Trump says Iran shot down US helicopter and vows to respond
7 minutes agoOlivia IrelandUS President Donald Trump claimed an agreement to end the war with Iran was close on Thursday, hours after cancelling a third consecutive night of strikes.Trump had declared the US would strike Iran "very hard", but hours later said his negotiators had "just made a great settlement" with Iran.He told reporters it was "subject to finalisation of documents, which should get done, over the next few days" and that there would "probably" be a signing ceremony in Europe.However, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told state TV that reports of an agreement were "speculative" and "nothing has been finalised". Trump has previously claimed a deal with Iran was close without one materialising.The US and Israel launched wide-ranging strikes on Iran on 28 February. Iran responded by attacking Israel and US-allied states in the Gulf, and effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz - a key shipping route for the world's oil and liquefied natural gas.Despite having agreed a ceasefire in April, the US and Iran have exchanged intermittent fire, including two rounds of tit-for-tat strikes this week. At the same time, Trump has also repeatedly talked up the prospects of a deal with Iran.In the wake of his latest comments the price of Brent crude plunged to about $89 a barrel (£66), down 4.4% on the day.Speaking to reporters, Trump said: "We have a deal that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, which was the whole purpose of what we had to go through to get this. So, it's a very big thing."There will "probably be a signing, maybe in Europe" once the documents are finalised, he said - and it should be done "pretty quickly".The documents are in "pretty final shape - so we'll see".Trump also said the Strait of Hormuz would also open "as soon as we have it signed".The US leader said he had spoken to leaders in the region, including Gulf allies and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adding: "The whole Middle East is very happy."EPAThe Israeli prime minister's office confirmed a conversation had taken place and said Israel "is not a party to the memorandum of understanding". The statement said Netanyahu expressed appreciation for Trump's commitment to work towards a final agreement that included "the removal of enriched material, the dismantling of enrichment infrastructure, limits on missile production, and the cessation of Iran's support for its terrorist proxies in the region".Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Baghaei said the majority of the text for the memorandum had already been "finalised" but the US had made "excessive demands" and added "new requests". He also maintained the country would not "depart from its red lines".The White House has been pushing for a quick resolution to talks with Iran aimed at ending the conflict, as well as addressing issues like security in the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran's nuclear ambitions. On 20 April, Trump said a deal with Iran would be made "relatively quickly", and both he and senior administration figures suggested negotiations were progressing in the weeks that followed.But on 27 May, after reports the two sides were close to an agreement, Trump said he was "not satisfied" with its terms. Talks have continued since. ReutersA satellite image showing an oil terminal at Kharg IslandHours before the latest comments on an impending deal, Trump had said "the United States will be hitting Iran... very hard tonight" while threatening to seize Kharg Island and other oil infrastructure points "in the not too distant future".Trump also wrote the US would "assume total control" over the oil and gas markets "much like we have with Venezuela". Iran's military threatened a retaliation "more severe than before", if there were further attacks against Iran."Considering recent US threats against Iran's oil infrastructure, either oil and gas exports are for everyone or they will be available for no-one," a statement said.Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf
