War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi has said that negotiations between the US and Iran will begin after the memorandum of understanding (MoU) is signed by the US and Iran in Switzlerand, Al Jazeera reports.

Takht-Ravanchi was quoted as saying that the Iranian negotiation team would be led by Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and that the US team would be led by Vice President JD Vance.

China reiterated its call for restraint after Israel continued its airstrikes on Lebanon despite an initial peace deal between the US and Iran which also seeks a halt to Israel’s military campaign in Lebanese territory, Anadolu reports.

“China is deeply concerned over the situation regarding Lebanon and Israel. Lebanon’s sovereignty and security should not be infringed upon,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing.

“We urge all relevant parties to exercise restraint in words and deeds, uphold the choice of peace, earnestly carry out ceasefire agreements, realize a comprehensive and enduring ceasefire, and foster conditions for peace and stability across the Middle East,” he added.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said when it comes to negotiations, Washington and Tel Aviv are one and the same, Al Jazeera reports.

He also warned any Israeli attack on Lebanon or continued occupation of Lebanese ⁠territory from now ⁠will constitute a violation of the interim agreement with the ⁠United States.

“In our view, ⁠the two parties ⁠to this memorandum are the US and Israel on one ‌side, and Iran and Hezbollah on the other,” ‌said Araghchi.

The Iranian foreign minister says upcoming US-Iran negotiations will be broken into two stages, Al Jazeera reports.

The first will cover issues such as the status of the Strait of Hormuz, the US’s naval blockade, and reconstruction after US-Israeli bombardment of Iran’s infrastructure, said Abbas Araghchi.

A later stage of negotiations will cover nuclear issues and sanctions relief to be resolved in a final agreement, he added.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that ending the war in Lebanon was the “most important issue” in the peace deal with the United States announced the day before, AFP reports.

“The important point I want to emphasise here is that in our view, there are two parties to this memorandum — one side is America and Israel, and the other side is Iran and Hezbollah,” said Araghchi during a briefing with foreign diplomats broadcast on state television.

“This is perhaps the most important issue in the memorandum —the declaration of an immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” he said.

Iran will soon begin connecting its electricity grid to Qatar’s, with studies in the final stages and the project entering the early phase of execution, Iran’s Energy Minister said according to Tasnim news agency.

Abbas Aliabadi added that studies were also underway to link Iran’s power grid with those of other Gulf countries.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that talks with the United States on a final agreement covering Tehran’s nuclear programme will likely begin on Friday, AFP reports.

“Likely on Friday, at a location to be determined… a new round of negotiations between Iran and the United States to reach a final agreement will begin,” Araghchi said in a briefing with foreign diplomats broadcast on state television.

Japan said it has not yet decided whether its military will join efforts to help the resumption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after the US-Iran peace deal, AFP reports.

“At this point, no decision has been made regarding the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces,” Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said, using the official name for Japan’s armed forces.

“We intend to consult closely with relevant countries, including our ally the United States, carefully assess the situation, and consider necessary measures within the framework of international and domestic law,” Koizumi said.

The Tehran Stock Exchange’s main benchmark index has climbed 116,000 points to reach 5.097 million points, nearly a 2.3 per cent increase in a single trading session, according t0 Al Jazeera.

The figure marks “a new historical record” for the TEDPIX, according to the IRIB state broadcaster.

An Iranian delegation led by central bank chief Abdolnaser Hemmati has departed for Moscow to discuss “monetary and banking relations between Iran and Russia”, according to Iran’s semiofficial Fars News Agency.

During the visit, the delegation is expected to focus on ways to “facilitate monetary exchanges”, boost cooperation between the two countries’ central banks and develop new mechanisms to bolster the overall volume of economic exchange, Fars reported.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi discussed the region’s current situation following the US-Iran agreement with JI chief Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman during his visit to Jamaat-i-Islami’s Mansoora headquarters in Lahore.

In a post on X, the Interior Ministry said both sides held a “detailed exchange of views on Pakistan’s overall political situation, economic conditions, and law and order situation.”

The ministry further added that the discussions also covered the regional situation following the US-Iran agreement, along with its possible implications for stability in the wider region.

Shipowners will not resume transit through the Strait of Hormuz for weeks until they are confident that the US-Iran deal is “material”, the chief executive of Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines told the Financial Times, Reuters reports.

“What will have to come in place is not just a simple agreement between the relevant countries, but it has to be material and translated into the real situations in the Strait of Hormuz, so that shipping lines can make themselves comfortable to go through,” Mitsui OSK’s Jotaro Tamura said.

Minus the nuts and bolts, it appears as if the US and Iran have reached an agre­ement to end the Mideast war that has proven ruinous for the world’s economy. For now, Pakistan’s slow slide back into macroeconomic decline appears halted, with the new budget offering a glimmer of hope amid renewed geopolitical stability.

That is not to say that the conflict has not wrea­ked havoc. According to the IMF’s World Economic Outlook for April 2026, global growth is projected to slow to 3.1 per cent in 2026 and 3.2pc in 2027. Finance Minister Muha­mmad Aurangzeb said last week that the country is heading towards a 4pc growth rate, revised down from an earlier projection to 3.7pc.

So how will peace change the status quo, and what happens if the course is reversed?

Read more here.

Oil prices have rebounded on concerns about the lack of details in a preliminary agreement ending the war between the US and Iran and the realisation the resumption of supply through the key Strait of Hormuz may take longer than thought, according to Reuters.

Brent crude futures gained 26 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $83.42 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate rise to $81.12 a barrel, up 46 cents, or 0.3pc, as of 0108 GMT.

United States President Donald Trump has said that Iran has “agreed to never have a nuclear weapon”.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said, “Iran has agreed to never have a Nuclear Weapon! Also, the story that the U.S. is paying Iran 300 million Dollars is Fake News, put out by the Dumocrats!!!”

The most senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the US, Jeanne Shaheen, has called for lawmakers to be briefed immediately on the terms of the agreement President Donald Trump struck with Iran, AlJazeera reports.

“Congress must be immediately briefed on the terms of this agreement,” she said, adding that lawmakers would review any nuclear deal as required by law. Shaheen welcomed the turn towards diplomacy as “long overdue”, but said the war’s central goals had not been met.

“President Trump did not have a plan going into the conflict on how to end it,” she said, citing his “ever-shifting statements”. She said the country had emerged weaker, pointing to 14 service members killed and domestic inflation.

“There’s no question that America’s position is weaker now than at the beginning of the conflict,” she said.

United States Vice President JD Vance told Fox News that President Donald Trump may decide to release Washington’s agreement with Tehran before Friday, Reuters reports.

The agreement, which was electronically signed by leaders in the US and Iran, is expected to be signed in person on Friday.

Former Israeli prime minister and head of the Together alliance, Naftali Bennett, has called for a more aggressive campaign against Iran under new Israeli leadership, Al Jazeera reports citing the Haaretz newspaper.

Speaking to journalists, Bennett says the countdown for regime change in Iran will begin the moment Israel’s current government is replaced.

His comments suggest that any Israeli leadership change will not necessarily mean a move away from war, but rather a renewed push to escalate pressure on Tehran.

Danish shipping giant Maersk welcomes the agreement announced by the United States and Iran, but says it is too early to assess its impact and that there have been no changes yet to the group’s Middle East operations.