Iran-US war latest: Tehran and US ‘agree deal to open Strait of Hormuz’ pending Trump’s approval – UK Times

The glittering jewel in Donald Trump’s (self-declared) crown was his “board of peace”, a multi-country body nominally created to implement a truce plan for war-ravaged Gaza, but with a global remit.

Inaugurated in a grand ceremony in January in Switzerland, signatories heralded from 19 countries, including Hungary’s former authoritarian leader Viktor Orban, the head of Gulf states, Mongolia and Azerbaijan.

Among the glaring absences were some of America’s closest Nato allies, including the UK, alarmed by Russia’s potential membership and the board’s role “beyond Gaza”.

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said ​Oman’s ambassador had told him there were no plans to impose tolls on the Strait of Hormuz.

This comes after the US warned Oman not to get involved in any effort with Iran to impose a toll in the strait, ⁠and Donald Trump on ​Wednesday threatened to bomb the country, despite a history of economic and military ties between the two countries.

Oman has not mentioned the idea of joint control of the strait with Iran, with which it says it has discussed freedom of navigation. Tehran expressed solidarity with Oman after what it ​called “US officials’ threats”.

During a recent hospital visit, President Donald Trump took time to meet with U.S. service members — but he did not see any of the troops wounded in the ongoing Iran war, according to a new report.

The 79-year-old Republican president traveled to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Tuesday morning for his second check-up since October, claiming afterward that everything “checked out PERFECTLY.”

While inside the sprawling Bethesda facility, Trump met with service members, in keeping with a long-standing presidential tradition. However, 14 troops injured during Operation Epic Fury and recovering at the hospital were not among those he saw, according to a military official and the family of one soldier who spoke to CBS News.

Israeli forces struck an ancient site in southern Lebanon this week, the country’s state media reported, as the IDF continued to intensify attacks despite the extension of a ceasefire.

The 900-year-old Beaufort Castle was hit by Israeli strikes on Tuesday, as its bombardment of southern Lebanon killed 31 people and wounded another 40 in the deadliest day since a ceasefire was supposed to take hold, state news agency NNA reported.

The fortress in southern Lebanon has been described by ​UNESCO as one of the best-preserved examples of medieval castles in the region.

Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian has thanked Malaysia and Pakistan for humanitarian and diplomatic efforts during Tehran’s war with US and Israel.

“In my talks with the Prime Ministers of Malaysia and Pakistan to congratulate them on Eid al-Adha, I emphasised Iran’s commitment to diplomacy, thanked Malaysia for its humanitarian stance, and thanked Pakistan for its initiative and effective efforts to reach an agreement,” Pezeshkian said in a post on X.

“Iran’s policy is to expand cooperation with Muslim and neighbouring countries in all fields.”

Joe Kent, the former chief of the US’s National Counterterrorism Center, has urged Donald Trump to withdraw troops from Iran’s vicinity, arguing that it risks Washington being compelled “back into the war on Iran’s terms”.

“A major problem w/ the status quo of having our forces within reach of the Iranians is that we could easily be forced back into the war on Iran’s terms,” Joe Kent said on X.

“If we withdraw now, we retain the ability to strike from a distance & take away Iran’s ability to draw us back into the war. Thankfully it appears that we didn’t take casualties, we won’t always be so fortunate,” he added.

Kent had quit the counterterrorism post in March due to his opposition to Trump’s war on Iran.

US president Donald Trump threatened to “blow up” Oman on Wednesday if it did not comply with his demands over the Strait of Hormuz.

“Oman will behave just like everyone else, or we’ll have to blow them up,” the president warned in an off-the-cuff remark about a key US ally during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Thursday.

Trump reiterated his insistence that Oman and other nations sign on to the Abraham Accords, a US-led treaty brokered during his first term encouraging the normalization of diplomatic ties between Arab nations and Israel.

Oil futures fell more than 1 per cent today and were on track for their steepest weekly decline since early April, following ​reports that the US and Iran had agreed to extend a ceasefire.

Brent crude futures for July fell 1.1 per cent or $1.04 to $92.67 a barrel.

US oil futures fell $1.26, or 1.4 per cent, to $87.64 a barrel.

Brent plunged 10.5 per cent ​this week – the steepest plunge since the week that ended on 6 April, while West Texas Intermediate fell 9.2 per cent – the biggest weekly loss since the ⁠week that ended on 13 April.