LIVE UPDATES: US military boards Iranian oil tanker in Gulf of Oman; Australia rebukes Israeli minister for taunting bound activists; Iran signals it wants tighter controls of key waterway

Thanks for joining us for our live coverage of the Middle East conflict for today, May 21.

Here are the biggest events from the day:

The US military said that it boarded an Iranian-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman that was suspected of trying to violate the American blockade.

US President Donald Trump has said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will "do whatever I want" amid concerns about the two nations resuming strikes on Iran.

More than two months into the war and with little sign of the fuel crisis ending, two-thirds of American voters (64 per cent) disapprove of the way Trump is handling the economy, the lowest ranking in the category Trump has had as president.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong rebuked Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for taunting and goading pro-Palestine prisoners who were detained from the Gaza flotilla. The group included Australians, and Ben-Gvir's actions have been met with condemnation, including from the USA.

A top Trump official has warned Iran it faces extraordinary military action if its government continues to hold out against signing a peace deal.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, speaking with Fox News, says the current regime in Tehran faces a vital ultimatum from the US.

"This new team in Iran has a choice to make," Miller said.

"They can either agree to a piece of paper that is satisfactory to the United States, or they can face a punishment from our military, the likes of which has not been seen in modern history. That's the choice that they face," he said.

American aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and its strike group arrived in the Caribbean overnight as US prosecutors announced charges against former Cuban President Raúl Castro.

The Nimitz-class warship; its air wing made up of F/A-18E Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers and C-2A Greyhounds; along with other US naval vessels are now in the Caribbean Sea.

The deployment was announced in an X post by the US Southern Command.

The US State Department's oversight body is investigating the now-defunct Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and how it spent millions of dollars in emergency aid, the Financial Times reports, citing three people familiar with the inquiry.

The Office of Inspector General is examining a US$30 million grant announced by the State Department last June to the organisation backed by the US and Israel to distribute aid in Gaza, the report says.

The foundation has been criticised over the killing of hundreds of people while heading to aid distribution sites in Gaza controlled by the organisation's military contractors.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping took a veiled jab at Donald Trump when he hosted visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Xi made the remarks when he sat down with Putin in the Great Hall of the People for meetings during the Russian leader's whistlestop state visit in the Chinese capital.

"The international situation is marked by intertwined turbulence and transformation, while unilateral hegemonic currents are running rampant," Xi said, using Beijing's typical language to criticise what it sees as American foreign policy overreach.

The joint criticism of the US dominance included Xi and Putin denouncing Trump's plan to build a multibillion-dollar Golden Dome missile defence system.

"The parties believe that the US 'Golden Dome' project … poses a clear threat to strategic stability. These plans completely negate the key principle of maintaining strategic stability, which requires the inseparable interconnection of strategic offensive and strategic defensive weapons," the two said in a joint statement, according to the Kremlin.

- With CNN

Analysis from Australia's biggest bank says even if the US and Iran achieve a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, it would take months for the fuel crisis to ease.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia economist Vivek Dhar says an agreement signed over next month could mean the price of Brent oil, the global benchmark, falling to about $US80 per barrel on the futures market late this year.

But lower prices flowing through to consumers depends on the removal of sea mines in the strait as well as the time to repair oil assets and associated infrastructure that were damaged in fighting before the ceasefire came into effect on April 8.

Dhar also looked at what could happen if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and its impact on international oil supplies.

"The key watchpoint will be the rate of drawdown in global oil and refined product inventories. We believe these inventories will fall to worryingly low level by mid‑June to mid‑July – raising the prospect of substantially higher oil and refined product prices."

Sources from inside the White House say Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "hair was on fire" following a tense phone call with US President Donald Trump.

US publication Axios reports that the pair held a lengthy call over the status of the war in Iran, following which Trump told reporters outside the White House that while Netanyahu was a "good guy", Trump could get him "to do whatever he wants".

Netanyahu has both publicly and privately pushed to continue striking Iran, and would likely be frustrated at US attempts to end the war in a state that Israel would consider unsatisfactory.

Trump has warned that if Iran does not guarantee an end to its nuclear program, the war would resume "very quickly".

"If I can save people from getting killed by waiting a couple of days, I think it is a great thing to do," he said.

Iran has given no clear indication whether it would agree to the deal.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has denounced the Israeli National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, for posting a video of himself goading bound activists from a Gaza aid flotilla.

She said the images were "shocking and unacceptable" as Australia joined other nations in condemning the actions of the far-right politician.

Israeli authorities arrested 430 activists, including 11 Australian, when its navy intercepted their ships in the eastern Mediterranean this week.

"We condemn the actions of Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir – who Australia has sanctioned – and the degrading actions of Israeli authorities towards those detained," said Wong.

"I have asked Australia's Ambassador to Israel to make representations to Israel, reiterating our call for the release of the detained Australians and for Israel to ensure no ill treatment of any detainees and to act in line with international obligations."

FULL STORY HERE

More than two months into the war and with little sign of the fuel crisis ending, two-thirds of American voters (64 per cent) disapprove of the way Trump is handling the economy, according to a new poll.

It represents the lowest approval on economy management Trump has received in either of his terms as US president, according to a Quinnipiac University survey of registered voters.

The polling reveals a big divide among party lines.

Among Republicans, 73 per cent approve of the way Trump is handling the economy, while 24 per cent disapprove.

Among Democrats, 97 per cent disapprove of the way Trump is handling the economy, while 1 per cent approve.

Iran's newly-created Persian Gulf Strait Authority has announced it's setting up a controlled maritime zone in the Strait of Hormuz, demanding ships gain its approval before passage.

The authority says in a post on X the zone covers an area from Kuh-e Mubarak in Iran to south of Fujairah, in the UAE, at the eastern entrance of the strait, and from the tip of Qeshm Island to Umm al-Quwain at the western entrance.

Transit through the waters "requires coordination with and authorisation from the authority".