US-Israel-Iran War LIVE | Trump Says Ready To Resume Bombing; Iran State TV Says Ceasefire To Expire At Midnight GMT

Iranian state TV said a ceasefire with the United States in force since April 8 would expire at 3:30 am Wednesday, Tehran time (0000 GMT Tuesday).

The timing is consistent with when the 14-day truce went into effect, though US President Donald Trump recently said it would end a day later, on Wednesday evening Washington time. Mediator Pakistan, meanwhile, has said the ceasefire will end at 2350 GMT Tuesday.

Even if the U.S.-Iran ceasefire holds and the current war ends, the leader of Yemen’s Houthi rebel group said: “There is no doubt that further rounds of fighting are coming, as it is merely a truce within a continuous conflict with the enemy.”

In a televised speech Tuesday, Abdul Malik al-Houthi warned that escalation in the region is “possibly high” as the “fragile” ceasefire is nearing an end.

A Houthi missile attack on Israel last month raised concern that Iran’s ally in Yemen may again try to block Red Sea shipping routes, as it did during the war in Gaza.

The vice president was participating in policy meetings at the White House on Tuesday morning, according to a White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The vice president’s office and the White House on Tuesday did not respond to messages inquiring about whether he still intends to travel to Pakistan for talks with Iran.

“Today we also reach the political agreement to widen our sanctions regime, to also target those responsible for breaches to freedom of navigation,” said the 27-nation European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas after the Tuesday gathering in Luxembourg.

“Freedom of navigation is non-negotiable. Daily U-turns where the Strait of Hormuz is open or closed, are reckless. Transit through the strait must remain free of charge,” she said, referring to Iran’s charging for safe passage on the Strait of Hormuz.

Kallas said the EU’s maritime security mission would be “the quickest way” to ensure safe transit in the Persian Gulf after peace is settled.

Iran's state-affiliated media Tasnim News reported that all movements in the Strait of Hormuz are under strict surveillance by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Navy. The maritime channels for entry and exit from the Strait of Hormuz have been closed following America's violation of the ceasefire.

No vessel will be permitted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz until the necessary guarantees are provided to fully lift the naval blockade on Iran, according to the report.

The $1.5 trillion budget proposal detailed Tuesday by defence officials would allocate nearly $54 billion for military drones and related technology, as well as $21 billion for weapons systems designed to take down enemy drones.

Drones and other unmanned vehicles have emerged as a key weapon in wars in Ukraine and Iran, and top Pentagon officials say the U.S. must significantly increase its funding of both drones and counter-drone systems.

“Drone warfare is rapidly reshaping the modern battlefield,” Jules Hurst III, the acting undersecretary of defence, comptroller, told reporters during a budget briefing at the Pentagon.

“This budget is the largest investment in drone warfare and counter-drone technology in U.S. history.”

U.S. military officials said Tuesday that the Pentagon’s budget calls for spending more than $30 billion to buy more critical munitions, including missile interceptors, whose stockpiles have become critically low during the Iran war.

The supplies under the most strain are the Patriot air defence systems and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence, or THAAD, interceptors. The THAAD system is designed for defeating medium-range ballistic missiles, while the Patriot system is for taking down short-range ballistic missiles and crewed aircraft.

The $30 billion budget item will also purchase long-range Precision Strike Missiles and Mid-Range Capability missile systems that are used by the U.S. Army.

At least 10 seafarers have been killed and several more severely injured in a series of attacks on commercial vessels around the Persian Gulf since the start of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, according to the International Maritime Organization, the United Nations agency responsible for regulating global shipping.

IMO spokesperson Natasha Brown said the agency has confirmed 25 attacks on commercial shipping since Feb. 28. Hundreds of ships have been stranded in the Persian Gulf since.

“Around 20,000 civilian seafarers remain aboard vessels in the Persian Gulf, facing dwindling supplies, fatigue and severe psychological stress,” Brown added.

Following an extraordinary council session in March, the IMO said it is working with “relevant states on the development of a safe passage framework” to evacuate stranded crews, while coordinating access to supplies.

In an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Trump was asked directly if he’d resume strikes if there isn’t progress in the coming talks in Islamabad.

“Well, I expect to be bombing because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with,” Trump said. “But, you know, we’re ready to go. I mean, the military is raring to go.”

The Pentagon on social media says U.S. forces “conducted a right-of-visit maritime interdiction” and boarded the M/T Tifani “without incident.” Ship-tracking data showed the Tifani in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

The announcement described the boarding as happening overnight. It added that “international waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels.”

Neither the U.S. nor Iran have publicly confirmed the timing of talks. Iranian state television has denied that any official is already in Pakistan’s capital.

Pakistan-led mediators received confirmation that the top negotiators, Vance and Qalibaf, will arrive in Islamabad early Wednesday, the officials told The Associated Press. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.

A two-week ceasefire is due to expire.

Israel’s military sentenced two soldiers to 30 days in jail and removed them from combat duty for smashing a Jesus statue in southern Lebanon.

One of the soldiers sledgehammered the statue to the ground. The other filmed the destruction.

The military said it had summoned six additional soldiers who stood by without intervening for conversations with higher-ups.

The incident drew worldwide attention and condemnations from Christian religious leaders.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister met U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker on Tuesday, urging that Washington and Iran extend the ceasefire and pursue diplomacy, the Foreign Ministry said.

In a statement, it said Ishaq Dar “underscored Pakistan’s consistent emphasis on dialogue and diplomacy as the only viable means to address challenges and achieve lasting regional peace and stability.”

Baker, in response, conveyed Washington’s appreciation for Pakistan’s constructive role in supporting regional peace and facilitating dialogue, the statement said.

Trump was responding to a question during a live telephone interview on Tuesday on CNBC, a business news network.

Asked if he would continue the ceasefire if there’s progress in the next round of Iran talks, Trump said, “Well, I don’t want to do that. We don’t have that much time.” He said Iran “had a choice” and “they have to negotiate.”

But it remained unclear when the ceasefire actually expires. Tuesday night was the deadline when the pause was announced two weeks ago, but Trump told Bloomberg News the ceasefire will expire Wednesday night.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday told Iran it could boost the chances of success in peace talks with the United States by freeing eight women that he said face execution.

"I would greatly appreciate the release of these women," Trump posted on Truth Social. "Would be a great start to our negotiations!"

Trump's statement accompanied a re-posting of a claim on X by a pro-Israel youth activist in the United States, Eyal Yakoby, that eight women faced death by hanging. That claim, which did not give names but posted photographs of eight women, could not be immediately verified.

The Iran war has locked the world in much higher fossil fuel costs for months and likely years to come, U.N. climate chief Simon Stiell said on Tuesday in Berlin.

“Fossil fuel-driven stagflation is now stalking economies, driving up prices, driving down growth, pushing budgets deeper into the quagmire of debt and stripping away governments’ policy options and autonomy,” he said.

He referred to climate change and fuel price chaos as “twin reapers” and said that climate cooperation and faster investments in clean energy were needed to overcome this challenge.

The conflict in the Middle East has triggered “the most severe energy crisis in a generation,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday, speaking remotely from New York to a climate conference in Berlin.

The current crisis, he said, makes it clear that “fossil fuels are not just wrecking our planet, they are holding economies hostage.”

Guterres said that the energy crisis should be solved without exacerbating the climate crisis, and that can be done by investing in homegrown renewables, developing the infrastructure to support them and providing financing for less developed economies to transition away from fossil fuels.

Germany’s top diplomat has called on Iran to come to Islamabad for negotiations with the U.S.

“We are now urgently calling on Iran to come to Islamabad and engage in constructive negotiations with the United States,” Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Tuesday on the sidelines of the European Union foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg.

Wadephul pointed out that U.S. Vice President JD Vance is ready to travel to Pakistan and that “Iran should now take this outstretched hand in the interest of its own people.”

He also called on the American side to continue to keep its openness to negotiate with Iran.

“I believe there is still a window of opportunity to end this war through negotiations,” Wadephul said.

The German foreign minister also called on Iran “to immediately restore free and safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.”

"Iran has Violated the Cease Fire numerous times! (sic)" posted Trump on Truth Social.

Iran Air will restart its domestic operations tomorrow, ending a 50-day hiatus, with Flight 3502 departing Tehran for Mashhad at 10:00 AM and the return Flight 3503 leaving Mashhad for Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport at 12:30 PM the same day, reported Iran's semi-official Tasnim media.

Only 12 vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours, NBC News reported on Tuesday, citing MarineTraffic data. Four of the vessels were sailing under the Iranian flag, and most of the 12 vessels used the Iranian-approved route off Bandar Abbas, according to the report.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday condemned the confiscation of Iranian cargo ship Touska by the United States, and called for the “immediate release of the vessel, its sailors, crew and their families”.

“The act, which involved the intimidation of the ship’s sailors, crew, and their families, constitutes maritime banditry and a terrorist act,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, reported Iran's Fars Media.

According to the ministry, the act is another example of a clear violation of the ceasefire understanding between the two sides, and is an aggressive act against Iran.

Lebanon’s public works and transport minister says 15 bridges have been damaged or destroyed during the latest war.

Fayez Rasamny told the local LBC TV channel on Tuesday that the government still doesn't have a final estimate for the damage caused by the almost seven-week Israel-Hezbollah war.

The latest Israel-Hezbollah war was halted by a 10-day ceasefire that went into effect last week.

Rasamny said that he believes that the losses could be worth between $7 billion and $8 billion. He said that the government was waiting until there is a permanent ceasefire before reaching out to donors.

Iran has not changed its position on a possible second round of talks with the US in Islamabad, and has not sent any delegation, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported on Tuesday.

Tehran does not take US claims about diplomacy seriously as “the United States has escalated its threatening rhetoric and continues violating the ceasefire by its naval blockade,” according to the report.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance is expected to lead an American team to the talks.

On Tuesday, the Russian foreign ministry stated that 'a special Il-76 flight delivered humanitarian aid to the people of Lebanon affected by the military conflict,' adding that 27 tonnes of relief supplies, including mobile power stations, food, tents, blankets, and mattresses.

There are at least 21 US military aircraft, including tankers and transport aircraft between the Middle East and Germany, in the same pattern of air-corridor as has been observed in the past few days. This is indicative of a massive troop movement or a logistical movement. The spotted aircraft include tankers - Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker and Boeing KC-46A Pegasus and transport - Boeing C-17A Globemaster III and Lockheed C-130H Hercules.

From around 12 am UTC (5.30 am Indian time) to around 3.45 UTC (9.15 am Indian time), a US surveillance drone with the callsign OVRLD02, scanned the Strait of Hormuz, circling off the UAE coast and at one point going to a spot between Bandar Abbas and Minab on Iran's coast.

The drone is a Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton, a $200 million drone, similar to the one that the USA lost a few days back.

China said it hopes all parties can maintain the momentum for peace talks, as the two-week ceasefire in the Iran war is set to expire on Wednesday.

“The current situation is at a critical stage of transition between war and peace. At such a moment, it is all the more necessary for all parties to show the utmost sincerity, remain committed to a political solution, maintain the momentum of the ceasefire and negotiations,” said China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun.

China’s Xi Jinping called for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.

While it’s not directly involved in ongoing mediation efforts, diplomats have said China had pressed for Iran to attend the first round of negotiations.

China has expressed support for Pakistan’s efforts to facilitate engagement between the United States and Iran for peace and stability in the region and beyond, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. The ministry said Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong conveyed the message during a meeting with Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad, where both sides discussed the latest regional developments.

Dar reaffirmed the “all-weather” Pakistan-China strategic cooperative partnership, underscoring strong bilateral ties and the importance of continued high-level exchanges, the statement said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday said normal passage through the Strait of Hormuz should be maintained, Xinhua reported. Xi made the remarks during a phone conversation with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.

Xi pointed out that China attaches great importance to developing relations with Saudi Arabia and has always adhered to the principles of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. Noting that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Saudi Arabia, Xi said China is willing to work with Saudi Arabia to seize this opportunity to deepen strategic mutual trust, strengthen practical cooperation, and enhance exchanges at all levels, so as to continuously expand the breadth and depth of bilateral relations and set as an example for advancing relations between China and Arab countries.

Iranian state television said Tuesday that no Iranian delegation had yet departed for talks with the United States in Pakistan. "So far, no delegation from Iran has departed for Islamabad, Pakistan; whether it is the main or subsidiary delegation; primary or secondary," state TV said, dismissing reports suggesting otherwise.

Israel Katz has threatened to kill Hezbollah chief Qassem, saying he will “pay with the loss of his head,” Al Jazeera reported. Katz said Israeli forces would continue to “act with strength” in Lebanon, “even during the ceasefire”.

A senior Iranian military commander said the country is ready to deliver a “decisive” response to any breach of commitments by its adversaries.

Major General Gholam Ali Rashid Abdollahi of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said Iran’s armed forces remain fully prepared to respond to threats. He said Iran’s military capabilities, including missile and drone forces, have strengthened its position and warned that any violation, including actions related to the Strait of Hormuz, would be met with an appropriate response.

Iran has executed a man accused of being a leader of a network linked to Israel’s intelligence service Mossad and of setting fire to a mosque in Tehran during the January protests, ISNA reported.

The news agency identified the man as Amirali Mirjafari, saying he had been convicted of carrying out arson at the Qolhak mosque in Tehran and leading anti-security activities. His death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court and carried out early this morning, Mizan added.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday that his country's campaign in Lebanon relied both on military and diplomatic pressure to disarm Iran-allied Hezbollah.

"The overarching goal of the campaign in Lebanon is to disarm Hezbollah and remove the threat to the northern communities (of Israel), through a combination of military and diplomatic measures," Katz said during a ceremony marking Israel's national day of remembrance for fallen soldiers and victims of terror.

Though a truce between Israel and Lebanon took effect Friday, Israeli troops are still present and actively fighting Hezbollah militants in Lebanon's south, with Katz saying Sunday that troops would use "full force" if threatened. (AFP).

The ceasefire between the US and Iran is expected to be extended beyond the initial two-week period, as both sides are willing to continue negotiations, former Central Command chief David H Petraeus has said. The ceasefire between the US and Iran is set to expire on Wednesday.

Petraeus, the former general who also served as CIA director, said that there is a “reasonable expectation” that the ceasefire could be prolonged as negotiators from both sides prepare for a possible second round of talks in Islamabad, although uncertainty remains over final participation.

“I think both the US and Iran want to extend the ceasefire,” he told PTI Videos in an interview on Monday. His comments came amid US media reports that Vice President J D Vance is likely to travel to Islamabad on Tuesday for peace talks with Iran to end the seven-week war. On the other hand, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday that his country has yet to decide whether to attend the next round of talks with the US. Read more...

Iran’s IRGC says its bomb disposal unit has defused three unexploded MK-84 aircraft bombs in the western Lorestan province, state broadcaster IRIB reported. The 2,000-pound (900kg) bomb can cause craters up to 11 metres (36 feet) deep.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed concern over restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz and called for the full restoration of international navigational rights.

His spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said there had been “a lot of activity” and “a lot of confusion” around the waterway, adding that freedom of navigation “needs to be respected by all parties”.

Dujarric also said recent disruptions have affected global supplies, noting that about 10 to 12 percent of fertiliser shipments are blocked and prices have risen alongside oil.

He added that the situation is impacting UN agencies’ ability to plan and procure resources, while reiterating that “there is no military objective that justifies the wholesale destruction of civilian infrastructure or the deliberate infliction of pain on a civilian population.”

Hungary's Prime Minister-elect Peter Magyar has said that his country must take Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into custody if he enters Hungarian territory while wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), TRT World reported.

The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in November 2024 over war crimes and crimes against humanity, an order that member countries are in principle obliged to enforce. Hungary previously refused to arrest the Israeli PM when he visited Budapest in April 2025.

However, Magyar has announced he will halt the withdrawal process by 2 June. "If a country is a member of the ICC and a person who is wanted by the ICC enters our territory, then that person must be taken into custody," Magyar told reporters, confirming his intention to align with international law. The shift comes after Viktor Orban's 16-year rule ended on 12 April, following a landslide victory by Magyar's centre-right Tisza party.

Representatives for Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” have held discussions with state-owned Dubai multinational DP World about managing supply chains and other infrastructure projects in Gaza, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing three people familiar with the matter.

The talks examined whether DP World could enter into a partnership with the “Board of Peace” to run the logistics for humanitarian aid and other goods entering Gaza, the report said.

Iran has filed a formal complaint with the United Nations and the International Maritime Organisation over the US seizure of the Iranian vessel Touska, calling it an “illegal and barbarous act” that violates international law and a ceasefire agreement.

The foreign ministry said the action was accompanied by intimidation of crew members and their families.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran … emphasises the need for the immediate release of the Iranian ship, its sailors, crew, and their families,” the ministry said in a statement carried by IRNA.

It also warned of “very dangerous consequences” and said the United States would bear full responsibility for the escalation.

On Tuesday, shipping industry intelligence site Lloyd's List reported that more than 20 Iranian so-called "shadow vessels", had transited past the US blockade. The channel in peacetime sees around 120 daily transits, according to the site.

Shares are mixed in Asia, and oil prices have slipped following the latest rise in US-Iran tensions. The lacklustre start to trading on Tuesday followed a modest retreat on Wall Street.

On Monday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% from its all-time high, and the Dow industrials edged less than 0.1% lower. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.3%. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil remains above $95.

Trump attacked critics after a second round of talks with Iran was thrown into doubt by the U.S. Navy's seizure of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship. Financial markets have had vicious swings, both up and down, since the war began because of uncertainty about how long it may last. The fear is that a long-term disruption could keep so much oil and natural gas off global markets that it creates a punishing wave of inflation for the global economy. (AP).

The US president has said that he feels confident that Iran will negotiate, adding that the country would “see problems” otherwise.

“Well, they’re going to negotiate, and if they don’t, they’re going to see problems like they’ve never seen before,” Trump said in a phone call to the conservative radio programme The John Fredericks Show.

Iran’s Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters said military response to an American naval attack on the Iranian container vessel Touska in the Gulf of Oman has been postponed to ensure the safety of the crew’s families, Tasnim News Agency reported.

In a statement released on Monday, the Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters announced that, following the blatant aggression by US terrorist commandos against an Iranian commercial vessel in the waters of the Sea of Oman, Iran’s Armed Forces had been prepared to deliver a decisive response.

However, it said, due to the presence of a number of family members of the ship’s crew on board, Iran’s operational action was delayed in order to protect their lives and security, which were in constant danger.

The statement added that once the safety of the families and crew members is fully ensured, Iran’s Armed Forces will carry out the necessary action against the “terrorist US military.”

Vice President JD Vance will lead a US delegation for another round of talks with Iran in Islamabad before the ceasefire is scheduled to end on Tuesday night, Axios reported, quoting two US officials.

The talks could provide an eleventh-hour opportunity to reach a deal, or at least extend the ceasefire — though Iran has yet to confirm its participation and is concerned this is all subterfuge from the White House, the report said.

US President Donald Trump said late Monday the United States obtaining uranium from Iran would be "long" and "difficult" in the aftermath of last year's US strikes on Tehran's nuclear sites.

"Operation Midnight Hammer was a complete and total obliteration of the Nuclear Dust sites in Iran," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding: "Therefore, digging it out will be a long and difficult process."

The US leader regularly uses the term "nuclear dust" to refer to Iran's stock of enriched uranium, which the United States accuses Iran of hoarding in order to make an atomic bomb.

A Hezbollah lawmaker said the group will break the “yellow line” established by Israel in southern Lebanon, despite a 10-day ceasefire. Hassan Fadlallah told AFP that “this ‘yellow line’, we will break it through resistance, by asserting our legitimate right to defend ourselves and defend our country.”

Israel has said the zone was created to protect communities in northern Israel, similar to measures in the Gaza Strip. Fadlallah rejected calls to disarm Hezbollah, saying, “When there is an occupation, one cannot speak of a monopoly on weapons by the resistance.”

Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said that "provocative actions" and ceasefire violations by the US are major obstacles to continuing peace negotiations between the two countries. During separate phone calls with his Pakistani and Russian counterparts, Araghchi condemned US actions against Iranian commercial shipping, including the reported seizure of the container vessel Touska and its crew, and cited "contradictory positions and rhetoric of threat" from Washington, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

Araghchi said Iran would decide whether to continue diplomacy based on "all aspects of the issue" and US behavior, adding that Tehran would take steps to protect its interests and national security.

Hours after US President Donald Trump said it is "highly unlikely" that he would extend a two-week ceasefire with Iran, the White House on Tuesday mentioned that if a Deal happens under Trump, it will guarantee Peace, Security, and Safety, not only for Israel and the Middle East, but for Europe, America, and everywhere else.

Earlier, Trump had stated that the Strait of Hormuz would remain blocked until a peace agreement is finalised.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said Monday’s strike by Israel hit the southern village of Qaaqaait al-Jisr, wounding at least six people. Since a 10-day ceasefire went into effect at midnight Thursday, there have been several Israeli strikes.

Israel says the people it targeted were violating the truce by operating in what it calls a “Forward Defense Area” in territory that Israeli forces still occupy.

Meanwhile, the Iran-backed Hezbollah group said it detonated explosives Sunday in an Israeli convoy inside Lebanon.

The US State Department had earlier said that according to the ceasefire agreement, Israel reserves the right to defend itself "at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks".

Ahead of the expiration of a two-week ceasefire, Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned on Monday that Tehran had "new cards" if war resumes with the United States and Israel.

"We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the last two weeks we have been preparing to show new cards on the battlefield," Ghalibaf, Iran's top negotiator in talks with the United States, wrote on X.

Iran said Monday it had not decided whether to attend a new round of peace negotiations with the United States, while President Donald Trump vowed no let-up in a blockade and threatened to start bombing again.

The White House said Vice President JD Vance was ready to fly back to Pakistan, which was noticeably preparing for a second round of talks on ending the war that has engulfed the Middle East and shaken global markets.

But Tehran's cleric-run government kept up uncertainty on its participation, accusing the United States of violating a soon-to-expire ceasefire through its blockade of Iranian ports and seizure of a ship.

"We have no plans for the next round of negotiation, and no decision has been made in this regard," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said.

"The US is carrying out behaviours that do not in any way indicate seriousness in pursuing a diplomatic process."

Trump has similarly accused Tehran of violating the truce by harassing vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the transit passage for one-fifth of the world's oil that Iran had all but shut in retaliation for the war launched by the United States and Israel.

In one of a series of angry posts on his Truth Social platform, Trump insisted that the blockade was "absolutely destroying" Iran and said it will not end "until there is a 'DEAL'," in which the United States is pressing for Iranian concessions on its contested nuclear programme.

Trump told PBS News that Iran was "supposed to be there" at the talks in Pakistan.

"We agreed to be there," he said, warning that if the ceasefire expired "then lots of bombs start going off". He separately told Bloomberg News it was "highly unlikely" he would extend the two-week truce.

Based on its start time, the truce theoretically expires overnight Tuesday, Tehran time, although in his comments to Bloomberg, Trump said the end was a day later, on Wednesday evening Washington time. (AFP)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that planned talks with Israel aim to end hostilities and the occupation in southern Lebanon, even as Hezbollah and its supporters rejected the negotiations.

Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah has sharply criticised the Lebanese government's negotiations with Israel, which are set to enter a second round on Thursday.

After the first round of talks last week, US President Donald Trump announced a 10-day truce pausing more than six weeks of war between Hezbollah and Israel, an explosive front in the broader Mideast war.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told AFP it was in Aoun's and Lebanon's "interest" to withdraw from the talks, however, adding that his group also wanted the ceasefire to last.

New talks between Lebanon's and Israel's US ambassadors will take place Thursday in Washington, a US State Department official told AFP, after the first direct talks between the two countries in decades were held on April 14.

But Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) reported an Israeli drone strike in Qaqaiyat al-Jisr in the country's south on Monday, and Israeli artillery shelling on the border town of Hula.

The Lebanese health ministry said six people were wounded in Qaqaiyat al-Jisr.

Israel's army said in a statement that soldiers "identified terrorists" in the Bint Jbeil and Litani areas of southern Lebanon, who violated the ceasefire understandings", adding that the air force "eliminated" them.(AFP)