US to allow Iran to immediately start selling oil and fuel again
The US will allow Iran to immediately start selling oil and fuel again as part of the deal to end the war,the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Iran can only sell oil if they keep to the terms of the deal, as US official told Reuters. It includes the free flow of navigation in the strait of Hormuz and not obtaining an nuclear weapon.
Such a move is likely to be controversial with many politicians and lawmakers opposed to offering Iran financial relief.
It comes as oil prices sunk again on Tuesday, pulling back to $80 per barrel for the first time since early March, while the US stock market drifts near its all-time high.
Key events
Reuters has a rundown on the toll that these past 15 weeks have had on Lebanon. The country was pulled into the conflict on 2 March, when the Iran-backed Hezbollah fired on Israel in support of Tehran, triggering weeks of airstrikes and an Israeli ground campaign.
Casualties
At least 3,826 people were killed and 11,851 wounded in Lebanon, according to the country’s health ministry.
The ministry’s figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but the death toll includes 247 children, 363 women and 133 healthcare workers, according to Reuters.
At least 28 Israeli soldiers were killed in this latest round of fighting, according to a Reuters tally of Israeli military announcements, while four civilians have been killed in Hezbollah attacks.
Destruction
More than 68,000 housing units across the country have been damaged or destroyed, according to the latest figures from Lebanon’s National Council for Scientific Research, which cover the period from 2 March to 17 May.
More than 8,000 of those destroyed units were in Beirut and its southern suburbs, while nearly 30,000 were in the three southernmost districts of Lebanon.
Beirut and its southern suburbs is thought to ahve sustained at least $365m in damages, according to a report published by the United Nations Development Programme.
Displacement
More than 1.2 million people have been displaced by Israeli airstrikes and evacuation warnings, according to Lebanese authorities. Hundreds of thousands had fled Beirut’s southern suburbs, which Israel’s military ordered entirely evacuated for the first time during this war.
Economic Impact
Lebanon’s economy could contract by at least 7% this year because of the war, finance minister Yassine Jaber told Reuters in May.
The 2024 war, which cost Lebanon at least $8.5 billion in physical damage and economic losses, led to Lebanon’s real GDP contracting by 7.1%, the World Bank said, leading to a cumulative GDP decline of nearly 40% since 2019.
Report: Two months of talks for final settlement to begin immediately after deal signing
Talks on a final settlement between the US and Iran will begin immediately after the deal signing ceremony in Switzerland on Friday, AFP reports.
Negotiations will continue for a 60-day window after the ceremony, officials told AFP.
“Likely on Friday… a new round of negotiations between Iran and the United States to reach a final agreement will begin,” Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said. “In the final agreement, decisions will be made on the nuclear issues and the lifting of sanctions.”
Pope Leo on Tuesday praised the interim deal between the US and Iran to end the war in the Middle East, saying “thanks be to God” that the two powers are set to formalise their accord on Friday.
Leo said: “There will still be several points to settle, but it is always better to do so through dialogue, through negotiations, and not by returning to war.
“I hope that it truly is a solution to the war, that the war really is over, and that we can move forward.”
Andrew Roth
It took more than a day after news of Donald Trump’s deal with Iran went public for Benjamin Netanyahu to speak out.
When he finally appeared at a press conference on Monday evening, the Israeli prime minister skirted a cornerstone of his past public appearances: his excellent relationship with the US president.
“There are cases in which President Trump and I do not see eye to eye,” he said when asked about that. “I am responsible for Israel’s security interests, and it needs to be done wisely.”
As to the deal, he told its many critics not to pass judgement yet: “We do not know what the agreement will be.”
Iran’s Top Joint Military Command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said in a statement that Israel should expect a hard response from the Iranian armed forces if it did not stop its attacks on southern Lebanon, days after Tehran and Washington announced a MoU to end the regional war.
Here are some images coming out of Lebanon today:
‘Washington must prove its commitment’ by ending war in Lebanon, Iranian official says
Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the Iranian parliament’s national security commission, posted on X on Tuesday that the US must uphold every clause of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Iran and US, particularly when it comes to ending the war in Lebanon.
“Iranian resilience forced a strategic pivot: the US came to the table on Iran’s terms,” Azizi wrote. “Now, Washington must prove its commitment by ending the war against Lebanon and upholding every clause of the MOU.”
“Any breach will be met with a decisive, crushing response.”
Scepticism in Iran as peace deal nears
Deepa Parent
In the rural town of Sirik, in southern Iran, temperatures over the past week have climbed to 45C (113F), and residents were still queueing to fill buckets of water days after US strikes reportedly damaged two drinking water facilities serving nearby villages.
Amid the water shortages and the looming fear of war came news of a possible deal between Washington and Tehran. But for those struggling to pick up the pieces in the aftermath, the announcement brought little relief.
“I fear the uncertainty surrounding [the peace deal],” said Nahid*, a mother in Sirik, who described how villagers were queueing for water in the punishing heat, worried the water shortages could last far longer. Although the water supply was restored after 12 hours, the amount reaching households remained nowhere near enough for drinking and daily chores.
“My four-year-old woke up crying from dehydration and pain between her legs caused by chafing and the lack of water for basic hygiene,” she said.
Donald Trump appeared to acknowledge today that Israel has been killing many civilians in its attacks in Lebanon, while claiming to only target Hezbollah.
Here is video of his remarks:
The day so far
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A US-Iran deal aimed at ending the Middle East war will be signed at Switzerland’s mountainside Burgenstock resort on Friday, the Swiss foreign ministry confirmed to AFP.The site, located near Lucerne in central Switzerland, is difficult to access and therefore easily secured. It “was proposed by the Pakistani and Qatari mediators, as well as by the US and Iran”, Switzerland’s foreign ministry said.
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Trump said that he would send the deal with Iran to the US Congress for a review. “I like the idea, send it to Congress please,” he said at the start of a meeting with the UAE president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of the G7 summit. “I mean who wouldn’t approve it.”
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Speaking at the G7, US president Donald Trump has said the strait of Hormuz will be open by Friday and that the full text of the peace deal will be released in a “formal setting”.Trump also said he expects the “second stage” of the deal “to go quickly”.
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The US will allow Iran to immediately start selling oil and fuel again as part of the deal to end the war,the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. Iran can only sell oil if they keep to the terms of the deal, as US official told Reuters. It includes the free flow of navigation in the strait of Hormuz and not obtaining an nuclear weapon.
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An Iranian deputy foreign minister on Tuesday said the two-month US naval blockade on Iranian ports had been lifted ahead of the planned formal signing of a deal ending the war.“The lifting of the blockade was something we had emphasised from the outset. It has now begun, and the blockade has been lifted prior to the formal signing” scheduled for Friday, said Iranian deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi, according to the government’s website.
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John Thune, the US Senate majority leader, has reportedly asked the Trump administration for the text of the MOU with Iran.However, he says he has had no response so far, Punchbowl News’s Andrew Desiderio.
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China’s top diplomat told his Pakistani counterpart on Tuesday that the next phase of negotiations between the United States and Iran – which Pakistan has helped mediate – will be “more difficult”.In a phone conversation ahead of the planned signing on Friday of a US-Iran memorandum of understanding to end their war, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told Pakistan’s Ishaq Dar that “it is foreseeable that, compared with the first stage, the second stage of negotiations will be more difficult”.
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Hezbollah believes Iran will not sign a nuclear deal with Washington unless Israel pulls its troops from southern Lebanon and told Reuters it understands that Tehran will push for Israel’s withdrawal in its next phase of talks with Washington.Hezbollah’s media office said such a withdrawal would be the result of, and not a precondition for, the next set of talks between Iran and the US, set to begin after the two formally sign their memorandum of understanding this coming Friday.
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Israeli drone strikes targeted three vehicles in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, killing at least four people and wounding others, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.Two people were killed in a double-tap strike, with a drone hitting a car in the village of Mayfadoun followed by a second strike after people had gathered at the scene.
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Qatar, a key mediator between the US and Iran, said it believed the framework peace agreement could deliver security to the Middle East. “We are cautiously optimistic that the signing of the memorandum of understanding will lead to the next phase of regional security through the talks that will take place on the nuclear programme and on other issues,” foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari told reporters in Doha, as he praised Pakistan’s mediation efforts.
Hezbollah believes Iran will not sign a nuclear deal with Washington unless Israel pulls its troops from southern Lebanon and told Reuters it understands that Tehran will push for Israel’s withdrawal in its next phase of talks with Washington.
Hezbollah’s media office said such a withdrawal would be the result of, and not a precondition for, the next set of talks between Iran and the US, set to begin after the two formally sign their memorandum of understanding this coming Friday.
The media office said the group has received Iranian assurances that any Israeli breach of the Lebanon ceasefire would affect its upcoming negotiations with the US.
US to allow Iran to immediately start selling oil and fuel again
The US will allow Iran to immediately start selling oil and fuel again as part of the deal to end the war,the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Iran can only sell oil if they keep to the terms of the deal, as US official told Reuters. It includes the free flow of navigation in the strait of Hormuz and not obtaining an nuclear weapon.
Such a move is likely to be controversial with many politicians and lawmakers opposed to offering Iran financial relief.
It comes as oil prices sunk again on Tuesday, pulling back to $80 per barrel for the first time since early March, while the US stock market drifts near its all-time high.
Israeli drone strikes targeted three vehicles in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, killing at least four people and wounding others, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.
Two people were killed in a double-tap strike, with a drone hitting a car in the village of Mayfadoun followed by a second strike after people had gathered at the scene.
Another drone strike on the town of Shoukin killed two other people, the agency said.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the reported strikes.
