Mojtaba Ferdowsi Pour, Iran’s ambassador to Cairo, said that Iran is holding talks with the Sultanate of Oman regarding joint management of the Strait of Hormuz.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, the ambassador claimed that the Strait of Hormuz is open to countries friendly to Iran, but not to hostile countries such as the United States, Israel, and states that support them. According to him, “We are still in a state of war. We have not yet emerged from the war because there is a ceasefire or calm, and that means the war has still not ended.” He added that Iran is interested in ending the fighting and opposes war.
“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 Truth Social.
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a press conference after meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, US, December 29, 2025.(photo credit: REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST
)ByAMICHAI STEIN, REUTERS
MAY 17, 2026 18:57 Updated: MAY 17, 2026 22:30
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump spoke on Sunday about the president’s visit to China.
The pair also discussed developments with Iran.
“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 Truth Social after the call.
Trump also spoke to Israel’s Channel 13, saying that he thinks “the Iranians should be afraid of what’s going on right now,” and told Axios that he thinks Iran still wants a deal.
He said he is waiting for an updated Iranian proposal he hopes will be better than the one offered several days ago, Axios reported.Trump declined to give a deadline for the negotiations.
US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping walk as they leave after a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Busan, South Korea, October 30, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo)
Netanyahu said earlier that he would speak to Trump on Sunday evening.
“Our eyes are also wide open regarding Iran. I will speak today, as I do every few days, with our friend President Trump,” he said in a statement.
“I will certainly hear his impressions from his trip to China, and perhaps other matters. There are certainly many possibilities; we are prepared for any scenario.”
Trump claims Xi supports opening Hormuz strait after China slams US’s war with Iran
Trump returned to the US on Saturday after his state visit to China, where he and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a series of tariff, agricultural, and aircraft deals.
The Chinese Commerce Ministry described the deals as “preliminary” and said that the two sides had agreed to establish an investment board and a trade board to negotiate reciprocal, product-specific tariff reductions, as well as broader cuts on unspecified goods, including agricultural products.
Notably, during his visit, Trump said that Xi agreed that Iran needs to open the Strait of Hormuz, and that Tehran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
However, China’s foreign ministry expressed frustration with the Iran war, calling it a conflict “which should never have happened, has no reason to continue.”
Trump also said he was considering lifting US sanctions on Chinese oil companies buying Iranian oil. China is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil.
“I’m not asking for any favors because when you ask for favors, you have to do favors in return,” Trump said when asked by a reporter on Air Force One whether Xi had made a firm commitment to put pressure on the Iranians to reopen the vital strait.
Iran would welcome Chinese input, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said on Friday, adding that Tehran was trying to give diplomacy a chance but did not trust the US, which has curtailed previous rounds of talks by launching air strikes.
The attack follows a drone attack in the area of Abu Dhabi’s Barakah nuclear plant on Sunday. The two attacks could be connected, although it is too early to tell.
Smoke rises above Riyadh, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 5, 2026.(photo credit: REUTERS/STRINGER/FILE PHOTO)BySETH J. FRANTZMANUpdated:
Saudi Arabia says that it has intercepted three drones that “entered its territory from Iraqi airspace,” the country’s defense ministry said in a Sunday evening post to X/Twitter.
The attack follows a drone attack in the area of Abu Dhabi’s Barakah nuclear plant on Sunday. The two attacks could be connected, although it is too early to tell.
Saudi Arabia’s Arab News noted that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s “defense ministry spokesman Major General Turki Al-Maliki said that it would take the necessary operational measures to respond to any attempt to violate its sovereignty and security.”
The report went on to say that “Al-Maliki added it will also take action to ensure the safety of citizens and residents on Saudi territory. While hostilities during the Iran conflict have largely been scaled down since a ceasefire came into effect in April, drones have been launched from Iraq towards Gulf countries.”
The context here is that there is supposed to be a ceasefire with Iran. However, in recent days, there have been rumors of renewed conflict. Therefore, it’s possible that Iranian-backed proxies, such as militias in Iraq, are preparing new attacks and testing new routes for their drones.
FILE PHOTO: Vehicles move along a road as smoke billows from Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura oil refinery after a reported Iranian drone strike, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, March 2, 2026. (credit: REUTERS/STRINGER/FILE PHOTO)The militias in Iraq, who are usually called the Popular Mobilization Forces or Hashd al-Shaabi, have been on alert in the last week due to claims in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times about Israel using two sites in Iraq as temporary airstrips. The pro-Iranian militias have claimed to be patrolling the southern desert in Iraq near the Saudi border. This would position them to carry out drone attacks from the safety of the large desert south of Najaf.
Saudi Arabia condemns drone attack on UAE
Meanwhile, “Saudi Arabia has condemned a drone attack that targeted an electricity generator in the UAE located outside the perimeter of the Barakah nuclear energy plant in the Al-Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi,” Arab News noted.
“The Foreign Ministry said the attack threatens regional security and stability, and expressed its solidarity with the UAE and support for all measures to preserve its sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity,” the Saudi Press Agency reported.
There is widespread condemnation of the attack from Kuwait, Bahrain, and other countries.
“Kuwait said targeting peaceful nuclear energy facilities is a clear violation of international law and poses a risk to civilians, the environment, and security,” the report said. The UAE has also condemned the drone attack on Saudi Arabia, according to the UAE’s Al-Ain media.
