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Trump says Iran ‘will never have a nuclear weapon’ under new deal and warns Israel over Lebanon – Middle East crisis live | Iran
Donald Trump claims the strait of Hormuz will be open by Friday
Speaking at the G7, US president Donald Trump has said the strait of Hormuz will be open by Friday and that the full text of the peace deal will be released in a “formal setting”.
Trump also said he expects the “second stage” of the deal “to go quickly”.
He added that the main outcome from the MOU is that Iran will “never have a nucelar weapon” and that he will go over the deal with the media “in a couple of days”.
He earlier told reporters this morning that he had a “great relationship” with Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, but said he “has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon”.
“Without me there would be no Israel, because no other president was willing to do what I did,” he told reporters.
Key events
China’s top diplomat told his Pakistani counterpart on Tuesday that the next phase of negotiations between the United States and Iran – which Pakistan has helped mediate – will be “more difficult”.
In a phone conversation ahead of the planned signing on Friday of a US-Iran memorandum of understanding to end their war, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told Pakistan’s Ishaq Dar that “it is foreseeable that, compared with the first stage, the second stage of negotiations will be more difficult”.
Wang added that the United Nations Security Council “should also play a greater role” in supporting these talks, according to a statement from Beijing’s foreign ministry.
“The current consensus is far from the final destination, rather it is a new starting point,” Wang said.
“Achieving lasting peace in the Middle East and Gulf region still requires unremitting efforts from all parties,” Wang said, adding that China was willing to work with Pakistan to promote peace.
US-Iran deal to be signed in Burgenstock, Switzerland on Friday
A US-Iran deal aimed at ending the Middle East war will be signed at Switzerland’s mountainside Burgenstock resort on Friday, the Swiss foreign ministry confirmed to AFP.
The site, located near Lucerne in central Switzerland, is difficult to access and therefore easily secured. It “was proposed by the Pakistani and Qatari mediators, as well as by the US and Iran”, Switzerland’s foreign ministry said.
It had previously been reported that the signing would take place in Geneva.
An Iranian deputy foreign minister on Tuesday said the two-month US naval blockade on Iranian ports had been lifted ahead of the planned formal signing of a deal ending the war.
“The lifting of the blockade was something we had emphasised from the outset. It has now begun, and the blockade has been lifted prior to the formal signing” scheduled for Friday, said Iranian deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi, according to the government’s website.
Lucy Campbell
Yesterday’s bilateral talks between Donald Trump and French president Emmanuel Macron were “a bit tense”, a European Union official has told NBC News.
“Trump is being his usual self, nice sometimes and not so nice sometimes,” the official said, adding that the US president was dismissive of EU support following the Iran framework agreement – saying he didn’t need Europe’s help.
Trump and Macron are due to dine tomorrow at the Palace of Versailles. This was the “‘shiny’ object he needed to come to France”, the EU official said of Trump, but “whether this will keep him happy remains to be seen”.
Iran won’t sign final nuclear deal if Israel doesn’t withdraw from Lebanon, Hezbollah says
Hezbollah, the Iranian backed Lebanese militant group and political party, said it has received assurances from Iran that Tehran will not sign a final nuclear deal with the US unless Israel withdraws from Lebanon, Hezbollah’s media relations office has told the Reuters news agency.
Trump says he’d send Iran deal to Congress for review
Trump said that he would send the deal with Iran to the US Congress for a review. “I like the idea, send it to Congress please,” he said at the start of a meeting with the UAE president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of the G7 summit. “I mean who wouldn’t approve it.”
The absence of the details of the memorandum of understanding with Iran has led to bipartisan scrutiny on Capitol Hill about what the agreement might contain and how favourable the terms are to the US.
Republicans on Capitol Hill say they want Trump to provide more information, with some expressing skepticism that the deal can deter Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon. James Lankford, a Republican senator, said: “If you want a deal to last, it can’t be an executive agreement.” “We’ve got to have a vote of Congress to be able to solidify (it) long term.”
“I think it’s going to go pretty quickly,” Trump told reporters about the next phase of negotiations with Iran, stipulated with a 60-day deadline.
“Iran wants to get it done. They have to get back to business, and the relationship is now normalised, so I think it’s going to go pretty quickly,” Trump told reporters during his meeting with Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the United Arab Emirates, on the sidelines of the G7.
“Could go faster, could take longer too, but it could go fast.“
Donald Trump claims the strait of Hormuz will be open by Friday
Speaking at the G7, US president Donald Trump has said the strait of Hormuz will be open by Friday and that the full text of the peace deal will be released in a “formal setting”.
Trump also said he expects the “second stage” of the deal “to go quickly”.
He added that the main outcome from the MOU is that Iran will “never have a nucelar weapon” and that he will go over the deal with the media “in a couple of days”.
He earlier told reporters this morning that he had a “great relationship” with Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, but said he “has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon”.
“Without me there would be no Israel, because no other president was willing to do what I did,” he told reporters.
Iran state media says Iranian oil tankers resumed shipping after US deal
Iranian state television said that Iranian oil tankers and other vessels had resumed shipping following a deal with Washington, in what appeared to be an easing of a US naval blockade.
“Three Iranian oil tankers are currently sailing in the northern Indian Ocean, and two others carrying essential goods and livestock feed are en route and sailing towards southern ports,” said a state television reporter from a site in the strait of Hormuz.
He added that “the operation to lift the naval blockade has been implemented”, in reference to the US measure in place since April.
Here are some of the latest images being sent to us over the newswires from Lebanon, where some people displaced by the Israeli assault on the country are cautiously making their way home after news of the initial US-Iran deal:
Qatar, a key mediator between the US and Iran, said it believed the framework peace agreement could deliver security to the Middle East.
“We are cautiously optimistic that the signing of the memorandum of understanding will lead to the next phase of regional security through the talks that will take place on the nuclear programme and on other issues,” foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari told reporters in Doha, as he praised Pakistan’s mediation efforts.
“We are on the right track now towards regional security. Obviously, there are a lot of challenges coming ahead, but let’s take this as a moment to enjoy some optimism,” he said.
“We are talking about various issues: the strait of Hormuz, regional security and non-aggression, and good neighbourly relations between this region and Iran,” he added.
“We’re talking about, of course, the nuclear program but also other issues regarding proxies and missiles and other issues that have played prominent in the region for decades. These will not be resolved in mere days.”
According to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA), Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, and the country’s prime minister, Nawaf Salam, stressed the need for a permanent ceasefire in Lebanon, the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from territory in the south, the return of Lebanese prisoners and the deployment of the Lebanese army to “internationally recognised borders”.
Aoun and Salam described the US–Iran memorandum of understanding as a “positive step” toward de-escalation across the region.
Their meeting, at Baabda Palace, also focused on “preparations” for the next round of talks between Israel and Lebanon due to take place in Washington next week, according to the NNA. Hezbollah is not party to these negotiations.
The militant group, which has been funded and supported by Iran for decades, has welcomed the US-Iran agreement but warned that it would not accept any attacks that violated Lebanon’s sovereignty or targeted its people.
Trump says that Iran has “rational” leadership now because of the US-Israeli attacks on the country that killed senior Iranian figures. This is untrue because Iran’s powerful hardliners are now energised by a three-month confrontation they feel Tehran has won.
Despite his obvious irritation with Netanyahu, Trump said his relationship with the Israeli leader is a “very effective” one. He said their relationship is “unbelievable” – but made a point of saying that Israel would not exist without his support.
The US president said Lebanon has been “treated the worst” out of “all countries” as they “can’t defend themselves” and they are having to deal with Hezbollah, which he said is a “problem for them”.
Trump told reporters:
No, I am not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon and with Hezbollah. They should have been able to do the job faster. It just goes on forever and when that happens it throws a negative light on the big deal – and that is the deal with Iran.
Trump thinks Syria will do a ‘better job’ of ‘taking care of Hezbollah’ than Israel
In unusually frank remarks, Trump seems to acknowledge the fact that Israel has been killing many civilians in its attacks on Lebanon that it claims are only targeting Hezbollah. He told reporters:
Israel’s fighting Hezbollah too long and too many people are being killed. And you don’t have to knock down an apartment house every time you are looking for somebody, because there are a lot of people in those apartment houses and they are not all Hezbollah, that I can tell you.
And I suggested to Israel to let Syria take care of Hezbollah because to be honest with you I think they will do a better job of doing it.
Trump said he didn’t “like” that Israel attacked the Lebanese capital of Beirut – not the “southern side” – shortly before the deal with Iran was signed. “I let them know that. I didn’t like it – not at all,” Trump said.
“If Israel can’t do the job, without killing everyone else, he’ll do the job, Syria will do the job,’ Trump said, referring to Syrian president, Ahmed al Sharaa, whom he has good relations with.
During Syria’s civil war that broke out in 2011, Hezbollah sent thousands of fighters to help Bashar al-Assad stay in power. They remained until Sharaa’s Islamist rebel forces toppled the longtime ruler in December 2024. Sharaa is the former leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the rebel group that led the military operation to topple Assad.
Trump said Sharaa “is very good with Hezbollah” and “does not like them”. “He’s been very good for me. He’s protected everything that I have asked for,” he said, referring to Sharaa.
Netanyahu has to be ‘more responsible with respect to Lebanon’, Trump says
Trump also said he had a “great relationship” with Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, but said he “has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon”.
“Without me there would be no Israel, because no other president was willing to do what I did,” he told reporters.
Trump says he considers Israel’s war in Lebanon a ‘minor’ one
Donald Trump also said he considers Israel’s war on Lebanon a “minor” one and believes his deal with Iran can survive even if Israeli attacks continue.
“I consider that the minor war,” Trump said. “Iran’s the big one, but we have that little pinprick out there that constantly rears its head and that’s Hezbollah”.
Iran does not agree with Trump’s assessment as it is increasingly asserting that continued Israeli attacks in Lebanon will violate its agreement with the US, and has sought to characterise the US and Israel as one entity in this respect.
Iran ‘will never have a nuclear weapon’ and ‘all hell will rain down’ if it tries to get them, Trump says
In his comments to reporters, Donald Trump also warned that “all hell will rain down” on Iran if it tries to get a nuclear weapon.
“The only thing that really matters to me is Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, and it says it loud and clear,” he said, referring to the agreement with Tehran.
As my colleague Graham Russell notes in this useful explainer, Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is peaceful and has not publicly committed to giving up the enriched uranium, which is believed to be buried under three nuclear sites that were badly damaged by US strikes last year.
Trump faces significant political pressure to secure a better deal on this issue than the one he scuppered during his first term. He withdrew the US from a 2015 multilateral Iran deal, negotiated by Barack Obama, that lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for limits on its nuclear program, including international inspections.
Iran responded by ramping up its enrichment of uranium, producing more than 400kg of material at close to bomb-grade purity. The eventual fate of that uranium is likely to be a key negotiating point during the upcoming broader talks.
Trump says US-Iran deal going to a ‘second stage’
We have some comments from Donald Trump who has been speaking to reporters at the G7 summit.
According to the Reuters news agency, the US president said the deal with Iran was going to a “second stage” and said Washington was not investing any money in Iran as part of the agreement.
“We have our deal done with Iran, and it should be successful, it goes to a second stage, which I think would be actually easier,” he told journalists.
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.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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