www.theguardian.com
The day so far
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Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that a final, agreed text of a peace deal between the United States and Iran had been reached. Islamabad is working with both sides to finalise next steps, Sharif added in an X post.
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US president Donald Trump has reposted a social media post by the Iranian foreign minister (see our previous post here). Abbas Araqchi had said a memorandum of understanding to end the Iran war had “never been closer”.
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An emerging deal between the United States and Iran is “performance-based”, a senior Trump administration official said on Friday. They added that Tehran will get none of its frozen assets until it carries out its part of the agreement.
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Trump dismissed Iranian media reports on an imminent deal with the US as “fake news”, saying they were not the terms Washington agreed to. Several Iranian media outlets have been reporting what they described as details of a draft proposal being reviewed by Iran’s leadership. Some of the terms of the agreement, according to the reports, include Iran’s control of the strait of Hormuz and postponed discussions on its nuclear programme (see posts at 12:49 and 09:32).
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The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he is “in full agreement” with Donald Trump to keep Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
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Hezbollah said on Friday that its fighters had confronted Israeli forces advancing towards a southern Lebanese town, as Israel pressed on with its strikes in Lebanon. In a statement, Hezbollah said its fighters first targeted Israeli troops advancing towards Majdal Zoun, around five kilometres (three miles) from the western side of the border, on Thursday evening “with repeated rocket barrages, forcing them to retreat”.
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The Israeli military said it struck 310 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon in the past week, as it claimed to have killed “80 terrorists”. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also revealed it conducted a raid in the southern Lebanese village Dibbine several weeks ago.
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Global oil prices fell on Friday to lows not seen since the first week of the Iran crisis after Donald Trump claimed he was close to reaching a peace deal with Tehran. The price of Brent crude began to tumble from about $93 a barrel in overnight trade after the US president called off further military strikes against Iran which were scheduled for the evening.
Key events
Senior US official tells Reuters ‘we are very close’ to deal with Iran
An anonymous senior US official told Reuters on Friday that though “we’re not quite at the finish line yet”, the US is “very close” to resolving the conflict with Iran.
The terms of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) accomplish the core aims of Donald Trump and his administration, the senior official said. This includes:
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Reopening the strait of Hormuz and lifting the US blockade on Iranian ports
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Dismantling Iran’s nuclear program and destroying its highly enriched uranium, which would then be taken out of the country
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Relieving some economic pressures, including unfreezing assets and lifting some sanctions
“The Iranians don’t get anything upon the signing of the MOU or upon the negotiation itself,” the official said.
“They get rewarded economically for complying with their obligations under the deal. So if they turn over the nuclear material as promised, they’ll get something. If they dismantle their nuclear program or their nuclear facilities, they’ll get something else.”
Here are some images coming out Lebanon today:
The day so far
-
Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that a final, agreed text of a peace deal between the United States and Iran had been reached. Islamabad is working with both sides to finalise next steps, Sharif added in an X post.
-
US president Donald Trump has reposted a social media post by the Iranian foreign minister (see our previous post here). Abbas Araqchi had said a memorandum of understanding to end the Iran war had “never been closer”.
-
An emerging deal between the United States and Iran is “performance-based”, a senior Trump administration official said on Friday. They added that Tehran will get none of its frozen assets until it carries out its part of the agreement.
-
Trump dismissed Iranian media reports on an imminent deal with the US as “fake news”, saying they were not the terms Washington agreed to. Several Iranian media outlets have been reporting what they described as details of a draft proposal being reviewed by Iran’s leadership. Some of the terms of the agreement, according to the reports, include Iran’s control of the strait of Hormuz and postponed discussions on its nuclear programme (see posts at 12:49 and 09:32).
-
The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he is “in full agreement” with Donald Trump to keep Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
-
Hezbollah said on Friday that its fighters had confronted Israeli forces advancing towards a southern Lebanese town, as Israel pressed on with its strikes in Lebanon. In a statement, Hezbollah said its fighters first targeted Israeli troops advancing towards Majdal Zoun, around five kilometres (three miles) from the western side of the border, on Thursday evening “with repeated rocket barrages, forcing them to retreat”.
-
The Israeli military said it struck 310 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon in the past week, as it claimed to have killed “80 terrorists”. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also revealed it conducted a raid in the southern Lebanese village Dibbine several weeks ago.
-
Global oil prices fell on Friday to lows not seen since the first week of the Iran crisis after Donald Trump claimed he was close to reaching a peace deal with Tehran. The price of Brent crude began to tumble from about $93 a barrel in overnight trade after the US president called off further military strikes against Iran which were scheduled for the evening.
Final agreed text of peace deal between US and Iran has been reached, says Pakistan’s prime minister
Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that a final, agreed text of a peace deal between the United States and Iran had been reached.
Islamabad is working with both sides to finalise next steps, Sharif added in an X post.
Hezbollah said on Friday that its fighters had confronted Israeli forces advancing towards a southern Lebanese town, as Israel pressed on with its strikes in Lebanon.
In a statement, Hezbollah said its fighters first targeted Israeli troops advancing towards Majdal Zoun, around five kilometres (three miles) from the western side of the border, on Thursday evening “with repeated rocket barrages, forcing them to retreat”.
It then said it engaged with an advancing force there on Friday “engaging them with light and medium weapons and rockets”.
The group also claimed other attacks on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military meanwhile issued an evacuation warning for three southern Lebanese villages.
US president Donald Trump has reposted a social media post by the Iranian foreign minister (see our previous post here).
Abbas Araqchi had said a memorandum of understanding to end the Iran war had “never been closer”.
An image that shows damaged cars at the site an Israeli strike in Tyre, Lebanon, earlier today:
Iran’s foreign minister says Islamabad memorandum has ‘never been closer’
Meanwhile, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday that an “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding” for addressing the US-Israeli war on Iran had “never been closer“, but urged media outlets to refrain from speculating about its contents until it was finalised.
Araqchi said Iran would share all details with the public in due course, in what he called Tehran’s responsible and transparent approach.
An emerging deal between the United States and Iran is “performance-based”, a senior Trump administration official said on Friday.
They added that Tehran will get none of its frozen assets until it carries out its part of the agreement.
Trump lashes out at ‘dishonourable’ Iran over terms of deal reported in state media
Donald Trump has dismissed Iranian media reports on an imminent deal with the US as “fake news”, saying they were not the terms Washington agreed to.
Several Iranian media outlets have been reporting what they described as details of a draft proposal being reviewed by Iran’s leadership. Some of the terms of the agreement, according to the reports, include Iran’s control of the strait of Hormuz and postponed discussions on its nuclear programme (see posts at 12:49 and 09:32).
Trump said the reports were inaccurate and lashed out at Iran.
He wrote on Truth Social:
The terms that Iran leaked out to the Fake News have NOTHING to do with the terms that were agreed to, in writing. What they said, including their weak and pathetic statement on having a deal, bears no relation to the truth. Very dishonorable people to deal with. With them, there is no such thing as dealing in good faith. AMAZING! Also, their totally rebuffed Drone attack last night against Indian Ships leaving the Hormuz Strait is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. They better get their act together, and FAST!”
Here are the latest images from southern Lebanon, showing the aftermath of Israeli strikes in the ancient coastal city of Tyre:
Reports of Iran signing an agreement with the US on Sunday in Geneva are false, the country’s Fars news agency has reported.
It cites a source close to Iran’s negotiating team.
Hezbollah is confident that Iran will insist on Lebanon being included in a deal with the United States, a leading Hezbollah politician said on Friday, as hopes grew for an agreement between Tehran and Washington.
Hezbollah, founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982, entered the regional conflict in support of Tehran on 2 March, opening fire at Israel and prompting an Israeli offensive that has killed thousands of people in Lebanon.
Iranian officials have repeatedly insisted on an end to fighting in Lebanon as part of any wider agreement.
“If the agreement happens, we have complete confidence in the Islamic Republic … we have confidence that it will insist on any agreement including the file of Lebanon,” Hassan Fadlallah, a Hezbollah politician, said in an excerpt of a speech broadcast by the group’s al-Manar TV.
Netanyahu says he is ‘in full agreement’ with Trump on Iran nuclear issue
The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he is “in full agreement” with Donald Trump to keep Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
In a statement on X, he said:
As long as I am prime minister of Israel-Iran will not have nuclear weapons.
There is full agreement between me and President Trump on this issue.
For over 30 years, I have been at the forefront of the international campaign against Iran’s nuclear program.
Had it not been for this campaign, Iran would long ago have had atomic bombs to destroy Israel.
Iran is working to destroy the Jewish state, and I dedicate my life to preventing them from doing so.
As long as I am prime minister of Israel, this will not happen.”
There were no further comments from the Israeli prime minister on other aspects of a potential deal between the US and Iran, including the situation in southern Lebanon where the Israeli military continues its bombing campaign.
Iranian state media reported any nuclear negotiations will be held within 60 days after the signing of a memorandum of understanding “within the framework of its fundamental principles”, including its right to enrich uranium.
