In another development, US President Dond Trump claimed King Charles agreed that Tehran must not have a nuclear weapon. “We’re doing a little Middle East work right now,” Trump said, “and we’re doing very well.” “We have militarily defeated that particular opponent, and we’re never going to let that opponent ever — Charles agrees with me even more than I do — we’re never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weapon,” he added.

Efforts to end the US-Iran war remain at a stalemate as President Donald Trump was unhappy with Tehran’s latest proposal and said that the Islamic nation has informed Washington that it was in a “state of collapse” and wants America to reopen the Strait of Hormuz “as soon as possible”. The US president also said that “If Iran had a nuclear weapon, the whole world would be held hostage.” This comes amid Iran’s new proposal for a ceasefire deal, which focused on ending the war in West Asia, opening the Hormuz and setting aside discussions on nuclear weapons, missiles, sanctions and other issues for later, according to reports.

However, a US official briefed on the matter has said that Trump wants the nuclear issue to be dealt with from the outset, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who reached Islamabad twice during the weekend, met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg and received words of support from the old ally. A Reuters report, quoting senior Iranian officials, stated that the proposals Araghchi carried to Pakistan envisioned talks in stages, with the nuclear issue to be set aside at the outset.

Latest Developments:

• Trump on Iran: President Donald Trump has said that “If Iran had a nuclear weapon, the whole world would be held hostage,” in response to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
• Iran’s new proposal: Iran has reportedly put forward a new proposal to end the conflict in West Asia, which focuses on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and setting aside ‌discussion of its nuclear programme until the conflict was concluded.
• Lebanon death toll rises: Israel continues its strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the death toll in the country has risen to 40 since an April 17 “ceasefire”.
• Oil prices rise again: With the impasse continuing over ending the West Asia conflict, the oil prices have soared again, with Brent Crude, the international benchmark, rising 3% to around $111.60 a barrel.