Iran war live: Peace deal 'close' as details emerge but Tehran launches attack

Iran war live: Peace deal 'close' as details emerge but Tehran launches attack Details have emerged of a proposed peace deal between the US and Iran, including the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, with a truce said to be 'very close' A truce between the US and Iran which would reportedly involve the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the regime "neither developing, nor procuring nuclear weapons" is said to be very close. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif - acting as a mediator in the peace talks - said on X that "peace has never been this close as it is now." A senior official in the White House administration said that, under the terms of the so-called memorandum of understanding (MOU), the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened and the US would lift its blockade on Iranian ports. Iran's highly enriched uranium would also be destroyed on site and then taken out of the country, the official said. But the situation appears precarious after the US military said it had brought down multiple Iranian attack drones overnight which were attempting to strike commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. And US President Donald Trump has accused Tehran of leaking inaccurate details of a proposed deal which he said "have nothing to do with the terms that were agreed to". Key Events Donald Trump said the US is close to signing a deal with Iran to wind down the war, with a memorandum of understanding to be signed in the coming days but there remains plenty of uncertainty over what will happen. But some of the key objectives Trump laid out for the conflict seem to remain unfulfilled. And while the Trump administration has said its objectives are clear and unchanging, the list has expanded and shifted as the president and his administration have spoken about the war since it started February 28. All the while, the conflict has battered the global economy, tested alliances and raised unanswered questions about the planning for the conflict, its justification and its aftermath. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the US and Iran have reached a “final, agreed upon text”. He said: “Peace has never been this close as it is now." Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday an agreement “has never been closer” in a post on X, which was also shared by Trump. But at the same time no details have been shared and Trump has said multiple times in recent weeks the countries are on the cusp of a deal. By most accounts, the strikes by the US and Israel have significantly degraded Iran’s military capabilities and killed scores of senior leaders. But those tactical successes don’t necessarily translate into achieving all the president’s aims. And Iranian officials said nuclear details will follow an agreement to end the war despite this having been set out by the US President as his main reason for the conflict. Keeping shipping traffic flowing through the Strait of Hormuz was not one of the reasons for launching the war, but after Iran leveraged its ability to effectively shut traffic through the strait, it has become a key problem. The strait is a chokepoint for 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas and its effective closure since the war has spiked global energy prices, along with the costs of other goods. Iran had allowed ships seen as friendly to pass through, while charging considerable fees. Donald Trump has said that a proposed deal with Iran would include the reopening of the strait and the US ending its blockade of Tehran’s ports. The "infamous leader" of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua street gang has been killed in a "swift and lethal kinetic" US military strike according to US President Donald Trump. In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: "At my direction, the United States Southern Command delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike to successfully execute Nino Guerrero, the infamous leader of Tren De Aragua, one of the most bloodthirsty Terrorist Organizations on Planet." Read more here. British police have arrested protesters who tried to obstruct a prison van they thought was carrying four Palestine Action activists. The jailed activists, known as the "Filton Four", were sentenced to prison on "terror" charges over damage caused during a protest at a UK-based factory connected to Israeli weapons production, Al Jazeera reports. US Central Command wrote in a post on X: Iran launched multiple one-way attack drones in an attempt to strike commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. forces have downed all of them in recent hours as traffic flow through the strait continues unimpeded. The international trade corridor remains open for transit. US forces reportedly shot down multiple Iranian one-way attack drones moving toward the Strait of Hormuz on Friday. Reuters reported that a source familiar with the matter said the drones had posed a threat to commercial traffic. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said changes were still possible to a peace deal between his country and the US that would see an end to the conflict, after both side signalled and agreement was near. He added that the tentative agreement showed his country had emerged stronger from the conflict. "Iran is the winner of the war with the US," he said on state television. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric has said that the organisation's peacekeepers continue to observe "extensive" Israeli military activity in parts of southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reported. The Wafa news agency has reported that Israeli forces fired tear gas and stun grenades on Palestinians at a tourist site south of Bethlehem. Regarding the Strait of Hormuz, which Araghchi says is of of Iran's "most important deterrant tools," the FM said: - The Strait of Hormuz will not return to the way it was before the war, stressing that the waterway was "under the sovereignty of Iran and Oman." - Passage through the Strait will no longer be free, and all ships travelling through must pay a charge. - If the following conditions are not met, he added, no negotiations for a final agreement will take place. Araghchi also reiterated that Israel must immeditely withdraw from southern Lebanon. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has revealed more details of the MoU to state media, Al Jazeera reports, and claims the agreement will resolve issues around the US naval blockade and the Strait of Hormuz. During an interview with Iranian media, Aragchi said the agreement will include: - A pledge from the US not to start a war or threaten Iran - Both Washington and Tehran agree to respect each other's sovereignty and to not interfere in eachother's internal affairs. - An end to the war on all front, including in Lebanon. "We will never leave Lebanon alone," the minister added. The text of the MoU has reportedly been changed many times, he said, and the nuclear issue has been postponed until a later date after Aragchi claimed “The US nuclear demands were not acceptable to us at this stage at all.” The foreign minister has yet to sign the MoU but is widely expected to over the coming days. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the US has "never been closer" while urging media not to speculate about its contents. A "final, agreed upon text of the peace deal has been reached" between the US and Iran, according to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. "Pakistan is now working closely with both sides to finalize the next steps," Sharif said in a post on X. "Peace has never been this close as it is now." A new Washington peace settlement might secure the re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz - but the rest is a massive cave-in for Trump, especially on the nuclear issue. Astonishing claimed details of the draft agreement were leaked by Iran on Friday, prompting an immediate denial by US President Donald Trump branding it “fake news.” Included in exchange for peace is merely a 60 day period of negotiations on “nuclear issues” - which experts have ridiculed as “impossible to reach an agreement in that time frame.” Even as the details were leaked from within Iran Trump was reeling from having claimed a deal was close again as US troops shot down two incoming Iranian attack drones. If the leaked so-called document is signed Tehran will regain hundreds of billions of pounds in reparations for the war, the lifting of sanctions and the unfreezing of Iran’s blocked assets. It is impossible to verify the draft agreement, which the Mirror has been given, because it could be a Tehran bid to combat the lies about settlements uttered by Trump. Read more: Furious Trump hits out as Iran leaks 'astonishing cave-in' details on peace deal Donald Trump has accused Iran of leaking "fake" peace deal terms that bear "no relation to the truth". "What they said, including their weak and pathetic statement on having a deal, bears no relation to the truth," Trump said in a post on X. "Very dishonourable people to deal with. With them, there is no such thing as dealing in good faith," he added. Following the news that the US and Iran may be close to agreeing a deal to end the fighting, Israel's leader has posted saying “Iran will not have nuclear weapons”. The post, written in Hebrew also states “President Trump and I are in full agreement on this issue." Netanyahu’s statement comes after Iranian state media reported that any discussion between Iran and the US of the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran's nuclear programme will take place after any initial preliminary agreement. Netanyahu’s post read: “As long as I am Prime Minister of Israel—Iran will not have nuclear weapons. There is full agreement between me and President Trump on this issue. “For over 30 years, I have been at the forefront of the international campaign against Iran's nuclear program. Had it not been for this campaign, Iran would long ago have had atomic bombs to destroy Israel. “Iran is working to destroy the Jewish state, and I dedicate my life to preventing them from doing so. As long as I am Prime Minister of Israel, this will not happen.” India has summoned a US diplomat to protest “continuing attacks by US naval forces on commercial vessels carrying Indian mariners” after three Indian sailors were killed. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said the US actions were “unacceptable” after after three sailors were killed on Wednesday. New Delhi summoned the US deputy chief of mission to protest Washington's recent strikes on commercial vessels off the coast of Oman. Images show the aftermath of Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Wednesday and Thursday. Today the IDF said it had struck more than 300 targets in the country over the past week. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has said it carried out more than 300 strikes on targets in Lebanon over the past week. The IDF said in a post on X that it had struck 310 “Hezbollah targets” in the country over the past week and killed around 80 people. According to the Lebanese health ministry more than 3,400 people have been killed by the IDF since the outbreak of hostilities in early March. Israel and Hezbollah have traded strikes with Iran getting involved on Sunday launching missiles at Israel in retaliation for an Israeli attack on Lebanon. Following Donald Trump’s announcement that a deal had almost been reached, Tehran has said that nothing finalised. In a post on Truth Social Trump announced he had called off US strikes on Iran after: "Discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved." However following the statement Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told the country’s state TV: "We have not reached a final conclusion on this matter. This is a very important issue that is currently being reviewed by the relevant decision-making bodies." While not an outright refusal of Trump’s announcement of an imminent peace deal, the Iranian response sounds a lot more guarded. The UK economy has shrunk as fuel price rises caused by the war in Iran have impacted spending, according to new official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows that Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 0.1% in April. By April prices for diesel and petrol had soared compared to the start of the war on February 28 as the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway was closed to boats. A fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas used to travel through the strait, leading to supply shortages and price increases. The ONS said the contraction was due to a 0.2% fall in services, which makes up the majority of the UK economy. Construction saw a 0.1% growth while production stayed steady. President Donald Trump has unveiled his 80th birthday wish, revealing that he hopes for “peace for the world” - despite the US launching more strikes on Iran. Responding to a reporter who asked what his birthday wish would be, other than peace in the Middle East Trump said: "Well, I’ll go a step bigger…peace for the world, OK?” “Peace for the world,” he repeated. “Middle East? Yes. Peace for the whole world.” The US military has shot down two Iranian one-way attack drones, according to Reuters citing a US official. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the incident came as Iran attempted to strike commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. They added: "Traffic flow through the strait continues." A U.S. official says the U.S. military shot down two Iranian drones that were trying to strike commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz tonight. “It appears Iran has attempted to strike commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz tonight. U.S. forces shot down two Iranian one-way attack drones. Traffic flow through the Strait continues,” the official said. During a telephone rally on Thursday for Rep. Barry Moore, his chosen candidate in Tuesday’s Senate runoff in Alabama, Trump talked about Iran, about which he said U.S. representatives had “made a great deal.” “Today we settled up with Iran,” Trump said. “People will start coming home very soon. ... We got everything we wanted.” That mirrored some of Trump’s comments earlier Thursday during an Oval Office event, when he said a “great settlement.” Iran has not yet confirmed that it has agreed to settlement terms with the U.S. Iranian state media are reporting that explosions heard off the coast of Sirik in southern Iran relate to a confrontation with a "violating vessel" attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Broadcaster IRIB, citing a military source, claimed the vessel was "a tanker that was forced to comply with the transit ban after receiving warnings from the IRGC Navy". The US military was three hours away from launching strikes on Iran before Donald Trump cancelled the planned attacks, according to Sky's US partner NBC News. Citing two US officials the outlet claims the military was ready to carry out the strikes having received orders from the president to do so. The US military was three hours away from launching strikes on Iran before Donald Trump cancelled the planned attacks, according to NBC News. Citing two US officials NBC News claims the military was ready to carry out the strikes having received orders from the president to do so. Foreign ministry spokesperson to Iranian state media, Esmail Baghaei, has hit out at the brutal U.S. attacks on Indian commercial vessels. Oil prices have dropped today after Donald Trump announced he has "cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening." Brent futures fell $3.37, or 3.6%, to $89.73 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $3.20, or 3.6%, to $86.83 a barrel, AP reports.