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Iran live updates: Trump says 'TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE' for Iran deal

"For Iran, the Clock is Ticking," Trump said.

Last Updated: May 18, 2026, 6:08 AM EDT

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."

1 hour and 4 minutes ago

Iran responds to latest US peace proposal, Baghaei says

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said in a press briefing on Monday that Tehran had responded to the latest American negotiation proposal.

The mediation process continues through Pakistan, Baghaei told reporters.

"What can be said with certainty is, first of all, that rights are not something we are to negotiate or compromise over," Baghaei said, including Iran's right to enrichment as set out by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

"There is no need for another party to recognize this right for Iran. This right already exists," he added.

A woman holds a placard with photos of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei and his predecessor and late father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a protest at the Hafte Tir Square in Tehran on May 17, 2026.
-/AFP via Getty Images

-ABC News' Victoria Beaule

1 hour and 29 minutes ago

IDF orders south Lebanon evacuations amid ongoing strikes

Israel Defense spokesperson Avichay Adraee on Monday issued evacuation orders for the southern Lebanese towns of Harouf, Burj el-Shamali and Dibal ahead of planned Israeli strikes.

Adraee said the IDF would act "forcefully" against alleged Hezbollah targets in those areas, accusing the Iran-aligned militia of "violating the ceasefire."

Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health said on Sunday that the death toll from Israeli strikes on the country since March 2 had risen to 2,988 people. Another 9,210 people have been wounded, the ministry said.

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Tourzai on May 17, 2026.
Kawnat Haju/AFP via Getty Images
3 hours and 10 minutes ago

Saudi Arabia, UAE condemn fresh drone attacks

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates reported fresh drone attacks on Sunday amid the continued U.S.-Israeli ceasefire and standoff with Iran.

The Abu Dhabi Media Office in the UAE said on Sunday that a drone attack of unspecified origin caused a fire in an electrical generator "outside the inner perimeter" of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the Al Dhafra Region.

The UAE Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the attack came "from the western border direction."

"These attacks constitute a dangerous escalation, an unacceptable act of aggression and a direct threat to the country's security," the statement said. The UAE, it added, "will not tolerate any threat to its security and sovereignty under any circumstances" and reserves the right "to respond to any threats, allegations or hostilities."

Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said on Sunday that its air defenses intercepted three drones "coming from Iraqi airspace."

The ministry said in a post to X that it "reserves the right to respond at the appropriate time and place."

May 17, 2026, 1:28 PM EDT

Iran 'better get moving, FAST' and make a peace deal, Trump says

President Donald Trump is saying that Iran "better get moving, FAST," warning that "there won't be anything left of them" if they do not comply with his demands and make a peace deal.

"For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!," Trump wrote on his social media platform early Sunday afternoon.

President Donald Trump speaks at an event on maternal healthcare in the Oval Office of the White House, May 11, 2026 in Washington.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The president did not provide a new deadline or timeline for Iran's response, as he has previously.

During an interview in China with Fox News that aired Thursday night, Trump warned that Iran “can make a deal or they get annihilated.”

Last week, Trump called the ceasefire with Iran "unbelievably weak" and "a piece of garbage" after he disapproved of their peace deal proposal response.

-ABC News' Emily Chang

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