43m ago
17.55 BST
The day
so far
- The US president, Donald Trump, has issued a fresh ultimatum, telling Iran to accept a deal to end the war in the Middle East or face a new wave of US bombing “at a much higher level and intensity than it was before”. The social media announcement on Wednesday was the latest in a rapid series of dramatic and often contradictory changes in policy and came amid reports the US was claiming progress in stalled negotiations between Tehran and Washington.
- Trump said that it was “too soon” to consider face-to-face talks with Tehran, according to an interview with the New York Post as the US waited for a response to its proposal to end the war. Trump posted earlier on social media that the war with Iran could soon end and oil and natural gas shipments could restart.
- Ebrahim Rezaei, the spokesperson of the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission, has poured cold water on the Axios report claiming the US and Iran were nearing a one-page memorandum to end the war, saying it was an “American wishlist [and] not a reality”. In a fiery statement on X, he said: “Americans will not gain in a lost war what they failed to achieve in face-to-face negotiations. Iran has its finger on the trigger and is ready; if they do not surrender and grant the necessary concessions, or if they or their lapdogs attempt any mischief, we will respond with a harsh and regrettable response.
- Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Wednesday that Washington was seeking Tehran’s surrender through various means, including a naval blockade. “The enemy, in its new design, is seeking, through a naval blockade, economic pressure and media manipulation, to destroy the country’s cohesion in order to force us to surrender,” Ghalibaf said in a voice message published on his official Telegram channel.
- More than 50 cargo ships have been turned back or returned to port as a result of the ongoing US naval blockade of Iran, the US military has said. The sanction remains in place despite Donald Trump pausing a naval mission to reopen the strait of Hormuz and free stranded vessels, given what he described as “great progress” towards an agreement to end the war with Tehran.
- Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy has announced the strait of Hormuz could reopen following the end of “threats from aggressors”, Reuters reports, citing state media. The IRGC navy said the safe and stable transit through the key waterway could be possible. It follows Donald Trump’s remarks yesterday that he has paused his “Project Freedom” to open the strait of Hormuz due to “great progress” being made towards a “complete and final agreement” with Iran.
- France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier group is moving into the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden as part of efforts by France and Britain to prepare for a future mission to help freedom of navigation on the strait of Hormuz, France’s military said on Wednesday. The French Armed Forces ministry said in a statement that the aircraft carrier group had crossed the Suez canal on Wednesday, en route to the south of the Red Sea.
- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of the general staff, Eyal Zamir, said the military was prepared to launch a new offensive against Iran if needed. Speaking to troops today in the town of Khiam in southern Lebanon, where Israeli strikes have continued despite a ceasefire, Zamir said they have “no restrictions as to using force” and claimed the IDF has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah operatives since the Iran war began, the Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported.
- An Israeli strike in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa valley on Wednesday killed four people, Lebanon’s health ministry said, with local media reporting the attack took place before the Israeli army issued a warning to evacuate the area along with 11 other towns. “An Israeli enemy raid on the town of Zellaya in West Bekaa resulted in four martyrs, including two women and an elderly man,” the ministry said.
- Oil prices have continued to slide with the Brent crude global benchmark falling 9.2% to $99.79 a barrel - the first time it has been below $100 since 22 April. It follows reports that the US and Iran were closing in on an agreement to bring an end to the war. Iran has also reportedly announced that the strait of Hormuz could reopen after Donald Trump paused his so-called “Project Freedom” to guide commercial ships out of the economically vital waterway.
- The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has asked the European Commission to activate its blocking statute to prevent compliance with US sanctions on the international criminal court (ICC) over its investigation into Israel’s actions in Gaza. The EU blocking statute is a legal mechanism that would effectively allow European companies to ignore the US sanctions.
- The UN has called on Israel to immediately release two activists taken from a Gaza aid flotilla, and demanded an investigation into “disturbing accounts” they had been severely mistreated. Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian activist Thiago Avila were among dozens of activists on a flotilla attempting to transport aid to Gaza when it was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters near Crete last Thursday. The two men are being held in a prison in Ashkelon in southern Israel.
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