CNN: US envoy Steve Witkoff is traveling to Switzerland for technical talks with Iran, a US official said, with President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner also expected to join. Meanwhile, mediator Pakistan’s interior minister has arrived in Iran for talks with senior Iranian officials as part of efforts to encourage them to Switzerland.
In Lebanon: At least 16 people have been killed in renewed Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon, which Lebanon’s army said were aimed at obstructing efforts to restore stability. A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was renewed just yesterday…
Chaotic run-up to U.S.-Iran talks signals steep hurdles ahead
Neither Washington nor Tehran wants the peace process to collapse completely, but diplomats say they expect a process full of challenges and distrust…
U.S., Qatar Work to Give Iran Access to Billions of Dollars in Frozen Cash
The plan, which isn’t yet completed, is aimed at giving Iran access to the spending power of some of its estimated $100 billion in cash frozen worldwide, beginning with $6 billion held in Qatar. Under the deal, Qatar would allow purchases of food, medicine and other humanitarian goods ordered by Iran’s central bank with money drawn from frozen Iranian assets, mainly cash from oil sales that has been locked up overseas by sanctions, the people said…
U.S. intelligence warns Israel is likely to undermine Iran peace deal, officials say
The new U.S. intelligence report concludes that in the face of national elections this fall, Netanyahu’s political survival is linked to showing his domestic audience that he will not withdraw troops from Lebanon and that he is intent on escalating the fighting with Hezbollah, said one U.S. official familiar with the report. The official, like others interviewed, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity…
Trump’s Iran Deal Is Off to a Chaotic Start
The preliminary agreement, not yet a week old, has sown confusion: nixed Swiss signing ceremonies, rifts with Israel and Congress, and uncertainty over new talks…
Lebanon Emerges as Weak Link in U.S.-Iran Deal to End War
“Iran’s new leadership views Lebanon as part and parcel of its own national security, as previous Israeli advances against Hezbollah in 2024 paved the way for a direct conflict with Iran,” said Mohanad Hage Ali, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. “For Iran, the end game is an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.”…
Iranian Guards’ business empire to win big if U.S. sanctions lifted
Four senior Iranian sources described how the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was uniquely placed to capture a big chunk of any financial rewards that would accrue from sanctions relief, renewed oil exports and foreign investment.
Their central role may also prove to be one of the many obstacles to a deal: with the Guards so firmly enmeshed in Iranian business, their terrorism designation could significantly complicate efforts to free the economy from sanctions…
Israel’s Iran Deal Fears Are Much More Than a ‘Freakout’
Israel is having a “freakout” over JD Vance’s Memorandum of Understanding with Iran, which feels like a betrayal and has forced them to confront a brutal dilemma.
The MOU achieves none of the aims that the US or Israel had when they went to war, while offering substantial financial concessions to Iran, and includes Lebanon in the ceasefire.
The fate of the ceasefire, and possibly the US midterm elections and Vance’s own presidential ambitions, is in the hands of Israel, and it isn’t yet clear what path Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will take…
Inside Trump’s mad dash to sign an agreement with Iran
“There was broad acknowledgement that if this went on, it was going to get even worse,” said one source familiar with the talks…