Middle East

Activists from the “Sumud convoy,” who were making their way to the Gaza Strip through Libya and Egypt, were detained by forces loyal to Gen. Khalifa Haftar in western Libya. Ten activists were arrested and face deportation from the country.

Iran's supreme leader issued a written statement marking the pilgrimage to Mecca, lashing out at Israel and the United States. "The feeble Zionist regime and the cancerous tumor of Israel have approached the final stages of their cursed lives," Khamenei wrote.

Qatar’s involvement in the talks between the US and Iran is not coincidental, and in fact began several weeks ago. According to two diplomatic sources in the Gulf and a Western intelligence official, Qatar is providing financial assistance to Iran. In the incidents that followed the ceasefire, the United Arab Emirates was attacked, as was Saudi Arabia on one occasion, but Qatar remained protected.

Forces loyal to Gen. Khalifa Haftar blocked the “Sumud Convoy” and prevented its members from moving toward the Egyptian border. A small convoy of several ambulances was allowed to pass through one of the checkpoints, but its fate is unknown, and the 10 activists who left with it are considered missing.

The US secretary of state said Washington was prepared to give diplomacy "every chance to succeed," but was not ruling out "alternatives." At the same time, US officials told CBS that the supreme leader was staying at an unknown location, almost entirely cut off from the outside world, and that communication with him was being conducted through a network of couriers, delaying efforts to finalize the deal.

The US president addressed the emerging talks with Tehran and made clear that the naval blockade on the country’s ports would remain fully in force until an agreement is reached. Trump attacked the Obama administration’s nuclear deal as a “direct path to a nuclear weapon,” and declared that the current deal is exactly the opposite. He later thanked countries in the region and surprised observers by saying: “Who knows, perhaps Iran would like to join the Abraham Accords.”

Financial Times report shows Quds Force operatives managed to purchase Chinese hardware for military use through a Dubai-based front company. Tehran used the technology it acquired to attack the United Arab Emirates.

In a statement issued after talks in the Oval Office at the White House, Trump said a series of leaders from the Middle East and the Muslim world had taken part. According to him, "the final aspects and details of the agreement are now being discussed and will be announced shortly." Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, who arrived in Tehran over the weekend with a Pakistani delegation, said the conversation showed that "a positive and sustainable outcome is within reach."

In a statement after talks in the Oval Office at the White House, Trump said a series of leaders from the Middle East and the Muslim world had taken part. He said the “final aspects and details of the agreement are now being discussed and will be announced shortly.”

Two diplomatic sources tell Israel Hayom that the draft includes a basic Iranian commitment to refrain from obtaining a nuclear bomb, alongside agreement to a long-term postponement of uranium enrichment. The draft calls for a ceasefire during which the Strait of Hormuz would be fully and freely reopened, after which negotiations would begin.