Iran-US war live: Trump calls off strikes as ‘final points’ of peace deal agreed – but Tehran says otherwise

Israeli and Palestinian civil society groups will meet in France today ⁠to urge the international community not to abandon a two-state solution, as Paris seeks to keep the issue alive amid the Middle East war.

The meeting, attended by foreign ministers and senior officials from dozens of countries, marks one year since the UN-backed New York Declaration, which set out a roadmap toward Palestinian statehood and prompted around a dozen ⁠countries, including France, Britain and Canada, to recognise a Palestinian ​state.

“Given ⁠the current situation in the region, marked by seemingly endless conflicts, too many civilian casualties and a cycle of violence, and in light of the stalled implementation of the Gaza ceasefire … ⁠we believe this conference is now more essential and urgent than ever,” a French foreign ministry spokesperson said.

Leaders from Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan called Donald Trump after the US president threatened to hit Iran “very hard tonight” and urged him to hold off strikes, Politico reported.

Trump said he “cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening”, adding that “discussions and final points” have been “approved by all parties involved” regarding the peace deal.

He later told reporters that a deal could be signed as soon as this weekend.

Iranian forces ​prevented a tanker from transiting the Strait of Hormuz without coordination with the Iranian authorities, state media reported this morning.

Iranian media earlier ⁠reported sounds of explosions near Bandar Abbas, but state news agency IRNA later said no explosions had been reported in the port city and ⁠that any sounds could have ​been ⁠related to military activity in maritime areas.

Iran’s top joint military command announced ⁠yesterday the closure of the Strait of ​Hormuz, ⁠including oil tankers ‌and commercial ships, saying any vessel that will attempt passage will be shot at.

Iranian media ‌also reported explosion sounds off ‌the coast of Sirik.

A military source told state media that the sounds heard near Sirik were linked to ⁠Iranian forces confronting an oil tanker attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

The tanker later complied with the ban on transit after receiving warnings from the IRGC Navy, the source said.

A lawsuit has been filed against Fifa over its ban on supporters bringing the Lion and the Sun pre-revolutionary Iranian flag into the World Cup games.

The Institute for Voices of Liberty submitted a lawsuit to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, which claimed that those who wished to fly the flag possess “protected symbolic and political speech” which requires “immediate judicial intervention”, according to The New York Times.

The California-based non-profit is calling for a declaration that a ban is unlawful in California and that supporters should be allowed to carry the old flag, and demanded Fifa pay compensatory damages for any individual banned for possession of the flag.

The pre-revolutionary Iran flag is associated with the country’s previous Shah-led regime.

Oil prices slumped to two-month lows on the news of an agreement before trimming some of the ​losses.Brent dropped 1.1 per cent at $89.40 ​per barrel, having fallen nearly 3 per cent overnight.

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were last down 1.2 per cent to $86.69 a barrel, on top of a 2.6 per cent drop overnight.

Donald Trump has claimed an initial agreement aimed at ending the war with Iran is close and claimed that Iran has agreed not to buy nuclear weapons.

Speaking during a call with supporters, the US president said: “The big thing is there will be no nuclear weapons in Iran. That means not developed and not purchased.”

“They had a clause they won’t develop. I said, ‘What about purchasing?’ They said, ‘Well, we didn’t cover that.’ So, two days later, they agreed to that. We got everything we wanted,” he said.

US forces shot down ⁠two Iranian one-way attack drones as Tehran ⁠appeared ​to ⁠attempt to strike ⁠commercial ships ​transiting the ⁠Strait ‌of Hormuz, a US official ‌told Reuters.

“Traffic flow through the strait ‌continues,” the ​official said, ‌speaking on ⁠condition ⁠of anonymity.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that a finalised peace deal with Iran could be signed as soon as this weekend in Europe, but traders aren’t convinced an agreement, at least a permanent one, will be reached so soon.

As of early Friday morning, traders on the prediction market Polymarket believe there’s just a 16 percent chance that the US and Iran will reach a permanent peace deal by Monday.

The latest strikes between the US and Iran represent a new limbo period where both sides are neither obeying a ceasefire nor fully fighting, experts have warned, as each side carries out symbolic strikes aimed at pressuring their opponent into making concessions.

Tehran and Washington’s latest escalation is “carefully choreographed” and part of a “diplomatic dance” between Tehran and Washington, analysts say. But the longer it goes on, the higher the risk it could develop into a new round of conflict.