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Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff will discuss the state of negotiations with mediators
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Tehran has said its negotiators will not sit down for peace talks with the US until all the points in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) have been upheld.
Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have arrived in Qatar to meet mediators, but Iran has insisted no direct talks are on the table.
“There is no high level meeting between the US and Iran planned,” Qatar said on Tuesday, in another sign that the peace process was stalling.
The MoU is made up of 14 points, including the safe reopening of the Strait of Hormuz for 60 days and the US terminating any sanctions against Iran.
Speaking on Tuesday, Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said any current meetings are being held with the intention of seeing MoU commitments met, and warned safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz has only been agreed for 60 days.
Iran and the US had traded attacks in the Gulf in recent days as each accused the other of violating an interim deal signed less than two weeks ago to end their four-month war.
US member of congress Rashida Tlaib has said that she will vote for an amendment in the House to block $3.3bn in military funding for Israel.
The Palestinian-American lawmaker said: “We should not spend another cent arming a military that is committing genocide in Palestine, ethnically cleansing Lebanon, and committing war crimes in Iran.”
“A majority of Americans and a supermajority of Democrats support ending military aid to Israel. It’s time their representatives listened,” she wrote on X.
Amirhossein Miresmaeili hears from unimpressed protestors within Iran who feel betrayed by Donald Trump’s promises of regime change.
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A police officer was killed as gunmen opened fire in Sib and Suran county in Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province, the provincial police information centre said this morning.
Mohammad Palangi, a Sunni Baluch officer, was on his way to work when he was shot at, the authorities said.
Football fan and founder of Palestine’s first national team for people of short stature, Haitham Al-Saqqa describes the danger of watching matches in the enclave, Maira Butt reports.
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Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has claimed that Tehran has been unable to sell any oil during the US blockade on its ports.
“From the day the blockade was lifted until today, we have exported more than 40 million barrels of oil,” he told state TV.
“By contrast, during the previous 50 to nearly 60 days, we were genuinely unable to export even a single barrel of oil,” he added.
Ghalibaf added that Iran was prioritising diplomacy with the US, but remained prepared to go to war should Trump attack again.
“We are pursuing dialogue, but if the dialogue is not implemented, we are also prepared for war and will respond accordingly,” he said.
South Korean cargo vessel Namu is set to leave the Strait of Hormuz by mid-July following repairs for damage sustained in a May attack.
Seoul had initially pointed to an Iranian anti-ship missile as the likely cause for the damage, although responsibility for the incident was still to be officially determined.
The hull of the bulk carrier, operated by HMM, was struck near the stern. Following the incident, Seoul stated on 27 May that an Iranian anti-ship missile was the probable cause, leading to the summoning of Iran’s ambassador to share investigation findings and lodge a formal protest.
More here.
Israeli pime minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday visited Lebanese territory occupied by the Israeli military and told soldiers that Israel would not withdraw from the country’s south as long as Iran-backed Hezbollah continued to pose a threat.
It was the first visit by Netanyahu to occupied Lebanese territory since the Israeli and Lebanese governments reached a security agreement last Friday, mediated by the US, under which Israel will hand over two areas to Lebanon’s army.
“Our insistence is that we will not leave southern Lebanon until the threat is removed,” Netanyahu told troops, according to a statement released by his office, referring to Hezbollah.
“And as long as Hezbollah remains here, armed and threatening us, we will remain here as well,” he said.
Netanyahu, who last publicly visited occupied Lebanese territory in April, was joined by defence minister Israel Katz and senior military officials.
Oil prices rose in early trade this morning as investors responded to news that Iran will not be meeting with US envoys, a further strain on the interim ceasefire agreed between the two in the four-month-long war.
Brent futures rose 50 cents or 0.69 per cent to $73.45 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 63 cents, or 0.91 per cent, to $70.13 a barrel.
Brent fell by around $45 a barrel between the first and second quarters of this year, its largest quarterly loss since 2008 during the financial crisis.
US crude futures meanwhile fell by around $31, their largest quarterly loss since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic crushed global oil demand.
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