LIVE – War in Iran: talks with the United States continue, Donald Trump threatens

According to AFP calculations, a liter of SP95-E10 now reaches, on average, 2.046 euros per liter. This is approximately 33 cents more than on February 27, the eve of the first Israeli-American strikes on Iran. The increase is almost 19% compared to this date. Our details in the article below.

On the Lebanese front, despite the extension on Friday of a theoretical truce for an additional month and a half, new Israeli strikes killed five people, including two children, in the south of the country.

Saudi Arabia denounced on Sunday the drone strike which caused a fire near the nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, a “brother” country. In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry considered that this attack was a “threat to the security and stability of the region” and expressed its “solidarity”, saying “support all measures taken to preserve the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity” of the Emirates.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu will hold a press conference on Thursday dedicated to the impact of the war in the Middle East, during which he will present a “new package” of aid for the month of June intended for the sectors most affected by the rise in fuel prices, Matignon announced on Sunday.

The Prime Minister “will unveil on this occasion the new fuel aid system for the month of June”, which aims to “protect working French people and the economic sectors most affected from the effects of the rise in the price of oil and derived products”, according to a message from his services to the press.

The price of gasoline in France was at its highest on Sunday since the start of the war in the Middle East, both on the SP95-E10 and on the SP98, at a time when the negotiations between Iran and the United States do not bode well for a quick outcome.

The liter of SP95-E10 was displayed on average at 2.046 euros per liter, or around 33 cents more than on February 27 – the day before the first Israeli-American strikes on Iran -, according to an AFP calculation carried out on the prices reported by some 7,206 stations at a government site.

On his Truth Social network, the American president threatens Tehran. “For Iran, time is running out and they better move, FAST, or there will be nothing left of them. TIME IS RUNNING OUT!” wrote Donald Trump.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke this Sunday with US President Donald Trump about the war against Iran, before convening a restricted meeting this evening on security, reports the Times of Israel (nouvelle fenêtre), who claims to have received confirmation from the services of the head of the Israeli government.

The United Arab Emirates declared that the drone strike near the Barakah nuclear power plant “constitutes a dangerous escalation, an unacceptable act of aggression and a direct threat to the security of the country”, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, indicating in a statement that “no threat security and sovereignty would not be tolerated, whatever the circumstances.”

Built by a South Korean consortium led by the energy supplier Kepco, the Barakah plant entered service in 2020. According to the public operator Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), it produces 40 terawatt hours per year and covers up to 25% of the electricity needs of the rich oil monarchy.

According to the Kepco company, the plant was not directly attacked or damaged. “Operations on a reactor were briefly suspended as a precaution,” added an unidentified official, quoted by the South Korean news agency Yonhap.

The incident at the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates came as Gulf monarchies accuse Iran of carrying out drone strikes on their territory despite the ceasefire announced on April 8, which ended hostilities that began at the end of February between the Islamic Republic, Israel and the United States. Here is what we know, at this stage, about this drone strike.

An Israeli military official said Sunday that Hezbollah fired about 200 projectiles at Israel and Israeli troops in Lebanon over the weekend, “in clear and continuing violation of the ceasefire agreements” between Israel and Lebanon.

Clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah continued even as envoys from the two countries agreed Friday to extend the ceasefire for another 45 days. In recent weeks, Hezbollah has repeatedly used low-cost fiber optic FPV drones to target Israeli forces in Lebanon, posing a new challenge to the Israeli army.

“Today we face the challenge of neutralizing FPV drones,” declared Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the opening of the weekly council of ministers on Sunday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel was on the verge of achieving one of its objectives: eliminating all those responsible for organizing the October 7 attacks. The Israeli army announced on Saturday the death of Ezzedine Al-Haddad, commander of the armed wing of Hamas, killed the day before during an airstrike in Gaza.

The United Arab Emirates authorities say they are investigating to “determine the origin of the attacks” after the drone strike near the Barakah nuclear power plant.

In a press release, the Ministry of Defense indicates that the anti-aircraft defense systems detected “three drones which had entered through the western border”, two of which were successfully intercepted, while the other “a hit an electric generator” near the Barakah power station (west).

According to local authorities, the drone that struck the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates entered through the country’s western border.

A drone attack took place near the Barakah nuclear power plant, located on the west coast of the United Arab Emirates. “According to the very precise terms of the local authorities, this strike would have caused a fire on an electric generator which would be located outside the perimeter of this power station”, reports Élisa Cléac’h, special envoy LCI in Qatar.

The plant remains operational. This drone strike has still not been claimed, and it is not known whether this plant was directly targeted. “The latter is essential for the United Arab Emirates since it makes it possible to produce a quarter of the country’s electricity needs,” indicates our journalist.

This morning, the spokesman for the Iranian armed forces, Abolfazl Shekarchi, warned against any new American attacks. “The American president should know that if (…) Iran is attacked again, the resources and the army of his country will be confronted with unprecedented, offensive, surprising and tumultuous scenarios”, warned General Shekarchi, quoted by television of State.

For his part, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hamidreza Haji-Babaï, declared that if Iranian oil installations are targeted, Iran will strike oil sites in the region. “If Iranian oil is harmed, Iran will take steps that will prevent the United States and the world from obtaining oil from the region for an extended period of time,” he said.

The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi expresses “his deep concern” after the drone strike near the Barakah nuclear power plant, in the United Arab Emirates, in a message posted on X.

“Any military activity threatening nuclear safety is unacceptable,” adds the head of the UN nuclear safety agency, who says he has been informed by the Emirates “that radiation levels at the Barakah nuclear power plant remain normal and that no one is injured has not been reported”.

The United States has not granted “any concrete concession” in its response to Iranian proposals, particularly on the nuclear issue, the main subject of divergence between the two countries, Iranian media say today.

The United States presented a list of five points demanding in particular that Iran maintain only one nuclear site in operation and transfer its stock of highly enriched uranium to Washington, indicates the Fars agency. For its part, the Mehr agency specifies that the United States has granted Iran “no tangible concession”, denouncing “excessive conditions” imposed by Washington.

Fire breaks out after drone strike near Barakah nuclear power plant in United Arab Emirates. “Authorities in Abu Dhabi intervened after a fire broke out in a power generator located outside the internal perimeter of the Barakah nuclear power plant (…) following a drone strike,” announces the media office of the local government in a press release. “No injuries were reported and no impact on radiological safety levels was noted,” he specifies.

In Iran, the economy is under severe strain with the ongoing conflict. The country has seen waves of job cuts and business closures. These were caused by strikes and the Internet shutdown decided by the government.

The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament and his country’s main negotiator in talks with the United States, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, was also put in charge of relations with China, local media reported today. The President of Parliament “was recently appointed Iran’s special representative for Chinese affairs,” the Tasnim agency said, citing “well-informed sources.”

It is not yet known who appointed him to this position, but Tasnim specifies that he will be responsible for “coordinating different aspects of Iranian-Chinese relations”.

Israel carried out a series of strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday, despite extending a truce for a month and a half. The strikes, targeting according to the Israeli army “Hezbollah infrastructures in several areas of the south”, were preceded by a call to evacuate nine villages.

The Lebanese National Information Agency (ANI, official) indicated that around twenty villages had been hit, including one more than 50 km north of the border, an expanded perimeter compared to past strikes. The bombings were preceded by an exodus of residents towards the city of Saida and Beirut, the capital, according to ANI.

The Pakistani Interior Minister arrived in Tehran on Saturday “to facilitate” the currently stalled peace talks between Iran and the United States, Iranian media reported. This trip comes just a few days after the visit to Tehran by the head of the Pakistani army, the powerful Marshal Asim Munir.

The American aircraft carrier Gerald Ford, which was dispatched by President Trump to the Middle East before the start of the war in Iran, returned to the United States on Saturday, breaking a record for a mission at sea, the Pentagon announced. The largest aircraft carrier in the world has returned to its home port in Norfolk, on the east coast of the United States, welcomed by Pentagon boss Pete Hegseth, the American Defense Ministry said on social networks.

The Gerald Ford thus completed a 326-day mission, the longest for a carrier strike group since the Vietnam War, the Pentagon said.

Hello everyone, welcome to this live broadcast dedicated to the conflicts in the Middle East and the very fragile truces.