Iran-US war latest: Trump says claims peace talks have collapsed are ‘fake news’ but tells Tehran ‘this can’t go on’

One of Iraq’s most powerful Iran-backed armed groups said Tuesday it would begin putting its weapons under government control, a major step in the new government’s effort to bring militias that have long operated on their own under state command.

Asaib Ahl al-Haq said it had formed a committee to oversee the move, including an inventory of its fighters, weapons and equipment, and to coordinate with the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The group cast the decision as a response to calls by Iraq’s top Shiite religious authority and the Iran-aligned Coordination Framework, the largest bloc in Parliament that dominates Iraqi politics.

As the United States grapples with a deadlock in negotiations with Iran, NBC News has revealed that over 2,000 US diplomats left the foreign service over the last year, according to figures by the American Foreign Services Association.

The officials were either laid off or forced to retire, according to the report.

Current and former state department officials say that the reduction in numbers is a critical disadvantage for the US at this time. The US diplomatic service was made up of 13,000 employees in 2024.

Israeli drone strikes on southern Lebanon on Tuesday killed 11 people, including a man along with his son and daughter, the state-run news agency said, a day after Donald Trump said Israel and the militant group Hezbollah agreed to dial back fighting.

Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, launched dozens of projectiles and drones toward Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon and Israeli cities and towns in recent days as Israel’s airstrikes killed dozens, including women and children, in Lebanon. Hezbollah did not carry out any attacks on Israel after Trump’s announcement.

Trump said Monday he’d spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and had communicated with Hezbollah through mediators, and that no troops would be “going to Beirut.” But the intensity of attacks between Israel and Hezbollah continued.

The mood inside the White House is reportedly being driven by a sense of burnout among staffers and officials who are trying to push President Donald Trump’s agenda forward while being “all-consumed” by the unpopular Iran war.

For more than three months, Trump’s war with Iran has dragged on, pushing gas prices and inflation higher for Americans – leading to negative media attention and general disapproval by the public. The administration has made several efforts to end the war, or at least open the Strait of Hormuz but so far no tangible deals have been implemented.

A British couple jailed in Iran on spying allegations have lost an appeal against their convictions, their family and the UK government said Tuesday.

Craig and Lindsay Foreman were detained in January 2025 while on an around-the-world motorcycle trip. In February they were handed 10-year prison sentences for espionage, which they both deny.

Britain’s Foreign Office called the couple’s incarceration “unjustified and appalling.”

“We are disappointed by the appeal decision and will continue working to ensure that Craig and Lindsay are returned safely to the U.K.,” it said in a statement.

“Since their arrest last year, Britain’s ambassador to Tehran, diplomats and officials in London have been working to provide consular assistance. This includes the ambassador visiting them in prison and facilitating calls with their family back in the U.K.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency is offering the United Arab ⁠Emirates technical as well as moral support, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi ⁠said after ⁠a visit to the site ⁠of a nuclear power ​plant ⁠that came under ‌a drone attack last month.

Grossi said Emirati ‌authorities had reacted ‌very quickly to the attack at the Barakah ⁠Nuclear Power Plant by shutting down a reactor because of the loss of external power.

He said a number of ‌activities would take ​place to ‌complete repairs at ⁠the plant but ⁠provided no further details.