War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem says that the memorandum of understanding reached between Iran and the US is a “big victory”, according to Al Jazeera.

“We congratulate the Iranian people, leadership and those who support freedom on this big victory, and we thank the Islamic Republic for linking the Lebanon front — the resistance, which has sacrificed a lot — and forcing Israel to stop its aggression,” Qassem says in a televised address.

“The goal was to bring down the Iranian regime, but the might of American tyranny was broken, and Washington’s colonialist project for Iran failed,” he adds. “The goal of bringing down the Iranian regime and destroying the dignified life of revolutionary Iran failed, and the direction shifted.”

Qassem also says that Lebanon’s negotiations with Israel should be limited to “mutual security”, adding that the country’s main demand should be restoring its sovereignty.

“The ceiling for the negotiations with the Israeli enemy is mutual security … and any proposal under the banner of disarmament will not pass, as this is an Israeli recipe for taking everything and wrecking the country,” he stresses.

“Everything linked to organising our domestic situation, whether the issue of weapons or the economy, or the national security strategy or defence strategy … it all must be completely outside the negotiations,” he adds.

“This we discuss internally. Therefore, in any negotiation, the main demand must be Lebanon’s sovereignty,” says Qassem.

Iran’s Press TV reports that 11 Iranian ships have successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz, according to an informed source.

According to the source, eight vessels have managed to sail through international waters from Iran, while three others have entered Iranian waters after the US blockade was lifted under an agreement between Tehran and Washington.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre says it has received a report of an incident around 194 kilometres northeast of Yemen’s Aden, adding that the crew were safe, Al Jazeera reports.

“A vessel has been approached to within 4 meters and fired upon by two skiffs with an unknown number of armed persons on board,” UKMTO says in a statement shared on social media.

“The vessel has deployed [a] security team and returned fire,” UKMTO says, adding that “the suspect vessels have now disengaged”.

US President Donald Trump suggests sanctions on Iran can be removed once “they behave”, Reuters reports.

“As far as sanctions are concerned, at some point, you know, we have sanctions which will never let them rebuild. They would have no money, they would be in poverty, the 91 million people would starve, so something will happen as soon as they behave,” he tells reporters at the G7.

“When they behave, we’re going to let that go. We’re going to have to. I put sanctions on a lot of people, and then I let them go.”

Al Jazeera’s Osama bin Javaid explains that, if the version of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) read out by a senior US official is accurate, Iran’s leadership would be pleased “because it does [appear to] give into quite a lot of their demands”.

“But as the US president has been saying, his priority was to make sure that he de-nuclearises Iran,” bin Javaid says.

“He’s been able to get them to agree to water down their fissile material. He’s got a commitment that they will not be enriching uranium and never build a [nuclear] bomb — and that, to Donald Trump, is the victory he was after.”

He adds that the MoU appears to be very close to what Iran was asking for.

“We’ll have to wait and see until the final agreement is signed by the two sides,” he said. “Until they sign on the dotted line, we are not 100 per cent sure that this is the final document.”

Tehran’s foreign ministry says it is considering a plan for the presidents of the United States and Iran to sign the deal ending the Middle East war, ahead of the expected ceremony in Switzerland, AFP reports.

“So far, our plans for the Geneva meeting have not changed,” ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei says. “Regarding the signing of the memorandum of understanding, one idea is that it be done by the presidents of the two countries, which is currently under review.”

Iran could get access to a $300 billion reconstruction fund under a deal with the United States, US officials say as they release the text, while insisting that Washington is under no commitment to contribute, AFP reports.

Tehran will also be allowed to resume oil sales as soon as the agreement is signed this week, while all sanctions will be lifted if a final deal is reached after the 60-day negotiation period, senior administration officials say.

US officials have released the text of an agreement with Iran to end the Middle East war, under which they say Tehran will agree to dilute its enriched uranium stockpile, AFP reports.

The two countries say they will discuss a mechanism for dealing with Iran’s stocks “with the minimum methodology to be downblending on site under the supervision of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)”, the officials say.

US President Donald Trump says that if Iran does not comply with the deal and pursues a nuclear weapon, “it will be bombed”.

He is responding to a question about how the agreement can permanently prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, with floated drafts of the agreement not mentioning its nuclear programme.

“When I say permanently, it should be permanently. But if it’s not permanently, we will bomb them,” Trump replies.

US President Donald Trump says he will “work with Israel” on Lebanon, further criticising Tel Aviv for “buildings being dropped” in Israeli strikes.

“It’s so unfair. You go into Beirut … that was a big hit. That was unnecessary in my book,” he says in response to a question.

According to Reuters, a senior US official has read out the text of a signed agreement with Iran, but says the parties can walk away until a binding deal is reached.

Both Iran and the US can walk away from the memorandum of understanding (MoU) they are set to sign on Friday, and upcoming talks are likely to focus on the precise sequencing of the steps previewed in the preliminary accord, the official adds.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official has read out the 14-point memorandum due to be formally signed in Switzerland. They add that the upcoming meeting will be “critical” for ensuring that the MoU can evolve into a comprehensive agreement.

“I think the meeting in Switzerland will be quite critical in order to really see how we get to the next phase,” a senior US official says.

The document, as read out by the official, is similar to the 14-point memorandum that various media outlets, including Reuters, had already reported on earlier in the day.

US President Donald Trump says “nobody” intentionally attacked a girls’ school in Iran in February, citing an investigation into the incident, Reuters reports.

“That’s under investigation,” Trump says at a press conference on the sidelines of the G7 conference in Evian-les-Bains, France, adding that mistakes are made in war.

“Nobody did that on purpose.”

President Donald Trump says the US has “taken a lot” of Iranian assets and frozen them, noting that it’s “their money”.

“At a certain point in time, I guess we’re going to have to give it back,” he says in response to a question. “If we didn’t give it back, nobody would ever invest in the dollar again.”

Fielding questions from reporters, President Donald Trump says that the US will not put up money for Iran’s reconstruction, but that people can invest in the Islamic republic if it “is doing things right”.

He adds that the reported $300 billion fund will also only be accessible if they “behave themselves”.

Amid widespread condemnation of the US-Iran deal in Israel, US President Donald Trump says he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the agreement secures “the most important thing” the Israeli prime minister had been asking for, referring to Iran not having a nuclear weapon, Al Jazeera reports.

“I told Bibi: ‘Bibi, your biggest risk was that they’d drop a nuclear weapon into the middle of Israel. They’d only need one, and there’d be no more Israel,’” Trump says, using the Israeli leader’s nickname. “‘Think about it Bibi, you got the best, the most important thing you were asking for’ … So I think they’re happy.”

US President Donald Trump says that the agreement will not only bring an end to “Iranian aggression” but also end the “war and terror” in Lebanon.

“The Lebanon peace is something we’ll have to work on a little bit,” he says. “It’s a very small piece of the puzzle actually, but it still makes a lot of noise.”

Trump notes that Hezbollah remains present in Lebanon and that the US has to “get that done one way or another”, suggesting that Syria would “love” to do it.

US President Donald Trump has expressed hope that the agreement with Iran will be part of a larger peace across the region.

“This agreement now provides Iran with a historic opportunity. If they follow the path of cooperation we have opened for them, their country will have a chance to survive,” he says.

“As I expressed to the world leaders here this week, it’s my hope that the peace agreement will be the beginning of a much larger deal all across the Middle East,” Trump adds.

US President Donald Trump warns that if Iran does not honour the memorandum of understanding, “We’ll probably go back to bombing them until they honour it.

“Obviously, the breakthrough would not have been possible without the unprecedented pressure the United States put on the regime in the past year and a half,” he says at the G7.

US President Donald Trump has said that the United Arab Emirates was “dropping bombs” on Iran last week.

“Mohamed at [the] UAE is an incredible warrior. He was dropping bombs last week,” Trump adds, referring to Emirati President Mohamed bn Zayed Al-Nahyan.

US President Donald Trump has expressed gratitude to Pakistan and Qatar for their role in mediating the peace process.

“I want to thank our partners in both Pakistan and Qatar, these people worked so hard,” he says. “And they knew them (Iran) a little bit, in the case of Pakistan, quite well; in the case of Qatar, they were sort of at odds.”

US President Donald Trump says that maritime traffic and the flow of energy will be back to normal within the coming days.

“Maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has already increased really substantially and the normal flow of energy will resume in the coming days,” he says, adding that “trillions of dollars” will be made.

He also calls Iranian leaders “very smart people, very good negotiators”.

US President Donald Trump says that Iran will “work closely with us” to turn over their enriched uranium.

“Nobody can get it, so it’s not important that we do it quickly … When we have a chance, we’ll do it,” he says while addressing the G7. “In the meantime … if they do [remove the material], we’ll hit them with Patriots.”

He adds that technical discussions on the removal of Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium will “begin immediately”.

US President Donald Trump has criticised Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon, adding that he feels “very bad” for Lebanon.

“I think they could do better with respect to Hezbollah,” Trump says in a speech at the G7. “I’m not saying they shouldn’t protect themselves, I’m saying when two drones are shot into the desert and drop harmlessly, you don’t need to knock down buildings in Beirut.

“They could behave better, and frankly, they could do a better job,” Trump adds, noting that Israel is still a “terrific” partner.

“I feel very bad for Lebanon.”