Middle East crisis live: fate of strait of Hormuz hangs in balance as Trump claims Iran deal ‘largely negotiated’

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Iran war and the wider Middle East crisis.

Donald Trump has announced that a peace deal with Iran “has been largely negotiated”, after calls with a Pakistani mediator, Gulf allies and Israel, potentially paving the way for an end to the war launched by the US and Israel in February.

Trump wrote that the “final aspects and details” of a “Memorandum of Understanding” are still being discussed and “will be announced shortly”, but said the strait of Hormuz will be opened as part of the deal.

However, Iran’s Fars news agency, which is close to the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that the strait would remain under Iranian control, and that Trump’s assertion that an agreement was nearly final was “inconsistent with reality”.

Three senior Iranian officials told the New York Times the agreement would stop the fighting in Iran and in Lebanon, and could release $25bn in Iranian assets frozen overseas, with a nuclear agreement to be negotiated within 30 to 60 days.

We will bring you the latest developments, as they happen.