Latest developments in Middle East war

Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war on Saturday, May 2, 2026:

US Navy ‘acting like pirates’

United States President Donald Trump said the US Navy was acting “like pirates” as he described an operation seizing a ship amid the tit-for-tat American blockade of Iranian ports.

“We… land on top of it and we took over the ship. We took over the cargo, took over the oil. It’s a very profitable business,” Trump told a rally in Florida.

“We’re like pirates,” he added to cheers from the crowd. “We’re sort of like pirates. But we’re not playing games.”

Troop withdrawal ‘expected’

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said the withdrawal of 5,000 American troops from Germany had been expected and that Europe needed to do more to ensure its own security.

“That US troops are withdrawing from Europe and also from Germany was to be expected,” Boris Pistorius said in a statement sent to AFP by his ministry.

“We Europeans must take greater responsibility for our security,” he added.

NATO’s spokesperson said on Saturday: “We are working with the U.S. to understand the details of their decision on force posture in Germany.”

Renewed war ‘likely’

A senior Iranian military officer said on Saturday that renewed fighting between the United States and Iran was “likely”, hours after Trump said he was “not satisfied” with a new Iranian negotiating proposal.

Why I won’t accept new Iran proposal ― Trump

Mohammad Jafar Asadi, a senior figure in the Iranian military’s central command, said “a renewed conflict between Iran and the United States is likely”, in quotes published by Iran’s Fars news agency.

“Evidence has shown that the United States is not committed to any promises or agreements,” he added.

US to slash troops in Germany

The Pentagon said US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had ordered the withdrawal of about 5,000 troops from Germany within the next year.

The announcement came after Trump threatened this week to remove troops from NATO ally Germany amid a row with its chancellor, Friedrich Merz, over the US-Israeli war against Iran.

Iran executions

Iran hanged two men on Saturday convicted of spying for Israel, the judiciary said, the latest in a string of executions in recent weeks.

“Yaghoub Karimpour and Nasser Bekrzadeh were hanged for the crime of intelligence cooperation and espionage in favour of the Zionist regime,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said.

It was not immediately clear when the two men were arrested.

Lebanon says 13 killed in strikes

Lebanon’s health ministry said 13 people were killed on Friday in Israeli strikes on the country’s south, including in a town where Israel’s army had issued an evacuation order despite a ceasefire.