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Negotiations between the US and Iran in Switzerland were cancelled after clashes between Israel and Hezbollah – before a renewed ceasefire was announced in Lebanon
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Donald Trump rushed to defend his record on Iran on Friday after Iran’s supreme leader claimed he had forced through an agreement to end the war out of “desperation”, amid a pile on of criticism over the deal from Trump’s base.
“We didn’t meet out of desperation, Iran did,” the US president wrote on Truth Social. “They are FINISHED! We’ll play out the 60 days. They get no money, not ten cents!”
The president listed off damage inflicted on Iran’s military and lashed out at those doubting his effectiveness as “stupid”. Trump has faced criticism at home since unveiling an interim deal to end the war that includes an Iran recovery fund and sanctions relief.
That deal came under new pressure on Friday as anticipated talks between the US and Iran in Switzerland were abruptly called off, clouding prospects for a lasting truce as a major escalation in Lebanon threatened the tenuous agreement to end the war.
Insiders told the Financial Times that Iran did not send a delegation following a wave of deadly airstrikes across southern Lebanon overnight, before Israel and Hezbollah suddenly renewed their ceasefire late on Friday afternoon.
The family of a British couple held in Iran are urging Donald Trump to push for a hostage exchange as part of a deal to end the war.
Craig and Lindsay Foreman, from East Sussex, were sentenced to 10 years in Tehran’s Evin prison last year after Iran charged them with espionage during a motorcycle trip around the world. They deny the charges.
The couple have been on hunger strike for 39 and 30 days respectively, fearing “there is no other way to be heard” having effectively been stranded without legal representation, according to the family.
Israel’s foreign minister has hit out at comments made by Israel’s national security minister.
Itamar Ben-Gvir said on Friday that “all of Lebanon must burn” after the Israeli military said its soldiers were killed in an incident in Lebanon overnight, without giving further details.
“For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep. All of Lebanon must burn!” he wrote on social media, adding: “In the Middle East, you don’t win with measured responses and restraint – you need to go beserk. To obliterate.”
Responding on X, Abbas Araghchi wrote: “This is not a rant by a random genocidal lunatic. It’s a public post by the national security minister of the Israeli regime.”
A planned meeting between Iranian and US officials in Switzerland on Friday has been postponed, with arrangements underway for talks in the coming days, Iran’s foreign ministry said on Friday.
The ministry said the meeting was no longer urgent because a memorandum of understanding on ending the war had already been signed digitally between the two sides.
The ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, added that negotiations on a final agreement would depend on the start and continued implementation of specified terms outlined in the memorandum.
Following the announcement of a ceasefire in Lebanon, the Iranian foreign ministry said that plans were underway for a new meeting in the coming days.
They said the talks on a final agreement depend on the start and continued implementation of the terms laid out in the MoU.
Lebanon’s health ministry reports that Israeli strikes since midnight have killed 47 people and wounded 97.
Iran’s top negotiator says in a post on social media that if talks fail, Iran will not hesitate to deliver a ‘crushing response’.
“In the event of bad faith, breach of contract, and excessive demands by the opposing side, we have no hesitation in delivering a crushing response to the enemy,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf writes.
“They were once slapped during the war; if they wish to tread that path again, they will receive an even harder slap.”
Iran on Friday issued a radio broadcast to ships in the Strait of Hormuz threatening that the waterway “will remain closed” until Israel withdraws from Lebanon and other terms of the new agreement are met.
Two people familiar with the situation told the Financial Times that Iran fired warning shots at ships in the Strait.
An Israeli military spokesman says Israeli forces will stay in the ‘buffer zone’ as long as Israeli citizens are under Hezbollah threat.
Working at sea was a dream for 28-year-old Rex Pereira. But after witnessing the outbreak of the US-Iran war from the deck of his stranded ship in southern Iraq, he tells Maroosha Muzaffar he is a changed man:
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