Iranian minister mocks Trump negotiations – Live updates

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has openly mocked Donald Trump’s claims that he is winning the war in the Middle East.

He asked: ‘So then why did he ask for negotiations? Clearly, Iran is standing up to the largest superpower in the world, and they have not achieved a single one of their objectives.

‘That is why he is asking for negotiations, and we are now considering this option.’

Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, told Fox News last night that Iran’s ceasefire proposals were ‘better than what we thought they were going to submit.’

However, he questioned whether they were genuine.

Tehran earlier passed ‘written messages’ to Washington via Pakistan, spelling out its red lines in negotiations, including on nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz.

The price of Brent crude oil – the international benchmark – hit $110 per barrel today, rising 2.4% following a 2.8% gain yesterday.

Meanwhile, the US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, rose 2.1% to about $98 per barrel, following a 2.1% increase yesterday.

Iran has today said that the US no longer in a position to dictate policy to other nations.

Iran’s deputy defence minister said that his nation is ready to share its defensive weapons capabilities with ‘independent countries, especially members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).’

Reza Talaei-Nik made the bold statement at a meeting of the SCO, made up of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan and Belarus.

The IDF this morning said it has activated air defences to take down a ‘suspicious aerial target.’

It was spotted in southern Lebanon, where Israel’s military have launched an incursion.

Lebanese media, meanwhile, has reported new Israeli attacks through the morning.

IDF soldiers were reportedly firing heavy machine guns in Bint Jbeil and launched three strikes on Zawtar Al Sharqiya, both of which are in southern Lebanon.

Tehran’s embassy in London is urging Iranian expats to ‘sacrifice their lives for the homeland’ and move back to the Middle East.

Diplomats at the embassy asked ‘all brave and noble children of Iran’ living in the UK to sign up to the war effort programme ‘for the people’s defence of the land.’

It added: ‘Let us all willingly give our lives. It is better than giving the country to the enemy.’

Oil giant BP has admitted that soaring oil prices caused by the war in the Middle East have resulted in profits more than doubling.

It said in its financial results for the first three months of the year that underlying profits hit $3.198bn (£2.366bn).

This is significantly higher than the doubling to $2.7bn (£1.99bn) that analysts had expected.

A superyacht linked to sanctioned Russian billionaire and Putin ally Alexey Mordashov sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, new shipping data has revealed.

Nord – a 465-foot yacht worth over $500million (£369million) – left a Dubai marina at around 2pm on Friday, crossed the strait on Saturday morning, and arrived in Muscat early on Sunday.

This makes it one of very few vessels to transit the blockaded shipping lane at the heart of the US-Iran conflict.

It is not clear how the multi-deck pleasure vessel gained permission to use the route. Since February, Iran has severely restricted traffic through the strait, which typically handles around one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

Sir Keir Starmer will lead talks on the economic fallout of the Iran crisis amid renewed calls from dozens of nations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The Prime Minister will convene the meeting of the Middle East Response Committee with ministers and representatives from the Bank of England on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing economic impact of the war.

Ministers are expected to gather in one of the Cabinet Office briefing rooms.

The Government previously warned that the economic impact could last for eight months after the war’s end.