U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he had paused a planned attack on Iran after Tehran sent a peace proposal to Washington. He said there was now a “very good chance” of reaching a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear programme.
European shares edged higher on Tuesday (19 May) after investors reacted positively to reports that the United States had paused a planned strike on Iran following Tehran’s latest peace proposal, raising hopes that an agreement could be near.
U.S. President Donald Trump said there was now a “very good chance” of securing a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear programme. Oil prices dropped by as much as 2%, although they remained above $100 per barrel, while bond markets steadied after heavy selloffs in recent sessions.
The pan-European STOXX 600 gained 0.2% to 611.22 points by 07:02 GMT, though it remained below levels seen before the conflict.
European markets have underperformed compared with global peers, largely due to the region’s reliance on imported oil, while U.S. and international markets have been buoyed by optimism surrounding artificial intelligence.
The AI-driven rally in technology stocks will face another key test on Wednesday when Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company, releases its quarterly earnings.
Among individual stocks, Standard Chartered slipped 0.8% after announcing plans to cut more than 7,000 jobs over the next four years as it increases the use of AI.
Meanwhile, Vallourec fell 10.3% after ArcelorMittal sold a secondary 10% stake in the French steel pipe maker at a discount.
Iran’s latest proposal to the United States includes calls for the removal of sanctions on Tehran, the release of frozen Iranian assets and an end to the country’s maritime blockade, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Tuesday (19 May), according to Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.
The proposal also calls for an end to conflicts across the region, including in Lebanon, the withdrawal of U.S. forces from areas near Iran and compensation for damage caused by the war, Gharibabadi added.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry says more than 3,000 people have now been killed since fighting between Israel and Hezbollah escalated in early March.
Officials claim that at least seven people were killed on Monday alone in strikes carried out across the country, despite a U.S.-backed ceasefire extension announced just days earlier.
Among those killed was a senior figure in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, after an Israeli air strike targeted an apartment building in the town of Douris in eastern Lebanon’s Baalbek district.
Hezbollah claims its fighters conducted 14 separate attacks on Israeli forces in southern Lebanon on Monday.
In a statement, the group said the operations involved explosive drones, rockets, and artillery fire, targeting concentrations of Israeli troops and military vehicles across several border towns and valleys in Lebanon.
Drones used by the Hezbollah group are restricting nearly 80% of Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon, Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported Monday.
KAN said the Israeli military assessed that explosive-laden drones had sharply reduced the army’s operational freedom in southern Lebanon alongside casualties among troops.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his security Cabinet on Monday to discuss the possibility of renewed fighting with Iran, according to Hebrew media.
The Israel Hayom daily said the meeting came after Netanyahu held a similar Cabinet discussion Sunday following a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump to coordinate the “next step” regarding Iran.
It quoted a source familiar with U.S. discussions as saying a new American strike on Iran was “not a question of if, but when.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Washington would be satisfied with an agreement preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Hours earlier, he said he had postponed a planned military attack on Iran to allow negotiations with Tehran to continue.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said that U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned attendance at an upcoming NATO summit in Ankara will help strengthen alliance unity.
Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing will attend a video conference hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday (12 June) to discuss global economic imbalances, marking a rare high-level engagement between China and G7 nations ahead of next week's summit in France.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for 11 June, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Bill Gates has told members of Congress that he “did not fully understand the extent” of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes during the period in which he associated with the late convicted sex offender while seeking support for his philanthropic work.
Mexico and South Africa meet in Thursday’s World Cup opener in Mexico City, with both teams approaching the match from very different positions but facing their own pressures.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry says 19 citizens have been repatriated following a deadly drone attack on two cargo ships in the Sea of Azov on 5 June.
The Pakistani city of Karachi is struggling under severe heat and humidity as the country enters a prolonged heatwave period. The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has warned of above-normal temperatures across much of the country between 7 and 12 June.
Ukraine's military said it struck a Russian "shadow fleet" tanker in the Black Sea as part of ongoing efforts to disrupt Moscow's energy and logistics networks. The move underscores Kyiv's focus on targeting maritime assets it says are used to bypass sanctions on Russian oil exports.
U.S. forces say they have completed strikes on Iranian military sites near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded with missile attacks on an American base in Jordan, marking a sharp escalation in tensions between the two sides.
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to seize Kharg Island and other major Iranian oil and gas facilities, escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.
U.S. forces say they have completed strikes on Iranian military sites near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded with missile attacks on an American base in Jordan, marking a sharp escalation in tensions between the two sides.
Concurrent with the renewed military standoff between Iran and the U.S. in the Middle East, Tehran and Washington are clashing at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), where the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s Board of Governors is holding its quarterly meeting in Vienna.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has warned that escalating conflict in Iran and the wider region is placing multiple World Heritage sites at risk, with reports of damage to historic monuments caused by nearby airstrikes and shockwaves.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had carried out attacks against a U.S. base in Jordan and 21 other targets in the Gulf on Wednesday in retaliation for American strikes around the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media reported.
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