War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

The price of Brent North Sea crude, the international benchmark, has extended losses to trade under $75 a barrel for the first time since the start of the Middle East war, AFP reports.

Brent has slid 3.1 per cent to $74.73, extending its fall since the United States and Iran last week struck a deal to end the conflict that began on February 28.

Talks on reconciliation between Gulf countries and Iran are expected to take place in Saudi Arabia, a diplomat with knowledge of the arrangements tells AFP.

A summit aimed at mending ties between Gulf nations, Iran and possibly other regional neighbours in the aftermath of the Middle East war is expected in Riyadh, the diplomat said, without specifying a date.

The meetings will be independent of ongoing talks between the United States and Iran, the diplomat adds.

The United States will soon find itself “on a collision course” with Israel over its agreement with Iran, Al Jazeera reports quoting remarks by an Israeli minister.

Israeli Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar has criticised Washington’s handling of negotiations with Tehran.

“The conduct of the US at this moment regarding the Iranian issue is not good. They do not internalise who they are dealing with,” Zohar is quoted as saying by Israeli news site Ynet.

“The US will find itself on a collision course with Israel in the near future, and our response to the US will not be automatic. Our security interest will dictate the military move.”

Zohar also expresses scepticism about the effectiveness of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war. 

“A US agreement, in my opinion, will not solve the nuclear weapons issue, and the war phase will return faster than people think.”

PM Shehbaz Sharif says that he and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani have “expressed satisfaction at the positive progress made during the first round of technical talks in Bürgenstock”, Switzerland.

In a post on X, PM Shehbaz said he had a “warm and most cordial telephone conversation” with the Qatari emir this afternoon.

The premier thanked Al Thani “for Qatar’s steadfast support for the peace efforts that culminated in the historic Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding”.

They agreed on the “importance of sustaining this momentum through continued dialogue and diplomacy”, the prime minister said.

PM Shehbaz also thanked the Qatari emir for expressing condolences on the tragic loss of life of a Pakistani national in the recent fire incident in Ras Laffan.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says that during his trip to Pakistan a day prior, he discussed “expanding interactions” with the country’s leadership.

In a post on X, Pezeshkian notes that Iran and Pakistan “share deep commonalities in their aspirations and hopes” and that Islamabad’s pursuit of peace in the region is “rooted in the rich culture of this country”.

“During my trip to Pakistan to appreciate Pakistan’s mediations, we discussed expanding interactions with my brothers [President] Asif Zardari, [Prime Minister] Shehbaz Sharif, and [Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army staff Field Marshal] Asim Munir,” he adds.

Israel’s military claims it has carried out an attack on two Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon’s Ali al-Taher area, Al Jazeera reports.

In a statement, the military claims the fighters were located near Israel’s “security zone” in southern Lebanon, posing “an immediate” threat to Israeli soldiers.

“Immediately after the identification, the air force and ground forces struck the terrorists to remove the threat.”

The Israeli military will “continue to operate to remove immediate threats”, it says.

US President Donald Trump says that negotiations “would end immediately” if Iran imposes tolls on ships travelling the Strait of Hormuz, and he has been assured by Iran that no tolls should be charged.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that a more sensitive phase has begun in the region, adding that Israel is opposing even the smallest prospect of peace, Anadolu reports.

“We know that Israel cannot tolerate even the slightest possibility of peace,” Erdogan asserts, addressing his Justice and Development (AK) Party group at the Turkish parliament.

Speaking about recent developments in the region, Erdogan says that statements made by Israeli politicians over the past 10 days suggest that “rather than a state guided by reason, what we are facing is a group of radicals that has lost control.

“The situation is so grave that everyone is accusing one another of killing fewer people and shedding less blood,” he adds.

Erdogan notes some groups in Israel do not want weapons to fall silent in the region and are attempting to undermine a recent agreement reached through extensive diplomatic efforts.

Calling Israel a “massacre network that made terror and occupation state policy”, he says it has done everything to undermine the “hard-won consensus” reached through the efforts of all parties over the past 10 days.

Read more here.

Iran will significantly increase foreign currency allocations from Saturday after improved access to foreign assets and the recent easing of restrictions on oil exports, Central Bank Governor Abdolnasser Hemmati says, Reuters reports citing Iran’s Nournews.

An interim deal signed last week between Tehran and Washington mandates the US to issue temporary waivers for the export of Iranian energy products and to improve Iran’s access to its frozen assets abroad.

Hemmati says the bank will channel part of its strengthened reserves into the economy, with an initial $2 billion to be made available on Saturday for the industrial sector, which would help control inflation and facilitate the import of essential goods.

Oman’s ruler, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, has met Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani at Al Baraka Palace on the outskirts of Muscat, Al Jazeera reports citing the sultanate’s state media.

It says the meeting addressed the course of the US-Iran negotiations with Pakistani-Qatari mediation, as well as the latest developments in diplomatic efforts to end the state of war and reach a final settlement of the crisis in all its aspects.

Haitham bin Tariq is reported to have “stressed the need to push forward these efforts to achieve security and stability in the region”.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz has said Israel will not pull its forces out of southern Lebanon “even if there is an American demand”, Al Jazeera reports.

“200,000 residents will not return,” says Katz, referring to the Lebanese forcibly displaced by Israel’s invasion and attacks, in comments carried by The Times Israel.

“What happened in the past in security zones, where there was also a civilian population [present], was roadside bombs and attacks against the soldiers, and therefore we will not allow that,” adds Katz.

“We are not withdrawing.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar says that after Pakistan’s role in the US-Iran negotiations, it is being recognised as a “peacemaker”.

Speaking in the National Assembly, he recalled that there was a time when it was said that “Pakistan was diplomatically isolated” and called a “terrorist country”; however, today, it is being called a “peacemaker”.

He said that at a recent diplomatic forum in Oslo, the US chargé d’affaires of Pakistan labelled the country a “net security provider for the region”.

“It was said that Pakistan has officially, by its role in the US-Iran dispute —which was unimaginable — become a net security provider to this region,” he quoted the US official as saying.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan says Turkiye will “continue to provide all possible support to efforts aimed at achieving lasting resolution to Iran crisis,” Anadolu reports.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi says UN inspectors’ access to attacked nuclear sites and materials will “solely be examined and resolved within the framework of a final agreement” with the United States, Al Jazeera reports.

He said UN inspections are dependent on “the other party’s practical action in terminating all sanctions”.

In a post, Gharibabadi also said that during the Switzerland negotiations, no Iranian officials met with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi “despite his request”.

Earlier, Grossi said inspections of Iranian nuclear sites are “going to happen”.

“Whether this happens today or tomorrow, or in one week or in 10 days, it’s important but not essential. This is going to happen.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has discussed the US-Iran deal with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed and renewed Washington’s commitment to the country’s security on the first leg of a tour of the Gulf, AFP reports.

“They discussed President Trump’s memorandum of understanding with Iran, efforts to secure full and safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz, and the importance of peace and stability in the region,” said his spokesperson Tommy Pigott, adding that Rubio “reaffirmed the US commitment to the security of the Emirates”.

Qatar’s prime minister has visited Muscat for talks with Oman on setting up negotiations involving Iran, Iraq and Gulf Arab states on the reopening and future operation of the Strait of Hormuz, a diplomat briefed on the talks told Reuters.

The discussions are separate from U.S.-Iran peace talks and de-mining arrangements, and Gulf states are expected to push for no transit fees while Iran could propose environmental, navigation and security fees, the diplomat said.

China’s foreign ministry has expressed optimism about the US-Iran interim agreement, adding that Beijing supports Iran in defending its “sovereignty, security, territory and national dignity”, Al Jazeera reports.

Speaking to reporters in Beijing, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun has said the US-Iran MoU had delivered a “positive signal” and should be jointly safeguarded and implemented.

He has added that China “always upholds a just position, supports all efforts conducive to peace, supports the Iranian side in defending sovereignty, security, and territory, and national dignity, and supports Iran in improving its relations with Gulf states and regional countries.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has discussed recent US-Iran negotiations and the situation in Israeli-occupied Gaza during a call with senior Hamas official Basem Naim, Al Jazeera reports.

In a statement, Hamas said Naim congratulated Iran on its interim agreement with the US and expressed “deep appreciation for Iran’s steadfastness” during US-Israeli “aggression”.

Araghchi reiterated Iran’s support for the Palestinian people and said its negotiating team has been raising the issues of Israel’s continued “aggression against Gaza” and ceasefire “violations” with US officials and mediators.

Iran’s Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati has highlighted new details emerging from recent negotiations with the US, including on the reported release of $12bn in Iranian assets and the waiving of sanctions on Iranian oil.

In a video message shared by Ali Ahmadnia, head of the Iranian government’s information office, Hemmati says that Iran has no obligation to use the funds to buy US agricultural products, as claimed by US officials, but that it is not opposed to doing so if the US products are competitive.

Regarding Iranian oil exports, Hemmati has emphasised flexibility in how Iran can transport the oil and receive payments, saying funds can be accepted in any currency Iran chooses, not only dollars.

The deal between Iran and the United States to end the Middle East war is “America’s declaration of defeat”, Iran’s Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said, AFP reports

“The Islamabad understanding was not the result of pressure and coercion, but rather the result of the resistance and authority of the brave Iranian nation,” Ghalibaf said at a conference in Azerbaijan broadcast on Iranian television.

“That is why, the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding became a declaration of America’s defeat,” he said, adding that security in the Middle East must be ensured by the countries of the region.

Iran’s parliamentary speaker has said regional countries alone should determine the Middle Easts political and security order, rejecting external involvement and calling for expanded intra-regional cooperation, according to Reuters.

Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf made his remarks at a meeting of the Parliamentary Union of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, as Iran and the US seek to conclude a lasting peace agreement.

His comments were broadcast on state television.