US President Donald Trump said Monday that ships were again moving through the Strait of Hormuz and the vital oil route would be “completely open” by Friday, after Washington and Tehran announced a deal to end the Middle East war.

The reopening of one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints would mark a major step toward ending months of deadly conflict and economic turmoil triggered by US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.

“Ships are starting to move, many loaded up with Oil, out of the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said, adding later that he did not “think we will need much help” keeping the waterway open.

Iran had blockaded the strait since the start of the war, sending oil prices soaring and raising fears of a prolonged inflation shock.

The United States, Iran and mediator Pakistan said the agreement was to be signed Friday in Switzerland.

A senior US administration official, however, said Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf had already signed the text electronically.

“The president wanted to sign it personally because he wanted to show his… dedication to bring this through to a successful resolution,” said the official.

Asked at the G7 in France when the text would be released, Trump said: “It’s a very powerful document, and I want it to be released. So probably pretty soon.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the deal brought an “immediate end” to the war, with talks on a “final agreement” to be held within two months.

Iran’s military hailed the accord as a victory, claiming it had “humiliated” the US and Israel, while President Masoud Pezeshkian called it “a great achievement” for the region.

But Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi struck a more cautious note.

“We have a history of broken commitments… we have a history of agreements being torn up. All of this is present in our minds,” he said.


Afp

An overnight Russian barrage of missiles killed at least 11 people across Ukraine and sparked a fire at one of the most important Orthodox monasteries in the capital Kyiv.

AFP journalists across Kyiv witnessed residents running through the streets seeking shelter throughout the night as projectiles were intercepted in the sky and glowing debris fell across the city.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday called for more pressure on Moscow from G7 leaders, gathering at a summit in France set to be dominated by the US-Iranian deal to end the Middle East war.

He also said he told US President Donald Trump he was willing to meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the United States, calling it an offer Putin would find “harder to refuse”.

The violence killed five people and wounded 34 in Kyiv as a fire broke out on the grounds of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra UNESCO world heritage site, setting ablaze the roof of its Dormition Cathedral.

“This is one of Russia’s most serious crimes against Christian culture to date,” Zelensky said on social media.

Founded in the 11th century, the site holds huge significance for Orthodox believers in both Ukraine and Russia.

Russia’s military said it had carried out a “massive strike” on military sites in Kyiv, as well as the Kharkiv and Dnipro regions, but denied targeting the Lavra, saying it was hit by an outdated US Patriot air defence missile.

After he visited the site, Zelensky said two Russian drones “deliberately” targeted Kyiv’s monastery quarter.

Moscow fired 70 missiles and 611 drones, mainly targeting the capital, Ukraine’s air force said, adding that it had downed 50 of the missiles and 582 drones.

In the morning Kyiv sun, an AFP reporter saw rescuers carefully cleaning up rubble at the monastery, as the church bells rang out the tune of the Ukrainian anthem.

The Ukrainian security service said it was putting the debris from one of the drones on display.

Makariy, a monk who lives in the monastery, said he “jumped” from his bed after having been woken by a strong “roar” at five in the morning.

After stepping out of his room, he saw the complex engulfed in “fire and smoke” and took cover in a shelter.

Emergency service worker Ivan told AFP that “everything is fine inside” the Dormition Cathedral and that its roof took most of the damage.

The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a monastery with emblematic golden domes, is venerated by both the Russian and Ukrainian wings of the Orthodox Church as one of their most important spiritual centres.

Its sprawling cave system holds the relics of dozens of saints revered by both Churches.

The Dormition Cathedral, set alight in the overnight attacks, was almost completely destroyed during World War II and rebuilt only in the 1990s.

The Russian Orthodox Church administered the site via its Ukrainian branch for centuries.

In 2022-2023, the monks serving in the Ukrainian branch of the Moscow church were evicted from the monastery, accused of having ties to Russia.

The United Nations’ cultural agency UNESCO condemned the air raid and Kyiv’s Metropolitan Epiphanius, who heads the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, also denounced the attack.

“What more must the Kremlin antichrist do for the world to realise that decisive action must be taken to stop Russian terror against Ukraine and against the very principles of peace?” he said.

In total, 11 people were killed, including four in Kyiv and five — rescue workers and a civil servant — in the northeastern city of Kharkiv.

In Russia, a Ukrainian drone strike also killed three people and wounded three others in the city of Tula, around 200 kilometres (125 miles) south of Moscow, the regional governor Dmitry Milyaev said on Monday.

Zelensky said he was waiting to see what came of his proposal to meet Putin in the US, warning that if Russia again refuses talks, “additional pressure will be needed”.

Putin has repeatedly rejected calls for a face-to-face meeting, including a fresh invitation from Zelensky to meet during the G7 summit.

Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine has turned into Europe’s worst conflict since World War II, with thousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of troops killed.

As the near-daily pummelling of its cities by Russian drones and missiles continues, Ukraine has in recent weeks stepped up its own aerial attacks, which it says mostly target Russia’s oil infrastructure to sap its profits that fund the war.



AFP

The United States and Iran agreed on a peace deal and an “immediate and permanent” end to military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, mediator Pakistan said, in the strongest sign yet that more than three months of war in the Middle East is drawing to a close.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif posted on X that a peace deal “has been REACHED” and an official signing ceremony will be held on June 19 in Switzerland.

“The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” US President Donald Trump swiftly confirmed with his own statement on Sunday, as he marked his 80th birthday.

“I hereby fully authorise the toll-free opening of the Strait of Hormuz and, simultaneously herewith, authorise the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade. Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!”

There was no immediate confirmation from Iran, which just hours earlier had vowed to retaliate against a strike by Israel against Iranian ally Hezbollah in the suburbs of Beirut, which threatened to push back an agreement.

It had declined on Sunday to offer a clear timeline for reaching a peace deal.

But later in the day, Pakistan’s Sharif made the announcement that a deal had been struck, thanking the US and Iran “for finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict.”

“Both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” Sharif wrote, adding thanks to leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey for their support in the mediation effort.

It was a rollercoaster Sunday, with Trump in the morning angrily blaming Israel for delaying its signing with the airstrike on Beirut, which he said had delayed the agreement.

The last time Israel hit the Beirut suburbs, it sparked one of the strongest jolts yet to a ceasefire that has largely held since April, with Iran firing off a retaliatory missile barrage and Israel responding with strikes.

Tehran has long demanded that any agreement to halt the war must include the parallel conflict in Lebanon, where Israel has been pursuing a campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The war began in late February, with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, which retaliated with attacks on Israel and US allies in the region, and by virtually blocking ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil and natural gas supplies. The US retaliated to that by blockading ship traffic to Iranian ports.