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Trump says he paused attack on Iran, signals a nuclear deal may be possible

Iran’s top joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya, said Iran’s armed forces are “ready to pull the trigger” in the event of any renewed U.S. attack.

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U.S. President Donald Trump ​said on Monday he had paused a planned attack against Iran after Tehran sent a peace proposal to Washington, and that there was now a “very good chance” of ‌reaching a deal limiting Iran’s nuclear program, Reuters reported.

After Iran sent the U.S. a new peace proposal, Trump said he had instructed the U.S. military that “we will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow, but have further instructed them to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached.”

No such attack had previously been announced, and Reuters could not determine whether preparations had ​been made for strikes that would mark a renewal of the war Trump started in late February.

Under pressure to reach an accord that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Trump has ​previously expressed hope that a deal was close on ending the war, and similarly threatened heavy strikes on Iran if Tehran does not reach a deal.

In ⁠his post, he said the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had requested that he hold off on the attack because “a Deal will be made, which will be very ​acceptable to the United States of America, as well as all Countries in the Middle East, and beyond.” He did not offer details of the agreement being discussed.

Speaking to reporters later, he said the United ​States would be satisfied if it could reach an agreement with Iran that prevents Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

“There seems to be a very good chance that they can work something out. If we can do that without bombing the hell out of them, I would be very happy,” Trump told reporters gathered for an unrelated announcement.

Trump’s post on calling off an attack came after Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei confirmed that Tehran’s views had been “conveyed to ​the American side through Pakistan” but gave no details.

A Pakistani source confirmed that Islamabad, which has conveyed messages between the sides in the war in the Middle East since hosting the only round of peace ​talks last month, had shared the latest proposal with Washington. But the source suggested progress had been difficult.

The sides “keep changing their goalposts,” the Pakistani source said, adding: “We don’t have much time.”

Iran remained defiant in statements issued ‌on state media ⁠after Trump’s announcement, warning the U.S. and its allies against making any further “strategic mistakes or miscalculations” in attacking Iran, while contending the Iranian armed forces were “more prepared and stronger than in the past.”

Iran’s top joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya, said Iran’s armed forces are “ready to pull the trigger” in the event of any renewed U.S. attack, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.

“Any renewed aggression and invasion … will be responded to quickly, decisively, powerfully, and extensively,” the commander of Khatam al-Anbiya, Ali Abdollahi, was quoted as saying.

The Iranian peace proposal, as described by a senior Iranian source, appeared similar in many respects to Iran’s previous offer, ​which Trump rejected last week as “garbage”.

It would focus ​first on securing an end to the war, ⁠reopening the Strait of Hormuz – a major oil supply route that Iran has effectively blockaded – and lifting maritime sanctions.

In an apparent softening of Washington’s stance, the senior Iranian source said on Monday that the United States had agreed to release a quarter of Iran’s frozen funds – totalling tens of ​billions of dollars – held in foreign banks. Iran wants all the assets released.

The Iranian source also said Washington had shown more flexibility in agreeing ​to let Iran continue some ⁠peaceful nuclear activity under supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The U.S. has not confirmed that it has agreed to anything in the talks.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency separately quoted an unidentified source as saying the U.S. had agreed to waive oil sanctions on Iran while negotiations were under way.

Iranian officials did not immediately comment on Tasnim’s report, which a U.S. official, who declined to be named, said was false.

A fragile ceasefire is in ⁠place after six ​weeks of war that followed U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, although drones have been launched from Iraq towards Gulf countries, including ​Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, apparently by Iran and its allies. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Monday condemning a drone attack on Sunday, in which Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted three drones that entered the country from Iraqi airspace.

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Lebanon says Israeli strikes in south of the country kill at least 11​​​

Iran-backed Hezbollah said in a statement that the attacks would be “met with what they deserve”.

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At least 11 people were killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on Saturday, the Lebanese ‌health ministry said, some of the deadliest in the weeks since the country agreed to a U.S.-mediated peace framework with neighbouring Israel, Reuters reported.

The Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah infrastructure overnight in what it describes as a security zone in southern Lebanon in response to actions against its soldiers there.

Iran-backed Hezbollah said in a statement that the attacks would be “met with what they deserve”.

The framework leaves ​Israeli troops inside occupied southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed and the Lebanese army takes control, terms the group has rejected as surrender.

Lebanon’s official National News ​Agency said seven people were killed when Israeli warplanes struck a house in the southern village of Ansar, while four others ⁠were killed in a strike on the village of Deir El Zahrani.

The seven people killed in Ansar included three children and two women, NNA said, adding that ​a total of 19 people were wounded in the attacks.

At least 4,300 people have been killed in Lebanon in the latest round of hostilities since March 2.

NNA also reported ​other airstrikes across southern Lebanon, including on a strategic area north of the Litani River known as Ali al-Taher hill. One, targeting a valley next to Ansar, was the deepest strike into Lebanon in two months.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a statement on X, accused Hezbollah of violating the ceasefire and attacking Israeli soldiers leading to three injuries, read the report.

“The IDF (Israel Defense ​Forces) responded by striking the Hezbollah terror headquarters which ordered the attack,” the statement said. “Only later did the IDF learn that Hezbollah deliberately put civilians in that ​military compound.”

The Israeli military said in a statement it killed Ali Samir Al-Haj Hassan, a commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force unit and others when it struck “a central headquarters of the ‌Radwan Force unit,” ⁠in Ansar.

“At the time of the strike, Hassan’s family was also present with him inside the military headquarters and, according to the claim, was harmed in the strike,” the statement added, emphasising that the family was not the target of the strike.

“The martyrs of the Israeli raid on the village of Ansar are not ‘military infrastructure’ and the women and children killed in it are not military targets,” Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said in a post on X.

Nabih Berri, the speaker ​of Lebanon’s parliament, who is a Hezbollah ​ally, called in a statement for ⁠national unity and for the sponsors of the peace talks and ceasefire agreements to assume responsibility for stopping the war before it was too late.

Israel’s military seized a swathe of southern Lebanon during its war with Hezbollah earlier this year, triggered after ​the group fired at Israel two days into the Iran war. Israel has said it will keep its forces there to ​protect the north of ⁠the country from further attacks.

During a visit to southern Lebanon on Thursday, Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel would not withdraw from areas under its control until Hezbollah was disarmed. A U.S. State Department official said a permanent Israeli military presence there was not consistent with commitments set out in the deal, Reuters reported.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, in a statement on X, said ⁠the attacks ​were a “clear message” aimed at the negotiations and U.S. efforts towards implementing the framework agreement.

Doron Spielman, international ​spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, told Reuters Saturday’s strikes would “tighten up” negotiations.

“I think it should make the negotiations more serious and more real, because it highlights the whole reason we got into ​these negotiations in the first place,” he added.

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At least 38 dead after Indonesia’s magnitude-7.7 earthquake, officials say

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At least 38 people died after an earthquake of magnitude 7.7 and ​dozens of aftershocks struck off eastern Indonesia on Saturday, officials said, as rescue workers rushed to reach areas closest to ‌the epicentre.

Tsunami waves of less than 1 metre (3 feet) were recorded in several areas of the Southeast Asian nation after the early morning tremor. The tsunami warning was lifted about three hours after the quake, Reuters reported.

“As of 15:00 (0800 GMT), the recorded figures are 38 fatalities, two people seriously injured, 11 with minor injuries,” Suharyanto, head of the ​National Disaster Management Agency, or BNPB, told a televised press conference. He added that approximately 2,000 people had fled to safer ground.

Earlier, ​rescuers in the port town of Maumere found 20 dead, six injured and two trapped under the rubble, ⁠said Fathur Rahman, head of the city’s rescue agency. Maumere is the main town in Sikka Regency on Flores Island in the east of ​Indonesia’s vast archipelago.

Suharyanto said residents remain trapped in several buildings in earthquake-affected areas and there are reports of landslides blocking several roads.

TEAMS HAVE YET TO ​REACH REGION CLOSEST TO EPICENTRE

Teams have yet to reach Nagekeo, the region closest to the epicentre, and communications signals there had been affected, Fathur told Reuters. Attempts to reach Nagekeo by car were blocked by landslides, while another team was attempting to go by ferry, he said.

About 2,000 residents in Nagekeo evacuated, and damage was reported ​to a number of houses, warehouses and government facilities, the BNPB said. Authorities also reported traffic congestion and power outages affecting parts of the ​regency, it said.

The governor of East Nusa Tenggara Province, Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena, told a press conference at least five people died from collapsing rubble as they ‌slept.

Parts of ⁠a building collapsed into dust and rubble as people screamed and ran in the street, a video on Facebook, verified by Reuters as being at a port in Maumere, showed.

“The quake was massive, the shock was so strong, we were resting at home with family,” said Nona, a 51-year-old resident of Talibura, a village in East Nusa Tenggara. “There were 13 of us inside the house and we all ran to save ourselves.”

Strong shaking was ​felt across East Nusa Tenggara, West ​Nusa Tenggara and parts of ⁠South Sulawesi, and residents in several areas reported shaking lasting about one minute, the BNPB said in a statement.

“Most of the people felt the shock and scattered out of their homes,” it said.

A hospital in the district ​of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara Province was moving patients outside, Kompas TV footage showed, and Kompas.com ​reported at least one ⁠landslide.

Indonesian geophysics agency BMKG recorded the first quake at 4.58 a.m. (2158 GMT) at a depth of 15 km (9 miles), followed by several aftershocks.

In 1992 the same area was hit by a magnitude-7.5 quake, causing extensive destruction at that time, the agency said.

Australia’s tsunami warning centre said the undersea earthquake would pose “no ⁠tsunami threat ​to the Australian mainland, islands or territories”.

Indonesia straddles the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, a seismically active ​zone, where different plates on the earth’s crust meet, creating a large number of earthquakes and volcanoes.

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Five killed in Michigan shooting; suspect found dead after manhunt

Police did not release the names, ages, or genders of the victims, saying next-of-kin notifications were underway.

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A man suspected of shooting and killing five people in northern Michigan on Friday was found dead after a manhunt, Michigan State Police said in a statement on social media.

One victim remained hospitalized in critical condition, the police said.

Troopers were dispatched around 11:40 a.m. local time (6:40 p.m. Israel time) to a home in Missaukee County, Michigan, after a report of a shooting. Officers found three people dead and a fourth person wounded, the state police said.

The suspect, identified by police as 39-year-old Chad Hickman, fled the scene before troopers arrived, prompting a manhunt. During the search for the suspect, investigators discovered another deceased victim at a second residence.

Troopers later located Hickman’s vehicle near a wooded area close to Whitlock Lake, where they found Hickman and another person dead, police said.

“This situation is heartbreaking for the community and challenging for the investigators involved,” said Lieutenant Ashley Miller, cited in the police statement.

Police did not release the names, ages, or genders of the victims, saying next-of-kin notifications were underway.

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