“US Israel Iran War”

When details were leaked about the latest phone call between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, the headlines focused on the wave of profanities from the US president.

“What the f— are you doing?” shouted Mr Trump in reference to the Israeli prime minister’s continued bombing of Lebanon. “You’re f—ing crazy. You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me.”

It is strong stuff, revealing genuine anger, but it is not the first time an American president has lost his patience with the aggressive brinkmanship of Mr Netanyahu.

The US military has said it launched “self-defence” strikes on Iran overnight, and shot down ballistic missiles and drones fired at ships and Gulf countries.

The strikes on Qeshm Island, in the Strait of Hormuz, were “in response to attempted attacks by Iran across the Middle East”, US Central Command (Centcom) said.

Centcom said Iran had fired two missiles at Kuwait and three at Bahrain, all of which broke apart or were intercepted. Iran said it had attacked US bases and helicopters in a “regional country” using missiles and drones in retaliation.

The US has said it hit Iranian military sites over the weekend while Tehran said it responded by targeting a US base, marking the third escalation in a week around the Strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command (Centcom) said it launched “self-defence strikes” in response to “aggressive Iranian actions”, which included a US drone being shot down over international waters.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had targeted an air base used by US forces for an attack on Iran.

A shadowy new partnership appears to have formed between two of the most powerful figures in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Yet in the West it has been almost entirely overlooked.

It is no secret that the mainstream coverage of the Iran war has lacked nuance. But nowhere has this been clearer than in efforts to understand the regime’s internal power structure following the elimination of supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Many countries in the region, including Pakistan, seem to be urging and pushing the United States to stop its firm stance on Iran’s regime. They appear to prefer watered-down agreements and accepting Iran’s terms.

These countries clearly are acting in their own interests, not America’s. The Iranian regime, while having its proxies target their oil fields, has not, however, been nearly as much of a threat to them as it has been, for nearly half a century, to Israel and the United States.

US President Donald Trump had a meeting with top aides on Friday to make a “final determination” about a framework for extending the ceasefire with Iran, but it concluded without clarity on the next steps.

He said Iran must agree to never have a nuclear weapon or bomb, that the Strait of Hormuz be reopened for “unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions”, and that any mines in the waterway are “destroyed”.

The meeting was held in the White House’s Situation Room, used for dealing with major crises. Iran earlier said it was not negotiating on its nuclear programme – which it insists is wholly for civilian purposes.

Negotiators for the US and Iran have agreed a framework of a deal that would extend their ceasefire for 60 days and launch negotiations on the future of Iran’s nuclear programme, US officials say.

The agreement is yet to be approved by President Donald Trump or the leadership in Iran, the officials told the BBC.

But there were conflicting reports from Tehran, with Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency quoting a source close to talks who said it had not been finalised or confirmed.

We’ll see.

Once again, the US appears prepared to negotiate another agreement with Iran in the hope of limiting Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and reducing tensions in the Middle East. The negotiations are a dangerous illusion, based on the false assumption that compromise, sanctions relief, and engagement are the only path to regional stability.

There can be no “good” deal with a jihadist regime that openly sponsors terrorism across the Middle East, brutalizes its own people, calls for the destruction of Israel, and continues to chant “Death to America.”

US President Donald Trump has said he is “not satisfied” yet with the terms of the deal being negotiated with Iran.

He said Tehran was “very much intent” on reaching an agreement to end the conflict, but added “so far they haven’t gotten there”, repeating Washington’s willingness to resume strikes if one is not reached.

His remarks came after Iranian state TV reported what it said were details of a draft agreement, which included reopening the Strait of Hormuz and the withdrawal of US forces from the region.

Iran will sign a peace agreement with the United States only if $24bn (£17.8bn) worth of frozen assets are released.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Tehran’s chief negotiator, and Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, delivered the ultimatum during meetings with Qatari officials in Doha.

They insisted that the Islamic Republic would not proceed with any agreement until half the frozen assets – worth $12bn – are transferred when the memorandum of understanding is announced, with the remainder released over the following 60 days.

In Iran, trust is an invaluable currency. But it is in short supply.

For more than 100 days, the Islamic Republic – one of the world’s most militarised theocracies, a state built on the idea of unimpeachable authority – has been governed by a supreme leader no one has seen.

And now it is expected to do a deal with the United States.

But the system of government is fractured. Not everyone can be controlled, and hardliners within the parliament and military are doing their best to scupper any agreement.

Internet access has started to be restored in Iran after being cut off almost three months ago, the country’s first vice-president has said.

“The first step toward free and regulated access to cyberspace has been taken,” Mohammad Reza Aref wrote on X on Tuesday.

Internet monitoring groups Netblocks and Kentik reported “partial” restoration around 13:00 GMT, though the latter warned most networks were still down.