Iran-US war live: Trump hopes to put war in ‘rearview mirror’ and says Strait of Hormuz will stay toll-free – UK Times

The Israeli military reportedly struck targets in southern Lebanon again on Wednesday morning, despite warnings from Donald Trump and Iran over the parallel war with Hezbollah.

Israeli fighter jets struck Nabatieh al-Fawqa, while a drone strike hit Ansariyeh on the coast, the National News Agency reported.

The Israeli military is yet to comment on the report.

Israel’s request to access the text of the interim Iran agreement was rejected by the US, according to reports, as tensions between Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump have become more prominent since the ceasefire in hostilities with Iran.

The original text of the memorandum of understanding reached between the U.S. and Iran to end the war in the Middle East has remained elusive, as Trump said the final version would be made public in a formal setting in a few days.

The interim deal reached Sunday would extend ⁠a tenuous ceasefire announced in April by another 60 days and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively blocked since the U.S. and Israel attacked the country in February.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has argued that a peace deal with the US would require Israel to withdraw from Lebanon.

“Without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they occupied during this war, the war has not fully come to an end,” said Iran’s top diplomat.

His statement comes after Donald Trump berated Benjamin Netanyahu for his incessant bombing of Lebanon and urged the Israeli leader to behave “more responsibly”. Trump said Israel’s attack on Beirut was “vicious”.

The Group of Seven leaders have issued a joint statement welcoming the peace deal between Iran and the US.

The G7 leaders said they “reaffirm that the right of transit passage without restrictions or tolls is the backbone of international trade”.

“We support and are ready to contribute to the US-Iran deal implementation.”

The Trump administration has promised to withdraw its forces from areas surrounding Iran, Bloomberg reported, citing a clause in the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran to end their war.

The clause states that the US will withdraw its forces within 30 days of a final peace agreement. The MOU is due to be formally signed in Geneva on Friday.

US president Donald Trump hopes that the Iran war would be in the “rearview mirror” after the official signing of the peace deal, details of which remain unknown to US lawmakers.

When asked if the president would now focus on the Ukraine war, Trump responded: “We were focused on Iran. That’s going to be in the back, in the rearview mirror…. I want to do whatever I can.”

Few details have been publicly released about the initial deal, but it is believed to include reopening the Strait of Hormuz to global oil shipments, financial incentives for Iran if it meets certain benchmarks, and a 60-day period for talks on ending the country’s nuclear programme.

The deal will be formally signed on Friday in Geneva.

A $300bn private fund designed to kickstart investment into Iran is outlined in the US-Iran framework agreement and more than half that sum has already been committed, Reuters reported.

The fund is designed to give both sides an economic incentive to conclude a final deal to end the war, the agency reported, citing sources.

More than half of the amount has already been committed and it will be comprised entirely of private-sector funds, according to the report.

US and Iranian officials said on Sunday they had agreed ⁠on a framework to end their war, which began when US and Israeli forces attacked ​Iran ⁠on 28 February, halt the US blockade of Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key supply route for global oil and gas.

The new fund is a private investment vehicle, not a reconstruction or reparations programme and will not include any government money or grants, the source ⁠said, adding that companies based in the US, the Gulf Arab states, Asia, South America and Africa have agreed to commit financing.

Investments pledged span ​energy, logistics, manufacturing and ⁠transport, the source said.

A senior Iranian source told Reuters ‌that Tehran had originally sought $400bn as compensation for war damages from the US but Washington had said it would not provide it.

The idea for the fund, which is to be named the Reconstruction and Development Fund, then emerged.

A third tanker carrying one million barrels of Iranian crude oil has reportedly sailed past the US navy blockade in the Gulf of Oman, Al Jazeera reported, citing TankerTrackers.

The maritime tracking service said the Sonia I vessel “exited the blockade line” at 1.11 GMT.

At least two other tankers carrying a total of 3.8 million barrels of Iranian oil exited the blockade line yesterday, according to the report.

Australia this morning relaxed its travel advice for several Middle ⁠Eastern countries, allowing Australians to transit through and travel to the biggest Gulf air hubs with the security of being covered by insurance.

Foreign minister Penny Wong said the previous “do not travel” advisory had been lowered for the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Israel and Kuwait after the US and ⁠Iran reached an interim deal to end the ​war.

She ⁠said the advisory had moved to “reconsider your need to travel” to those countries, as the security situation could still deteriorate rapidly with little warning.

The removal ⁠of the “do not travel” warning is positive for Gulf airlines. They had carried more ​than half ⁠of all passengers flying from Europe ‌to Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands before the war began in late February, according to aviation data firm Cirium.

Many Australian travellers concerned about the risk of missiles and drones, ‌schedule disruptions and the lack of travel insurance coverage ‌had preferred flights on carriers like Qantas Airways, Singapore Airlines and Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways that transited in Asia, driving up airfares.