Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday expressed hope that a deal to end the war in Iran was in the cards, stressing that Tehran must severely curtail its nuclear program before any sanctions are lifted.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said Israel would help to make Iran's "terror regime" disappear, as talks to reach a peace agreement between the U.S. and the Islamic republic appeared to stutter.

Two projectiles hit a container vessel in the Gulf as it was leaving port in Iraq, a Swiss-based company said Tuesday, after Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted the ship.

Israeli weapons exports reached a record high of more than $19 billion last year, a 30% increase from 2024, Israel's Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

More than half of 2025's sales were "mega-deals" valued at $100 million or more, the ministry said, adding that sales have more than doubled in the last five years, despite widespread criticism of Israel's conduct in its wars in Gaza, with Hezbollah and with Iran.

Ceasefires have been announced, often to great fanfare, in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. So why is there still so much fighting?

In just the last few weeks, Israeli forces have captured more territory in Gaza and killed two top Hamas militants there, as well as more than a dozen other people. In Lebanon, Israeli troops captured a Crusader fortress over the weekend in their deepest incursion in 26 years, as Hezbollah kept up rocket fire into northern Israel.

A senior Iranian military officer said Tuesday that a resumption of hostilities with the United States was inevitable, as negotiations between Tehran and Washington appeared to stall.

"The United States demands our total surrender, and the Iranian nation will never surrender," said Mohammad Jafar Assadi, deputy head of Iran's central military command, Khatam al-Anbiya. "Without surrender, war is inevitable."

Iran's Revolutionary Guards threatened to open "new fronts" and keep the Strait of Hormuz closed over Israel's offensive in Lebanon, state media reported on Monday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that talks with Iran were moving ahead rapidly, despite Iran's Tasnim news agency reporting Tehran had halted talks in protest at Israel's Lebnanon offensive.

"Talks are continuing, at a rapid pace, with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump said on his Truth Social account, shortly after another post saying Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to stop attacks.

Iran's Tasnim news agency said Tehran was suspending all exchanges with mediators in peace talks with the United States on Monday, blaming Israel's ongoing invasion of Lebanon.

"Given the continuing crimes of the Zionist regime (Israel) in Lebanon and considering that Lebanon was one of the preconditions for the ceasefire and that this ceasefire has now been violated on all fronts, including Lebanon, the Iranian negotiating team is suspending dialogues and exchange of texts through mediators," Tasnim reported.

The United States and Iran said Monday they had again traded strikes, straining an already fragile ceasefire as negotiations between the two sides have stalled.

Weeks of complicated talks marked by sharp rhetoric and occasional flare-ups of violence have not managed to reach a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which is essential to oil supplies.