Live Iran has ‘sort of' agreed nuclear deal, Trump says
Speaking in Doha, Qatar, the US president said Washington was getting close to an agreement with Tehran and emphasised that he would not allow the regime to build a nuclear weapon.
Earlier, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader told NBC News that Tehran is willing to make concessions on its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.
These would include committing to not making a nuclear weapon and getting rid of stockpiles of highly-enriched uranium, which can be weaponised.
Mr Trump is on the third day of a four day visit to the Middle East that has included lucrative visits to Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
He will shortly deliver a speech to US troops at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, before heading to the UAE later today.
Mr Trump will meet Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's president, to discuss investment opportunities largely in the sectors artificial intelligence, energy and manufacturing.
In March, the Gulf state announced a $1.4 trillion investment plan with the US for the next decade. Mr Trump is also expected to lift Biden-era export restrictions on advanced technologies, as the UAE is seeking US-made microchips and AI systems to become a global AI leader by 2031.
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The Guardian
3 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Transfer roundup: Liverpool confirm Darwin Núñez's move to Al-Hilal
Darwin Núñez has completed his departure from Liverpool after his switch to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal was confirmed. The 26-year-old Uruguay striker has finalised the move for a fee understood to be an initial €53m (£46m). Liverpool said the deal was complete, subject to international clearance, and added: 'Everybody at the club would like to thank Darwin for his contributions and wish him and his family all the best for the future.' Núñez moved to Anfield in June 2022 from Benfica for an initial fee of £64m. He scored 40 goals in 143 appearances for the Reds, but started just eight Premier League matches during their title-winning season last term. Núñez was a target for another Saudi club, Al-Nassr, in January, but a £60m bid was rejected as Liverpool did not want to sell during the season. However, his departure looked inevitable after a string of unconvincing displays, and takes Liverpool's income from sales this summer to almost £200m, with more likely to follow as the £40m-plus-rated midfielder Harvey Elliott possibly next to move on. It also opens up a space in their forward line, which has already been strengthened with the arrival of Hugo Ekitiké as part of a near-£300m spend, and the No 9 shirt. Liverpool retain an interest in Newcastle's Alexander Isak after having a £110m bid rejected last week. West Ham have completed the £18m signing of the Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen. The 25-year-old Denmark international has agreed personal terms and the Premier League club confirmed the deal shortly before their pre-season friendly against Lille on Saturday. Hermansen will be reunited with the goalkeeping coach Casper Ankergren, who worked with him at Brøndby. The Hammers let Lukasz Fabianski leave at the end of last season and have been eager to sign the player who made 72 appearances for Leicester. Elsewhere, Sunderland are poised to acquire the Getafe defender Omar Alderete in a deal reported to be worth €12m (£10.4m).
Times
3 minutes ago
- Times
Frantic Europeans push their own Ukraine plan before Trump summit
European leaders were pulling together an alternative peace plan for Ukraine on Saturday night before Donald Trump's summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. The US president will meet Putin on American soil without President Zelensky, to seek an end to the war. Trump has strongly suggested a deal would involve Kyiv conceding territory, but in an address to the nation yesterday morning, Zelensky insisted that Ukrainians 'will not gift their land to the occupier'. Hours later JD Vance, the US vice-president, outlined Trump's plan for the summit to senior European and Ukrainian officials at a meeting co-hosted by David Lammy at Chevening, the foreign secretary's mansion in Kent. • What's up for grabs at the summit and can Trump outsmart Putin? Those present included Jonathan Powell, the UK's national security adviser, Andriy Yermak, head of Zelensky's office, and Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine's national security and defence council. European officials put forward alternative proposals, according to The Wall Street Journal, including that any territorial concession by Kyiv must be safeguarded by ironclad security guarantees, including potential Nato membership. Russia must also agree to a ceasefire before any other steps are taken and that territory can only be exchanged in a reciprocal manner, meaning that if Ukraine pulls out of some regions, Russia must withdraw from others. Earlier, Zelensky made a flurry of calls to European allies, speaking to his counterparts in the UK, France, Spain, Finland, Denmark and Estonia. After a call with Sir Keir Starmer, a Downing Street spokesman said: 'Both leaders welcomed President Trump's desire to bring this barbaric war to an end and agreed that we must keep up the pressure on Putin to end his illegal war. The prime minister ended the call by reiterating his unwavering support for Ukraine and its people.' President Macron declared that Ukrainians and Europeans must not be excluded from negotiations. 'Ukraine's future cannot be decided without the Ukrainians who have been fighting for their freedom and security for more than three years now,' he wrote on social media. 'Europeans will also necessarily be part of the solution because their security depends on it.' On Friday, Trump announced he would meet Putin this week in Alaska — the first time the Russian leader will have visited America in a decade. Critics say the gesture has given Putin validation after western allies sought to make him a pariah following his full invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The meeting was confirmed on the day that Trump had threatened to impose secondary tariffs on countries buying Russian oil if Putin had not ended the war. No new sanctions were announced. Instead, Trump suggested that a peace deal would involve Kyiv ceding territory. 'There will be some swapping of territories, to the betterment of both,' he said. Hours later, Zelensky pushed back. 'The answer to the Ukrainian territorial question is already in the constitution in Ukraine,' he said. 'No one will deviate from this — and no one will be able to.' Efforts to end the war in Ukraine gained momentum last week with a three-hour meeting in the Kremlin between Putin and the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who briefed colleagues in the White House that Russia was willing to agree to a ceasefire. But confusion quickly followed. Sources in the US said that Witkoff had struggled to clearly describe what Russia's proposals were. A European diplomat said they were concerned that Witkoff did not fully grasp the message that Russia was sending to the US. Negotiations appear to be focused on four regions in the east and south of Ukraine: Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia annexed all four in 2022 although it did not control any entirely. Putin is expected to tell Trump that Russia would agree to a ceasefire if Ukraine surrendered Donetsk and Luhansk, the coal-mining territories collectively known as the Donbas. In exchange, Putin is thought to be ready to freeze the front lines in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Ukraine would be forced to withdraw troops from Donetsk, where its forces control around a third of the territory, but Russia is advancing steadily. Towns and cities such as Kramatorsk and Sloviansk are coming under intense drone and missile attack. About 700 people a day are fleeing their homes, a figure that has doubled since last month, according to Ukrainian officials. Russia said last month that its army had seized the whole of Luhansk. Two people died when a Russian drone struck their car in the Zaporizhzhia region yesterday, while two others were killed when a Russian drone hit a minibus in Kherson. For Ukrainian soldiers, surrendering their homes in the Donbas would be a bitter pill to swallow. Oleh, a serviceman who was injured during fighting in the Donbas, opposed surrender, saying 'if we give up the Donbas, what's to stop Putin coming back for more later?' Although Zelensky has said he will not give up land, 69 per cent of Ukrainians want a settlement to the war as soon as possible, according to a Gallup poll. Just 24 per cent said they thought Ukraine should fight on until victory.
The Independent
32 minutes ago
- The Independent
Armenians and Azerbaijanis greet US-brokered peace deal with hope but also caution
Residents and politicians in Armenia and Azerbaijan responded Saturday with cautious hope — and skepticism in some cases — after their leaders signed a U.S.-brokered agreement at the White House aimed at ending decades of hostilities. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed the agreement on Friday in the presence of U.S. President Donald Trump, who stood between the leaders as they shook hands — a gesture Trump reinforced by clasping their hands together. While the agreement does not constitute a formal peace treaty, it represents a significant diplomatic step toward normalization of relations. The two countries remain technically at war, and the deal does not resolve the longstanding dispute over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. It does, however, reflect the shifting power dynamics following Azerbaijan's 2023 military victory, which forced the withdrawal of Armenian forces and ethnic Armenians from the region. Among the agreement's provisions is the creation of a new transit corridor, dubbed the 'Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity,' highlighting a changing geopolitical landscape amid declining Russian influence in the South Caucasus. Nagorno-Karabakh has been at the heart of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict since the Soviet Union's collapse. Although internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, the mountainous region was controlled for decades by ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia. Two wars — in the early 1990s and again in 2020 — left tens of thousands dead and displaced. In 2023, Azerbaijan regained control of most of the territory in a swift offensive. Hopeful for peace and a weaker Moscow Ali Karimli, head of the opposition People's Front of Azerbaijan Party, wrote on Facebook that the signing of the agreement 'has undoubtedly brought Azerbaijan and Armenia significantly closer to peace,' and noted that it delivered 'another blow … to Russia's influence in the South Caucasus,' while deepening ties with the U.S. Arif Hajili, chairman of Azerbaijani opposition party Musavat, said he believed that 'the most positive aspect of the initialing in Washington was the absence of Russia from the process.' He said lasting stability in the region hinges on the continual dwindling of Russian power, which 'depends on the outcome of the Russian‑Ukrainian war.' Hajili also warned of lingering challenges, including Armenia's economic dependence on Russia and some 2 million Azerbaijanis living in Russia. 'Russia will continue to use these factors as levers of pressure,' he said. Hope on the streets of Azerbaijan's capital 'We have been waiting for a long time for this agreement to be signed,' a resident of Baku, Gunduz Aliyev, told The Associated Press. 'We did not trust our neighbor, Armenia. That's why a strong state was needed to act as a guarantor. Russia couldn't do it, but the United States succeeded.' 'The U.S. is taking full responsibility for security. This will bring peace and stability," said another, Ali Mammadov. "Borders will open soon, and normal relations with Armenia will be established.' Abulfat Jafarov, also in Baku, expressed gratitude to all three leaders involved. 'Peace is always a good thing,' he said. "We welcome every step taken towards progress.' More divided views in the Armenian capital Some people in Yerevan were unsure of the meaning of the agreement. 'I feel uncertain because much still needs clarification. There are unclear aspects, and although the prime minister of Armenia made some statements from the U.S., more details are needed,' Edvard Avoyan said. But entrepreneur Hrach Ghasumyan could see economic benefits. 'If gas and oil pipelines pass through Armenia and railway routes are opened, it would be beneficial for the country,' he said. 'Until now, all major routes have passed through Georgia, leaving Armenia sidelined and economically limited.' Others were skeptical that peace could be achieved, and expressed discontent with the terms of the agreement. 'That declaration is unlikely to bring real peace to the region, and we are well aware of Azerbaijan's stance,' Ruzanna Ghazaryan said. 'This initial agreement offers us nothing; the concessions are entirely one-sided.'
