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Middle East crisis live: Iran says no final peace agreement reached, after Trump claims deal could be signed soon | US-Israel war on Iran
Key events
US and Iran preparing for potential agreement ahead of G7, reports say
There’s been a flurry of reports in the US media of a potential signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding in Geneva, Switzerland. Axios, CNN and Bloomberg have cited sources saying the signing ceremony may happen ahead of the G7 summit that begins in France on Monday
Reports say the delegations of the world’s largest economic powers are expected to land at Geneva airport for the summit in Evian-les-Bains, near the Swiss border.
The Israeli military said it struck 310 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon in the past week, as it claimed to have killed “80 terrorists”.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also revealed it conducted a raid in the southern Lebanese village Dibbine several weeks ago. The village is located north of the IDF’s so-called “yellow line” (an area carved out and occupied by the military) and is about 12km (7.4 miles) from the Israeli border. The IDF said its troops located “significant” weapon depots during the raid.
Donald Trump has claimed that the US has been conducting a “secret mission” in the strait of Hormuz to help Gulf petrostates bypass Iran’s chokehold on oil flows – which has roiled global energy markets for months.
The US president claimed Iran was unaware that dozens of tankers had been escorted out of the blockaded channel at night with their transmitters off.
He wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform that 200 vessels had got out this way, transporting more than 100m barrels of oil to global buyers.
So what is actually going on? Jillian Ambrose and Joanna Partridge explains here:
US-Iran memorandum of understanding includes end to war in Lebanon – report
Taz Ali
Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency has published a list of terms that are reportedly in the draft memorandum of understanding with the US. It cites a source close to the Iranian negotiating team, but the details have not been confirmed publicly by either Tehran or Washington. The report says the text is yet to be finalised by the Iranian leadership.
According to the report, the draft includes 14 points:
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Permanent and immediate cessation of war on all fronts, including Lebanon.
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The US’s “commitment to non-interference in Iran’s internal affairs” and respect for its sovereignty.
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Lifting of US naval blockade within 30 days.
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Withdrawal of US forces from around Iran.
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Reopening the strait of Hormuz within 30 days “with Iranian arrangements”.
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Suspension of US sanctions on Iranian oil.
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US and allies to draw up reconstruction plans for Iran “worth at least $300bn”.
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Sixty days of negotiations to reach a final agreement “based on nuclear issues and the complete lifting of” sanctions.
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Reiterating Iran’s commitment not to produce nuclear weapons.
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During the negotiations, the US will not increase its forces in the region or impose new sanctions.
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Release $24bn in blocked Iranian funds.
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Establishing a monitoring mechanism to implement the agreement.
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Final agreement to be approved by a UN security council resolution.
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The final negotiations will not begin before the release of half of Iran’s frozen funds, the suspension of oil sanctions and the lifting of the naval blockade. “Discussions about Iran’s missile programme and support for resistance groups have been definitively removed from the agenda.”
Israel has previously said it would continue its ground operation in southern Lebanon despite a ceasefire agreed in April which has all but collapsed. The Israeli military has taken over swathes of the country as it attempts to dismantle Hezbollah, Iran’s most powerful armed proxy in the region. Reports on the ongoing discussions to end the war suggest a potential deal between the US and Iran hinges on what happens with Israel’s war in Lebanon, with Hezbollah demanding the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the country.
American news outlet Axios reported that four US air force planes departed for Europe to prepare for a possible signing ceremony between the US and Iran on a deal to end the war.
The planes are reportedly heading to Geneva where US vice-president JD Vance is expected to sign on Washington’s behalf, according to Axios, citing sources familiar with the preparations.
While Donald Trump claimed a deal could be signed as soon as this weekend, Iran said it has not yet made a final decision.
Summary: Iran contradicts Trump claim to be on verge of peace deal
Hello 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.
The deal, if confirmed, would be the most significant diplomatic breakthrough yet to end the three-month-old war, which has killed thousands and sent global energy prices sharply higher. But Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, has said that while large parts of the text under negotiation have been finalised, “a final conclusion” has not been reached.
“This is a very important issue that is currently being reviewed by the relevant decision-making bodies,” Baghaei said, adding that Tehran would not compromise on its red lines.
Trump told reporters at the White House: “We just made a great settlement of the war with Iran.
“The strait will officially open as soon as we sign, which could be soon, very soon, maybe over the weekend in Europe,” he said, adding that vice-president JD Vance could sign for the US.
Since mid-March, Trump has repeatedly claimed a deal with Iran to end the war was close, but no agreement has materialised.
In other key developments:
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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.”
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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.
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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.”
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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.
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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”.
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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%.
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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.
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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.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
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