AL-MONITOR: The Pulse of The Middle East

US threatens 'devastating' response to any Iran attack on shipping

2026-05-05T09:30:20-0400

The United States is "not looking for a fight" over the Strait of Hormuz and its ceasefire with Iran still holds, but any attack on commercial shipping will be met with a "devastating" response, the Pentagon chief said Tuesday.

The warning from Pete Hegseth came on the second day of a US effort to facilitate the transit of commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran had closed in response to the US-Israeli war against the Islamic republic.

US and Bahrain push UN-backed action for Hormuz as Washington seeks maritime coalition

2026-05-05T09:02:00-0400

By John Irish

PARIS, May 5 (Reuters) - U.N. Security Council members will begin talks on Tuesday on a U.S.- and Bahrain‑backed draft resolution that could lead to sanctions against Iran, and potentially authorise force, if Tehran fails to halt attacks and threats to commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, three Western diplomats said.

Israeli strikes kill two Palestinians in Gaza, medics say

2026-05-05T08:36:48-0400

CAIRO/GAZA, May 5 (Reuters) - Israeli strikes killed at least two Palestinians and wounded several others in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, health officials said.

Medics said a Palestinian was killed and two others were wounded by an Israeli airstrike near the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood in Gaza City, while another was killed and several others were wounded by Israeli tank shelling near the central area of the enclave.

There was no immediate Israeli comment on either incident.

Palestinian leader's son, long in the shadows, seeks political role

2026-05-05T08:36:48-0400

RAMALLAH, May 5 (Reuters) - The millionaire businessman son of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to run for a steering role in his 90-year-old father's political party, sources say, as a succession fight looms for control of the embattled Palestinian Authority.

Yasser Abbas runs tobacco and contracting firms in the parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank where the PA exercises limited self rule. His critics have long accused him and his brother Tarek, also a businessman, of using public funds to fuel their businesses, allegations both men reject.

Pentagon chief: ceasefire with Iran is not over

2026-05-05T08:36:48-0400

WASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday that a U.S. operation to protect commercial ships from Iran in the Strait of Hormuz is temporary, Washington is not looking for a fight and the ceasefire with Iran is still in effect.

"The ceasefire is not over," Hegseth told reporters.

"We said we would defend and defend aggressively, and we absolutely have. Iran knows that, and ultimately, the president can make a decision whether anything were to escalate into a violation of a ceasefire," he said.

Israeli court extends detention of two Gaza flotilla activists until May 10

2026-05-05T08:36:48-0400

By Steven Scheer and Elena Rodriguez

JERUSALEM/MADRID, May 5 (Reuters) - An Israeli court has extended by another six days the detention of two activists arrested aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla that was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters near Greece.

Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were detained by Israeli authorities last Wednesday and brought to Israel, while more than 100 other pro-Palestinian activists on the boats were taken to the Greek island of Crete.

Pentagon says Iran ceasefire continues despite UAE attack

Jared Szuba — 2026-05-05T07:48:38-0400

"We expected there would be some churn at the beginning," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said of the US Navy-led operation to open the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping.

Erdogan ally calls for official status for jailed Kurdish militant leader

2026-05-05T06:36:40-0400

ANKARA, May 5 (Reuters) - Turkish nationalist party leader Devlet Bahceli said on Tuesday the jailed head of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) should be given an official role to help advance a peace process aimed at ending a decades-long conflict.

Bahceli, a close ally of President Tayyip Erdogan who was instrumental in initiating the talks, made the proposal in a parliamentary speech after pro-Kurdish lawmakers accused the government of moving too slowly.

Turkey and Saudi Arabia set to scrap visa requirements, source says

2026-05-05T06:36:40-0400

ANKARA, May 5 (Reuters) - Turkey and Saudi Arabia plan to sign an agreement to scrap visa requirements for their citizens during talks between their foreign ministers in Ankara on Wednesday, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Tuesday.

Relations between Ankara and Riyadh were badly damaged after the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul, after Turkey accused senior Saudi officials of orchestrating the killing. The two sides have taken steps since 2020 to repair ties.

Rubio expects 'frank' meeting with pope as Trump takes fresh potshots at Leo

2026-05-05T06:36:40-0400

By Joshua McElwee

VATICAN CITY, May 5 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expects a "frank" meeting with Pope Leo during a visit to the Vatican this week, the U.S. ambassador said on Tuesday, after President Donald Trump took a fresh pot-shot at the pope for criticising the U.S. war in Iran.

"Nations have disagreements, and I think one of the ways that you work through those is ... through fraternity and authentic dialogue," said Brian Burch, the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See.

Israel court extends Gaza flotilla activists' detention by six days

2026-05-05T06:30:21-0400

An Israeli court on Tuesday extended the detention of two foreign activists taken from a Gaza-bound flotilla by six days, a lawyer representing them said.

Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian Thiago Avila appeared before a court in the southern city of Ashkelon for their second hearing, after being brought to Israel for questioning last week.

The extension is to allow police more time to interrogate them, the pair's lawyer said.

Iran warns 'not even started' in Hormuz

2026-05-05T06:00:19-0400

Iran's powerful chief negotiator warned the United States against any further escalation in the Strait of Hormuz, after a spate of attacks risked reigniting the Middle East war.

The US military said its Apache and Seahawk helicopters hit six Iranian boats threatening commercial shipping and its forces repelled missile and drones on Monday, while the UAE reported fresh Iranian attacks on its territory.

With wood scarce, Gaza carpenters make simple beds from pallets

2026-05-05T05:36:38-0400

By Haseeb Alwazeer

GAZA, May 5 (Reuters) - As Israeli restrictions continue to curb the entry of goods into Gaza, local carpenters are turning to scrap wood and shipping pallets to make much-needed basic beds and tables in a strip battered by two years of war between Hamas and Israel.

In a workshop in southern Gaza, carpenters dismantle used pallets to make beds, cupboards, and shelves for families displaced by fighting, after regular construction materials became scarce or prohibitively expensive.

Middle East truce in doubt as US and Iran fight for control of Strait of Hormuz

2026-05-05T03:36:36-0400

DUBAI/WASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - The fragile truce in the Middle East was in jeopardy on Tuesday after the U.S. and Iran launched new attacks as they wrestled for control of the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. military said on Monday it destroyed six Iranian small boats, as well as cruise missiles and drones, after President Donald Trump sent the navy to escort stranded tankers through the strait in a campaign he called "Project Freedom".

Taiwan won't give in to pressure, president says of Africa trip China denounced

2026-05-05T02:36:37-0400

By Fabian Hamacher and Ann Wang

TAOYUAN, Taiwan, May 5 (Reuters) - President Lai Ching-te arrived home on Tuesday from Eswatini saying Taiwan would not give in to pressure, having taken a circuitous route over the southern part of the Indian Ocean to skirt airspace controlled by close friends of China.

China views democratically governed Taiwan as part of its territory with no right to state-to-state ties, a position Taiwan's government strongly disputes, and Beijing has demanded countries stop any engagements with the island.

For Israel's Circassians, food and language sustain an ancient heritage

2026-05-04T22:30:21-0400

On a sunny afternoon, Shina Shabso was busy making traditional cheese pastries for a wedding on Israel's border with Lebanon, the celebration in the Circassian village of Rehaniya a much-needed break from weeks of war.

Known as "halyuj", the fried semi-circular pastries are a staple of life in this tiny community of Circassians spread across two villages in northern Israel and are served up to honour guests at a celebration or to comfort those who mourn.

IAEA says drone damaged equipment at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine

2026-05-04T21:01:37-0400

May 4 (Reuters) - The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Monday meteorological monitoring equipment at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine had been damaged by a drone.

The Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's largest with six reactors, was seized by Russian forces in the early weeks of Moscow's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Each side has since regularly accused the other of military action which could compromise safety at the plant, located near the war's front line.

Britain condemns Iranian strikes on the United Arab Emirates

2026-05-04T19:36:36-0400

May 4 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday condemned the Iranian drone and missile strikes targeting the United Arab Emirates.

Starmer called on Iran to engage in diplomacy to prevent further escalation in the Middle East, the prime minister's office said.

"We stand in solidarity with the UAE and will continue to support the defence of our partners in the Gulf. This escalation must cease. Iran needs to engage meaningfully in negotiations to ensure the ceasefire in the Middle East endures, and a long-term diplomatic solution is achieved," Starmer said.

Exclusive-US intelligence indicates limited new damage to Iran's nuclear program, sources say

2026-05-04T17:01:40-0400

By Gram Slattery, Jonathan Landay and Erin Banco

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence assessments indicate that the time Iran would need to build a nuclear weapon has not changed since last summer, when analysts estimated that a U.S.-Israeli attack had pushed back the timeline to up to a year, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

The assessments of Tehran's nuclear program remain broadly unchanged even after two months of a war that U.S. President Donald Trump launched in part to stop the Islamic Republic from developing a nuclear bomb.

Trump calls Xi meeting important trip, says US leads in AI

2026-05-04T16:36:38-0400

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Monday he looks forward to seeing China’s Xi Jinping later this month, saying he will remind his rival that the United States is leading in artificial intelligence as the two sides navigate tensions over trade and technology.

(Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw; editing by Costas Pitas)