US-Iran deal awaits Trump nod; Gaza and Lebanon tensions escalate; Swiss attack injures three

In a significant diplomatic development the US and Iranian negotiators have reportedly reached a tentative 60day memorandum of understanding MoU aimed at extending a fragile ceasefire and paving the way for formal talks on Irans nuclear programmeAccording to an Axios report the agreement is awaiting approval from President Donald Trump and final confirmation from IranThe proposed MoU is intended to create a pathway for formal negotiations between the two countries to address the ongoing crisis in West Asia While officials on both sides indicated that most terms had been settled by Tuesday final approval from the top leadership remains pendingOne US official noted that President Trump had requested a few days to review the final draft before committing to the framework Axios reportedThe deal if finalised would mark the most significant diplomatic breakthrough since the conflict began on February 28However officials noted that a comprehensive agreement addressing Trumps nuclear demands would still require extensive negotiationsTrump reviews tentative USIran framework amid fresh military exchangesThis is an agreement to get everybody to the table We will work out the details in the negotiations one of the US officials said as reported by AxiosUS officials said most terms had been agreed upon by Tuesday but final approval from senior leadership on both sides was still pendingThey further claimed that Iranian officials later conveyed they had received the necessary approvals and were ready to sign although Tehran has not independently confirmed the claimThe US negotiators have briefed Trump on the final draft but he has not yet given his approval The president relayed to the mediators that he wants a couple of days to think about it the US official said as quoted by AxiosThe development comes amid fresh exchanges between the two sides CBS News reported that the United States US carried out strikes on Iran on Wednesday citing a US official who described the action as defensive and aimed at preserving a fragile ceasefire between Washington and TehranAccording to CBS News US forces shot down four Iranian drones and struck a ground control station in the port city of Bandar Abbas that was preparing to launch a fifth droneThe official added that despite the latest exchange the USIran ceasefire was still considered to be holdingIran launches retaliatory strikes as proposed MoU outlines nuclear curbsFollowing the strikes Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC launched earlymorning strikes at an American base However it did not share the name or provide specific details of the attackFollowing the predawn aggression today by the invading American army against a point on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas Airport using aerial projectiles the American airbase as the origin of the aggression was targeted at 450 am the IRGC said in a statementLater US Central Command CENTCOM confirmed that Iran launched the strikes toward Kuwait which were successfully intercepted by Kuwaiti forcesUnder the proposed MoU shipping through the Strait of Hormuz would remain unrestricted and Iran would be required to remove all mines from the strait within 30 days officials said according to AxiosThe agreement would also include a US naval deescalation to be implemented in proportion to the restoration of commercial shippingThe MoU reportedly includes an Iranian commitment not to pursue nuclear weapons and lays out that initial negotiations during the 60day period would focus on the disposal of Irans highly enriched uranium and limits on enrichment activitiesIn return the US would discuss sanctions relief and the release of frozen Iranian assets as part of the broader negotiations Axios reportedProposed USIran framework offers economic relief in exchange for nuclear commitmentsThe MoU would also explore mechanisms to facilitate humanitarian aid and the flow of goods into IranAccording to Axios citing a US official Iran could benefit economically from the dealThere are people in their system that understand that it is an opportunity to go in a different direction the official said adding We will find out during the 60day negotiations if thats the caseOfficials further clarified that there would be no side deals or hidden clauses regarding sanctions relief or financial transfersThe more the Iranians are willing to give the more they will get one official said as quoted by AxiosNetanyahu orders expanded Gaza controlIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he had ordered the countrys military to take control of 70 per cent of the Gaza Strip in defiance of the terms of a fragile ceasefire that took effect in OctoberWe are currently squeezing Hamas We now control 60 percent of the territory in the strip he said at a conference in an occupied West Bank settlement according to a video aired by Israels Channel 12 networkNetanyahu further stated that the military had controlled 50 per cent of Gaza under the terms of the ceasefire adding My directive is to move to 70 percent Were squeezing them from all sides Well deal with whats left afterwardsThe first phase of the truce saw the last hostages seized in Hamass October 7 2023 attacks on Israel released in exchange for Palestinians detained by Tel AvivThe transition to the second phase which was supposed to involve Hamass disarmament and a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli army has been stalled for monthsUnder the terms of the ceasefire Israeli forces were to pull back behind a socalled yellow line a demarcation between the area under Hamas control and that held by the Israeli armyResidents flee damaged Beirut building after reported Israeli airstrikeIsraels military said it launched an airstrike in the Beirut area on Thursday while a Lebanese source said an apartment was hit marking the second such strike since the April ceasefire announcementThe escalation comes as Lebanon and Israel prepare for talks between military delegations at the Pentagon on Friday and for USbrokered talks early next week the fourth round since the latest IsraelHezbollah war erupted on March 2After heavy strikes that Lebanese authorities said killed at least 14 people including three children Israels military said it precisely struck in Beirut without identifying the targetA Lebanese military source requesting anonymity told AFP that an Israeli strike targeted an apartment in the Choueifat areaAFPTV footage showed smoke rising from the area on the edge of Beiruts southern suburbs a Hezbollah strongholdAn AFP correspondent said the first two floors of a residential building were damaged and saw residents packing cars and leaving48 killed in Colombia jungle clashes amid renewed rebel violenceClashes between two dissident factions of the disbanded FARC guerrilla movement left 48 people dead in the Colombian Amazon a local mayor told AFP on Thursday days ahead of the May 31 presidential electionThe bodies are lying there in a heap they need to be evacuated Willy Rodriguez the mayor of the regional capital San Jose del Guaviare situated six hours from the scene of the fighting told AFP over phoneColombia has been rocked by the worst wave of violence since FARC laid down arms in 2016 after half a century of war with the governmentVarious smaller guerrilla factions are vying for control of jungle territory once controlled by the rebel army as well as revenues from drug trafficking and illegal miningThe mayor said the fighting took place in the hamlet of Vereda Piripal and that the community itself provided the provisional death tollAn army source told AFP that the fighting in a historic FARC stronghold began on MondayThree injured in Swiss train station knife attack authorities call it terror actA knife attack by a man reportedly shouting Allahu akbar that wounded three people at a Swiss train station on Thursday was a terrorist act a regional security official saidI am exceptionally calling this a terrorist attack Mario Fehr in charge of security in the Swiss canton of Zurich told reporters while police commander Marius Weyermann said it was clear from the scene that the motive for this act must be sought in the realm of radicalisation and extremismItaly issues red alert for Rome as Europe faces extreme earlysummer heatwaveItaly issued a red alert warning for the capital Rome on Thursday while Portugal and France reported their hottest May days as Europe struggled with a heatwave that has smashed temperature records across the continentBritain and France have already reported their hottestever May days this week as a heat dome brought sweltering temperatures usually unseen until high summer to western EuropeSeveral people have died in both Britain and France mostly in drowning accidents that authorities have linked to the intense heat while Portugals Health Minister Ana Paula Martins said the heatwave had caused a spike in hospitalisationsThe temperature peaked at 403 degrees Celsius in Portugals central town of Mora on Wednesday surpassing the previous record of 40 degrees Celsius set in May 2001 the meteorological agency said on Thursday warning that the heatwave had a high likelihood of lasting into early JuneItaly has so far been spared the highest temperatures but officials on Thursday warned people in Rome and four northern cities to stay out of the sunWere sweating a lot said Spanish tourist Nana Martinez Garcia trying to stay cool outside Romes Colosseum on Thursday as temperatures touched 32 degrees CelsiusWith ANI and AFP inputs