US says 'slight progress' in Iran talks amid uncertainty about whether war will resume

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday there was “slight progress” during talks with Iran amid uncertainty about whether a deal will be reached or war will resume.

He spoke days after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was holding off on a military strike against the Islamic Republic because “serious negotiations” were underway. Trump has been threatening for weeks that the ceasefire reached in mid-April could end if Iran does not make a deal, with shifting parameters for striking such an agreement.

Rubio spoke ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, where the military alliance is expected to discuss what role it could play in helping police the Strait of Hormuz once the war is over.

Rubio said he did not want to exaggerate the progress, saying there had been “a little bit of movement and that's good.” He said the conversations were ongoing. In recent weeks there have been repeated claims of progress, but a deal has stayed out of reach.

Trump has repeatedly set deadlines for Tehran and then backed off. But he’s also previously indicated he would hold off on military action to allow talks to continue — only to turn around and launch strikes. That’s what happened at the war’s outset, when he ordered strikes in late February shortly after indicating he would let talks play out.

He said he called off attacks on Iran this week at the request of allies in the Middle East, including the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who have been targeted by Iran and its allied militias.

But Trump's decision to give the talks a chance sparked tension with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

An official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media said Thursday that Trump and Netanyahu had a “dramatic” phone conversation Tuesday about the status of the Iranian negotiations and that Israel is angry with Trump’s efforts to strike a deal with Iran.

Trump later told reporters that Netanyahu “will do whatever I want him to do.”

The comments are some of the first public signs of daylight between the leaders since they launched the war.

Pakistan's army chief was traveling Friday to Tehran for a third round of talks with Iranian leaders this week, two Pakistani officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

Field Marshal Asim Munir will be joined by Pakistan's interior minister, who has already met with Iranian leaders twice this week. Pakistan has worked to mediate a peace deal between Iran and the U.S. since Munir facilitated face-to-face talks between the two countries in Islamabad last month.

Pakistan's mediation efforts are also expected to be discussed when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif travels to China this weekend for a four-day visit, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi.

Still, major sticking points remain.

Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for the shipment of oil, gas, fertilizer and other petroleum products. The U.S. is blockading Iranian ports and has redirected 94 commercial vessels and disabled four others from mid-April through Thursday, U.S. Central Command said in a social media post.

Rubio blasted Tehran’s efforts to use its chokehold on the strait to “create a tolling system” that forces ships to pay for passage.

“I don’t know of a country in the world that’s in favor of it except Iran,” Rubio said, "but there’s no country in the world that should accept it.

The U.S. and Israel have said Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. While Iran was said to include some nuclear concessions, Trump has said he wants to remove highly enriched uranium from the country and prevent it from developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

Two regional officials and a Western diplomat told The Associated Press that Saudi Arabia and the UAE separately launched multiple attacks on Iran and Iranian-backed Shiite militias in Iraq during the war. An Israeli military officer with knowledge of the situation also confirmed that the UAE proactively struck Iran at least once.

All of them spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information.

The regional officials said the strikes on Iran targeted military facilities, including missile and drone launchers.

One of the regional officials said the strikes by Saudi Arabia targeted hideouts of Iraqi militias, mainly Kataib Hezbollah, after Riyadh assessed that most of the drone attacks on Saudi Arabia came from neighboring Iraq. He said Saudi Arabia has repeatedly briefed Baghdad about the Iraqi-originated attacks before deciding to strike.

The Western diplomat and one of the regional officials said the UAE had pushed for a collective military response from the Gulf Arab countries since the onset of the war.

Asked for comment, the UAE referred to a May 16 statement by its foreign ministry that "all measures undertaken by the UAE have been within the framework of defensive actions aimed at protecting its sovereignty, civilians, and vital infrastructure.” Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iran has also not publicly addressed being targeted by the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Magdy reported from Cairo, Egypt. Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Munir Ahmed in Islamabad; Geir Moulson in Berlin; and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, and Sweden's Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard hold up a memorandum of understanding during a signing ceremony on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, and Sweden's Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard during a signing ceremony on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, and Sweden's Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard shake hands during a signing ceremony on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a signing ceremony on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

President Donald Trump attends an event about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a meeting of the North Atlantic Council in NATO foreign ministers format in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is rising toward the finish of an eighth straight winning week on Friday, which would be its longest such streak since 2023.

The S&P 500 added 0.6% and pulled closer to its all-time high set in the middle of last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 307 points, or 0.6%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.6% higher.

Ross Stores climbed 7.7% after the off-price retailer reported profit and revenue for the latest quarter that easily cleared analysts’ expectations. CEO Jim Conroy said it saw strong customer traffic through the three months, and the company may have benefited from households spending their tax refunds.

Estee Lauder jumped 11.5% after saying it was no longer considering a possible merger with Puig, the Spanish fragrance and beauty products company.

Workday rose 6.5%, and Zoom Communications jumped 15.5% after both delivered better profit reports for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

They’re the latest companies to join the long list topping analysts’ expectations for growth in profit for the start of 2026. Such strong reports have helped U.S. stocks rally to records, even as pressure grows from high inflation created by the war with Iran.

Oil prices were calmer Friday following yo-yo moves earlier in the week. They’ve been swinging hour-to-hour because of uncertainty about when the United States and Iran may find a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which would allow oil tankers to exit the Persian Gulf again and deliver crude to customers worldwide.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 0.5% to $103.05. Benchmark U.S. crude, meanwhile, rose 0.4% to $96.68 per barrel after erasing an earlier modest dip.

Worries about inflation staying high because of the war have pushed bond yields higher worldwide, threatening to slow economies worldwide and undercut prices for stocks, bitcoin and all kinds of other investments. They’ve already forced the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate to its most expensive level since last summer, and they could curtail companies’ borrowing to build the AI data centers that have supported the U.S. economy’s growth recently.

Yields eased a bit Friday, releasing some of the pressure on the stock market.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.54% from 4.57% late Thursday, though it remains well above its 3.97% level from before the war.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 2.7% to another record after a report showed inflation hitting a four-year low in April, at 1.4%, despite higher prices for oil and gas due to the war.

AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

Options trader Steven Rodriguez, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, May 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A dealer talks on the phone at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Asia markets index of Japan, South Korea and Australia is seen on a screen at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)