Trump claims Iran has agreed to hold peace talks in Doha after recent clashes

US president posts that meeting will take place on Tuesday in Qatari capital after exchange of fire in strait of Hormuz

Donald Trump has claimed that Iran has agreed to hold talks in Doha after the US and Tehran traded fire in the strait of Hormuz this weekend, threatening the collapse of a ceasefire meant to keep the strait open and pave the way for peace talks.

In a terse post on Truth Social, the US president claimed the meetings would take place in the Qatari capital, as US media reported that the two sides had agreed to halt strikes after tit-for-tat attacks that once again cut off shipping through the crucial waterway.

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Iran is jealously competing with Oman as decision-maker over strait of Hormuz

Tehran believes it should control the shipping route but its neighbour has its own plans for reopening it

The strait of Hormuz is Iran’s chief bargaining tool in the negotiations with the US and so it was always likely to be the greatest point of contention. Every inch of the 24-mile-wide waterway is being contested in a test of wills and patience.

For Iran, the continuation of the dispute is not a problem so long as it does not lose control.

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Fresh hostilities in Gulf suggest US-Iran memorandum was too broadly worded

Document appears to have been subject to conflicting interpretations on key issues of Lebanon ceasefire and strait of Hormuz

The sudden eruption of fresh hostilities in the Gulf – just 10 days after Iran and the US signed a memorandum of understanding to end the conflict – threatens to put the two countries back on the path to war.

It appears the deliberately opaque wording in the memorandum has been unable to withstand the pressure of conflicting interpretations, and as a result supporters of the deal inside Tehran are on the back foot. Statements to the effect that Iran’s government should never have agreed to reopen the strait of Hormuz are proliferating – and not just among the country’s hardliners.

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Donald Trump threatens to annihilate Iran after crossfire over Hormuz – as it happened

Iran attacked Bahrain and Kuwait after US strikes, and threatened a ‘complete halt’ to talks

We will soon be closing this liveblog, but you’ll be able to stay up-to-date with our ongoing coverage of the Middle East here.

Here is a summary of today’s events:

Iran launched drone and missile attacks Sunday targeting Bahrain and Kuwait in response to US airstrikes that hit the Islamic Republic, and threatened a “complete halt” in negotiations to end the war if Washington continues its attacks.

US president Donald Trump accused Iran of violating the ceasefire agreement in a post of social media and said the US may be “forced to militarily complete the job”. Iran also accused the US of violating the ceasefire agreement.

JD Vance continued to reiterate the administration’s triumphant line on the war with Iran hours before the latest round of strikes were exchanged. “America wins either way,” he said.

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi was in Baghdad for a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart. He called for a security framework to be established with the Gulf nations after it struck US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation to US strikes.

The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps IRCG has said on state-run SNN TV that it will respond with more force if there are any more blow-for-blow attacks from the US.

Countries including Jordan, the UAE and Italy all condemned Iran’s attacks.

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Shadow war: how use of proxy forces by Iran, Israel and US is driving Middle East instability

Across region there is a push to disarm militia and reinforce state authority but the temptation to use proxies remains

As Marco Rubio ended his brief visit to the Middle East on Friday, he sought to cast in the best possible light his discussions with leaders of the Gulf states. Those leaders are deeply anxious that the deal agreed earlier this month between Iran and the US fails to address their worries about continued Iranian efforts to project power and influence throughout the region.

“They’ve shared with us some very concrete concerns,” the US secretary of state admitted, and insisted that any definitive agreement will require Tehran to not only restrict its nuclear programme but also halt its support of Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, militia in Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen.

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Bahrain condemns Iranian tit-for-tat drone attack as ‘flagrant threat’

No immediate reports of damage after Bahrain hit by ‘number of drones’ as ship in strait of Hormuz also targeted

Bahrain has said it was attacked by Iran with drones on Saturday, apparently in response to overnight US strikes on Iran. A ship in the strait of Hormuz was also attacked.

Bahrain’s foreign ministry said a “number of drones” were launched at the country, though there were no immediate reports of damage. It condemned the attack and described it as a “flagrant threat to the security of citizens and residents”.

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JD Vance claims US holds all the cards in Iran and will win ‘either way’

Vice-president appeared on Bill Maher’s show hours before more military strikes were exchanged in strait of Hormuz

JD Vance said on Friday that the US wins “either way” regarding negotiations with Iran, pointing to what he called the destruction of its nuclear program and diminishment as a country.

“If we make the final deal, then great,” the US vice-president told HBO’s Bill Maher. “If we don’t make the final deal, their nuclear program is still destroyed. They’re still much weaker as a country, so my attitude is America wins either way.”

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US says it struck Iran targets after attack on cargo ship in the strait of Hormuz

Strikes against military facilities were in response to drone attack a day earlier on a cargo vessel

The US has struck Iran in a tit-for-tat response to a drone strike on a cargo ship, as the ceasefire between the US and Iran that reopened the strait of Hormuz undergoes its greatest test yet.

The US strikes targeted multiple missile and drone facilities in Iran near the strait of Hormuz and on Qeshm Island on Friday in what appeared to be a limited strike meant to respond to Iran’s attack on a Singapore-flagged cargo ship without escalating the conflict.

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Trump blames Iran for drone strike on cargo ship in strait of Hormuz

US president calls it ‘foolish violation’ of ceasefire agreement after drone damaged ship’s upper deck

Donald Trump on Friday blamed Iran for carrying out a drone strike on a cargo ship in the strait of Hormuz, calling it a “foolish violation” of the ceasefire agreement with the US.

One drone damaged the upper deck of the ship but the ship was able to proceed, the US president said. The US shot down three other drones aimed at the ship, he said.

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UN agency pauses ship evacuations through strait of Hormuz after vessel struck

International Maritime Organization says safety guarantees must be confirmed before ships can move again

A United Nations agency has paused the evacuation of ships through the strait of Hormuz after the British military said a vessel was hit by a projectile off the coast of Oman following the passage of several tankers that used a route backed by the UN.

The head of the UN’s International Maritime Organization said on Thursday that the plan to move stranded ships out of the Persian Gulf through the strait would be on hold until the agency could confirm safety guarantees for the ships on the evacuation list and in the region.

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Oil price falls to pre-Iran war levels as more tankers exit strait of Hormuz

Stock markets on both sides of Atlantic up as concerns ease over prospect of another inflationary shock

Oil prices have fallen to pre-Iran war levels as more oil tankers exited the strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell to a low of $72.24 a barrel on Thursday, slightly lower than the day before the US and Israel launched missile attacks on Tehran on 28 February. Prices have fallen more than 20% this month.

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Israel says IDF is staying in southern Lebanon, undermining Iran peace talks

Defence minister says troops not withdrawing though Tehran sees end to war in Lebanon as part of deal with US

The Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, has said that Israeli troops would not withdraw from southern Lebanon, further complicating Iran peace talks as fighting in Lebanon continues to be an obstacle to permanent peace.

Speaking on stage in an interview in Tel Aviv, Katz said Israeli troops would remain in south Lebanon – echoing sentiments from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Middle East crisis live: Trump claims Iran has agreed to nuclear inspections ‘long into future’, accusing Tehran of ‘false statements’

US president says Tehran has committed to ‘nuclear honesty’, while Iran’s foreign ministry says there are no plans for IAEA to inspect sites bombed by US and Israel last year

Oman and Iran said in a statement that the two countries will ⁠form ⁠a ​team to reach an ⁠agreement on “administration of navigation ⁠in ​the Strait ‌of Hormuz” ‌and associated ‌costs and services, Reuters reports.

The two states will hold ⁠talks with ​coastal countries ​and other ​concerned parties, ​the ‌statement ​said.

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Trump faces fresh bipartisan criticism on Iran deal as Vance hails peace talks

Objections comes as Trump threatens to renew attacks on Iran if it doesn’t rein in its proxy in Lebanon

US political figures from left and right voiced fresh objections on Sunday to Donald Trump’s provisional deal with Iran – even as the US president made new threats while Vice-President JD Vance hailed progress during the first round of direct peace talks in Switzerland.

Negotiations in Lucerne between the US and Iran have already run into difficulties, after Trump wrote on Truth Social that “Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble. “If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!”

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US-Iran talks strained as Trump threats spark Iranian walkout

Talks expected to continue for rest of the week despite disruption caused by US president’s threat to bomb Iran and kidnap negotiating team

High-stakes talks between the US and Iran are expected to continue for the rest of the week in Switzerland, after a tense start that saw Iranian negotiators walk out in protest at a stream of threats issued by Donald Trump on social media.

The US president had threatened to bomb Iran and even to kidnap the Iranian negotiating team unless the strait of Hormuz was reopened, forcing mediators Qatar and Pakistan to continue negotiations in the background.

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Iran says it is closing strait of Hormuz over Israeli strikes in Lebanon

Unclear if threat has been carried out or if move will jeopardise talks with US scheduled for Sunday

Iran has said it is closing the strait of Hormuz after waves of Israeli strikes in Lebanon in a move that threatens to derail the fragile interim peace deal with the US, signed just days ago.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned ships not to approach the strategic waterway, which before the war carried a fifth of global oil and liquid gas supplies, citing what it called Israeli crimes in Lebanon and a US violation of commitments to establish a ceasefire there.

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What lessons will Iran’s new leadership draw from the 110-day war?

Now fighting is over, the question is how Iran’s government will behave. Early clues point to more authoritarianism and prioritising relations with China

The precise ideological lessons that Iran’s new leadership draws from the 110-day war may prove to be the overriding factor in determining whether negotiations with the US culminate in an agreement that verifiably prevents the country from developing a nuclear weapon – an outcome that could usher in a new era for the Iranian economy while also reshaping the Middle East.

Does this rapidly assembled leadership team, forged in the fire of war, still represent an Islamic ideological crusade – a description coined by Henry Kissinger – or does the acceptance of the memorandum of understanding, in the words of JD Vance, denote a desire for pragmatism?

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Israel and Hezbollah renew ceasefire after deadly flareup disrupts opening of Iran talks

JD Vance pulls out of US-Iran meeting in Switzerland on implementation of peace deal after clashes in southern Lebanon

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to renew a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon on Friday after 24 hours of intense violence that posed an early challenge to the new agreement between the US and Iran to end their conflict.

A meeting that was scheduled to take place on Friday between Washington and Tehran in Switzerland to discuss implementation of the new deal was cancelled when Hezbollah killed four Israeli soldiers and Israel carried out a wave of retaliatory airstrikes in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa valley that killed at least 47 people.

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Barack Obama says US is ‘worse off’ than before war with Iran

Former president nevertheless said in an interview that he was happy to see a ceasefire with Iran and hopes it holds

Barack Obama has said that after 15 weeks of war with Iran, the US is now “worse off” than before the conflict started in February.

“We’ve now fought a war, spent billions and billions of dollars, you know, put enormous strain on our military. A lot of people have died. And it feels like we’re back where we were before we started the war, except maybe a little bit worse off,” the former US president told NBC News in an interview that aired on Friday.

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Hormuz disruption will continue until 80 mines blocking route are cleared

Tanker owner trade body says centre of strait will stay shut for ‘some time’, and vessels forced to hug Omani coast risk running aground

The centre of the strait of Hormuz is blocked with about 80 mines that will need clearing for normal shipping to resume, the independent tanker owner trade body has said.

Several vessels began to exit the Gulf through the key maritime chokepoint on Thursday after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the US and Iran.

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