Trump Claims

Keith Sonderling, acting head of the agency, threatens to withhold administrative funds from states for first time in historyKeith Sonderling sent letters to 53 states and US territories demanding action to “combat waste, fraud, and abuse” within the unemployment insurance program, threatening to withhold administrative funds from states for the first time history.“We are officially putting governors on notice,” said the acting US secretary of labor. “The American people will no longer tolerate the blatant waste, fraud, and abuse of their hard-earned tax dollars – no state should allow it either. If states allow it, they will suffer the consequences. This department is no longer afraid to use every lever available to ensure taxpayer money is protected.” Continue reading...

The US president says Iran will not obtain nuclear weapons, ‘which is what it was all about’. Plus, how AI could help botanists combat the extinction risk to rare plantsGood morning. Donald Trump has declared the strait of Hormuz will be “completely open” from Friday. “The deal’s all signed. And the strait ⁠is already partially opened,” the US president said as he arrived at the G7 summit in France.“I think a lot of great things are going to happen in the Middle East. And very importantly, the oil is plummeting down and the stock market is shooting up like a rocket today,” Trump said. “The main thing is that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. They fully agreed to that with strong policing powers, and they won’t have a nuclear weapon, which is what it was all about.”What is the reaction in Israel? Analysts have pointed out that none of Benjamin Netanyahu’s promises at the beginning of the war – regime change in Tehran and the destruction of Iran’s nuclear programme – have been fulfilled. The Israeli prime minister did not denounce the deal, but distanced himself from the negotiations and said Israel would not leave the territory it was occupying in Lebanon.What else is on the agenda at the G7 summit? The G7 will seek to shore up waning US support for Ukraine, with the UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, vowing to “choke off” Russian revenue with further sanctions and provide hundreds of millions of pounds’ worth of energy support for Ukraine.What do experts say may have caused the crash? Jeff Guzzetti, an aviation safety expert, suspected a flight-control malfunction caused the crash, given how quickly the plane went down after takeoff. He noted that testing new equipment on a 70-year-old aircraft inherently heightened risks. “I think it was definitely a controllability issue,” he said. Continue reading...

US president dismissed Iranian media reports agreement was close, despite earlier suggesting a deal could be signed this weekendMiddle East crisis – live updatesProspects for an immediate end to the war between Iran and the US remained uncertain on Friday amid a chaotic series of conflicting claims and counter-claims by US and Iranian officials about ongoing negotiationsDonald Trump seemed to distance himself from his earlier comments that suggested a preliminary agreement could be signed as soon as this weekend, with a series of angry social media posts describing the Iranians as “very dishonorable people to deal with”. Continue reading...

Brent crude falls as optimism rises strait of Hormuz could reopen over the weekendBusiness live – latest updatesGlobal oil prices fell on Friday to lows not seen since the first week of the Iran crisis after Donald Trump claimed he was close to reaching a peace deal with Tehran.The price of Brent crude began to tumble from about $93 a barrel in overnight trade after the US president called off further military strikes against Iran which were scheduled for the evening. Continue reading...

US president says ‘great settlement’ reached but Iranian spokesman says there has been no final conclusionFull report: Trump claims US and Iran on verge of signing peace agreementHello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East.Iran’s foreign ministry has contradicted claims from Donald Trump that a peace deal between Washington and Tehran could be signed as soon as this weekend.Trump said he was cancelling a third day of US airstrikes and bombings that he had earlier said would happen because “discussions” with Iran “have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved”. He also said on social media: “Discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved, including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and others.”Israel, however, said it was “not a party to” what prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office described as an emerging memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran. But the office said Netanyahu had spoken with Trump and that the final agreement at the conclusion of negotiations would include the removal of enriched material, the dismantling of enrichment infrastructure, limits on missile production, and the cessation of Iran’s support for its terrorist proxies in the region – measures that have been red lines for Iran in the past.The strait of Hormuz would open “as soon as we sign” the documents of the “great settlement” reached with Iran, Trump said. “The whole Middle East is happy.”Iranian media said the country’s forces had stopped a “violating tanker” from entering the strait of Hormuz. The report from the Fars news agency – closely linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards – came shortly after the sound of explosions were reportedly heard near the port city of Bandar Abbas.Trump had earlier posted on social media that the US would seize Iran’s Kharg Island “in the not too distant future”, but later said the seizure would be off the table “if we sign this agreement”.The price of oil rose after Trump threatened a “very hard” attack on Iran, but plunged hours later after he said he was cancelling the strikes. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 1.9% to $86.08 a barrel, on top of a 2.6% drop overnight, and Brent dropped 1.5% to $89.08 a barrel, having fallen nearly 3% overnight. Asian stocks joined a global rally, with South Korea’s Kospi surging 7.4% and Japan’s Nikkei up 2.7%.A strike wounded 10 staff members of a hospital in the Lebanese city of Tyre on Thursday, the facility’s director told the AFP news agency, as Israeli raids continued in the country’s south. All three of the historic city’s hospitals have been hit since the start of the latest war between Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and Israel in early March.India’s government voiced a “strong protest” after three Indian seafarers were killed in US military strikes against oil tankers travelling through the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...

• Former President Donald Trump claimed that Iran shot down a helicopter on June 9, 2026, and vowed that the United States would "respond" to the incident. • The claim comes amid escalating tensions involving a broader US-Israel military conflict against Iran and ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon. • This escalation signifies a critical spike in regional instability, potentially leading to direct military confrontations between major global powers and Middle Eastern states.

National average gas price stands at about $4.16 per gallon as Americans grapple with price hikes sparked by the warDonald Trump has claimed US fuel prices are “not very high, relatively speaking” as his administration grapples with affordability concerns after the surge in costs sparked by his war on Iran.The national average gas price stood at about $4.16 per gallon on Tuesday, according to AAA – $0.37 lower than a month ago, but still about $1 more expensive than the same time last year. Continue reading...