live Trump Says He's Paused Strike On Iran

A spokesman for Iran's water industry says that 35 million people in the country are facing water shortages.

Discussing the current water supply situation in Iran, Issa Bozorgzadeh told a press conference on May 11 that "currently, about 35 million people in the country are facing the problem of water shortage, and for this reason, we still need to save water consumption to overcome these conditions."

Referring to regional differences in rainfall, he said: "The distribution of rainfall in the country is very unbalanced, and although very good rainfall has b recorded in provinces such as Bushehr, Hormozgan, Ilam, and Kerman, we have encountered very little rainfall in provinces such as Tehran, Qom, Yazd, Markazi, and Isfahan."

Bozorgzadeh added that currently 11 provinces in the country are still experiencing below-normal rainfall conditions and "it cannot be said in any way that the country has entered a wet period."

In recent decades, Iran has faced persistent drought, excessive groundwater extraction, and mismanagement, which has caused many of the country's major cities to face a water shortage crisis.

The spokesman made no mention of the environmental impact of the US-Israeli war with Iran or attacks on Iranian infrastructure.

Beijing says it opposes the inclusion of Chinese and Hong Kong entities in the latest round of US sanctions aimed at companies with ties to the Iranian regime, as US President Donald Trump prepares to head to China and meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping for the first time since 2017.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters on May 11 that Beijing has "always required Chinese enterprises to conduct business in accordance with laws and regulations," adding that China "will firmly ‌safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises."

The US State Department announced sanctions against 10 individuals and companies on May 8 for "enabling efforts by Iran's military to secure weapons," as well as raw materials with military applications. One Chinese individual and seven Chinese companies were targeted.

Washington and Tehran have traded cease-fire proposals but have yet to reach any breakthrough in talks, with Trump calling Iran's response to the US proposal "totally unacceptable."

The round of sanctions comes as Trump travels to visit for a high-profile visit that will involve broad strategic talks ranging from trade issues to the war in Iran. The US president is set to arrive on May 13 and hold two days of talks from May 14-15.

A senior US official told Reuters on May 11 that Trump and Xi will likely discuss Beijing's support for both Iran and Russia during the summit.

A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry says that in response to the latest US proposal, Tehran has called for an end to the war in the region and the release of frozen assets abroad.

"We did not demand any concessions from the Americans. The only thing we demanded was Iran's legitimate rights," Esmail Baqaei said in his weekly press conference on May 11.

He added that Iran's demands include "stopping the war, lifting the blockade and piracy, and freeing Iran's assets," which, according to Baqaei, "have been unjustly blocked in banks due to American pressure."

"Safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and establishing security in the region and Lebanon were other demands of Iran, which are considered a generous and legitimate offer for regional security," he added.

On May 10, US President Donald Trump described Iran's response to Washington's proposed plan to end the war as "totally unacceptable."

Seoul has strongly condemned the attack on a cargo ship belonging to a Korean shipping company in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month, saying it would respond after identifying the perpetrator of the attack.

According to an official from the South Korean president's office, the May 4 attack caused a fire in the ship's engine room.

Wi Sung-lac, ​the South Korean presidential national-security adviser, added that the ship, the Namo operated by HMM, had not violated any regulations in the waters near the United Arab Emirates at the time of the incident, which Seoul considers an unjustified attack on a commercial vessel.

"We condemn this in the strongest terms," Wi said, adding that the damage was identified during expert assessments by Korean officials and experts in Dubai.

Wi also said it was not yet clear whether Iran played a role in the attack.

Tehran had previously denied any involvement in the incident.

US President Donald Trump said shortly after the incident that Iran had fired on the Korean ship and called on Seoul to join US-led efforts to ensure the safety of shipping in the strait.

A VLCC tanker named Agus Fanorius passed through the route designated by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, according the semiofficial Tasnim news agency, which is linked to Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

According to the report on May 11, the tanker, which is carrying Iraqi crude oil and heading toward Vietnam, is currently in the Sea of Oman.

On May 9 -- the same day that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Qatar's prime minister in Miami, a Qatari tanker carrying liquefied gas passed through the Strait of Hormuz on its way to Pakistan.

Reuters, citing sources, wrote that the tanker is making the passage "with the approval" of the Islamic republic and is a confidence-building measure with Qatar and Pakistan, both of which have played a mediating role in the US-Israeli war with Iran.

WASHINGTON -- Former senior US diplomat Gordon Gray, who served as deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs under President George W. Bush, says indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran are likely to continue despite what he described as significant pain and pressure on both sides.

The latest exchange comes after Tehran reportedly sent a proposal via Pakistan seeking an end to military operations across the region, sanctions relief, and guarantees for maritime security, including the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

President Donald Trump responded on May 10 by rejecting the Iranian position, while signaling continued frustration with the slow pace of diplomacy.

RFE/RL spoke with Gray, who also served as US ambassador to Tunisia and deputy chief of mission in Egypt and now is a professor of Gulf and Arabian Peninsula affairs at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, about the latest state of Iran peace talks.

To read the full interview, click here.

An Iranian man has been executed on allegations of spying for the United States and Israel, reported Mizan, the judiciary's official news outlet.

Mizan identified the man as Erfan Shakourzadeh, 29, who worked at a scientific organization ‌involved in satellite activities, saying he was allegedly transferring classified satellite-related scientific data after being recruited through a research project.

The outlet claimed Shakourzadeh had contacts with both US and Israeli intelligence services at different stages and shared sensitive data.

Iran's satellite program has long been viewed by Western governments as potentially linked to the development of ballistic missile technology. The report provided no specific details about the circumstances of his arrest or when the execution took place.

Human rights organizations said Shakourzadeh was a master's student in aerospace engineering at the Iran University of Science and Technology in Tehran.

They also reported that he was arrested in 2024, held in solitary confinement, and subjected to forced confessions, with his death sentence recently upheld by Iran's Supreme Court.

The case is part of a broader pattern of executions and security-related prosecutions in Iran, often involving espionage or anti-state accusations.

Rights groups say Iran ranks among the world's top executors, second only to China, and estimate that at least 1,639 people were executed in the country in 2025.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, Reuters, and AFP

We are now closing the live blog for the day. We'll be back at 7:30 a.m. Central European time to cover the latest events across the Middle East.

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump is expected to press Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Iran during their upcoming summit in Beijing, with senior US officials highlighting Washington’s concerns about China’s economic and technological ties to Tehran.

Trump is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on May 13 in the evening and will meet Xi on May 14 and May 15 before departing China, Principal Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said during a White House press call previewing the trip.

Speaking on the call, a senior administration official said Trump and Xi had discussed Iran “multiple times” previously and that the issue would again feature prominently during the meetings.

“The [US] president has spoken multiple times with General Secretary Xi Jinping about the topic of Iran,” the official said, adding that Washington remained concerned about “the revenue that China provides” to Tehran, as well as the transfer of dual-use goods, industrial components, and the possibility of weapons-related exports.

The official said recent US sanctions targeting Iran-related activity would likely be part of the discussions in Beijing.

Asked whether Trump would seek additional Chinese pressure on Tehran amid unresolved nuclear negotiations, a senior official said the president had raised the issue before and was expected to do so again during the summit: “I would expect the president to apply pressure.”

The White House also rejected suggestions that tensions surrounding Iran should prevent Trump from traveling to China. “I don’t think he has the luxury to focus on just one sort of issue for weeks and weeks on end,” one senior official said.

The official noted that the administration had postponed the trip roughly six weeks earlier during what was described as a more active phase of the Iran situation, but said circumstances had since changed and the White House was now proceeding with the visit.

“I think the question would be, 'Why wouldn’t he go on this trip at this point?'” the official said.

Jailed Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi has been transferred to a hospital in Tehran, her foundation said on May 10, amid reports that she is "on the brink of death" due to harsh prison conditions.

The foundation said Mohammadi had been granted a temporary suspension of her sentence in exchange for the payment of a substantial bond.

Mohammadi, 54, had been undergoing treatment in a hospital in the northwestern city of Zanjan, where she had been imprisoned.

Her lawyer, Mostafa Nili said she is now being treated at Tehran's Pars Hospital by her own medical team.

Mohammadi’s husband, Taghi Rahmani, who lives in Paris, on May 9 said her condition remained critical and that she had suffered a severe drop in blood pressure and was struggling to speak.

On May 2, her brother Hamidreza Mohammadi told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that she was on the "brink of death."

"She is dying," Hamidreza said. "Because of the harsh conditions of prison and the damage that has been done to her, she is on the brink of death. The responsibility for Narges's life, and the lives of all prisoners, rests directly with [judicial authorities and the security apparatus]."

The rights activist was awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize for her fight for women's rights in Iran.

She has spent much of the last decade behind bars as a result of her work and in, December 2025, was arrested again during a memorial ceremony in the northeastern city of Mashhad.

Following her arrest, she was given a new prison sentence of 7 ½ years, and is being held in Zanjan prison, some 330 kilometers west of the capital, Tehran.