US President Donald Trump announced that Washington and Tehran are close to reaching an agreement, claiming that Iran has agreed to hand over its uranium. This development addresses one of the main obstacles in the ongoing negotiations between the two countries. Earlier, the United States had warned of renewed airstrikes and maintained naval blockades on Iranian ports if no agreement was reached.

At the same time, a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has come into effect. The Israeli military reported retaliatory strikes following rocket fire from Lebanon just before the truce began. Both countries’ prime ministers welcomed the ceasefire. Separately, the United States and Iran had also agreed to a different ceasefire arrangement.

Pakistan continues diplomatic efforts to facilitate dialogue between Washington and Tehran. On Thursday, Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir met Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, who led Iran’s delegation in the first round of talks last week that ended without agreement.