The latest developments in the Middle East war:
Iran’s central military command said it would resume “strict management” of the Strait of Hormuz, reversing a decision to unblock the strategic channel as part of negotiations with Washington.
In a statement shared on state television, the headquarters said Washington had broken a promise by continuing its naval blockade of ships sailing to and from Iran’s ports.
Turkey’s foreign minister accused Israel of using security as a pretext to acquire “more land”.
“Israel is not after its own security. Israel is after more land. Security is being used by the Netanyahu government as an excuse to occupy more land,” Hakan Fidan told the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Pakistan’s powerful military chief and prime minister concluded separate visits aimed at ending the Iran war, with Field Marshal Asim Munir leaving Tehran and premier Shehbaz Sharif headed home from Turkey.
Munir met Iran’s top leadership and peace negotiators during a three-day visit to Tehran, a Pakistani military statement said.
A second round of talks between the United States and Iran is expected in Islamabad this coming week.
Iran partially reopened its airspace on Saturday to international flights crossing the eastern part of its territory.
“Air routes in the eastern section of the country’s airspace are open for international flights transiting through Iran,” the country’s Civil Aviation Authority said, adding that some airports had also reopened at 7:00 am (0330 GMT).
President Donald Trump said late Friday he planned to maintain a US blockade of Iranian ports if a peace deal with Tehran is not reached, adding that he may not extend the ceasefire after its expiration.
A ceasefire between Tehran and Washington is due to expire on Wednesday.
“Maybe I won’t extend it, but the blockade is going to remain,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, when asked if the ceasefire will be extended.
Asked about a potential deal, Trump said, “I think it’s going to happen.”
President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States and Iran would jointly remove uranium from Tehran’s nuclear sites with excavators under any peace deal, before the material is transferred to US territory.
Trump’s comment came despite Iran’s foreign ministry saying earlier that the Islamic Republic’s stockpile of enriched uranium would not be transferred “anywhere.”
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said that his country was on the verge of a “new phase” of “permanent agreements” and no longer an “arena” for anyone’s wars, after a ceasefire in with Israel-Hezbollah war went into force.
Aoun added that direct talks with Israel were “not a sign of weakness nor a concession... negotiations do not mean, and will never mean, giving up any right, conceding any principle, or compromising the sovereignty of this nation”.
Drone and rocket strikes in Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region killed three Iranian Kurds, including two women fighters, an exiled opposition group said, blaming the attack on Iran.
US President Donald Trump told AFP there were “no sticking points” left for a peace deal with Iran, adding that an agreement was “very close”.
“We’re very close to having a deal,” Trump said in a brief telephone interview. Asked what unresolved issues were left, Trump said: “No sticking points.”
The Middle East war has so far boosted Boeing’s defence business and hasn’t affected deliveries to airline customers confronting high jet fuel prices, the company’s CEO said.
Kelly Ortberg cited a recent agreement with the US military to triple production of PAC-3 seekers, which identify and strike hostile aircraft and weapons, as an example of increased demand due to the war.
Lebanese state media said an Israeli strike on a motorcycle in the south killed one person, despite the start of a 10-day ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war.
burs-ach/cw
