• Pakistan has received an amended peace proposal from Iran as it serves as a crucial backchannel mediator in ongoing US-Iran negotiations, reflecting diplomatic efforts to resolve escalating tensions.
• The development indicates continued high-level diplomatic engagement despite stalled formal negotiations and previous ceasefire attempts, with Pakistan playing a strategic intermediary role in the Middle East crisis.
• Successful mediation efforts could have significant implications for global markets, crude oil prices, and regional stability, directly affecting India's energy security and economic growth prospects.
At a rally in Florida, the US president tells a cheering crowd ‘we took over the ship’Middle East crisis – live updatesDonald Trump has said the US navy acted “like pirates” as he described an operation seizing a ship amid the tit-for-tat American blockade of Iranian ports.“We … land on top of it and we took over the ship. We took over the cargo, took over the oil. It’s a very profitable business,” said Trump at a rally in Florida on Friday. Continue reading...
German defence minister responds to US president’s announcement that 5,000 US troops will leave bases in GermanyHello and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.The German defence minister, Boris Pistorius, said that it was “foreseeable” that the US would withdraw troops from Europe, after the Pentagon announced it would pull thousands of American soldiers from Germany.Trump said he is “not satisfied” with a new proposal from Iran on ending the war, as peace talks remain stalled despite a weeks-long ceasefire. Iran delivered the proposal text to mediator Pakistan on Thursday evening, Iranian state news agency Irna reported, without detailing its contents.The US state department said it was approving military sales totalling more than $8.6bn to Middle Eastern allies Israel, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. It came as Washington warned European allies including the UK, Poland, Lithuania and Estonia to expect long delivery delays for US weapons as it scrambles to replenish stockpiles depleted by the Iran war, according to a report in the Fianancial Times citing multiple sources.In Lebanon, 12 people were killed in Israeli strikes in the south, Lebanon’s health ministry said, including in the town of Habboush, where the Israeli army had issued an evacuation order despite the continuing ceasefire. Israeli warplanes “launched a series of heavy strikes … less than an hour after” the warning, the state-run National News Agency said.The US Treasury Office warned that any shipping companies that paid tolls to Iran for passage through the strait of Hormuz, including charitable donations to organisations such as the Iranian Red Crescent Society, would risk punitive sanctions. Tehran has proposed charging fees on vessels passing through the strait, as part of a deal to end the war.Trump wrote to US lawmakers on Friday declaring hostilities with Iran “terminated”, despite no change in the US military posture, as he faces continuing pressure at home to seek congressional authorisation for the war.The state department’s announcement on Friday included approving military sales to Qatar of Patriot air and missile defence replenishment services costing $4.01bn and of advanced precision kill weapon systems (APKWS) costing $992.4m. They also included approval of the sale to Kuwait of an integrated battle command system costing $2.5bn and to Israel of APKWS costing $992.4m.Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei urged his people to wage economic battle and “disappoint” its enemies, as the war and years of sanctions take a toll. In a written statement he also said “the owners of damaged businesses should avoid, as much as possible, layoffs and separation of their workforce”. Continue reading...
President seemed to suggest that legislative deadline to approve war no longer applies as Democrats push backUS politics live – latest updatesSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailDonald Trump said in a letter sent to congressional leaders on Friday that hostilities with Iran have “terminated”, suggesting that the 60-day deadline to seek approval from the legislative branch no longer applied.Friday marks 60 days since the US president notified members of Congress that the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on 28 February. Under the War Powers Act of 1973, the president can deploy troops to respond to an “imminent threat” but must receive congressional approval within 60 days to continue military operations. Continue reading...
Scott Jennings was questioned by Adam Mockler about political concessions gained by the US in its war on IranScott Jennings, CNN’s most prominent pro-Trump commentator, was triggered into swearing at a fellow panelist on live television on Thursday night after being repeatedly pressed to name a single political concession the US had extracted from its war with Iran – and failing to answer.The outburst came during NewsNight With Abby Phillip, where Jennings clashed with Adam Mockler, a 23-year-old commentator with the progressive MeidasTouch. When Mockler asked him to name a concrete gain from the conflict, Jennings responded with the party-line response that the conflict had a singular, clear purpose – preventing a theocratic regime from acquiring nuclear weapons – but Mockler shot back that the non-answer was itself an answer. Continue reading...
The US president has criticised Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and raised the prospect of pulling US troops from Italy and Spain. Plus, 10 big lessons on ending the fossil fuel eraGood morning.Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw US troops from Italy and Spain a day after he saying was looking at curtailing the number deployed in Germany.What has Congress been saying about the war? A senior Democrat in the Senate grilled the US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, on Thursday, accusing him of failing to give Trump an accurate picture of the war on Iran while resorting to “dangerously exaggerated” statements to create an inaccurate picture of a US military triumph.What’s the latest on the suspect? The man accused of attempting to assassinate Trump agreed on Thursday to remain in custody while his federal criminal case moves forward. Continue reading...
Pete Hegseth argued that a ceasefire agreement with Iran more than three weeks ago ‘means the 60 day clock pauses, or stops’Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxHello and welcome to our live coverage of the day.Today marks 60 days since the Trump administration notified Congress that it was carrying out strikes on Iran – meaning that under the War Powers Act of 1973, today is the deadline for Donald Trump to either end the Iran war or seek congressional authorization to extend it.Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor in Washington DC, released edited security-camera video of the incident at the White House correspondents’ dinner amid questions about whether or not the suspected gunman, Cole Allen, fired his weapon before being subdued. While the video shows four muzzles flashes from the agent’s gun as he fired at Allen, it was not immediately clear that it does show Allen discharging his weapon after he pointed it at the agent.Sean Curran, the director of the US Secret Service, told Fox News that Allen was stopped not by secret service gunfire, but by a box used to transport a metal detector, which he tripped over.Congress has passed a 45-day extension of section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a law that grants US intelligence agencies warrantless spying powers.Trump has threatened to withdraw troops from Spain and Italy, two countries that countries have been vocally critical of his war in the Middle East. This comes after Trump suggested reviewing US military presence in Germany after the country’s chancellor said America was being “humiliated” by Iran. Continue reading...
Islamabad has reportedly switched to lower-profile role but believes peace can make progress without face-to-face meetingsPakistan is passing proposals between Iran and the US to keep talks alive behind the scenes and inch towards a peace agreement, officials and experts say.Pakistani officials say that they are conscious of the fact that at stake is not only regional peace, but the health of the global economy and the livelihoods of millions of the poorest people in the world – including in Pakistan, whose monthly energy import bill has almost tripled as a result of the war. Continue reading...
• The Trump administration has announced 'Operation Economic Fury,' implementing a comprehensive blockade against Iran as part of an expanded sanctions campaign.
• The initiative represents a significant escalation in economic pressure against Iran, marking a shift in US foreign policy toward more aggressive measures.
• This action comes amid broader geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and follows months of diplomatic tension between the US and Iran.
Profits ahead of expectations but almost half of £283m impairment charge follows forecast reassessmentBusiness live – latest updatesNatWest said the economic fallout from the conflict in the Middle East could cost it £140m amid slowing growth and rising inflation even as it reported profits ahead of expectations.Overall, the FTSE 100 lender booked a £283m impairment charge and said that almost half of that was because of a reassessment of its economic forecast to “reflect increased geopolitical risk and weaker equity markets”. Continue reading...
