US Hits Iran, Israel Strikes Hezbollah In Lebanon: Will Truce Talks Now Collapse?

Last Updated:May 26, 2026, 05:32 IST

The second flashpoint emerged in Lebanon, where Israel sharply intensified strikes on Hezbollah positions in the south of the country.

As high-stakes negotiations continue in Doha to end the wider West Asia conflict, two fresh military escalations involving the United States and Israel are threatening to complicate — and potentially derail — fragile ceasefire efforts taking shape behind closed doors.

The first escalation came from southern Iran, where US forces carried out what officials described as “self-defence strikes" against Iranian military targets near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

According to United States Central Command spokesperson Captain Tim Hawkins, the operation targeted missile launch sites and Iranian vessels allegedly attempting to deploy naval mines in the waterway, through which a significant portion of global oil supplies passes every day.

“The operation was executed to protect American troops from imminent threats posed by Iranian forces," Hawkins told Fox News.

Citing a senior US official, Fox News reported that two boats linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were caught laying naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz. US forces reportedly destroyed both vessels and also struck a surface-to-air missile site in Bandar Abbas that was allegedly targeting American warplanes.

Sources familiar with the matter described the strikes as “defensive" and insisted they do not necessarily indicate the collapse of ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran. Some Iranian media outlets have also reported casualties linked to the operation.

Follow Live Updates On Iran US Israel War

The second flashpoint emerged in Lebanon, where Israel sharply intensified strikes on Hezbollah positions in the south of the country.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to accelerate operations in an effort to “crush" the Iran-backed militant group.

“I have ordered an even greater acceleration of our operations," Netanyahu said in a video statement posted on Telegram.

The escalation comes at a particularly sensitive moment as the United States and Iran attempt to finalise the contours of a broader regional agreement that could include the Lebanon front, where Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in conflict since March 2.

Although a ceasefire officially came into effect on April 17, near-daily exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah have continued, keeping tensions simmering despite diplomatic efforts.

Neither Iran nor Qatari mediators have officially responded to the latest military developments.

What’s Happening In Doha Talks?

Senior Iranian officials, including Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati, are currently in Doha for what diplomats describe as one of the most consequential negotiation rounds since the conflict began.

According to Al Jazeera, citing an informed source, Washington and Tehran have already reached a preliminary understanding — mediated by Qatar — regarding Iran’s frozen overseas assets, one of Tehran’s core demands during the negotiations.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump indicated a possible breakthrough on another major sticking point: Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the enriched uranium — which he described as “Nuclear Dust!" — could either be handed over to the United States for destruction or dismantled inside Iran under international supervision.

The remarks are being viewed as significant because they appear to signal a possible softening in Washington’s position on Iran’s nuclear material.

Earlier US proposals were largely centred around removing enriched uranium entirely from Iranian territory. Trump’s latest comments, however, suggest the material could instead be destroyed within Iran under a monitored international mechanism — a position much closer to what Tehran has been pushing for during the talks.

For now, observers are closely watching whether the Doha negotiations can survive the latest military escalations or whether the fragile momentum toward a broader regional settlement begins to unravel.

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