Israel's defence minister said on Wednesday Israeli troops will not withdraw from southern Lebanon, highlighting a hurdle to Iran-U.S. peace talks, as the top U.S. diplomat tours the Middle East to win over allies sceptical about a proposed deal.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran is making very big concessions.
"We're winning by a lot. Iran is making very big concessions. We'll see what happens," Trump told reporters.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday said the United States will not do anything that would undermine the security of U.S. allies in the Gulf region when it comes to dealings with Iran.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani discussed bilateral relations and regional developments with Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq on Wednesday, including the ongoing negotiations between Iran and the United States.
Oman’s state news agency said discussions between the two sides at Al Baraka Palace in Muscat addressed the course of the ongoing U.S.-Iran negotiations and diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war and reaching a settlement to the crisis.
Oil prices fell sharply on Wednesday, with Brent crude dropping to its lowest level since before the U.S.-Iran conflict, as rising tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and progress in peace talks eased supply concerns.
International benchmark Brent crude fell 4.6% to below $74 per barrel, while U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped below $70 per barrel as investors priced in a faster normalisation of Gulf oil flows.
The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait has resumed operations that were suspended following attacks in March by Iran, a State Department spokesperson said.
The embassy will immediately resume emergency services for American citizens while other services will be phased in, the spokesperson said.
The State Department shut down embassy operations in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in March after Iranian drones fired at the missions following U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Ships have already sailed through the Strait of Hormuz under a newly launched evacuation scheme by the UN's shipping agency, a spokesperson said.
At least two dry bulk ships and one cargo ship have sailed through Hormuz under the scheme in past 12 hours, LSEG ship tracking data showed on Thursday.
Another 35 commercial vessels, mainly dry bulk, cargo and container vessels were preparing to sail through the strait.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held talks with top United Arab Emirates officials on a Middle East tour, seeking to reassure Gulf allies who view a proposed Iran peace deal as too generous to a state that attacked them in the war.
President Donald Trump’s deal, signed last week, includes a proposed $300 billion fund and the waiver of some sanctions.
Arriving in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi late on Tuesday for a three-day tour, Rubio is undertaking his first high-level diplomatic mission on the agreement to end the four-month-old U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf made his remarks at a meeting of the Parliamentary Union of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, as Iran and the United States seek to conclude a lasting peace agreement.
“The Islamabad understanding was not the result of pressure and coercion, but rather the result of the resistance and authority of the brave Iranian nation,” Ghalibaf said at a conference.
“That is why the Islamabad memorandum of understanding became a declaration of America’s defeat.
The UN nuclear watchdog will carry out inspections in Iran soon following an interim peace accord between the United States and Iran, but modalities have yet to be finalised, the agency's chief Rafael Grossi said.
The two sides signed a 14-point memorandum of understanding last week setting out broad agreements in principle to end the war. The interim accord paved the way for 60 days of talks aimed at hammering out thornier details, including issues related to Iran's nuclear program.
"The inspections will indeed take place," International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi told a press conference in Japan, an audio recording of which the IAEA posted online.
Airlines should continue to avoid the airspace over Iran, Iraq and Lebanon and remain cautious across the region despite the framework deal between Washington and Tehran, because violations remained possible, the EU aviation safety agency EASA said.
EASA said on Wednesday it was extending its conflict-zone advisory for the region until 1 July.
Short-term violations of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire remain possible, in particular in and around the Strait of Hormuz and neighboring airspace, the agency said.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has arrived in Azerbaijan on a working visit and will take part in the 20th Session of the Parliamentary Union of OIC Member States in Baku, according to Azerbaijan's Milli Majlis.
Iranian authorities are preparing week-long funeral and burial processions for former leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, starting on 4 July in Tehran, Qom and Mashhad.
The ceremonies will include a nationwide public holiday, with additional local holidays in provinces hosting the events.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has concluded a one-day visit to Pakistan, his first foreign trip since the end of the Israel-U.S. war on Iran.
During the visit, he held talks with Pakistan's prime minister, president and army chief, while Islamabad announced its president would visit Iran in early July to attend funeral ceremonies for former leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran and Oman said they discussed issues related to the Strait of Hormuz during talks in Muscat, according to a joint statement issued after a visit by Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf.
Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said the country expects to resume normal liquefied natural gas production within weeks, according to the Financial Times.
Four vessels operated by South Korean shippers have exited the Strait of Hormuz and are heading to their destinations, including one bound for South Korea, the maritime ministry said, as shipping traffic gradually resumes through the key waterway.
The United States has eased travel restrictions on Iran's World Cup squad, allowing the team to enter the country two days before their next match in Seattle after complaints over earlier rules that limited arrivals to one day before games.
Oman said it had coordinated with the International Maritime Organization to establish a temporary maritime corridor for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, aimed at ensuring freedom of navigation through the strategic waterway in line with international law.
The U.S. Senate voted on Tuesday to direct President Donald Trump to halt military action against Iran, marking the first time both chambers of Congress have approved a war powers resolution ordering a president to withdraw U.S. forces from hostilities.
The measure, passed 50-48 with support from four Republicans, is largely symbolic and is unlikely to immediately affect U.S. policy as the Trump administration continues efforts to negotiate a peace agreement with Tehran.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday his administration was working towards a fair deal with Iran and that the two countries were "getting along well"
Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has promised to avenge the killing of his father, while U.S. President Donald Trump said Tehran and Washin...
A Miami-based tycoon wanted in Albania for allegedly laundering drug money is suspected of faking the deeds to land where Donald Trump’s son-in-law ...
Turkish prosecutors have ordered the detention of 36 people, including the mayor of an Ankara district controlled by the main opposition, over alleged...
A Miami-based tycoon wanted in Albania for allegedly laundering drug money is suspected of faking the deeds to land where Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner wants to build a controversial multi-billion dollar resort, the country’s organised crime agency said in case files reviewed by Reuters.
Turkish prosecutors have ordered the detention of 36 people, including the mayor of an Ankara district controlled by the main opposition, over alleged bribery and tender-rigging.
A 26-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murdering British politician Ann Widdecombe has been released and is no longer part of the investigation, UK police have said.
Israel's decision to recognise the so-called Armenian genocide has triggered diplomatic tensions with Azerbaijan, one of its closest strategic partners.
It has been a punishing week for large parts of China, and forecasters warn the worst may not be over. After Typhoon Maysak left a trail of destruction and at least 23 people dead, Super Typhoon Bavi is now threatening the country's eastern coast.
At least 12 people have been killed in forest fires in Almeria in southern Spain, Andalucía’s emergency agency has said, as firefighters continue efforts to put out the blaze.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington has agreed to resume talks with Iran after Tehran requested further negotiations, but declared that last month's ceasefire between the two countries was "over".
The U.S. military said on Wednesday it launched fresh strikes on Iran to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping, triggering Iranian attacks on Kuwait and Bahrain in the latest escalation to derail efforts to end the war.
Dozens of flights have been cancelled across East Asia as Super Typhoon Bavi approaches China. The typhoon, which has maximum sustained winds of 162 kph (100mph), is nearing a remote chain of Japanese islands, east of Taiwan on Friday.
This is the last of four articles in AnewZ's series examining how conservationists are working to protect and repair damage done to the Aral Sea which lies between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
Turkish prosecutors have ordered the detention of 36 people, including the mayor of an Ankara district controlled by the main opposition, over alleged bribery and tender-rigging.
Temperatures above 40°C are scorching parts of Central Asia, prompting the World Health Organization to warn that extreme heat is becoming an increasing public health threat across the region.
This is the third of four articles in AnewZ's series examining how conservationists are working to protect and repair damage done to the Aral Sea which lies between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington has agreed to resume talks with Iran after Tehran requested further negotiations, but declared that last month's ceasefire between the two countries was "over".
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