Britain's navy prepares to clear mines in the Strait of Hormuz while waiting for a peace deal
Aboard the RFA Lyme Bay docked off the coast of Gibraltar, hundreds of British sailors are waiting to be deployed for a mine-clearing mission to the Strait of Hormuz that is still in doubt.
US President Donald Trump has lashed out at allies for not doing more to support the United States' war effort in Iran, whose chokehold on the strait has crippled international shipping and sent energy prices soaring. In March, Trump told NATO allies to “go get your own oil” and secure the strait themselves.
On the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, the U.K.’s Royal Navy is preparing to do that — but only once a peace agreement is reached. Trump said Saturday that a deal with Iran has been “largely negotiated” after calls with Israel and other allies in the region, but it still needs finalizing.
Oil prices fall over 5% on hopes for Iran deal
Oil prices plunged more than five percent in Asian early trading on Monday as hopes of a US-Iran deal to end the Middle East war rose despite comments from President Donald Trump downplaying its imminence.
As of around 2300 GMT on Sunday, the price of North Sea Brent crude slipped 5.1 percent to $98.22 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate fell 5.2 percent to $91.57 a barrel.
Rubio accuses Hezbollah of trying to 'drag Lebanon back into chaos'
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Hezbollah in a statement of trying to plunge Lebanon "back into chaos".
Rubio denounced what he called Hezbollah's "reckless call to overthrow Lebanon's democratically elected government" and said the pro-Iran armed group was "actively trying to drag Lebanon back into chaos and destruction".
The group's Secretary-General Naim Qassem earlier reiterated his call for the Lebanese government to call off direct talks with Israel.
Lebanon says Israeli strikes kill 2 people including paramedic
Lebanon's health ministry said two people including a paramedic from the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Committee were killed in Israeli strikes on the south that also wounded six other rescuers.
"Successive Israeli enemy strikes on the town of Arab Salim in the Nabatieh district killed two people including a paramedic from the Health Committee and wounded 10, including two Committee paramedics and four others from the Risala association," a ministry statement said, condemning an "ongoing series of attacks on the health and emergency sector in south Lebanon".
The Risala Scouts association rescuers are affiliated with the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement.
Iran nuclear deal can't be done 'in 72 hours,' Rubio says
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the New York Times that an agreement with Iran had garnered regional support but a nuclear deal couldn't be achieved "in 72 hours on the back of a napkin".
His comments came after US President Donald Trump told his negotiators "not to rush into a deal" with Iran to end the three-month war.
"We're not kicking it till later. Nuclear talks are highly technical matters. You can't do a nuclear thing in 72 hours on the back of a napkin," Rubio told the Times in a brief interview.
"So right now, we have seven or eight countries in the region that are endorsing this approach, and we're prepared to move forward on this approach," he said.
Hezbollah chief says he hopes Iran-US deal is completed, and that it includes Lebanon
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem expressed hope for an agreement between Tehran and Washington and that Lebanon would be part of its terms.
"God willing, this agreement will be finalised and there are signs of its completion, and accordingly that we too will be among those included in this agreement – an agreement of a full cessation of hostilities," he said in a televised address.
Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that "a memorandum of understanding (MOU) would first be announced, stressing an end to fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon", while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said US President Donald Trump had reaffirmed his support for Israel's right to defend itself against threats, including in Lebanon.
US continues to obstruct some clauses of agreement, including released blocked Iran assets, Tasnim news agency says
The US is continuing to block a number of clauses in Iran's latest proposal for a peace agreement, Tasnim news agency alleged, including the issue of releasing Tehran's blocked assets.
The news agency added that this meant that a hoped-for agreement may be cancelled.
Hezbollah chief urges Lebanese government to abandon direct talks with Israel
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem again urged Lebanese authorities to abandon direct talks with Israel, ahead of a fourth round of such discussions in Washington early next month.
"Direct negotiations are completely unacceptable and are a pure gain for Israel," he said. Addressing Lebanese authorities, he added: "Abandon the direct negotiations and do not give to America so that it gives to Israel ... don't be with them and stab us in the back."
Hezbollah chief says group's disarmament unacceptable, amounts to 'annihilation'
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said that his group's disarmament was unacceptable and amounted to "annihilation", as Lebanon prepares for a new round of direct talks with Israel in Washington early next month.
"Disarmament means stripping Lebanon of its defensive capability and the capability of the resistance (Hezbollah) and this people, paving the way for annihilation," he said in a televised address. "Disarmament is annihilation and we cannot accept it."
A state monopoly on weapons demanded by Lebanese authorities "at this stage is aimed at targeting the resistance and is an Israeli project", he added.
Netanyahu says Trump agrees Iran deal must remove nuclear threat
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he and US President Donald Trump agreed that any final agreement with Iran must remove the nuclear threat posed by Tehran.
Posting on Telegram, Netanyahu said this would require dismantling Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities and removing enriched nuclear material from its territory.
He said Trump had reiterated what he described as Israel's right to defend itself against threats on all fronts, including in Lebanon.
Trump says US will not 'rush into a deal' with Iran
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he has told his diplomatic representatives not to rush into a deal with Iran because "time is on our side," less than a day after announcing that an agreement with Tehran had been largely negotiated.
"The Blockade will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed. Both sides must take their time and get it right," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
"There can be no mistakes! Our relationship with Iran is becoming a much more professional and productive one."
Managing Strait of Hormuz is Iran's 'legal right', supreme leader's adviser says
Trump told Netanyahu he will insist final Iran deal ends nuclear programme, Israeli official says
US President Donald Trump has allegedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he will hold firm on his demand for the dismantling of Iran's nuclear programme, as a condition in any final agreement with Tehran, a senior Israeli official told AFP.
"President Trump made clear that he will remain steadfast in the negotiations regarding his longstanding demand for the dismantlement of Iran's nuclear programme and the removal of all enriched uranium from Iranian territory, and that he will not sign a final agreement absent these conditions," the official said, referring to a conversation between the two leaders on Saturday night.
Netanyahu told Trump Israel will remain free to act against threats, Israeli source says
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Donald Trump Israel would continue to act freely against "threats" in Lebanon and beyond during a phone call about an emerging agreement between Washington and Iran, an Israeli source told Reuters.
Trump said Washington and Tehran had "largely negotiated" a memorandum of understanding on a peace deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping passage that has been effectively closed since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran in February.
"In last night's conversation with President Trump, the Prime Minister emphasized that Israel will maintain freedom of action against threats in all arenas, including Lebanon, and President Trump reiterated and supported this principle," the Israeli political source told Reuters on Sunday, asking not to be named.
Israel has continued to carry out deadly military strikes in Lebanon and the devastated Gaza Strip despite ongoing ceasefires, targeting what it alleges are threats to its troops or civilians.
'Plenty of reasons to be optimistic': US and Iran close in on agreement on reopening Hormuz Strait
Former US State Department official and senior advisor at the Cohen Group consulting firm spoke to FRANCE 24 about why she was hopeful about the latest statements from Tehran and Washington that an agreement on ending the US-Israeli war on Iran was in sight.
More than 30 ships transited Strait of Hormuz over past day, Fars news agency reports
Thirty-three ships including oil tankers and other commercial vessels crossed the narrow Strait of Hormuz over the past day after having received permission from Iran's Revolutionary Guards, semi-official news agency Fars reports.
Watch: Trump says Iran deal 'largely negotiated'
Bahrain jails nine for life for collaborating with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards
A Bahraini court has sentenced nine defendants to life in prison and two others to three years in jail for collaborating with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps to carry out what it described as “hostile and terrorist acts” against Bahrain, the state news agency reported.
The defendants were involved in gathering information on sensitive sites and facilitating related financial transfers, the statement said.
New Israeli 'evacuation order' in southern Lebanon
Israel's military told residents of around a dozen villages in southern and eastern Lebanon to leave their homes ahead of expected strikes against alleged Hezbollah targets.
“URGENT WARNING TO RESIDENTS IN LEBANON LOCATED IN THE FOLLOWING VILLAGES AND COMMUNITIES:
Mashghara, Deir al-Zahrani, Al-Sharqiya (Nabatieh), Al-Duwayr, Qlayaa (West Bekaa), Sahmar (West Bekaa), Zibdine (Nabatieh), Nabatieh al-Tahta, Arab Salim, Kafr Jouz.”
'Our negotiating team will not compromise when it comes to our country’s honor and dignity,' Iran's president says
Yesterday's key developments:
• US President Donald Trump on Saturday told US broadcaster CBS that Tehran and Washington were "getting a lot closer" to finalising an agreement between the two countries.
• An Israeli strike killed five police officers and a child in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, said rescuers and the Palestinian territory's police force, which operate under Hamas authority.
• Mediators believe they are nearing agreement to extend a US ceasefire with Iran by 60 days and set a framework for talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme.
