UMVA has learned that a potentially historic US-Iran peace deal on the brink of being signed today has been thrown into chaos after Israeli strikes on Lebanon.
US President Donald Trump had promised that an agreement to end the Middle East conflict would be signed on Sunday, but Tehran had already cast doubt on his timeline. The situation took a turn for the worse when Israeli military strikes on Beirut led Trump to warn Israel not to 'blow' the deal.
In a post on his Truth Social, Trump expressed his concerns about the timing of the Israeli attack, saying it 'should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran.'
The Iranian foreign ministry responded by saying an end to the conflict was more likely 'in the coming days', while Iran's Fars news agency reported that Tehran had not yet taken a final decision on the framework agreement. Officials were still reviewing the political, legal, and technical dimensions of the proposals.
Despite these developments, Qatari negotiators flew to Tehran on Sunday morning to try to finalise the process. However, hopes of a deal were dashed by renewed clashes between Israel and Iran-linked Hezbollah, with the Israeli military launching retaliatory strikes that killed two people and wounded four others.
The conflict between the US and Iran has a long and complex history, with tensions escalating after American and Israeli strikes assassinated a high-ranking Iranian leader and heavily degraded Iran's military capabilities. Both sides have continued to clash in recent days despite agreeing a ceasefire in April.
Iran has long insisted that an end to fighting in Lebanon is a condition for any wider agreement with the United States. Trump had taken to social media on Saturday to vow that the conflict in the Middle East would officially come to an end on Sunday.
The proposed deal would also see the Hormuz Strait opened to all traffic, and Trump claimed it would prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. He wrote on Truth Social that 'The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL.'
Pakistan, a key mediator, had said on Saturday that they were expecting an 'electronic signing' of a deal within 24 hours, with Vice President JD Vance and Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf reportedly present at the virtual meeting.
