Iran-US war latest: Trump says Strait of Hormuz will reopen this week as he announces peace deal with Tehran – The Independent

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Trump says Strait of Hormuz will reopen on Friday after deal is signed at summit in Switzerland
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The Strait of Hormuz will reopen “toll free”, Donald Trump said late on Sunday as he announced a deal with Iran to end the war.
“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” the US president said in a post on social media, adding: “I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade. Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!”
Brent crude futures fell four per cent in early trading on Monday while stock markets in Asia jumped, even as details remained unclear. The deal is understood to only be a framework agreement, with a memorandum of understanding set to be signed in Switzerland on Friday, paving the way for more in-depth talks.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the pact called for “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.” Iran’s National Security Council said that operations would end permanently starting on Monday night.
The fate of Iran’s nuclear program will be addressed in later talks, sources previously told Reuters.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations received a report on Monday that a container vessel was approached and fired upon by a small boat 14 nautical miles south off the coast of Yemen, with an attempted boarding.
Authorities are investigating, and vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO, it said.
Israel’s defense minister said Monday that Israel won’t withdraw from land seized in Lebanon as the interim deal between Iran and the United States is pending.
Israel Katz’s remarks were the first official Israeli comments after the announcement of the interim deal. The two sides plan to meet Friday in Geneva to sign it, Pakistan has said.
Katz said Israel plans to stay “indefinitely” in lands it holds in Lebanon, as well as Syria and the Gaza Strip. Iran has tied the interim deal over the war to halting Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
While the precise terms of the deal were not immediately known, Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said both the US and Iran had declared “the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon”.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Israeli attacks against Lebanon must be stopped completely, and that the US bears responsibility for implementing the deal on ending the war.
British Prime Minster Keir Starmer on Monday congratulated US President Donald Trump on securing a deal with Iran, saying it was vital now that all parties seized the opportunity.
The U.S. and Iran have agreed to a peace deal, bringing an end to months of fighting that has sparked devastation across the region and upended the global economy since the conflict began in late February, U.S. and Pakistani officials announced on Sunday.
The agreement, brokered after weeks of halting negotiations in Pakistan and then Qatar, will see a permanent ceasefire implemented as well as the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Both sides will now enter talks to iron out the details of the agreement and move forward on longer-term issues, including key questions such as uranium enrichment and sanctions.
Donald Trump is expected to arrive at a lakeside resort in France on Monday for a gathering with G7 leaders, after announcing a deal to end the Iran war.
Discussing next steps will be one of several issues the global leaders will wrestle with during the June 15-17 summit in Evian-les-Bains.
G7 leaders will be keen to learn the details of the US-Iran deal. A memorandum of understanding is scheduled to be officially signed on Friday in Switzerland but precise terms were not immediately known.
Trump is also due to meet with Middle Eastern leaders and attend a working session with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during the summit.
The Zelensky meeting on Tuesday comes at a time when Russian advances in Ukraine have slowed and Ukraine seeks more military funding from its allies.
Israel will not withdraw from territory it seized in Lebanon and if Iran attacks Israel due to events in Lebanon, Israel will retaliate, Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on Monday.
Donald Trump has made important concessions to Iran to recover the status quo that existed before the war, a former Biden administration official said as the US announced a deal to end the war.
Former State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told Reuters: “We have no assurances the nuclear program will ever be addressed, but Iran has shown the world it can take the global economy hostage and get something from the US in return.”
In a post on X he added: “We’re about to have a week of the Trump admin and the Iranians making conflicting claims about the deal to satisfy their respective hardliners, with both hoping no one will study the actual details if and when they emerge.”
An Indian crew member of a ship docked at an Omani port died from medical complications, reportedly after a delay in his evacuation.
The Forward Seamen’s Union of India claimed that Nishanth Uirthanathan, 35, from the southern state of Tamil Nadu died aboard the tanker MT Celestial while it was docked at Duqm Port.
The union said Uirthanathan died at around 6pm local time on 11 June after “falling seriously ill” three days earlier.
Donald Trump announced on Sunday that a long-anticipated deal to end the war with Iran was “complete”.
The announcement marks the biggest breakthrough towards resolving the conflict since the April ceasefire agreement.
Trump had insisted in the build up that a deal could be expected by Sunday – though renewed strikes threatened to derail the peace process.
The precise terms of the new deal were not immediately clear. And the ‘deal’ to end the war is still only a framework, with the memorandum of understanding to be officially signed in Switzerland on Friday.
Iran said that military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, would end permanently starting on midnight, paving the way for a more expansive agreement to be negotiated during a 60-day ceasefire period.
Donald Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would open on Friday and that he had ordered the end of the US blockade of Iranian ports. There are still around 500 merchant vessels trapped in the Gulf, and clearing the backlog could take weeks, experts say.
There was no immediate reaction to the announcement from Israel, which has said it was not party to the US-Iran talks. Israel has said it will retain freedom of operations in Lebanon, while Iran has made a full ceasefire there an important component of its demands.
The EU’s foreign policy chief said on Monday the deal between the US and Iran marks a ‘potential breakthrough’ in the conflict, and the bloc will now consider how it can be involved in the next phase.
Kaja Kallas said in a post on X: “From economic leverage to nuclear expertise and longstanding relationships with Gulf partners, the EU stands ready to contribute to a sustainable resolution.”
Her comments came ahead of a meeting of foreign affairs ministers from the 27 EU member states in Brussels.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said separately that the deal should allow for the ‘immediate reopening’ of the Strait of Hormuz.
“The priority now is its swift and full implementation by all parties,” von der Leyen said about the announced deal.
“Freedom of navigation must be restored toll-free. This is essential for regional stability and the global economy. It opens the door to broader negotiations on peace and security in the Middle East,” she added.
Von der Leyen also said that peace in the Middle East was impossible “while Lebanon is in flames.”
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