U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said negotiations with Iran remain deadlocked over uranium enrichment and the Strait of Hormuz, despite what he described as modest progress in recent talks.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 22nd May, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Iran’s Supreme Leader has issued a directive that the country’s near-weapons-grade enriched uranium must not be sent abroad, according to two senior Iranian sources, marking a firm tightening of Tehran’s position in ongoing negotiations with the United States.
Talks between the U.S. and Iran remain in a delicate state after U.S. President Donald Trump rejected a 14-point proposal conveyed via Pakistan, while simultaneously suggesting that discussions with Tehran have been “positive.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned “foreigners who commit evil” have no place in the Gulf, outlining a “new phase” for the Strait of Hormuz, while a senior adviser said U.S. blockade efforts would fail and could trigger confrontation.
A torpedo from a U.S. submarine sunk an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth told reporters as the Iranian conflcit entered its fifth day on Wednesday.
Entrances to Iran's underground and previously bombed uranium-enrichment plant at Natanz have been struck as part of the U.S.-Israeli military attacks on the country, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEZ) confirmed on Tuesday (3 March).
Some of Iran's most highly enriched uranium, close to weapons grade, was stored in an underground area of its nuclear site in Isfahan, the UN nuclear watchdog said in a confidential report sent to member states on Friday (27 February).
A third round of indirect nuclear negotiations between Iran and the U.S. concluded in Geneva on Thursday, with Omani mediators reporting “significant progress” but no final agreement.
Iran’s top diplomat said that the next round of nuclear talks is expected in less than a week after what he described as “progress in the most serious exchanges” between Tehran and Washington. The statement follows the third round of nuclear talks on Thursday (26 February) in Geneva.
The United States is expected to deploy six additional aerial refuelling aircraft to Israel as Washington continues to strengthen its military presence in the Middle East while nuclear negotiations with Iran remain under way.
Ukraine signalled its readiness for fast-track European Union membership in Kyiv on Tuesday (24 February), as European leaders pledged continued political and financial backing and insisted Russia would gain nothing at the negotiating table.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said nuclear talks with United States have “yielded encouraging signals” stressing Iran’s readiness “for any potential scenario”.
The United States and Iran will hold a new round of nuclear negotiations in Geneva on Thursday as part of renewed diplomatic efforts to reach a potential agreement, Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi announced on Sunday.
President Donald Trump said he will be involved “indirectly” in nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran in Geneva, as both sides resume diplomacy against a backdrop of military pressure and deep mistrust.
The United States is sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East amid escalating tensions with Iran, U.S. media outlets reported on Thursday, 12 February, in an effort to reinforce its naval presence as diplomatic efforts falter.
Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi said Tehran has resumed negotiations with Washington "with seriousness and open eyes," stressing that progress depends on genuine commitment from the U.S. Meanwhile, security chief Ali Larijani warned that Israel is seeking to derail the newly resumed talks.
U.S. President Donald Trump says Washington could deploy a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East if nuclear negotiations with Iran collapse, warning of tougher action if no deal is reached.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has welcomed a fresh round of nuclear talks with the United States, insisting Tehran will protect its right to enrichment under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
After months of heightened tension following their war in June 2025 and weeks of escalating mutual threats, Iran and the United States resumed fragile nuclear diplomacy on Friday, as negotiators from both sides held critical mediated talks in Muscat, Oman.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) say they've detained two vessels in the Persian Gulf carrying more than 1 million litres of smuggled fuel, state media said, with 15 foreign crew members handed to judicial authorities.
The final barrier preventing an unlimited nuclear arms race between Washington and Moscow hangs by a thread. With an expiration date looming this year and international inspections suspended, the world faces a precarious future regarding the containment of strategic weapons. Should we be worried?
The United States and Iran are set to hold nuclear talks in Oman on Friday after Tehran requested a change of venue and a strictly bilateral, nuclear-focused format, a move that is fuelling questions about Iran’s negotiating strategy.
Russia said on Wednesday that the parties to the New START nuclear arms control treaty are no longer bound by its obligations or related declarations, marking a further erosion of the last remaining legally binding framework limiting U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear forces.
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