Page 8 - Latest Updates on West Asia Conflict

Trump blows through long-held red lines on Iran to secure peace deal

Trump's support for deal has drawn attention as it appears to permit uranium enrichment, ballistic missiles and access to frozen funds-issues he had criticised as major flaws in past Iran agreements

Trump's Iran deal falls short of his demand for 'unconditional surrender'

While the Iranians suffered substantial losses in the war, they emerged from a confrontation with the world's most powerful military, having proved they can use economic chaos as a weapon

Trump on Iran truce: 'If I don't like it, we'll go back to shooting'

G7 leaders welcome interim accord, call for Lebanon ceasefire and back efforts to reduce reliance on Strait of Hormuz

Iran fires drones at commercial ships in Hormuz after peace deal: Report

The firing took place after the signing of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Sunday, and the drones were intercepted by the US military

Oil dips as investors weigh Iran war deal, Hormuz reopening uncertainty

Brent crude futures dipped 16 cents, ​or 0.2 per cent, to $78.80 a barrel by 0340 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate fell 25 cents, or 0.3 per cent, ‌to $75.80 a barrel

US set to offer broad financial incentives to Iran in peace agreement

The two sides agreed to the deal on Sunday and plan to formally sign it on June 19 in Switzerland, clearing the way for 60 days of talks intended to end the war for good

What is inside the 14-point draft memorandum between the US and Iran

Draft US-Iran pact proposes sanctions relief, nuclear curbs and $300 bn aid

Trump's push for Iran deal puts friendship with Netanyahu to test

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told President Donald Trump last year that he was the "greatest friend Israel ever had in the White House". Now, as Trump tries to finalise a deal to end the war with Iran, he's unloading on Netanyahu with rhetoric that no other American leader has dared to use publicly. He claimed credit for Israel's existence - "without me, there would be no Israel" - and cursed his judgment in interviews. He even described him as "crazy". Netanyahu's tenure as prime minister spans four US presidents, and he's frustrated all of them at one point or another. But none has voiced that as openly as Trump, who started the conflict in tandem with Netanyahu. The tension comes as Trump criticises recent Israeli attacks in Lebanon, which threatened to jeopardise negotiations between Washington and Tehran. Trump has been pushing for a deal as he faces political blowback at home, where the war is unpopular and has driven up gasoline prices. "If Netanyahu gets in ..

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US-Iran deal promises end to war but how it will work still unclear

US President Donald Trump said on Monday a preliminary agreement to end the conflict had been signed by the US and Iran, although details have yet to be made public

End of war includes end of Israel's occupation of Lebanon: Iran foreign min

Iran's top diplomat said Tuesday that the deal ending the war with the United States would also require Israel to withdraw from Lebanon, raising questions about the still-unpublished agreement and whether disagreement over its terms could prolong conflict. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told diplomats from other countries that Israel's continued occupation of southern Lebanon would violate the memorandum of understanding reached between the United States and Iran, in comments aired on Iranian state television. "The end of the war in Lebanon is an inseparable part of the complete end of the war," Araghchi said. "Without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they occupied during this war, the war has not fully come to an end." Araghchi said further Israeli attacks on Lebanon "will be considered by us a violation of the Memorandum of Understanding." The United States has not said whether Lebanon was part of the final agreement. But Araghchi's description clashes with

Higher prices for gas, groceries and flights to outlast Iran war: Experts

A tentative deal to end the Iran war makes it reasonable to ask how soon prices will drop for gasoline, groceries, airline tickets and other items that got more expensive during the conflict. Not so fast, experts say. Even after oil starts flowing again from the Middle East, it could take a while for consumers to see a difference at local fuel pumps, supermarkets and other places they shop, according to economists and industry analysts. Fighting over the Strait of Hormuz disrupted not only supplies of crude and refined fuel but also the supply chains for fertiliser, food and even footwear. Businesses expect higher costs to linger, which means their customers might need to prepare for that too. "It is not clear, despite three months of war, that anything has been achieved that makes the American consumer better off," Brett House, an economist who teaches at Columbia Business School, said. "In fact, by almost any measure, not just the American consumer, but the world, is worse off as

Iran war is 'wake-up call' for Southeast Asia's energy sector, says report

The war in Iran has exposed major risks for Southeast Asia that could cost the region many billions of dollars if it does not diversify sources of energy more quickly, according to an International Energy Agency report released Tuesday. An overreliance on oil and gas transported through the Strait of Hormuz left the region particularly vulnerable to shocks from the Iran war, a "stark wake-up call" for its energy security, the report says. It notes that rising sales of electric vehicles, a renewed interest in nuclear power and a boom in rooftop solar and other renewable energy installations show the war is spurring change. But more sweeping reforms are needed. Otherwise, Southeast Asia's energy import bill could rise to $245 billion by 2035, tripling from $80 billion in 2024, the report warns. "Diversification of energy sources and supply routes is now a central priority," said Fatih Birol, the IEA executive director. Iran war exposes Southeast Asia's energy ...

Trump's Iran deal faces scepticism, scrutiny as US lawmakers seek answers

Republicans on Capitol Hill said Monday they need more information about the agreement between the United States and Iran announced by President Donald Trump, and some are expressing scepticism as they ask the White House for details. The agreement announced Sunday to end the war in Iran, set for a ceremonial signing Friday in Geneva, is centered around reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting the United States' naval blockade in the region, along with financial incentives for Iran if it meets certain benchmarks. But Senate Republicans and Democrats who returned to Washington on Monday said there were still many unanswered questions about the deal and they need thorough briefings before it is finalised. "I just don't know enough about it," Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters in the Capitol. "Even the people who follow this stuff closely up here don't know that much about it." Congressional leaders and intelligence committees generally receive higher-level intelligenc

Israel will keep forces in Lebanon, despite US-Iran deal: Netanyahu

'The struggle has not ended,' a defiant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israelis

Lebanon's sovereignty, security integral to ending war, says Iran

According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Baghaei, on Monday (local time) said that Iran's position on Lebanon has remained consistent throughout the negotiations

Hormuz 'already partially open', to be fully reopened on June 19: Trump

Trump said that ships, including several carrying oil, had started moving out of the Strait of Hormuz following his announcement of the completion of the Iran-US peace deal

Peace deal restores pre-war status quo, US objectives unfulfilled: Expert

The peace deal between the US and Iran merely marks a return to the pre-war status quo and negotiations over the next 60 days will determine whether Washington is able to secure its objectives with which it attacked Tehran, according to an expert. Will Todman, Senior Fellow in the Middle East Programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said the preliminary agreement primarily provides for a cessation of hostilities and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, returning conditions to where they stood before US and Israeli strikes on Iran. "No, at this point, the United States has not achieved any of the objectives that President Donald Trump set out when he launched the war," Todman told PTI. The US and Iran reached an agreement on Sunday to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a move expected to facilitate the resumption of oil and natural gas shipments through one of the world's most important energy transit routes. Details of the agreement have not been made ...

Iran will never have nuclear weapons, not today and not tomorrow: Netanyahu

Amid growing resentment in Israel over the emerging deal between the United States and Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday evening defended his actions, emphasising that "Iran will not have nuclear weapons, with or without an agreement". "Iran will never have nuclear weapons, not today and not tomorrow," Netanyahu asserted during a brief press conference in Hebrew. "People ask me what we have achieved? And I answer them - What we have achieved? We removed the immediate threat of annihilation from ourselves. Most importantly, we saved the State of Israel from the threat of total destruction", the Israeli Premier said following a day of criticism from the opposition as well as coalition partners. Assailing Netanyahu's leadership, former Prime Minister and prominent challenger for Prime Ministership Naftali Bennett earlier told the reporters that the term of this Netanyahu government began with a civil war, continued with the October 7 massacre, and is now ending with a .

Vance to lead US delegation to ink Iran peace deal in Switzerland: Trump

Vice President JD Vance will lead the US delegation for the in-person signing of the peace deal with Iran in Switzerland on Friday, President Donald Trump said. Both Trump and Vance have electronically signed the framework agreement with Iran's lead negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, according to a senior US official quoted by The New York Times. In a media interaction in France on Monday, Trump said Vance will attend the signing ceremony. "I may be involved, I may not," the president said in response to a question on his presence at the signing ceremony. The text of the Memorandum of Understanding will be released "pretty soon... sometime after Friday", Trump said. In media interviews here, Vance said the peace agreement was signed digitally on Sunday, and its full text was likely to be made public later this week. "We already signed the deal digitally yesterday (Sunday)," Vance said on the Good Morning America programme on ABC News. The deal was negotiated through mediators