🔴 US and Iran are ‘getting a lot closer’ to finalising agreement, Trump says
Issued on: 23/05/2026 - 07:45Modified: 23/05/2026 - 20:14
Share By: FRANCE 24
US President Donald Trump on Saturday told US broadcaster CBS that Tehran and Washington were "getting a lot closer" to finalising an agreement between the two countries. Iran earlier said that it was in the “final stage” of drafting an agreement with the US to end the US-Israeli war on Iran, the Islamic Republic’s state media reported. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.
23/05/2026 - 20:14Israel military says soldier killed near Lebanon border
Israel said a soldier was killed Friday near the border with Lebanon, raising the number of troops killed in the war with Iran-backed Hezbollah to 22.
A military statement named him as 23-year-old Staff Sergeant Noam Hamburger, who "fell during operational activity in northern Israel".
The military told AFP he was killed on Friday near the border with Lebanon.
A total of 23 Israelis have been killed in the conflict, 22 soldiers and one civilian contractor, since hostilities began on March 2.
23/05/2026 - 19:29MoU is being fine-tuned to end US-Iran war, Pakistani security official says
"An MoU is being fine-tuned" to end the US-Iran war, a Pakistani security official who was briefed on the army chief's visit to Tehran and his meetings with Iranian leaders said, referring to a memorandum of understanding.
23/05/2026 - 18:35Trump to hold talks with Gulf, regional leaders on Saturday, Arab official says
US President Donald Trump will hold a phone call on Saturday with leaders from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan, an Arab official told Reuters.
23/05/2026 - 18:09US and Iran are ‘getting a lot closer’ to finalising agreement, Trump says
Tehran and Washington are "getting a lot closer" to finalising an agreement to end the US-Israeli war on Iran, US President Donald Trump told US broadcaster CBS in a phone interview.
But in the interview with the TV network, Trump also warned that if the US and Iran do not come to an agreement, "we're going to have a situation where no country will ever be hit as hard as they're about to be hit".
Trump says he might make decision on latest Iran draft agreement by Sunday, Axios reports
US President Donald Trump said he will discuss the latest Iran draft agreement with advisers and might make a decision on whether to resume the war by Sunday, Axios reported, citing an interview with the US president.
"Either we reach a good deal or I'll blow them to a thousand hells," he was quoted as saying.
23/05/2026 - 17:35Israeli strike kills five Gaza police officers and a child, hospital reports
An Israeli strike killed five police officers and a child in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, said rescuers and the Palestinian territory's police force, which operate under Hamas authority.
Gaza's civil defence agency reported six people killed and "a certain number of injured" after an airstrike targeted a police site in the al-Tuam area.
The al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City confirmed that it received six bodies, which included those of five police officers and one child born in 2011.
The police force in Gaza said five of its officers were killed, adding that two missiles had been fired on the police site in al-Tuam.
A ceasefire has been in place since October, but Israel maintains that it reserves the right to strike targets it deems a threat. An Israeli military source told AFP the army had targeted what it described as "Hamas terrorists" in the area.
23/05/2026 - 17:12US and Iran close to extending ceasefire by 60 days, say mediators, FT reports
Mediators believe they are nearing agreement to extend a US ceasefire with Iran by 60 days and set a framework for talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme, the Financial Times reported, citing people briefed on the talks.
The deal would include a gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, discussions on diluting or transferring Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, and steps by Washington to ease its blockade of Iranian ports and sanctions relief, the report added.
23/05/2026 - 09:22- Iran weighs peace proposal, accuses US of 'excessive demands'
- Iran’s Revolutionary Guard naval forces report that 25 vessels have transited the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours
- Lebanon says Israeli strikes kill at least 10
- Iran in 'final stage' of drafting framework for deal with US: state TV
- US and Iran are ‘getting a lot closer’ to finalising agreement, Trump says
Pakistan army chief Munir's talks in Iran were highly productive, army statement says
Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir held highly productive talks with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials during a visit to Tehran on ending the US-Israeli war on Iran, the military said.
Negotiations over the past 24 hours had resulted in encouraging progress towards a final understanding, the statement said.
23/05/2026 - 16:28Iran says ending US naval blockade part of framework with US
Iran said it has included the ending of a weeks-long US naval blockade and arrangements on the strategic Strait of Hormuz in a draft framework for a deal with the United States.
"The issue of the Strait of Hormuz is among the subjects addressed in this 14-point memorandum of understanding but more importantly, ending the piracy carried out by the United States against international navigation," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei.
23/05/2026 - 16:28Iran says nuclear issue not part of initial framework with US
Iran said that the nuclear issue was not part of an initial framework it was drafting to end the war with the United States.
"At this stage, we will not discuss the details of the nuclear issue ... we have decided to prioritise an urgent issue for all of us: ending the war on all fronts including Lebanon," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told state television.
He added that the nuclear file will be "subject to separate discussions" at a later stage.
23/05/2026 - 16:14Iran in 'final stage' of drafting framework for deal with US: state TV
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said that Tehran was in the final stages of drafting a framework for a deal to end the war with the United States.
"Within a reasonable period of 30 to 60 days, the details of these points will be discussed and a final agreement will ultimately be concluded. We are currently in the process of finalising these memoranda of understanding," he told state broadcaster IRIB.
23/05/2026 - 16:06 23/05/2026 - 15:45Iran says Hormuz mechanism should be agreed with coastal states, not US
Iran said that any mechanism concerning the Strait of Hormuz should be agreed between Iran, Oman and the countries bordering the waterway, and that the United States "has nothing to do" with it.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei also said Iran was focused on finalising a memorandum of understanding through Pakistani-mediated talks between Tehran and Washington, according to Iran's state media
23/05/2026 - 15:40Lebanon's Hezbollah says Iran has promised to keep up support
Lebanon's Hezbollah said it had received a message from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying Iran would not drop its support for the group.
In a statement, the group added that Tehran's latest proposal submitted through Pakistani mediation to end the Iran war reaffirmed its demand that Lebanon be included in any ceasefire agreement.
23/05/2026 - 15:37Hezbollah says Tehran proposal to end US-Iran war has 'demand to include Lebanon' in truce
23/05/2026 - 15:37Hezbollah says message from Iran shows it 'will not give up' on group
23/05/2026 - 15:31Rubio says 'chance' of Iran accepting deal as soon as Saturday
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there was a chance Iran would accept a deal to end the Middle East war as soon as Saturday.
"There's been some progress done, some progress made, even as I speak to you now, there's some work being done. There is a chance that, whether it's later today, tomorrow, in a couple days, we may have something to say," Rubio told reporters during his visit to New Delhi.
'We heard our comrades getting beaten one by one': Freed Gaza flotilla activists allege Israeli abuse, including rape
Activists released from Israeli custody after being detained on a flotilla trying to bring aid to Gaza were subjected to abuse, organisers said on Friday, with several hospitalised with injuries and at least 15 reporting sexual assaults, including rape.
Adrien Berthel, an activist at Global Sumud France who was on board the flotilla when it was stopped by Israeli security forces, spoke to FRANCE 24 about his experience.
23/05/2026 - 14:39Lebanon says Israeli strike hits army barracks, wounding soldier
Lebanon's military said an Israeli strike targeted an army barracks in the country's south, wounding a soldier, despite a ceasefire in the war between Israel and militant group Hezbollah.
"A soldier was moderately wounded due to the hostile Israeli targeting of an army barracks in the city of Nabatieh," the army said, in a statement on social media.
Yesterday's key developments:
- European Union nations moved Friday towards imposing sanctions on Iranian officials and others responsible for blocking the Strait of Hormuz, the EU said.
-
The US did not request help from NATO on the Strait of Hormuz, said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
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Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed 10 people, including paramedics and a child.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AP and AFP)
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