Live: US used 'Iranian smuggling tactics' to move oil through Gulf

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not seen the memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran as of Tuesday evening, according to a person familiar with the matter cited by the Associated Press.

Netanyahu's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

While Israel is not a party to the agreement expected to be signed later this week, the deal could have significant implications for its military operations in Lebanon.

Iran's foreign minister has said the agreement includes a requirement for Israel to withdraw from Lebanese territory, where Israeli forces continue to occupy areas in the country's south and carry out regular attacks targeting Hezbollah.

Israeli officials, however, have indicated that they do not intend to withdraw, setting the stage for potential friction over the implementation of provisions linked to ending the US-Israeli war on Iran and reducing regional tensions.

The US rebuffed an Israeli request to see the memorandum of understanding it signed with Iran, according to reports by US and Israeli media outlets.

ABC News reported on Tuesday that Israeli officials have been briefed on the agreement, but that Israel has not been provided the text.

The agreement, which was signed digitally by Iran and the US on Sunday, extends a fragile ceasefire between the two sides for 60 days and reopens the Strait of Hormuz, but the details of the text remain unclear.

US officials, including Vice President JD Vance, have taken to network TV to defend the MOU. Vance said the “coolest thing” about the diplomacy was that the US was now talking to the Iranians.

Read more: US refused to share Iran deal text with Israel: Report

US President Donald Trump threatened to attack just one Arab Gulf country during the war on Iran: Oman. Now, it is emerging as the biggest winner from a new Middle East order being hashed out by the US and the Islamic Republic. 

That assessment may seem counterintuitive at first glance, but due to its geography, business acumen, and Tehran’s newly demonstrated heft in the region, western, Arab, and even some US diplomats see the new order unfurling with Oman on top.

Oman’s rapid turn of fortune also underscores a bigger shift in the Middle East, some analysts say.

In the war’s early days, when other Gulf states opened their military bases to the US and joined the attack on Iran, Oman was called an outlier among its neighbours because of its criticism of the US and its reluctance to enter the fray.

But Muscat's decision has been vindicated by a ceasefire that is widely viewed as a victory for Iran in the Gulf.

“Oman’s position, which was always conciliatory to Iran, has now become the approach of other Gulf countries,” Bernard Haykel, a scholar of Middle Eastern studies and professor at Princeton University, told Middle East Eye.

Read more: 'From outlier to trailblazer': How Oman offers a glimpse into the post-war Gulf

The Israeli military says it intercepted several rockets launched by Hezbollah towards its forces operating in southern Lebanon.

In a statement posted on Telegram, the army said it subsequently targeted and destroyed the launcher used in the attack.

The military also said it carried out a strike on a vehicle in southern Lebanon after firing what it described as a "warning" shot.

The claims come amid a surge in Israeli attacks across southern Lebanon. Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli strikes in Nabatieh governorate killed at least four people, including in what Lebanese media described as a deadly "double-tap" attack targeting the same area more than once.

Oil prices have fallen sharply to their lowest levels in three months, as markets reacted positively to the anticipated signing of a formal agreement between Washington and Tehran later this week.

Brent crude futures dropped $3.29, or four percent, to $79.88 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell $3.82, or 4.7 percent, to $76.93, according to Reuters.

The decline extends losses seen earlier in the day, when oil prices had already fallen by more than two percent.

Both benchmarks had been trading between $65 and $70 a barrel before the US and Israel launched their war on Iran on 28 February, with concerns over regional instability and potential supply disruptions having pushed prices higher in the months since.

US President Donald Trump has suggested that Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa could play a role in confronting Hezbollah, arguing that Israel's military campaign has come at too high a human cost.

Speaking at the G7 summit, Trump praised Sharaa, saying he was doing an "amazing job" and could potentially succeed where Israel has struggled.

"If Israel can't do the job [against Hezbollah] without killing everyone else, then he will do the job. Syria will do the job," Trump said.

The US president added that Sharaa was "very good with Hezbollah" and "does not like them", while describing the Syrian leader, who rose to power following the fall of Bashar al-Assad, as "no boy scout".

Trump's remarks are likely to fuel speculation about Washington's expectations of Syria's new leadership and its potential role in reshaping regional security dynamics amid the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Omani counterpart, Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, have reaffirmed their countries' commitment to international law governing maritime navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Oman News Agency.

During a phone call, the two ministers stressed the importance of ensuring the safe and free passage of vessels through the strategic waterway, as Washington and Tehran prepare to sign a memorandum of understanding later this week.

According to the agency, both sides renewed their commitment to international legal principles regulating navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global energy shipments.

The ministers also expressed hope that the coming period would see serious diplomatic efforts aimed at creating conditions for a constructive political process, helping to preserve security and stability across the region amid the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran.

Israel has carried out three consecutive drone strikes targeting the town square of Mayfadoun in Lebanon's southern Nabatieh district, according to the country's National News Agency (NNA).

The attacks came amid continued Israeli bombardment of the governorate, which has been subjected to weeks of intense air strikes.

NNA also reported that Israeli forces dropped a sound bomb in the border town of Haddatha, causing minor injuries to four people.

The latest attacks follow earlier Israeli air strikes on several locations across Nabatieh, further escalating tensions along the Lebanon-Israel frontier.

Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says Palestinians have been stripped of administrative authority over the Ibrahimi Mosque in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, in a move likely to deepen concerns over Israeli control of the holy site.

"The meaning of this decision is that many authorities previously granted in Hebron and at the holy sites... are no longer under the control of the Hebron Municipality," Smotrich said.

The far-right minister made the remarks while attending a ceremony marking the laying of the foundation stone for a new Israeli settlement near Hebron.

Describing the move as "much more than a planning step", Smotrich said it represented "a step ... of practical sovereignty, of governance".

Israel has steadily expanded its control over the Ibrahimi Mosque and surrounding areas over recent decades, closing large parts of Hebron's Old City and imposing restrictions that have severely affected Palestinian access and daily life.

At least four people have been killed in a series of Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon's Nabatieh governorate, according to Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA).

The attacks included separate drone strikes targeting two vehicles in the town of Mayfadoun, following an earlier strike on the town square.

A third vehicle was also hit in the nearby town of Shoukin, NNA reported.

Civil defence teams have been deployed to the affected areas to evacuate and treat those wounded in the attacks.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has warned that future negotiations between Tehran and Washington are likely to face greater challenges, saying the next phase of talks will be "more difficult" than the initial stage.

Speaking to Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Wang said that while recent diplomatic progress was welcome, significant hurdles remained.

"The current consensus is far from the final destination, rather it is a new starting point," Wang said, according to a statement from China's foreign ministry.

He also called for a greater role for the UN Security Council in supporting negotiations, adding that achieving lasting peace in the Middle East and Gulf region would require sustained efforts from all sides as the US-Israeli war on Iran continues to reshape regional dynamics.

Israel's Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by prominent Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safiya, ordering that he remain detained without charge under Israel's Unlawful Combatants Law.

Abu Safiya, who has been held by Israeli authorities since December 2024, is being detained at Nafha Prison, where his lawyer says he has been subjected to solitary confinement and denied adequate medical care.

Israeli authorities accuse the former Gaza hospital director of having links to Hamas but have not publicly presented evidence to support the allegation.

According to reports, the court based its decision on confidential evidence that was not disclosed to Abu Safiya or his legal team.

The ruling has drawn condemnation from rights groups. Physicians for Human Rights-Israel said Abu Safiya was transferred to solitary confinement 13 days ago without explanation, describing the court's decision as "a severe moral and legal failure".

London's Metropolitan Police are not investigating the Great Israeli Real Estate Event which took place on Sunday, Middle East Eye has learnt. 

The revelation comes after British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper announced that ministers have asked the Advertising Standards Authority to investigate the event, which was held at the Edgware United Synagogue in London. 

On Monday, Middle East Eye revealed details of properties advertised in illegal Israeli settlements at the event, which was held at the Edgware United Synagogue.

MEE understands the Met had received a referral relating to the event and had grouped it with other referrals relating to what the force calls the "Israel-Hamas conflict".

A Counter Terrorism Policing spokesperson said: “The Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) War Crimes Team has received around 240 referrals relating to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict since 7 October 2023."

Read more: London's Met Police not investigating Great Israeli Real Estate Event

Israel has launched three consecutive drone strikes on the Mayfadoun town square in southern Lebanon’s Nabitieh district, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.

The report added that the Israeli army dropped a sound bomb in Haddatha which injured four people.

Lebanon’s health ministry has revised the death toll in Lebanon on Tuesday to 3,826, with 11,851 wounded since the conflict began on 2 March.

The Swiss foreign ministry said that the US-Iran memorandum of understanding is currently scheduled for signing on Friday at the Burgenstock resort in central Switzerland.

The site was “proposed by the Pakistani and Qatari mediators as well as by the US and Iran”, the ministry told AFP on Tuesday.