The first round of negotiations between the US and Iran to reach a final deal to end the war has ended with “encouraging progress”, mediators Qatar and Pakistan say.

In a joint statement early on Monday, Qatar and Pakistan said that a “High Level Committee” had agreed to “a roadmap towards reaching a final deal within 60 days”.

Iran’s foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said there had been “major progress” towards ending the conflict in Lebanon.

The memorandum of understanding signed last week includes a commitment to ending the fighting on “all fronts” – including Lebanon – and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

“Pakistani and Qatari mediation has delivered major progress to end Lebanon War,” Araghchi posted on social media.

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On Wednesday, President Trump met with Iranian leaders to sign an initial memorandum of understanding towards ending the months-long war. In a press conference after the signing, Trump was triumphant.

Specifically, he touted the deal’s firmness on one of the US’s key priorities: ensuring that Iran can never develop a nuclear weapon.

Whilst Iran has agreed to “not procure or develop nuclear weapons,” there are many questions left unanswered. What does it actually look like to police the weapons programmes?

Today, Asma Khalid from The Global Story podcast speaks to someone intimately familiar with the weapons inspection process: President of the Institute for Science and International Security, David Albright.

In the 1990s, Albright worked in Iraq with the UN, investigating the nation’s weapons programme under Sadaam Hussein.

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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:42 Can Trump stop Iran having a nuclear weapon?
07:42 Iraq and the question of nuclear weapons
10:00 How often did nuclear inspections take place in Iran?
14:33 What’s in the peace deal about nuclear weapons?
18:14 What is nuclear dust?

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Keir Starmer has stepped down as UK prime minister, saying he “a new leader will be in place before Parliament returns in September, I will remain in post until the contest is complete”.

It is the sixth prime ministerial resignation in the UK in 10 years.

After U-turns on major policies, the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US, and major Labour losses in local elections in May, the pressure was ramping up.

While Starmer had been vowing to fight any leadership challenge, the tone shifted after Andy Burnham beat Reform UK in the Makerfield by-election on Thursday.

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Switzerland has hosted a first round of talks on a long-term peace deal between the United States and Iran. The US Vice President, JD Vance, called them ‘historic’ and that great progress had been made.

Iranian media are reporting that the delegation from Tehran refused to share a photo opportunity ahead of the negotiations, and they’ve been angered by renewed threats from President Trump to bomb Iran if it fails to rein in Hezbollah, its proxy in Lebanon

Israel is insisting its troops will continue to occupy southern Lebanon to protect northern Israel from Hezbollah attack.

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Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#BBCNews

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