 23:05
Iran says US aircraft destroyed in Bushehr province
Iran's state TV said early on Friday that a US aircraft was destroyed in Iran's Jam governorate in Bushehr, citing its governor Masoud Tangestani, with no confirmation from the United States.
28/05/2026 - 22:19
Iran's armed forces carry out missile launch from southern region of the country, Fars news agency says
Iran's armed forces carried out a missile launch operation from the southern region of the country toward specified targets, semi-official Fars news agency said early on Thursday, adding the destination of the missiles was not yet clear.
28/05/2026 - 22:18
Lebanon says Israeli strike south of Beirut killed woman, two children
Lebanon's health ministry said an Israeli strike south of Beirut earlier Thursday killed a woman and two children, after Israel's army said it "precisely struck" the capital without identifying the target.
"The Israeli enemy strike on the town of Choueifat led to a final toll of three martyrs including a woman and her baby daughter, and a child of Syrian nationality, in addition to wounding 15 people including three children and five women," the health ministry said in a statement.
28/05/2026 - 21:50
US imposes fresh Iran-related sanctions, Treasury website shows
The United States has imposed new Iran-related sanctions, a post on the Treasury Department website showed.
28/05/2026 - 20:24
Bessent says Oman assured the US it has no plans to toll Strait of Hormuz
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters he spoke with Oman's ambassador and said Oman assured the United States there are no plans to toll the Strait of Hormuz.
28/05/2026 - 18:06
Crackdown on culture: Israel censoring Palestinian voices
A United Nations commission, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have all separately concluded that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war in October 2023.
The cultural life of the enclave is also profoundly threatened, with historic buildings destroyed and writers, poets and academics among that huge death toll.
Find out more by clicking on the player below.
28/05/2026 - 17:41
Israel says its inclusion on UN sexual violence list is 'shameful and absurd'
Israel criticised a UN decision to blacklist the country over alleged sexual violence in conflict zones, calling the move "shameful and absurd".
"The shameful and absurd UN decision to include Israeli entities in the annex to the CRSV (conflict-related sexual violence) report is further proof of the UN's true nature: a politicised and corrupt organisation that has abandoned its founding principles and systematically targets Israel as its primary mission," Israel's foreign ministry said on X.
The UN secretary-general's annual report on conflict-related sexual violence is customarily presented to relevant states ahead of publication.
Last August, the report warned that Israel could be added to the list of parties suspected of, or responsible for, sexual violence in situations of armed conflict.
At the time, the UN cited "credible information" regarding sexual violence allegedly committed by Israeli security forces against Palestinian detainees in prisons and other detention centres, and saying UN inspectors had been denied access to the facilities.
Militant group Hamas also appears on the list.
28/05/2026 - 17:19
US and Iran reach deal but need Trump's final approval, Axios reports
The US and Iran have reached an agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire and launch negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme, but US President Donald Trump still needs to give final approval, Axios reported, citing two US officials.
28/05/2026 - 17:02
'It looks very panicked, screams can be heard': Israeli strikes Beirut despite ceasefire
Israel’s air force carried out an air strike on a southern suburb of the capital, Beirut, Thursday afternoon, the Israeli military said, further straining a fragile ceasefire a day ahead of crucial negotiations in Washington.
The strike hit an apartment building but it was not immediately clear who might have been targeted. FRANCE 24's Renée Davis reports from Beirut, Lebanon.
28/05/2026 - 16:48
US warns Oman not to facilitate tolls for Strait of Hormuz
Oman should know that the US government will "aggressively" target any actors involved in facilitating tolls for the Strait of Hormuz, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on X on Thursday, adding that any partners in the effort to impose a tolling system in the Strait will be penalised.
28/05/2026 - 16:37
Israel PM says orders army to take control of 70 percent of Gaza Strip
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had ordered the country's military to take control of 70 percent of the devastated Gaza Strip, in defiance of the terms of a US-backed ceasefire that took effect in October.
"We are currently squeezing Hamas. We now control 60 percent of the territory in the strip. You know, we were at 50, we moved to 60. My directive is to move to ... 70 percent," he said at a conference in an occupied West Bank settlement, according to a video aired by Israel's Channel 12 network.
28/05/2026 - 16:02
'There is division between the decision-makers in Iran': How will Iran react to US strikes?
Iran condemned US strikes on the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, calling it a violation of the ongoign ceasefire.
The ministry's spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Iran would "take all necessary measures to defend its national sovereignty" and condemned what he called "the threatening rhetoric of American officials against Iran and several regional countries".
FRANCE 24's international affairs editor Angela Diffley tells us more.
28/05/2026 - 15:56
US Treasury chief says to halt Iran airlines' access to landing spots
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that the United States will halt Iranian airlines' access to landing spots, among other measures, as Washington pushes to intensify pressure on Tehran and open the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on X, Bessent said Washington will "be shutting down both Iranian airlines' access to landing spots, refueling, and ticket sales," without providing further details.
"Only a satisfactory outcome in negotiations will end the downward spiral," he said.
He also said the Treasury was sanctioning the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, the body set up by Tehran to oversee the critical Strait of Hormuz.
28/05/2026 - 14:07
Iran Guards threaten 'firm response' if US repeats attacks
Iran's Revolutionary Guards threatened a "firm response" on Thursday in the event of renewed attacks, after the United States carried out a strike in the country's south.
"If this action is repeated, the US military will face a firm response," the Guards said in a statement on their Sepah News website.
28/05/2026 - 13:49
Russia calls on US and Iran not to slide back into armed conflict
Russia called on the US and Iran not to slide back into armed conflict, but to continue talking, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
Russia is ready to assist in the removal of enriched uranium from Iran, she added, but Moscow "is not imposing its initiative".
Washington has not taken Russia up on the enrichment offer which has been on the table for months.
Yesterday's key developments:
• US President Donald Trump told his cabinet that “nobody” would control the Strait of Hormuz under a future settlement with Iran, but maintained that the US would “watch over” the critical waterway.
• The Israeli military said that all areas south of Lebanon's Zahrani River, which runs roughly 40 kilometres north of the Israel-Lebanon border, were considered "combat zones" and urged residents to head north.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israeli air strikes on Gaza City had killed Hamas' armed wing chief Mohammad Odeh, considered “one of the architects” of the October 7, 2023 attacks that began the war.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AP and AFP)