Iran-US war latest: Tehran rebuilt military strength much faster than expected during ceasefire, US intel says

Iran’s supreme leader has directed that his nation’s near-weapons-grade uranium should not be sent abroad, two senior sources said, hardening Tehran’s stance on one of the main US demands at peace talks.

Israeli officials told Reuters Mr Trump had assured their government that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, ⁠needed to make an atomic weapon, would be sent out of the country and that any deal must include a clause on this.

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The F-35A Lightning II alone is worth around $110m, according to the Centre for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

In a “dramatic” conversation on Wednesday, the pair are said to have clashed over whether to resume strikes in Iran or give negotiators more time to reach a deal.

The US president had been expected to relaunch military attacks imminently, but called off plans on Wednesday in order to give Tehran a chance to “give the right answers”.

Nicole Wootton-Cane reports:

EU foreign ministers should discuss at their next meeting the adoption of sanctions against Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Thursday.

Tajani said on X he had made a formal request to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, on account of the Israeli minister’s “unacceptable actions” against Gaza flotilla activists.

Israel’s national security minister drew a rare rebuke from Benjamin Netanyahu and sparked a huge global backlash after releasing videos taunting detained flotilla activists who tried to breach Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

Itamar Ben-Gvir released footage on Wednesday showing him walking among some of the approximately 430 detainees and telling them they should be jailed for a long time.

“Welcome to Israel, we are the landlords,” says Ben-Gvir, waving a large Israeli flag. One handcuffed activist shouts “Free Palestine” as Ben-Gvir walks by and is immediately pushed to the ground by security personnel.

James C Reynolds reports:

Fifa is set to prohibit fans from bringing the pre-revolutionary Iran flag into stadiums at the World Cup in the United States – a ruling also made for the last World Cup in Qatar.

While similar in its red, white and green band formation, the pre-revolutionary Iranian flag has a lion and the sun in the middle, while the official flag, changed following the Iranian revolution in 1979, has an Islamic symbol and phrasing, depicting the shift from a monarchy to a theocratic government.

The pre-revolutionary flag has been used by Iranians in the US and worldwide as a symbol of protest and standing against the current regime and, while prohibited at the 2022 World Cup, some fans managed to sneak the flag into stadiums in Qatar.

The United Kingdom’s foreign office is planning to cut its Iran war team to around half of its original size, according to Bloomberg News.

The move is part of a downsizing strategy lead by British foreign secretary Yvette Cooper.

Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei has ordered that near-weapons grade Uranium must stay in Iran, two senior Iranian sources told Reuters on Thursday.

The US is adamant that Tehran must forfeit its right to enrich uranium and give up its nuclear development while Iran has insisted that it has the right to continue to do so.

Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public since his father was killed in a US-Israeli strike on 28 February.