State Department distances itself, stressing policy rests with Trump and White House

Discussions on Gaza’s future must begin with a total halt to Israeli “aggression”, Palestinian movement Hamas said after US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace met for the first time.

President Donald Trump warned Iran on Thursday it must make a deal over its nuclear programme or “really bad things” will happen, and set a deadline of 10 to 15 days, drawing a threat from Tehran to retaliate against US bases in the region if attacked.

Images also show that Iran has buried tunnel entrances at a nuclear site bombed by the U.S. during Israel's 12-day war with Iran last year, fortified tunnel entrances near another, and has repaired missile bases struck in the conflict

Crescent moon sighting marks holy month’s commencement

Iran is ready to consider compromises to reach a nuclear deal with the United States if Washington is willing to discuss lifting sanctions, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the BBC in an interview published yesterday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi yesterday said he hoped talks with the United States would resume soon, while reiterating Tehran’s red lines and warning against any American attack.

The United Arab Emirates has drafted plans to build a compound to house thousands of displaced Palestinians in a part of south Gaza under Israeli military control, according to a map seen by Reuters and people briefed on the plans.

Iranian army chief Amir Hatami yesterday warned the United States and Israel against an attack, saying his country’s forces were on high alert following Washington’s heavy military deployments in the Gulf.

The world must scale up efforts to alleviate the human suffering in Gaza, building on the momentum from the ceasefire’s first phase, the head of the Red Cross said yesterday.

President Tayyip Erdogan told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian in a call yesterday that Turkey was ready to play a facilitator role between Iran and the United States to ease the tensions between the two sides, the Turkish presidency said.

So, what happens next, and can war be avoided?

Military intervention in Iran, where authorities launched a deadly crackdown on protesters that killed thousands, is not France’s preferred option, its armed forces minister said yesterday.

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were in Israel yesterday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mainly to discuss Gaza, two people briefed on the matter said, as local authorities reported further violence in the enclave.

The commander of US forces in the Middle East has called on Syria’s president to support the transfer of thousands of jihadist prisoners from Syria to Iraq, the US military said.

Iran may lift its internet blackout in a few days

Iran appears to be using executions “as a tool of state intimidation”, the United Nations said yesterday, as it denounced a jump in capital punishment globally in 2025.

At least 5,000 people have been killed in protests in Iran, including about 500 security personnel, an Iranian official in the region said yesterday, citing verified figures and accusing “terrorists and armed rioters” of killing “innocent Iranians”.

"The final toll is not expected to increase sharply," the official said

The son of Iran’s late shah said Friday he was confident that mass protests would topple the Islamic republic and urged international action, as US President Donald Trump holds off on intervening in the unrest.