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СпутникиРНSpaceXРоскосмосNASAIran revises proposal as Trump ramps up warnings
Welcome back to the Daily Briefing.This is Ezgi Akin, filling in for Gabrielle. In today’s edition:Trump warns Iran after first Gulf nuclear power plant attackIsrael kills Islamic Jihad commander in Lebanon despite ceasefireBehind UAE’s shift toward SyriaWhy China didn’t hand Trump a breakthrough on IranThanks for reading, Ezgi (ezgi_akin)Iran revises proposal as Trump ramps up warningsWomen hold Iranian flags during an anti-US and Israel protest in Tehran.Iran said Monday that it had submitted a revised response to the United States in Pakistan-brokered talks aimed at ending the war, as US President Donald Trump warned Tehran to move quickly after the first attack on a Gulf nuclear power plant raised the stakes in the conflict.Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Monday that Iran had conveyed its revised response to a US proposal to end the fighting. He didn’t provide further details.Tehran’s revisions to its initial response came after Washington presented a five-point list of demands, including a demand that Iran keep only one nuclear site operational and transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the United States, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency.The initial Iranian response reportedly included demands the United States considered nonstarters, including acknowledgment of Iran's sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and war reparations. Trump last week dismissed the initial version as “garbage.”Trump intensified his warning to Iran on Sunday. “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them,” he wrote in a Truth Social post.First attack on nuclear power plant in the GulfAn Iranian navy vessel fires a missile at an unknown location in this still image taken from a video released May 8, 2026. Pool via WANA (West Asia News Agency)/ via REUTERS Trump’s warning came as tensions between Tehran and Gulf capitals escalated further following a drone attack Sunday on a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates that caused a fire.The attack marked the first strike on a nuclear site in a Gulf country since the Iran war began Feb. 28.The Defense Ministry said three drones approached the country’s western border, with two successfully intercepted and the third striking an electrical generator outside the plant's inner security perimeter at the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in Al Dhafra region.Emirati officials blamed Iran. Anwar Gargash, senior diplomatic adviser to UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, described the attack as a “dangerous escalation.”The attack, “whether carried out by the principal actor or through one of its proxies, represents a dangerous escalation,” he wrote on the X platform.Israel kills Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander in Lebanon despite ceasefireSmoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Choukine — Abbas FAKIHIsrael killed a commander of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad in strikes in southern Lebanon early Monday, according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency.The strikes, which killed seven people, including Wael Abdul Halim, whom the NNA identified as an Islamic Jihad commander, came despite a ceasefire extension agreed to during US-brokered talks in Washington last week.Representatives from Israel and Lebanon met for two days in Washington for a third round of US-brokered talks on Thursday and Friday.The US State Department announced Friday that a fragile ceasefire between the two sides would be extended for 45 days and that a separate security dialogue would begin later this month.The two sides are expected to reconvene for political talks on June 2-3, while military delegations from both countries will begin separate security discussions at the Pentagon May 29, according to the State Department. Rosaleen Carroll reports from Washington.Ports and infrastructure: UAE embraces new economic order in SyriaSyrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives to attend the second day of the first Syrian-Emirati (United Arab Emirates) Investment Forum, at the People's Palace in Damascus on May 12, 2026. — LOUAI BESHARA / AFP via Getty ImagesThe United Arab Emirates is signaling growing ambitions in Syria’s postwar economy after initially engaging cautiously with the new Syrian administration led by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former jihadist leader.Sharaa and UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed expanding development cooperation, investment and economic ties last week, days after Damascus held the first Syria-UAE Investment Forum, which included more than 120 Emirati companies and institutions. The UAE’s shift reflects growing confidence in Sharaa and a broader Gulf effort to draw Syria away from Iran through investment-led reconstruction. Samuel Wendel has the details.Why China didn’t hand Trump a breakthrough on IranUS President Donald Trump (2nd R) walks with China's President Xi Jinping (L) at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in Beijing on May 15, 2026. — Mark Schiefelbein / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)Trump’s three-day visit to China — the first by a US president since 2017 — included plenty of fanfare, flattery and awkward selfies, but failed to produce agreements or breakthroughs related to Iran.Although China maintains considerable leverage over Tehran, Beijing’s priority remains protecting its own energy and economic interests, not helping Trump secure a sweeping diplomatic victory.That calculation is already visible in the way Beijing has handled the Strait of Hormuz crisis. China-linked vessels are already passing through the strait despite Iran’s de facto blockade.China also has little incentive to help Washington quickly resolve a crisis that is absorbing US diplomatic and military attention.The conflict has created openings for Beijing in the Gulf, with China selling weapons to US allies while they struggle to defend military bases and oil infrastructure from Iranian missile and drone attacks.Furthermore, even if Beijing were willing to pressure Tehran more aggressively, there is no guarantee it could secure Iranian compliance. For more, subscribe to our China newsletter by Joyce Karam and Rosaleen Carroll.
eakin@al-monitor.com
Mon, 05/18/2026 - 07:22
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