The US and Israel on Feb 28 launched what they described as a “pre-emptive” joint strike against Iranian targets, with Trump announcing start of “major combat operations”
Pakistan hosted the first round of face-to-face talks between the US and Iran in 47 years in April; the talks ended without a breakthrough, but also without a breakdown
Iran says no final decision made on deal that Trump hopes could be signed soon
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has received a phone call from Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, who has paid tribute to the premier and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir for playing an instrumental role in steering the diplomatic efforts, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
“The prime minister expressed his deep appreciation for Qatar’s strong and steadfast support for Pakistan’s peace efforts throughout the Gulf crisis and stated that a peace deal was ready for signatures by the relevant parties very shortly,” the PMO says.
Al-Thani has assured PM Shehbaz that Qatar is proud to extend its support to Pakistan and hopes that this agreement will bring lasting peace to the region.
Both leaders have agreed to remain in close contact in the coming days.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, have welcomed the final stage of negotiations between the US and Iran, according to a Foreign Office (FO) statement.
“They welcomed the US–Iran negotiations in their final stage, with the electronic signing ceremony scheduled for tomorrow, and expressed the hope that this important development will contribute to lasting peace and stability in the region,” the FO says.
During the phone call, the Saudi foreign minister appreciated Pakistan’s “consistent and sustained efforts in support of mediation and dialogue throughout the process”.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has spoken with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar about recent developments in the Strait of Hormuz, the State Department says in a statement.
According to Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott, the two officials have discussed the evolving security situation in the strategic waterway.
Rubio stresses that all commercial vessels must immediately comply with orders issued by US forces as they work to maintain peace and stability in the region.
He also underscores that violations of what he describes as US enforcement measures, including the illicit transport of Iranian oil, will not be tolerated.
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Galibaf has stressed that “enforceable commitments” must accompany any possible understanding between Tehran and Washington, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reports.
The exact timing of the signing of the Islamabad memorandum will not be on Sunday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei says, Reuters reports citing state media.
Baghaei adds that the possibility of signing the memorandum in the coming days cannot be ruled out, but added that caution is needed regarding any comment on the signing date due to the hesitation of the other side.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif says that the expected peace deal between the US and Iran will be presented as the “Islamabad Pact”.
“Pakistan was able to convince both parties to stay at the table, so that talks continue and reach a positive conclusion,” he tells Geo News.
“On several instances, Israel adopted a negative role,” he adds, referring to military campaigns in Lebanon and Gaza.
“It was in their interest to keep this conflict going and keep America engaged in this region,” Asif says. “The US administration demonstrated that it was judicious and behaved and led the way a world leader should do.”
The minister adds that Iran has marked a new chapter in its 5,000-year history “with bravery … and love for their homeland”. He further says that both parties have shown sound judgment.
“The Gulf countries applied a great deal of restraint,” he adds.
Marking the anniversary of last year’s 12-day war, Iran’s parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has accused the US and Israel of targeting civilians and pledged that Tehran would remain steadfast, Al Jazeera reports.
In a statement, Ghalibaf writes: “They murdered innocent children and refrained from no crime or cruelty.
“Inspired by the heroic and oppressed martyrs of the 12-day war, we stand firm until the end for the glory and ultimate victory of our dear Iran,” he declares.
The United Arab Emirates has “categorically denied” media reports claiming that it would transfer $3bn to Iran, according to a statement from the foreign ministry.
The ministry has “affirmed that these allegations are entirely false and unfounded, stressing that no frozen Iranian funds have been released, transferred, or facilitated through the UAE”.
It has also called on media outlets to “exercise accuracy, rely on official sources, and refrain from publishing or circulating unverified information and unfounded allegations”.
A tanker has been struck by an unknown projectile in its port bow off the coast of Oman, Reuters reports citing the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre.
UKMTO says the incident occurred on Friday, six nautical miles east of Oman. The crew are reported safe and there is no reported environmental impact, while the tanker continues to its next port of call.
The peace deal between Iran and the United States is expected to be finalised in the next 24 hours, PM Shehbaz Sharif says in a post on X.
“We are closer to a peace deal than ever before.”
The premier said that Pakistan is preparing for the electronic signing of the peace deal and technical-level talks would follow afterwards.
“We would like to thank United States of America and Islamic Republic of Iran for their ongoing commitment during the negotiations, and we extend our sincere appreciation to our brothers in the region for their support.”
“We are confident that this historic peace deal will form a strong foundation for lasting peace,” PM says.
Funeral ceremonies for Iran’s late supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, will begin in Tehran on July 4 and conclude with his burial in the northeastern city of Mashhad on July 9, according to Iranian state media, Reuters reports.
Khamenei was assassinated in Israeli and US strikes on Iran in February. His death marked the end of more than three decades at the helm of the Islamic Republic.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country would not be party to the peace agreement between US and Iran, Reuters reports.
Netanyahu has clashed with Trump in recent weeks over US demands that Israel curb military action in Lebanon to allow Washington to reach a deal with Tehran.
Araghchi said the agreement would end the war in Lebanon, implying an Israeli withdrawal from occupied areas.
Israel’s defence minister said it would not withdraw. A senior Israeli official has said Israel expects to retain its freedom to act against threats.
In a telephone conversation, Pakistan and Switzerland’s foreign ministers have expressed hope for a US-Iran deal, according to a post on X by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis have discussed “the encouraging progress towards an understanding between the United States and Iran”.
The Pakistani and Swiss ministers look forward to peace and stability in the region, according to the ministry.
“Both sides agreed to remain in close contact,” the post says.
Lebanese MP Amin Sherri has said there are “positive indicators” for a deal between the US and Iran, adding that Israel would be the biggest loser in that case, Al Jazeera reports.
“We are waiting to see how the American president will deal with this agreement, and we hope to reach a happy conclusion that will reflect on the situation in Lebanon,” he told Voice of all Lebanon radio station, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.
Sherri, who is part of Hezbollah’s Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, has said that “no one will be able to disarm” the group.
He has criticised the recent talks between Lebanon and Israel in Washington, saying that the Lebanese government “made concessions to Israel without any guarantees” for the country.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has said the country is at a “fateful juncture” as it stands to decide between “a sovereign state that monopolises arms and upholds the rule of law” or to remain “hostage to the logic of militias and the culture of exclusion”, Al Jazeera reports.
Speaking on the anniversary of the assassination of former minister Tony Suleiman Frangieh in 1978 by armed factions, Aoun has said national unity was an “existential necessity”.
“We are at a moment that tolerates neither sectarian luxury nor regional tug-of-war,” he was quoted as saying.
Aoun, a former armed forces chief, has faced the difficult task of disarming Hezbollah without pushing Lebanon into renewed civil conflict.
Lebanese state media reported Israeli strikes on the country’s south on Saturday shortly after the Israeli army issued an evacuation warning for 20 locations including the city of Nabatieh ahead of raids there, AFP reports.
National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli airstrikes in several areas covered by the evacuation warning, including the villages of Rihan and Sujud, located not far from Nabatieh.
The Israeli military warned of imminent strikes on south Lebanon, telling residents of 20 towns and villages including many near Nabatieh city to evacuate despite a ceasefire in its war with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, AFP reports.
“For your safety, you should evacuate your homes immediately and move to the north of the Zahrani River,” the military’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X.
“Anyone who is in the vicinity of Hezbollah installations or means of warfare is endangering their lives,” he added, accusing the movement of violating the truce.
The United Arab Emirates has agreed to unlock billions of dollars for Iran, four sources said, in a tactical shift after weeks of Iranian attacks on the wealthy Gulf Arab state during the US-Israeli war with the Islamic Republic, Reuters reports.
Word of the move, which has not been previously reported, coincides with the final stages of broader negotiations between Tehran and Washington on ending the war, talks that diplomats say could involve the release of tens of billions of dollars in Iranian oil revenues frozen in foreign banks under US sanctions.
Iranian authorities have identified and seized the assets of 100 people in Isfahan province who have been accused of treachery for siding with the enemy, the country’s IRIB broadcaster reports.
The report said Isfahan’s chief justice ordered the action against people accused of supporting “the crimes of the enemies in Iran in various ways”.
Even though the United States and Iran signalled that an agreement to end their war was close, with a senior US administration official saying Washington expects to sign an initial deal in the coming days, Strait of Hormuz again witnessed military action, Reuters reports.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that while changes in the deal were still possible, the tentative agreement showed his country had emerged stronger from the conflict.
“Iran is the winner of the war with the US,” he said on state television.
Araghchi said Iran would, along with Oman, retain control of traffic through the strait, which before the war handled one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply.
“Our sword will always hang over the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
Hours after those remarks, US forces shot down multiple Iranian one-way attack drones heading toward the Strait of Hormuz, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Centcom later confirmed the action and said the waterway was open for transit.
Iranian news agencies had reported that explosions were heard along the strait in Iran’s Sirik port and Qeshm island, which residents and local officials attributed to shots fired by Iranian forces to warn vessels attempting to cross the waterway without permission from the IRGC navy.
Vessels are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman on June 11, 2026. — Reuters/File
Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil has said that Hezbollah has made “mistakes” since the 2006 war with Israel, but that the wrongdoings of any Lebanese factions does not justify siding with Israelis, Al Jazeera reports.
Bassil, who is the son-in-law of former President Michel Aoun and whose party represents the Maronite Christian community, stressed that Israel was the one waging war on Lebanon and destroying its economy, homes, and social fabric.
He added that condemning Hezbollah’s actions does not mean ignoring the reality on the ground.
Divisions have been deepening in Lebanese society since President Joseph Aoun took the unprecedented decision of holding direct talks with Israel.
