Shares rose on international markets as investors were reassured by expectations that a proposed deal to extend the Middle East ceasefire and restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz could be finalized.
\nThe semiofficial news agency Tasnim reported that some changes have been made to the draft text of a possible deal between the U.S. and Iran, adding that the text had yet to be finalized.
\nCiting an informed source, Tasnim stated that the text had undergone changes over the past days. NBC News was unable to independently confirm this reporting.
\nThis comes after two U.S. officials stated that President Donald Trump was reviewing the latest version of a potential agreement with Iran but had not yet signed off on it.
\nOil prices fell today as hopes increased for a deal to be agreed upon between the U.S. and Iran to end the war that has consumed the Middle East for the past three months.
\nBrent crude, the global benchmark, was trading 1.8% lower today at around $92 a barrel, with the price falling almost 20% in May amid signs of a potential deal between the U.S. and Iran to end the war and see the Strait of Hormuz reopened.
\nThe war and subsequent closure of the strait, a key trade route through which some 20% of the world’s oil passes, has sent energy prices soaring over the last three months.
\nThe drop in oil prices followed reports that President Donald Trump was reviewing the latest version of a potential agreement with Iran but had yet to sign off on it after the two countries traded attacks, initially fueling fears of a return to fighting.
\nEuropean shares also rose today as investors pinned their hopes on a possible deal to at least extend the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran and restore shipping through Hormuz.
\nFrance has asked its public prosecutor to investigate the treatment of French nationals who were detained by Israel after taking part in a flotilla headed for Gaza, French Foreign Minister Jean-No\u00ebl Barrot said today.
\n\u201cBased on a report I requested from our Consul General in Turkey, who informed me of sexual violence, exposure to the cold, beatings, and repeated humiliation of French nationals, all of these acts are likely to constitute criminal offenses,” Barrot told France Inter radio, according to Reuters. He added that he decided yesterday “to refer the matter to the public prosecutor.”
\nThis comes after organizers of a flotilla, detained last week while trying to bypass Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip and deliver symbolic aid to the enclave, stated that members, who have since been released, were subjected to abuse, including sexual assault\u2014a charge the Israeli military has denied.
\nIsrael\u2019s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, sparked global backlash earlier this month after releasing a video showing him taunting detained activists from the flotilla. In the footage, flotilla members can be seen with their hands tied behind their backs, kneeling with their heads touching the floor, with one member seen being pushed to the ground by security personnel after shouting “Free Palestine.”
\nIsrael issued several mass evacuation orders in southern Lebanon today, as military officials from both countries prepared to hold another round of security talks in Washington.
\nIDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee on X warned residents in the Ain Qana village to leave their homes and move at least 1,000 meters away, about 3,300 feet, stating that the military was targeting Hezbollah operatives in the area.
\nThe Israeli military then announced it had intercepted an “aerial target” in the areas where its soldiers were operating. The IDF later also issued warnings for the towns of Ansariyeh, Khraibeh, Shabriha, Sarafand, Adloun, and Baysariyeh.
\nToday’s warnings came after at least three people, including a woman and her daughter, and a Syrian child, were killed in Israeli attacks on the town of Al-Sharifat, south of Beirut, according to a statement by the Lebanese health ministry yesterday.
\nIsrael and Hezbollah have accused each other of violating the ceasefire declared last month.
\nSince March 2, over 3,300 people have been killed in Lebanon, and more than 10,000 have been injured. Meanwhile, the Israeli military has leveled swaths of villages in southern Lebanon, seeking to establish control there.
\nIsrael announced today that it had killed a senior Hamas commander in northern Gaza earlier this week.
\nIn a joint statement, Israel\u2019s military and security agency said they had “eliminated” Imad Hassan Hussein Aslim. The statement added that another Hamas member was also killed in the strike.
\n\u201cPrior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions and aerial surveillance,\u201d the statement said.
\nIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that Israel aims to control about 70% of the Gaza Strip, up from the around 65% it controls now.
\nIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that he has directed the country\u2019s military to expand its control to cover 70% of the Gaza Strip.
\n\u201cWe were at 50; we moved to 60. My directive is to move to \u2014 let\u2019s go step by step,\u201d Netanyahu said. \u201cFirst of all, 70. Let\u2019s start with that. We\u2019re pressing [Hamas] from all sides. We\u2019ll deal with the remnants.\u201d
\nSince the Israeli assault on Gaza following the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks, Israeli forces have retained control of more than half of the enclave. The continued Israeli presence has squeezed 2 million mostly displaced Palestinians into a small area, many living in tents among the ruins of shattered cities.
\nUnder an October U.S.-brokered truce that has failed to halt Israeli attacks or secure Hamas\u2019 disarmament, Israeli troops were meant to initially withdraw to a \u201cYellow Line\u201d demarcating the extent of their control, which was to have been followed by an expected longer-term withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
\nIsraeli attacks in Gaza have killed more than 75,000 people, including thousands of women and children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
\nAbed Rahim Khatib \/ Anadolu via Getty Images
\nEuropean shares rose today and were on track to end the month higher, as investors took comfort from expectations that a proposed deal to extend the Middle East ceasefire and restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz could be finalized.
\nThe agreement was yet to be approved by U.S. President Donald Trump, sources said, and did not address more complex issues such as Iran\u2019s nuclear program.
\nThe pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.3% at 626.91 points, as of 3:15 a.m. ET, and poised to end the week higher.
\nThe benchmark index had come within striking distance of record highs earlier this week and is on course for a second consecutive monthly gain, but escalating tensions in the Middle East capped further advances.
\nPrices of crude oil, a key resource for energy-deficient Europe, slipped and were on track for their first weekly drop in two months.
\nDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth says it\u2019s up to Iran what happens next.
\nReferring to Trump\u2019s comments during a Cabinet meeting earlier this week, Hegseth said, \u201cHe looks in the camera and says, well, Iran can either do it the right way with a deal across the table, or they can deal with my guy on the left,\u201d referring to Hegseth.
\nHegseth was speaking on board the USS Boxer in Singapore, where he arrived early today to address an Asian security forum.
\nOn Saturday, Trump posted on Truth Social that a peace deal with Iran was \u201clargely negotiated.\u201d Less than 24 hours later, Trump walked back his statement, with the phrase \u201clargely negotiated\u201d becoming \u201cnot even fully negotiated yet.\u201d
\nVice President JD Vance told reporters yesterday that Washington was \u201cnot there yet\u201d with Iran, but said negotiators were \u201cvery close\u201d to reaching a final agreement.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re not there yet, but we\u2019re very close,\u201d Vance said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to keep on working at it.\u201d
\nVance also said the U.S. had \u201csubstantially\u201d set back Iran\u2019s nuclear program for the foreseeable future.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve already decimated their conventional military, and we\u2019re in a position where we could substantially set back their nuclear program, not just during the term of this president, but over the long term,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s a very, very good thing for the American people.\u201d
\nThe State Department and the Treasury Department both announced new sanctions on Iran\u2019s oil trade yesterday despite ongoing negotiations to reach a deal to end the conflict.
\n\u201cThe Department of State is sanctioning numerous entities, individuals, and vessels that form the backbone of Iran\u2019s illicit oil economy, directly targeting the financial lifelines of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran\u2019s military apparatus,\u201d the State Department said in a statement.
\nThe IRGC is the most powerful military, political, and economic force in Iran.
\nThe Treasury sanctions will target \u201ckey players in an oil sales network that has moved tens of millions of barrels of Iranian oil worth billions of dollars.\u201d
\n\u201cThese Hong Kong-based entities have facilitated the storage, transport, and sale of this oil, directly funding the IRGC, Iran\u2019s Armed Forces General Staff, and its military apparatus,\u201d the statement read.
\nTrump is directly involved in negotiations with Iran, according to Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s directly, personally involved in the negotiations, making sure that the results are up to his standards,\u201d Miller said in an interview with Fox News last night.
\nHe added: \u201cThere\u2019s no deal until there\u2019s a deal. Nothing is final until it\u2019s final. And President Trump has been clear that he reserves the option now or at any time in the future to do whatever is necessary to defend and protect America\u2019s national security.\u201d
\n#TrumpIranDeal #USIranRelations #MiddleEastPeace #StraitOfHormuz #OilMarket #IranSanctions #GazaConflict #IsraelLebanon #Hamas #InternationalSecurity<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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