Latest Updates on West Asia Conflict

Pakistan says US-Iran peace deal signing expected within 24 hours

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says final text has been reached; technical-level talks are expected next week

US and Iran have agreed on wording of peace deal to end war: Pakistan PM

Pakistan's prime minister said Friday the United States and Iran have agreed to wording of an agreement aimed at ending their war in the Middle East and that mediators were working with both sides to finalize a deal. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the U.S. and Iran have reached a "final, agreed upon text." He said Pakistan, which has taken the lead in mediation efforts, was working with the warring countries on next steps. "Peace has never been this close as it is now," Sharif said in a post on X. The apparent breakthrough in negotiations comes after Iran exchanged fire with the U.S. and Israel over three days this week, threatening to return the Middle East to full-scale war. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday an agreement "has never been closer" in a post on X. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said multiple times in recent weeks the countries are on the cusp of a deal, shared Araghchi's post on his own social media. The war launched by the U.S. and Israe

UAE to unlock billions for Iran as war de-escalation talks advance

In the past month, the UAE, which was heavily targeted by Iran at the height of the war, has been spared fresh strikes, while Iran has trained its missiles and drones on Kuwait and Bahrain

India prepares to send oil tankers via Hormuz for new supply as war eases

State-owned Shipping Corp. of India is ready to go back to the Persian Gulf once it has approval from the Indian Navy and it has business from oil refiners

'Crew of MT Liaki Freedom safe': MEA dismisses reports of fresh strike

Clarification by the Ministry of External Affairs comes shortly after it was falsely reported that several media outlets that Indians had been killed in an overnight attack on the vessel Liaki Freedom

Jaishankar raises strong protest with Rubio over deaths of Indian seafarers

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and lodged a strong protest over the attacks by the US Navy in the Gulf that killed three Indian mariners. "Such lethal actions against commercial shipping are not justified," Jaishankar said in a post on X about his talks with Rubio. Three vessels with Indian crew came under attack off the Oman coast this week. One of them resulted in the death of three Indian seafarers on Wednesday. "Spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio this evening. I reiterated India's strong protest at the attacks by the US Navy in the Gulf that killed three Indian mariners," Jaishankar said. India summoned the Charge d'Affaires of the US Embassy in New Delhi to lodge its protest on the matter. Earlier, US President Donald Trump accused Iran of carrying out drone attacks against Indian ships leaving the Strait of Hormuz, saying it was "totally unacceptable." "Their (Iran's) totally rebuffed Drone attack last night against

Downed Iranian drones targeting ships in Strait of Hormuz: US Navy

The US Navy said it has downed multiple one-way attack drones launched by Iran to target commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. "Iran launched multiple one-way attack drones in an attempt to strike commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz," the US Central Command said in a post on X late Friday evening. It said US forces downed all of them in recent hours, and traffic flow through the strait continues unimpeded. "The international trade corridor remains open for transit," the CentCom said. The CentCom said US forces continue to strictly enforce a blockade against Iran, redirecting 139 compliant commercial ships and disabling nine non-compliant ships. In the past week, at least three ships with Indian seafarers onboard have been targeted by US forces, resulting in the deaths of three mariners. India lodged a strong protest with the US, asserting that such lethal actions against commercial ships were not justified. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to

Trump accuses Iran of attacking Indian ships; Tehran rejects charge

US President Donald Trump on Friday accused Iran of carrying out drone attacks against Indian ships leaving the Strait of Hormuz, describing the alleged action as "totally unacceptable", while Tehran rejected the charge as "baseless". Three vessels with Indian crew came under attack off the Oman coast this week. One of them resulted in the death of three Indian seafarers on Wednesday. "Their (Iran's) totally rebuffed Drone attack last night against Indian Ships leaving the Hormuz Strait is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE," Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social. In the same post, Trump also accused Iran of leaking the terms of the peace deal to the media that had nothing to do with the points under discussion. Iran vehemently rejected Trump's allegation. "The US president's accusation against Iran regarding an Indian vessel in the Strait of Hormuz is simply baseless," the Iranian Embassy in India said in a social media post late Friday night. "It is an attempt to divert public attention fr

'False and unfounded': UAE denies reports of $3 billion transfer to Iran

UAE Foreign Affairs Ministry has said the allegations are 'entirely false and unfounded' and no frozen Iranian funds have been released, transferred, or routed through the country

As officials say Iran war could end soon, some Trump objectives unfulfilled

President Donald Trump said the US is close to signing a deal with Iran to wind down the war, with a memorandum of understanding to be signed in the coming days. But some of the key objectives Trump laid out for the conflict seem to remain unfulfilled. And while the Trump administration has said its objectives are clear and unchanging, the list has expanded and shifted as the president and his administration have spoken about the war since it started February 28. All the while, the conflict has battered the global economy, tested alliances and raised unanswered questions about the planning for the conflict, its justification and its aftermath. By most accounts, the strikes by the US and Israel have significantly degraded Iran's military capabilities and killed scores of senior leaders. But those tactical successes don't necessarily translate into achieving all the president's strategic aims, even as the administration said Friday that it was meeting the goals it had laid out. Here'

Best of BS Opinion: Why PM Modi must leave the past behind and look ahead

From China's bid to expand the renminbi's global role to India's data centre boom, Narendra Modi's next challenges and Pope Leo XIV's views on AI, here's the best of BS Opinion

Can crude oil prices dip to $70 if US, Iran sign peace deal? Analysts said this

As per Fitch Ratings' estimates, Brent crude oil is likely to average $100-110/bbl in May-July, before falling to $80/bbl in August, and to about $70/bbl from September.

Don't know if Claude AI used in strike at Iran school: Anthropic CEO

Dario Amodei said the use case in this instance didn't violate the company's policies, arguing military decision makers make terrible mistakes even at the best of times

Trump's Kharg Island threat, reversal show Iran war high-wire act

The island handles the vast majority of the country's oil exports and represents perhaps the most direct way to squeeze the Tehran regime economically and deprive it of a critical source of revenue

No final decision on deal with US: Iran calls reports 'mere speculation'

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei stressed that Iran had 'proven that it does not compromise on what it has defined as its red lines'

Iran deal nearly final, Vance may sign pact in Europe this weekend: Trump

US President Donald said that a deal to end the war with Iran is nearly complete and is expected to be signed over the weekend in Europe. Trump made these remarks at the Oval Office in the White House on Thursday afternoon, hours after calling off military strikes on Iran and threatened to take control of its oil industry. Trump said Vice President J D Vance is expected to attend the signing ceremony which could take place in Europe as soon as this weekend. "We just made a great settlement of the war with Iran. The documents are in pretty final shape, so we'll see. It should be done pretty quickly," Trump said. The US president said that Iran has agreed not to have a nuclear weapon or purchase one. Trump said the agreement would ensure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon, which he described as the central objective of the administration's pressure campaign against Tehran. The president also said the Strait of Hormuz would reopen once the agreement is signed, potentially easing ..

Trump calls off new Iran strikes, cites progress in ceasefire talks

US President Donald Trump said Thursday he has called off new military strikes on Iran, hours after threatening to escalate the war. The president said in a social media post that he made the move "based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved". Trump also suggested that progress has been made in talks to extend the fragile ceasefire, writing that "discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail," approved by United States, Israel, and other regional allies. He did not offer details. Trump on multiple occasions over the last several weeks has claimed that the warring parties have been on the cusp of a deal without anything coming to fruition.

ECB hikes rates to 2.25% as Iran conflict stokes inflation concerns

European bonds held gains after the announcement, with the 10-year yield three basis points lower at 3.05 per cent . The euro was steady against the dollar at $1.1538

Indian-crewed tanker hit off Oman in suspected third US strike this week

Three Indian sailors died in a US strike on the Settebello tanker off Oman a day earlier