President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.
Following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire, initial U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan in April failed to reach a peace deal.
Trump later announced the open-ended extension of the ceasefire and the continuation of a U.S. blockade until negotiations are concluded "one way or the other."
Bahrain says it arrested 15 people linked to Iranian proxies
Bahrain's Ministry of Interior announced it detained 15 people accused of having links to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, saying the move was intended "to safeguard national security," the state-run Bahrain News Agency reported, citing the Interior Ministry.
The ministry said the arrests were "based on intelligence investigations and security reports concerning those previously arrested in the case of Iranian agents in Bahrain," according to the news agency.
"They are identified as field operatives who were carrying out incitement instructions by attempting to influence citizens, particularly youth and adolescents, with the aim of pushing them into engaging in criminal acts," it said.
Legal procedures are being completed against those arrested, while investigations continue into others suspected of involvement, the report said.
The move comes after Bahrain's Defense Force said it intercepted and destroyed three Iranian missiles and a number of drones that were targeting “civilian” sites in the kingdom.
12:16 PM EDT
Iran says it's acting in self-defense in attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait
The Iranian army said its attacks responded to locations from which missiles or attacks on Iranian facilities and the Iranian navy have been conducted.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said Kuwait and Bahrain bear responsibility for the Iranian attacks on U.S. facilities on their soil, because they allowed the U.S. to use bases on their land to commit an aggression against Iran.
"Any hostile act will be met with an immediate, decisive response. What sanctions and war failed to achieve won't be won with more war," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement on X Wednesday.
10:30 AM EDT
Iran fired 13 missiles, 17 drones at Kuwait, army says
Iran fired 13 ballistic missiles and 17 drones in an air attack that began at dawn on Wednesday, Kuwait's Army said Wednesday.
8:14 AM EDT
Trump 'perturbed' by Netanyahu 'constantly fighting with Lebanon'
In a wide ranging interview on Pod Force One taped Tuesday afternoon at the White House, President Donald Trump seemingly confirmed the strong language he used on his call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week, saying he "wasn't angry," but was "a little bit perturbed" by Israel "constantly fighting with Lebanon."
Trump also pushed back on the suggestion that Netanyahu "tricked" him into going to war with Iran. "I heard that the other day for the first time. They said he tricked me. I mean, I'm the one that started it, because again, I don't want to bore anybody, but I started because we can't let them have a nuclear weapon," Trump said.
Trump indicated he still has not made a decision on taking a deal with Iran or resuming the U.S.-Israeli military campaign.
This combination of pictures created on June 3, 2026 shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on March 19, 2026, and President Donald Trump in Morristown, New Jersey, on May 22, 2026.
Ronen Zvulun,brendan Smialowski/POOL/AFP/AFP via Getty Images
When pressed on what a bombing would achieve, the president said, "Certainty," adding "there wouldn't be any b-------" and expressing his belief that it could be done without boots on the ground. "Now I have to make a determination: do we sign a deal or do we do it the other way? And the other way is not nice," he said.
Trump once again claimed that Iran has agreed to not pursue nuclear weapons -- though he noted that could change.
The president was also pressed on his shifting stances when it comes to Iran and the state of play. Asked if that was part of his "art of the deal," Trump said, "It's just the way I am," but also argued "things change."
Asked if he would meet Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, Trump replied, "Yeah, I'd like to meet him. I'd like to meet everybody. I'd like to meet him. We probably will meet at some point, depending on how it all works."
Trump didn't rule out the possibility that the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz could still be in place by Labor Day. "I don't know, I mean, I think it could be, but I think it's unlikely. I think that we'll have it. I think this will resolve itself fairly quickly," Trump said.
The president repeated his belief that gas prices will quickly fall after the war ends and said that the economy is "doing very well, other than this."
He said he couldn't have waited until after the midterms to take action in Iran, because the regime not having a nuclear weapon was "too important."
