War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Doubling down on Iran not having a nuclear weapon, US President Donald Trump claimed, “If they had a nuclear weapon, they would have blown up Israel.

“They would have blown up the Middle East, and they probably would have taken a shot at us.”

Trump says US is open to trade with Iran in the future if the deal goes well, adding that “they have a lot of oil.”

Trump has appeared to criticise Israeli military action in Lebanon, saying it has been fighting Hezbollah “too long and too many people are being killed”, according to Al Jazeera.

“You don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you’re looking for somebody because there’s a lot of people in those apartment houses — and they’re not all Hezbollah,” the US president says.

“I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah because, to be honest with you, I think they’d do a better job of doing it,” Trump adds.

President Trump says the ⁠Iran deal specifies that Tehran will ⁠not possess a nuclear weapon, Al Jazeera reports.

“The only thing that really ‌matters to me is Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, and it says it ⁠loud and clear,” ⁠he tells reporters at the G7 summit in France.

“All ⁠hell will rain ⁠down” on ⁠Iran if it intends to acquire a ‌nuclear weapon, Trump adds.

The US president has said he thinks Iran “has rational leadership now”, after US and Israeli attacks killed numerous Iranian officials early in the war, AlJazeera reports.

He said the Iranian leaders who were “totally irrational” are “now gone”.

Talking about the Iranian regime change, Trump has said that the current Iranian leaders are “very rational people,” adding that they are “not radicalised”.

“I never cared about the regime change,” Trump said.

He further said that regime changes don’t work, and that countries should run on respect, not fear.

The US president says under the agreement being negotiated with Iran it “can’t have a nuclear weapon” or “they get blown up”, AlJazeera reports.

“This deal is a wall to a nuclear weapon,” said Trump, while describing the previous nuclear deal with Iran – reached under the administration of former US President Barack Obama – as “a road to a nuclear weapon”.

US President Donald Trump has said that he has a great relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but that he must be more responsible with respect to Lebanon, Reuters reports.

Trump, speaking at the G7 summit, has said he told Israel that he did not like its attack on Beirut and suggested that Syria should take care of Hezbollah instead of Israel.

“Frankly the only thing that really matters to me is Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump says in a meeting with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the G7 summit.

He added that the deal says “loud and clear” that Iran cannot buy, develop or acquire a nuclear weapon.

He warned that Iran would suffer “unbelievable consequences” if it acquires nuclear weapons in the future.

“That’s the reason I agreed to sign,” Trump said.

US President Donald Trump said he had hoped to avoid military action, but ultimately felt it was necessary.

“I didn’t want to attack them last week, but we had no choice,” Trump said, before praising the deal reached afterwards, according to Al Jazeera.

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani says the US-Iran agreement will result in positive outcomes throughout the Middle East, Al Jazeera reports.

“I want to thank you for your leadership in this very critical time in the Middle East. This is a very important deal, there’s still a lot of work to be done, but with this momentum – if we continue like that Mr President – I think we can achieve and do great things in the region,” Sheikh Tamim told Trump at the summit.

Trump said the US would not be “investing any money in Iran”, calling such claims a “ridiculous” rumour, according to Al Jazeera.

Trump described the deal reached with Iran as “fair” and “good”.

The US president has said the announced deal with Iran “should be successful,” Al Jazeera reports.

Speaking in France, where he is attending the G7 summit, Trump said he expects that negotiations to reach a planned second stage of the deal to “be actually easier”.

Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim meets President Trump at the G7 summit in France and discuss Middle East security and investment, Al Jazeera reports.

Two Iran-linked tankers are sailing eastward through the Strait of Hormuz ahead of the US and the Islamic Republic signing an interim peace agreement on Friday that would re-open the waterway, Bloomberg reports.

The fuel carriers are transiting the chokepoint with their transponders on, according to shiptracking data. The Musik is in the strait, while the Argo Maris has already passed through and is in the Gulf of Oman, but is still within the US blockade line that runs from the easternmost tip of Oman to the Iran-Pakistan border.

Coach Amir Ghalenoei says Iran are the “most oppressed team in the World Cup” after his players were suddenly informed they must travel back to Mexico immediately after their opening game ended in Los Angeles, Al Jazeera reports.

The team were originally intending to base its training camp in Tucson, Arizona, but moved it at the 11th hour to Tijuana, Mexico, due to visa and logistical issues.

“They delayed our arrivals, [and now] they are forcing us to go back early without time for recovery,” Ghalenoei said after the team’s 2-2 draw with New Zealand.

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.