Photo- The nuclear power plant outside the city of Bushehr, in southern Iran. was built by Russia’s Rosatom company and completed in 2013 Iran targeted Israeli nuclear research center yesterday in Dimona and on Monday there were Reports of a projectile strike at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power which raised concerns
Major developments we’re following:
- U.S. President Donald Trump has extended his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, saying the U.S. will hold off striking power plants in the country for five days.
- In his announcement on Truth Social, Trump also held out the possibility of a resolution to the war — though Iranian officials denied there were negotiations. Trump later told reporters that Iran wants “to make a deal,”and claimed U.S. envoys have been holding talks with a “respected” Iranian leader.
- Trump also said the U.S. would seek to retrieve Iran’s enriched uranium under a potential deal and end its nuclear program. “We want to see no nuclear bomb, no nuclear weapon. Not even close to it,” he said.
- Relief ripped through financial markets Monday following Trump’s announcement of his extended deadline. Oil prices are easing, and stock prices are jumping on Wall Street following severe losses elsewhere in the world prior to Trump’s announcement.
- Egypt says it has intensified its efforts to de-escalate the war- The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was making “constant efforts and communications with all concerning parties” in the past days to avert “reaching to the point of no-return. Egypt called for seizing on Trump’s announcement to reach an end of the war.
- Trump stresses that he believes Iran wants a deal ‘very badly- “All I’m saying is, we are in the throes of a real possibility of making a deal,” Trump said as he wrapped his extended exchange with reporters before boarding Air Force One. “And I think, if I were a betting man I’d bet for it. But again, I’m not guaranteeing anything,” he said.
- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has cautiously welcomed talks between the U.S. and Iran on ending the war.
- Starmer said Monday that “we, the U.K., were aware that was happening.” He didn’t give further details. Starmer urged de-escalation, but told British lawmakers that “we mustn’t fall into the false comfort of thinking that there will necessarily be a quick and early end to this.”
- Global economy faces ‘major, major threat’- Forty energy assets in nine countries have been “severely or very severely damaged,” Fatih Birol told Australia’s National Press Club on Monday. “No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues to go in this direction.”
- Israeli strike kills 1 person near Beirut- Lebanon’s Health Ministry said the Monday afternoon airstrike hit an apartment in Beirut’s southeastern suburb of Hazmiyeh, killing one person. The Israeli military said it carried out a strike targeting a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s expeditionary Quds Force who was identified as Mohammad Ali Kourani.
- Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf
- Israeli Source Identifies Iranian Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf as Trump’s Key Contact in Tehran. The choice of Ghalibaf as a negotiator is a double-edged sword. On one hand, he is a “pragmatist” who understands the cost of total war. On the other, his deep ties to the IRGC mean he cannot be seen as “surrendering” to Trump’s 120-hour clock without massive concessions—specifically regarding the lifting of energy sanctions. Ghalibaf has emerged as a central, strongman figure running the war effort and coordinating state affairs. A former IRGC commander, Ghalibaf is managing security and political functions during a critical period of conflict following the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamene.
AP/ J Feed
