Trump says 'no rush' on Iran deal as US blockade of Strait of Hormuz stays in place | LIVE BLOG
The US president tells negotiators to take their time as his administration plays down hopes of an imminent breakthrough in the three-month war and oil prices fall below $100 a barrel
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he had instructed his negotiators not to rush into any agreement with Iran, as his administration tempered expectations of an imminent breakthrough that had been raised a day earlier. The US naval blockade on Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz would "remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed," Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that "both sides must take their time and get it right."
The comments marked a notable cooling from Saturday, when Trump said Washington and Tehran had "largely negotiated" a memorandum of understanding that would reopen the strait. A senior administration official said no agreement would be signed Sunday, citing the slow pace of the Iranian system, while a second official said the proposed framework would give negotiators 60 days to reach a final deal.
The two sides remain divided on several difficult issues, including Iran's nuclear program, Israel's war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Tehran's demand for the lifting of sanctions and the release of tens of billions of dollars in frozen oil revenues. The emerging deal has drawn fire from across the US political spectrum, with hawkish Republicans and some Democrats arguing it offers little beyond the 2015 nuclear agreement that Trump withdrew from during his first term.
News of a possible agreement sent oil prices to two-week lows, with Brent crude falling more than 4 percent to $98.83 a barrel — its first dip below $100 in intraday trading since early May. READ MORE FROM SUNDAY
CBS: Iran's supreme leader holed up in undisclosed location, reachable only through 'labyrinth of couriers'
US intelligence shows that Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is effectively holed up in an undisclosed location with little access to the outside world and is reached only through "a labyrinth of couriers," according to a CBS News report citing US officials.
The officials said the Iranian negotiators authorized to work with the Trump administration have struggled to communicate within their own government, a central reason details of a potential deal have been slow to emerge. Even senior Iranian officials are reportedly unaware of Khamenei's whereabouts, with messages passed through couriers to obscure his location. READ MORE
IDF soldier killed, another severely wounded in an explosive suicide drone attack in southern Lebanon
Sergeant Nehoray Leizer, 19, from Eilat, a combat soldier in the 601st Combat Engineering Battalion of the 401st Brigade, was killed in combat in southern Lebanon, the IDF announced on Monday. The incident, which occurred Sunday afternoon, involved an explosive suicide drone.
An additional IDF soldier was severely wounded in the same incident. The soldier was evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment, and his family has been notified. READ MORE
Oil falls to a two-week low as the US and Iran are seen edging toward a peace deal
Oil prices fell to two-week lows in Monday trading on optimism that the United States and Iran were moving closer to a peace deal, even as the two sides remained divided on key issues and the US blockade continued to restrict supply through the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude futures fell 4.55 percent to $98.83 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate dropped 4.73 percent to $92.03 — both touching their lowest levels since May 7.
The decline followed Trump's weekend comments that a memorandum of understanding had been "largely negotiated," tempered by his Sunday remarks that he had told negotiators not to rush.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards say 33 vessels passed through Strait of Hormuz in past 24 hours, far below pre-war norm
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said 33 vessels had passed through the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours after receiving permission from Tehran — still far short of the roughly 140 ships that transited on a typical day before the war.
An Iranian military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei separately said Tehran had the legal right to manage the strait, though it was not clear whether that meant continuing to control which ships may pass.
The comments pointed to a potential stumbling block in negotiations over reopening the waterway, which carried one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the conflict.
🚨 Drone infiltration sirens activated in northern Israel