Iran-US war latest: Tehran says peace deal won’t be signed this weekend after revealing date of Ayatollah’s funeral

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Iran-US war latest: Tehran says peace deal won’t be signed this weekend after revealing date of Ayatollah’s funeral

‘Peace has never been this close as it is now,’ Pakistan’s prime minister says as he claims ‘final text’ of peace deal has been reached

The peace deal between the US and Iran will not be signed on Sunday, Iran’s foreign ministry has said.

According to state media, spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei siad the possibility of signing the ‌Islamabad memorandum in the ‌coming days could not ⁠be ruled out, but added that caution was needed regarding any comment on the ‌signing date due ​to the ‌hesitation of ⁠the other ⁠side.

Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Saturday that the US and Iran ⁠have ​agreed to a ⁠framework for a ⁠peace deal ​that would ⁠end ‌the months-long conflict in the Middle ‌East, with a ‌final text of the ⁠deal reached.

Pakistan said they were preparing for an electronic signing expected within the next 24 ‌hours followed ​by ‌technical-level talks ⁠next week, Sharif ⁠added.

It had been reported that Donald Trump is scrambling to secure a peace deal with Iran before the G7 summit with world leaders on Monday.

Iran has said a peace deal has never been closer, yet several contradictory statements have emerged in recent days, including the US president accusing Tehran officials of being “dishonourable”.

Iranian state media earlier claimed that a draft agreement between the US and Iran includes a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war in Lebanon.

Peace deal will not be signed on Sunday, Iran says

The ​exact timing of the signing of ⁠the Islamabad memorandum will not be on Sunday, Iran's ⁠foreign ministry ​spokesperson ⁠Esmaeil Baghaei said, according ⁠to state media ​on ⁠Saturday.

Baghaei said ‌the possibility of signing the ‌Islamabad memorandum in the ‌coming days could not ⁠be ruled out, but added that caution was needed regarding any comment on the ‌signing date due ​to the ‌hesitation of ⁠the other ⁠side.

Holly Evans13 June 2026 14:23

What will happen to Lebanon remains unclear

Iran has insisted throughout that any deal must also include a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting Hezbollah, Iran's proxy militia.

Israeli defence minister Israel Katz warned Friday that Israel could still act independently toward Iran and that the country would not pull out of the zones it is occupying in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, nor would it withdraw from the northern refugee camps of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Fighting continued in southern Lebanon on Saturday.

Holly Evans13 June 2026 13:55

Iran's nuclear program terms to be finalized within 60 days of the agreement.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday the terms of dealing with Iran's nuclear program would be finalized in the 60 days after the initial agreement is signed and that the parties could decide to extend that period.Iran's nuclear program has been a key point of division.

The U.S. and Israel fear it could lead to an atomic weapon — a main reason their leaders cited for going to war. Tehran has insisted its nuclear efforts are for peaceful purposes.

A senior U.S. administration official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said Friday that the emerging agreement would begin the process of destroying or removing Tehran's highly enriched uranium.

The official said the 60-day period after both sides sign the deal would be used to work out technical details for removing Iran's enriched uranium.

The official did not detail who the U.S. envisions taking charge of removing the uranium, believed to be entombed under three nuclear sites that were battered by American strikes last year.

Holly Evans13 June 2026 13:26

Oil prices fall at news of a potential peace deal

Progress towards an agreement has emerged at the end of a week that brought a sharp ⁠escalation in hostilities in the Gulf, including Israeli-Iranian exchanges of fire and U.S. strikes on Iranian targets, followed by retaliation against U.S. bases.

Global stock markets rose and oil prices fell on the news.

Brent crude prices were down ‌more than 3% at their lowest in nearly two ​months.

Holly Evans13 June 2026 13:00

Iran says funeral for late Supreme Leader Khamenei to begin July 4

​Funeral for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali ⁠Khamenei will begin in Tehran on July 4 ⁠and ​conclude with ⁠his burial in the ⁠northeastern city ​of ⁠Mashhad on ‌July 9, state media reported on ‌Saturday.

Khamenei, was killed ‌in Israeli and U.S. ⁠strikes on Iran in February. His death marked the end of more than three ‌decades at the ​helm of ‌the Islamic ⁠Republic.

Holly Evans13 June 2026 12:45

Pakistan claims deal to be finalised in the next 24 hours

Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Saturday ⁠that the United States and Iran ⁠have ​agreed to a ⁠framework for a ⁠peace deal ​that would ⁠end ‌the months-long conflict in the Middle ‌East, with a ‌final text of the ⁠deal reached.

Pakistan is now preparing for an electronic signing expected within the next 24 ‌hours followed ​by ‌technical-level talks ⁠next week, Sharif ⁠added.

Holly Evans13 June 2026 12:12

Deal could be signed as soon as Sunday, source says

A Western source said the deal could be signed as ‌soon as Sunday, with Geneva seen as the likeliest venue. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said the deal would be signed remotely ‌before it is announced.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis spoke on Saturday, welcomed the progress in talks and agreed to stay in close contact, Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a brief statement.

It gave no further details.

Holly Evans13 June 2026 11:44

Trump says Obama’s Iran nuclear deal was ‘horrible’ but his is unlikely to be any better

As Donald Trump threatens to escalate attacks on Iran, backs off amid claims that negotiations towards a new deal to end the war are going well, then backtracks on that, there remains a big unanswered question: Can he cut a better Iran nuclear deal than Obama did?

For months, Trump has been simultaneously proclaiming that the war he started against Iran more than 100 days ago is almost at end and boasting that he will end the war with a peace agreement with Tehran that does more to curb the Islamic Republic’s nuclear ambitions than the 2015 nuclear agreement he pulled the U.S. out of during his first term.

During an interview with NBC News last week, he trashed his predecessor for offering “weak and ineffective leadership on behalf of the United States” and argued that Obama and others “allowed [Iran] to get away with murder.”

Read the full story from Andrew Feinberg here:

Trump says Obama’s Iran nuclear deal was ‘horrible’ but will his be any better?

The self-proclaimed master of negotiation insists he can forge a better deal for the US and the world with a rogue nation he claims to have defeated, but, writes Andrew Feinberg, it’s not clear any such thing is possible

Holly Evans13 June 2026 10:46

'We will be on the other side of this soon', US treasury secretary says

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent has also voiced the possibility of a peace deal being secured with Iran in the coming days.

In an interview on Fox News, Mr Bessent said: "We will see, maybe as soon as this weekend or Monday, we will get on the other side of this."

Bessent added that the deal will result in lower energy prices for Americans, saying: "I am very confident that the challenging time with gasoline will pass by."

"My message is the underlying fundamentals are excellent," Bessent said of the US economy, "and we will be on the other side of this soon."

Holly Evans13 June 2026 10:07

Trump racing to secure peace deal before G7 summit

The United States is scrambling to get a peace deal with Iran across the line before Donald Trump meets world leaders at a G7 summit on Monday, sources say.

The Telegraph reported that a senior administration official said an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war could be signed within days.

However, despite saying late on Thursday that an agreement had been approved at the highest level in Iran, the US president rolled back his confident statement early on Friday.

“The terms that Iran leaked out to the Fake News have NOTHING to do with the terms that were agreed to, in writing. What they said, including their weak and pathetic statement on having a deal, bears no relation to the truth. Very dishonorable people to deal with,” he posted on Truth Social.

Holly Evans13 June 2026 09:44