• US-Iran peace talks remain stalled.
• Washington offered no concessions, says Fars.
• Hormuz blockade rattles global oil markets.

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump issued a fresh warning to Iran on Sunday, saying it had to move quickly towards a peace deal or “there won’t be anything left of them.”

Washington, locked in conflict with Tehran since US and Israeli forces launched major strikes on the Islamic republic beginning February 28, has struggled to break an impasse and make any progress toward ending a war that has shaken the Middle East and sent energy prices climbing.

“For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!”

The war has led to an effective blockade of the critical Strait of Hormuz, through which some 20% of global oil exports pass in peacetime, and has drawn neighbours Israel and Lebanon into a deadly side conflict.

Iran’s clerical state, Hezbollah’s patron, has demanded a lasting ceasefire in Lebanon before any broader peace agreement with Trump, who has been frustrated by Tehran’s refusal to accept a deal on his terms.

An Israeli military official said Sunday that Hezbollah had fired around 200 projectiles at Israel and its troops over the weekend, despite Israel and Lebanon agreeing to extend a ceasefire.

Lebanon’s health ministry said new Israeli strikes Sunday on the country’s south killed five people, including two children.

Israeli attacks since the start of the war have killed more than 2,900 people in Lebanon, including 400 since the truce began on April 17, according to Lebanese authorities.

‘No tangible concessions’

Washington and Tehran agreed to a truce on April 8, but peace negotiations have stalled and sporadic attacks have continued.

On Sunday, Iranian media said the United States had failed to make any concrete concessions in its latest response to Iran’s proposed agenda for negotiations to end the war.

The Fars news agency said Washington had presented a five-point list which included a demand for Iran to keep only one nuclear site in operation and transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the United States.

Washington also refused to release “even 25%” of Iran’s frozen assets abroad or pay any reparations for the damage inflicted on Iran during the war, according to Fars.

The Mehr news agency, meanwhile, said: “The United States, offering no tangible concessions, wants to obtain concessions that it failed to obtain during the war, which will lead to an impasse in the negotiations.”

Sunday saw more unrest in parts of the region. A drone strike triggered a fire near a nuclear power station in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, authorities said, reporting no injuries or impact on radiation levels.

Iranian-backed armed groups equipped with drones are based in Iraq, while Tehran’s allies in Yemen — the Houthi rebels — also possess combat-grade UAVs.

Pakistan has been actively mediating in the peace talks between Iran and the United States, and its Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met Sunday in Tehran with Iran’s chief negotiator and speaker of parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

In a social media post following the talks, Ghalibaf said the US and Israeli war with Iran had destabilised the entire Middle East.

“Some governments in the region believed that the presence of the United States would bring them security, but recent events showed that this presence is not only incapable of providing security, but also creates the grounds for insecurity,” he said.

Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping discussed Iran during their high-stakes summit earlier this week, but there appeared to be little headway on Iran.

Trump said Xi assured him that China was not preparing military aid to Iran, while the Chinese foreign ministry said Friday in a statement on Iran that “shipping lanes should be reopened as soon as possible.”

• Cuban FM rejects report, accuses US of fabrication.
• Cuba accuses US of baselessly plotting for its next war.
• Cuba does not threaten or desire war: Rodriguez.

Cuba has obtained more than 300 military drones and recently began discussing plans to use them to attack the US base at Guantanamo Bay, US military vessels and possibly even Florida, Axios reported Sunday, citing classified intelligence.

The report comes as tensions simmer between Washington and Havana, amid growing speculation that the United States is weighing military action against the communist-run island.

The Trump administration is concerned because of developments in drone warfare and the presence of Iranian military advisors in Havana, Axios cited a senior US official as saying.

Cuba has been acquiring attack drones from Russia and Iran since 2023 and is seeking to buy more, US officials told Axios.

Havana slammed the report, with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez accusing the United States of baselessly plotting for its next war.

“With no legitimate excuse whatsoever, the US government is, day after day, building a fraudulent case to justify a ruthless economic war against the Cuban people and an eventual military aggression,” Rodriguez wrote on X.

“Cuba does not threaten or desire war. It defends peace and is readying and preparing itself to confront external aggression in the exercise of the right to legitimate self-defense recogni[s]ed by the UN Charter,” he added.

The report comes days after CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Havana, where Cubans have been enduring constant power outages prompted by President Donald Trump’s fuel blockade.

According to Axios, Ratcliffe warned officials in Havana against engaging in hostilities.

“Director Ratcliffe made clear that Cuba can no longer serve as a platform for adversaries to advance hostile agendas in our hemisphere,” Axios quoted an unnamed CIA official as saying.

The communist island has been in a standoff with successive US administrations since the 1960s, and the southern state of Florida hosts a large, politically influential Cuban exile community.

Earlier this month Trump said the United States would be “taking over” the Caribbean island, only around 90 miles (145 km) from Florida, “almost immediately.”

He has also said, following the US military operation to depose Venezuela’s longtime leader Nicolas Maduro, that Cuba will be next.

US media also reported that US authorities are seeking to indict Raul Castro, the 94-year-old brother of late Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

• Quake hit Guangxi’s Liuzhou city at 12.21am: report.
• State broadcaster CCTV identifies deceased as couple.
• Authorities evacuated over 7,000 people from area. 

A 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck south China’s Guangxi region on Monday, killing two people and causing 13 buildings to collapse, state media reported.

The quake hit Guangxi’s Liuzhou city at 12.21am (1621 GMT), state news agency Xinhua said, adding that one person remained missing as of the morning.

State broadcaster CCTV identified the deceased as a couple — a 63-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman — and said search and rescue efforts for the missing person were ongoing.

Authorities had evacuated over 7,000 people from the area, it added.

Videos published by CCTV showed people fleeing high-rise buildings and piles of rubble next to destroyed homes.

Rescue workers were seen trudging through the debris, while their dogs tried to sniff out signs of life.

Emergency workers wearing helmets were also seen using earthmovers to clear the wreckage.

Earthquakes in China are relatively common.

Last January, a devastating quake in the remote Tibet region killed at least 126 people and damaged thousands of buildings.