US-Iran News Highlights: Iran drops update on peace deal, vows to refrain from military strike on US and its allies if….

Vali Nasr, professor of international affairs and Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University, said that the more generous the terms offered to Iran in any agreement, the more Tehran is likely to suspect that the United States is preparing for another attack.

“Iran will be focused on evidence of a US military backdown. And the final decision on such a gamble in trusting the US will fall squarely on Mojtaba’s shoulders,” Nasr said on X.

“It is the first major decision he will take as supreme leader, with significant consequences,” Nasr added.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday said that Tehran is ready to reassure the international community that it is not seeking nuclear weapons. He reiterated Iran’s commitment to diplomacy and regional stability amid ongoing talks with the United States aimed at reaching a comprehensive settlement to the West Asia crisis.

"We are ready to assure the world that we are not seeking nuclear weapons and are not seeking unrest in the region," he said, as quoted by Press TV.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he and US President Donald Trump had agreed that any final deal with Iran must fully end the Islamic republic's "nuclear threat".

Netanyahu was referring to a conversation between the two leaders on Saturday night, which Trump had earlier said "went very well". (AFP)

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said that 33 vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours after receiving authorization from Iranian authorities, according to the Fars news agency.

The United States is close to reaching a deal with Iran that would end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, regional officials told The Associated Press on Sunday. They said details and timelines would be worked out later.

Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi met Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi in the capital, Muscat, reported Al Jazeera.

During the meeting, Gharibabadi conveyed a “verbal message” from Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to the Oman News Agency.

The discussions also focused on Pakistan-mediated talks between Tehran and Washington, along with “the commitment of both countries to resuming freedom of navigation”

The United States and Iran have reportedly reached a preliminary understanding on a deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran committing to dispose of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, a US official told reporters on Sunday, reported The New York Times. However, Iranian officials have denied that any final agreement has been reached on transferring the uranium stockpile, as per Reuters.

A former commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed that the US-Israel war against Iran has resulted in “America’s decline in the Middle East”, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

“For the first time since World War II, the superpower of America has collapsed again,” said Mohsen Rezaei, now a member of Tehran’s Expediency Council and a military adviser to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

“America will not return to the America of the past,” he noted.

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he had advised American negotiators not to hurry in reaching an agreement with Iran, even as expectations grow that a deal aimed at ending the conflict in the Middle East may be nearing completion.

"The negotiations are proceeding in an orderly and constructive manner, and I have informed my representatives not to rush into a deal in that time is on our side," Trump said on his Truth Social account.

"The Blockade will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed."

US President Donald Trump shared an AI-generated image on his Truth Social platform featuring a US drone striking an Iranian naval vessel, along with the caption “Adios” — Spanish for goodbye.

The post surfaced shortly after reports emerged about a possible agreement between the United States and Iran.

US President Donald Trump has assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington will continue to insist on the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear programme as a key condition for any final agreement with Tehran, according to a senior Israeli official, reported AFP.

"President Trump made clear that he will remain steadfast in the negotiations regarding his longstanding demand for the dismantlement of Iran's nuclear programme and the removal of all enriched uranium from Iranian territory, and that he will not sign a final agreement absent these conditions," the official stated.

US President Donald Trump said Washington and Tehran had “largely negotiated” a memorandum of understanding aimed at securing a peace deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial global shipping route that has remained effectively shut since the US and Israel launched military operations against Iran in February, as per Reuters.

Hours after the US President Donald Trump announced that an agreement with Iran is "largely negotiated," potential details of a deal began to emerge.

The development came at the end of a week in which the US considered launching new attacks on the Islamic Republic, potentially breaking a fragile ceasefire.

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Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said that 33 vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours after receiving authorization from Iranian authorities, according to the Fars news agency.

Iran’s army has reportedly downed an Israeli surveillance drone in Hormozgan province, according to Iran’s Mehr news agency. Authorities said the wreckage of the destroyed Orbiter drone was recovered with assistance from Iranian naval forces.

Israel has not yet issued any response regarding the reported incident.

A court in Bahrain has sentenced nine people to life imprisonment and handed three-year jail terms to two others for allegedly cooperating with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps in carrying out what authorities described as “hostile and terrorist acts” against the country, as per Reuters.

According to the state news agency, the accused were involved in collecting information on sensitive locations and facilitating financial transfers linked to the activities.

European Commission ⁠chief Ursula ⁠von der Leyen has welcomed “the progress towards an agreement between ‌the US and Iran”.

“We need a deal that truly de-escalates the conflict, reopens the Strait of Hormuz and guarantees ⁠toll-free full freedom of navigation. ⁠Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon,” ⁠von der Leyen said on ⁠X.

A possible agreement between Iran and the United States would allow ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to return to pre-war levels within 30 days, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Tasnim reported that the memorandum of understanding also calls for the complete lifting of the naval blockade within the same period, while a portion of Iran’s frozen assets would be released during the initial phase of the deal.

The Iranian Embassy in India on Sunday strongly condemned remarks made a day earlier by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, accusing Washington of trying to “distort the realities of the region” and divert attention from the actions of the United States and Israel.

The statement posted by the Iranian Embassy in India, through its official handle, "Iran in India", mentioned, "The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in India rejects the recent remarks made by the United States Secretary of State regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran and emphasizes that such allegations constitute a clear attempt to distort the realities of the region and to deflect attention from the destabilizing policies of the United States and the Zionist regime."