WASHINGTON — Precarious talks to end the war with Iran appeared close to collapse on Tuesday as renewed fighting across the region threatened to derail fragile progress toward a comprehensive settlement.
U.S. strikes against targets in southern Iran — the first since a ceasefire was declared in the war seven weeks ago — coupled with escalating attacks by Israel in Lebanon have undermined optimism that an agreement was within reach.
The attacks occurred just hours after U.S. and Iranian diplomats arrived in Qatar for peace talks. Iran’s top negotiators left Doha on Tuesday without comment. News of the strikes, and threats of retaliation by Tehran, sent global oil prices soaring back to more than $100 a barrel.
U.S. Central Command described Monday’s actions as “self-defense strikes” that were restrained and modest in scope, targeting missile launch sites and Iranian boats “attempting to emplace mines” in the Strait of Hormuz.
But the attack came as President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been projecting confidence that a framework agreement to end the war could be reached within days. Under the proposed deal, Iran would restore the strait to its prewar status as a free and open international waterway, while both sides entered 60 days of negotiations over the removal of Iran’s nuclear stockpile.
Laying mines in the strait in the 11th hour of the negotiations could signal to the Trump administration that Iran is not serious about reopening traffic there. But the Iranians said Tuesday that renewed U.S. strikes suggest it is Washington that is unprepared to commit to peace.
Iran’s Foreign Mministry condemned what it called “aggressive actions” by the United States, describing them in a statement as a violation of the ceasefire agreement.
“The commission of these aggressive acts — occurring concurrently with the ongoing diplomatic track mediated by Pakistan — has once again exposed the hostile nature and perfidy of the ruling establishment in the United States,” the statement said.
Iran “will not leave any hostile act unanswered,” the ministry added.
Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s elusive supreme leader, declared in a scheduled speech that U.S. allies throughout the Middle East “will no longer serve as a shield” for the American military, suggesting retaliatory strikes against U.S. assets in the region could be imminent.
Prospects for a diplomatic breakthrough were already dim. Over the last week, U.S. and Iranian officials projected optimism while outlining seemingly incompatible visions of a deal.
Trump has repeatedly said Iran would not receive any sanctions relief until its stockpile of fissile material is removed and destroyed. But Iranian officials reiterated Tuesday that unfreezing the country’s overseas assets remains a precondition for continued negotiations.
And it is unclear whether Iran would agree to a peace deal with the United States that does not also restrict the actions of Israel, whose leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has expressed deep skepticism about the diplomatic process.
Netanyahu said in recent days that Israel would not be bound by any nuclear pact, and that his government would continue military action against targets throughout the region — including in Lebanon — as it views necessary.
Israel’s continued assault on Lebanon nearly jeopardized the ceasefire between Iran and the United States before Trump brokered a separate, temporary halt to the fighting there. Since then, however, Israeli strikes have resumed, and Netanyahu vowed to intensify his campaign against Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militant group.
“We are not removing our foot from the pedal,” Netanyahu said in a video address Monday. “On the contrary, I said to step on the pedal even more.”
Israel’s military ramped up its operations Tuesday, attacking what it said were more than 100 Hezbollah sites across southern and eastern Lebanon, while extending ground incursions deeper into Lebanese territory.
The overnight strikes struck weapons storage facilities, command centers, observation posts and infrastructure sites, according to an Israeli military statement.
Israeli media also reported that Israeli troops were operating beyond a 6.2-mile zone they occupy in southern Lebanon, in what many fear may be a prelude to a wider invasion.
Those fears were further stoked Tuesday by fresh Israeli evacuation orders for the entirety of Nabatiyeh, southern Lebanon’s second-largest city.
Hezbollah upped its campaign as well, peppering Israeli troops in southern Lebanon and areas of northern Israel with drones and rocket attacks, according to statements from the group. Hezbollah-affiliated media reported the group’s fighters clashing with Israeli troops to prevent their advance.
In recent weeks, Hezbollah has increasingly relied on fiber-optic drones — which are both low-cost and impervious to jamming — to harass Israeli positions.
On Sunday, an Israeli soldier was killed and another wounded when a Hezbollah kamikaze drone hit their armored personnel carrier, according to the Israeli military; 23 Israeli soldiers and a civilian defense contractor have been killed in the current conflagration between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel’s military says.
The latest bout of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel began March 2, when the Iran-backed group launched attacks on Israel to avenge the killing of Iran’s ayatollah, Ali Khamenei.
So far, Israeli strikes have killed 3,213 people, wounded more than triple that number, and left more than a million displaced, according to Lebanese health authorities.
A ceasefire signed April 17 sidelined the capital, Beirut, from strikes but has done little to stop the fighting otherwise, with Hezbollah and Israel continuing attacks despite unprecedented direct negotiations taking place between the Israeli and Lebanese governments.
It was unclear whether Netanyahu’s warning meant Beirut would be targeted once more. Israeli drones buzzed throughout the day over the capital and the Hezbollah-dominated southern suburbs Tuesday.
Hezbollah opposes direct negotiations and insists it will keep fighting until Israel withdraws from Lebanon and stops attacks. Israel has demanded the Lebanese government do more to disarm Hezbollah and to move toward a peace deal.
Bulos reported from Beirut.
An unfinished nine-storey building collapsed near Manila early on Sunday, with 19 workers feared trapped beneath the rubble. At least 24 people have been rescued by emergency crews.
Published On 24 May 202624 May 2026
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The airline sector is currently navigating a distinct performance gap as the slump in Spirit Airlines (FLYYQ) shares sparked by the company’s Saturday announcement of an immediate, orderly wind-down prompts a wider industry reassessment within the Quant rating framework.
The
Passengers have been left unaware as to where their luggage is [file image](Image: Getty Images)
Passengers have been left stuck without their bags after the closure of a major airline.
One of America’s largest low-budget carriers, Spirit Airlines, announced its closure “effective immediately”.
The airline said in a statement: “All Spirit flights have been cancelled and Spirit guests should not go to the airport.”
As a result, customers could not get connecting flights and have been left stranded at airports across the country, with some passengers unsure where there bags are located.
On Sunday, a day after the airline closed, some passengers are still waiting at the airport for their luggage.
One passenger explained they ‘don’t know what to do’ as they have been left waiting for more news on the whereabouts of their belongings.
The traveller told NBC6 “I cannot fly because I don’t have my bags with me, so I’m just stuck here.”
Grace Florez was heading from North Carolina to Colombia but got stuck in Fort Lauderdale after her connection was cancelled.
She still doesn’t know where her bags are nearly two days later.
“It’s difficult, and it’s frustrating,” she said. “I just go with the flow. I don’t stress myself, but I need to work tomorrow.”
As the airline has been left with no customer service, she is left with no answers.
“I’m clueless,” she said. “I hope they are somewhere back there. I don’t know what to do. Other than waiting.”
Spirit Airlines, a budget carrier in the United States, has begun winding down operations, cancelling all flights, after talks with the Trump administration to secure a $500m bailout failed. Experts say a spike in aviation fuel prices from the US-Israel war on Iran dealt the final blow to the struggling airline that pioneered the ultralow-cost carrier model.
The airline’s shutdown after 34 years has left some 17,000 staff members unemployed, many passengers stranded, and raised doubts about the future of budget air travel.
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How did Spirit Airlines reach this point? Did the US-Israel war on Iran deliver the final blow?
Here’s what we know:
On Saturday, Spirit Aviation Holdings, the airline’s parent company, said the company had started to wind down operations.
“Spirit Aviation Holdings, Inc … today regretfully announced that the Company has started an orderly wind-down of operations, effective immediately. All Spirit flights have been cancelled, and Spirit Guests should not go to the airport,” the company said in a statement on Saturday.
The statement added that, despite its efforts, “the recent material increase in oil prices and other pressures on the business have significantly impacted Spirit’s financial outlook”.
Spirit Airlines, whose airfares were lower compared with other US airlines, had 4,119 domestic flights scheduled between May 1 and May 15, offering 809,638 seats, according to the latest data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm.
The carrier’s parent firm started as a long-haul trucking company in 1964. It shifted to aviation around 1983. The carrier rebranded from Charter One Airlines to Spirit in 1992.
The airline had been struggling financially for years and had filed for bankruptcy twice – in November 2024 and then in August 2025 – due to continued losses, high debt, and intense competition from other airlines.
According to a May 2 report by the Reuters news agency, Spirit had recently reached a deal with its lenders that would have helped it emerge from its second bankruptcy by late spring or early summer.
But the war on Iran, which led to a significant increase in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices, added to Spirit’s financial struggles and complicated its bankruptcy exit.
Spirit’s restructuring plan assumed ATF costs of about $2.24 a gallon in 2026 and $2.14 in 2027, but prices had climbed to about $4.51 a gallon by the end of April, leaving the carrier unable to survive without new financing.
A Spirit board meeting ended without an agreement to rescue the company, a person close to the discussions told Reuters late on Friday.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Reuters he tried to get many airlines to buy Spirit but found no takers. “What would someone buy?” Duffy asked. “If no one else wants to buy them, why would we buy them?”
US President Donald Trump also said he had tried to bail out the airline with a $500m financing package.
“If we can help them, we will, but we have to come first,” Trump told reporters. “If we could do it, we’d do it, but only if it’s a good deal.”
However, a creditor close to the deal told Reuters, “The Trump administration made an extraordinary effort to try and save Spirit, but you can’t breathe life into a corpse. Given that, the company should make its intentions clear for the sake of its customers and employees.”
Anita Mendiratta, special adviser to the UN Tourism secretary-general, noted that while war and geopolitical instability may not have caused Spirit’s collapse, they likely delivered the final blow.
“Surging fuel costs exposed the vulnerability of airlines operating on thin margins with little room for shock absorption,” she told Al Jazeera.
“Spirit’s weaknesses were already there – it had already gone through two bankruptcy filings in the two years prior; global instability simply accelerated the inevitable. In today’s aviation market, volatility is no longer an exception; it is the operating environment,” Mendiratta said.
The war on Iran has disrupted global oil and gas prices, with Brent crude rising above $111 a barrel on Friday. The high crude oil prices have also caused ATF prices to rise, affecting budget airlines badly.
Across the globe, airlines have been increasing prices to reflect the high ATF prices, and some have also reduced their flight operations.
German airline Lufthansa said last month it cancelled 20,000 flights in a bid to protect itself from the soaring ATF costs.
On Friday, leading Indian carrier Air India said it has increased fuel surcharges on all flights, adding that it will reduce 100 flights a day across its domestic and international routes.
Mendiratta noted that the aviation industry is on alert as airlines carrying high debt, facing fuel cost volatility, labour cost pressures, fleet constraints, and sustained pricing pressure remain exposed [to the war], especially those operating through a low-cost carrier model.
“What happens next is a defining test of aviation leadership. The rapid response from rival airlines to protect stranded passengers reflects an industry that understands its most valuable asset is not aircraft or market share, it is customer trust [both traveller and cargo],” she said.
“Just as importantly, how airlines support displaced employees, reassure markets, and reinforce operational stability will shape confidence in the sector’s long-term recovery,” she added.
PATRICK Muldoon’s tragic cause of death has been confirmed after the soap star’s sudden collapse at the age of 57.
The Days Of Our Lives and Melrose Place actor died from a heart attack, according to official records, with several underlying health conditions also revealed.
New details show Muldoon suffered a myocardial infarction – more commonly known as a heart attack – on April 19, as confirmed by his death certificate.
The document, released by the County of Los Angeles’ Department of Public Health, also listed contributing factors to his death.
These included a hereditary coagulopathy disorder, which affects blood clotting, and a pulmonary embolism – a dangerous blood clot that travels to the lungs and blocks blood flow.
The actor was cremated on Tuesday, with his occupation listed as both actor and producer.
Read more on Celebrity Deaths
His sister, Shana Muldoon-Zappa, had earlier shared that he died of a heart attack, posting a touching tribute alongside a final video sent to family just hours before his death.
In the clip, Muldoon is seen joking while showing a painting at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
“As always, he jokes… and yet profoundly brings all things into one moment,” she wrote.
“The joke-ster, the artist, the football player, and the intensely spiritually connected, Jesuit educated, incredible being that is Patrick Muldoon. My best friend. The best brother/son/uncle/anyone could ever possibly ask for.”
“I will have so much more to share as I know he loves this earthly realm and all he created within it,” she continued, “including all of the love and light his spirit is now receiving through all of you…. Surrounding you in light.”
Tributes also poured in from friends and co-stars, including actress Barbara Eden.
“Patrick was a sweet man who was very personable,” she said.
“I enjoyed the time we spent between takes and just enjoying each other’s company in general during the production of the film. He made the experience even more fun.”
“While the passing of a loved one is never easy,” she added, “it is especially difficult when it’s unexpected and sudden as I understand Patrick’s was. My thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends.”
Born in San Pedro, California, Patrick Muldoon shot to fame in the 1990s after launching his career while studying in the University of Southern California, where he also played football.
He first appeared on Who’s the Boss? before landing a role on Saved By the Bell after graduating in 1991.
His big break came as Austin Reed on Days of Our Lives, a role he originated between 1992 and 1995 before returning years later.
Muldoon later played villain Richard Hart on Melrose Place and starred in a string of TV movies.
On the big screen, he was known for playing Zander Barcalow in the 1997 sci-fi hit Starship Troopers.
His final film, Dirty Hands, is due for release later this year.
Away from the spotlight, Muldoon worked behind the scenes as an executive producer on a number of films and was also passionate about music, performing as lead singer of The Sleeping Masses.
Known as “Bobo” to loved ones, Muldoon is survived by his partner Miriam Rothbart, his parents, his sister and extended family.
