China's Xi meets Pakistan PM Sharif in Beijing: state media
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday, state media reported, as diplomatic efforts by several countries to formally end the Iran war drag on.
Sharif's meeting with Xi in Beijing, reported by Chinese state news agency Xinhua, followed talks earlier in the day with Premier Li Qiang, the country's number-two leader.
Iran says charging fees for 'navigational services' through Hormuz
Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday that Tehran was collecting fees for "navigational services" on ships transiting the strategic Strait of Hormuz, rather than imposing tolls.
"The services that are provided -- navigational services in addition to the measures necessary to protect the environment of the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman -- require the collection of certain fees," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing.
He added that Iran was "not seeking to collect tolls".
Key US-Iran negotiator Munir in China with PM Sharif: Pakistan TV
Islamabad's key negotiator between the United States and Iran, army chief Asim Munir, is in Beijing alongside the country's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for talks with Chinese leaders, Pakistan television showed on Monday.
Munir was in Tehran on Friday and Saturday alongside Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi as part of ongoing mediation efforts to formally end the Iran war.
China has said it would work with Pakistan to "make positive contributions to the early restoration of peace and stability in the Middle East".
Iran would discuss nuclear issue with US if potential MoU implemented
Iran would discuss its nuclear programme and its highly enriched uranium with the US if Washington fulfils its commitments in a potential memorandum of understanding being negotiated, a senior Iranian diplomat told ISNA news agency on Monday.
These issues would be discussed in negotiations in exchange for the lifting of sanctions and release of Iranian foreign assets, Hossein Nooshabadi said, according to the agency.
As Iran diplomacy picks up, Rubio tours Taj Mahal
As diplomacy intensifies on ending the Iran war, top US diplomat Marco Rubio was spending Monday not in negotiations but at India's world-famous monument to love, the Taj Mahal.
Rubio, on his first-ever visit to India, flew to Agra and spent 45 minutes at the Taj Mahal with his wife Jeanette, who usually shuns the spotlight. "It's one of the wonders of the world," Rubio said of the Taj Mahal. "I think it's important to show respect to the culture of the countries that you visit."
The excursion is unusual for Rubio, who in nearly a year and a half on the job has preferred short, business-like trips and rarely done events outside of government meetings.
Rubio said he was taking advantage of a one-day break in his schedule before a meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday of the Quad - Australia, India, Japan and the United States.
He will also visit the palace-filled city of Jaipur on Monday to tour the Amber Fort.
Iran says progress on many issues with US but agreement not imminent
Iran said Monday that Tehran and Washington had reached understandings on many issues in exchanges over a deal for ending the war, but warned an agreement was not imminent.
"It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, during a weekly news briefing.
"But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent -- no one can make such a claim," he said, accusing Washington of shifting its positions.
Qalibaf reelected as Iran's parliament speaker, Fars says
Iran's top negotiator in talks with the United States, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, has been reelected as the country's parliamentary speaker, semi-official Fars news agency reported on Monday.
- Vessels carrying Middle East oil, LNG exit Hormuz, head for Pakistan, China
- Israel military issues new evacuation warning to 10 Lebanon villages
- Iran says charging fees for 'navigational services' through Hormuz
Israel military issues new evacuation warning to 10 Lebanon villages
Israel's military on Monday warned residents of 10 villages, most of them in southern Lebanon, to evacuate their homes ahead of expected strikes against alleged Hezbollah targets.
"In light of Hezbollah's violation of the ceasefire agreement, the Israel Defense Forces are compelled to operate against it with force," the military's Arabic-language spokesman, Colonel Avichay Adraee, said in a social media post, listing the names of the villages.
"For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move at least 1,000 metres away from these towns and villages to open areas."
Rubio says US will find 'another way' if Iran talks fail
The United States will either have a good agreement with Iran or deal with the country in "another way", Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday, as Washington played down hopes for an imminent breakthrough in the three-month-old war.
Rubio told reporters in New Delhi that the US would give diplomacy every chance to succeed before exploring "alternatives", after President Donald Trump said on Sunday he had told his representatives not to rush into any Iran deal.
Copper gains as US-Iran peace deal hopes weigh on dollar, oil
Copper rose on Monday as the dollar and oil prices fell on hopes of a potential peace deal between the United States and Iran, easing fears of inflation and a global economic slowdown.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 0.90 percent to $13,624.32 a metric ton by 04:19 GMT.
The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained 1.1 percent to 105,590 yuan ($15,539.93) a ton.
Expectations of a US-Iran deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil prices below $100 per barrel.
Iran executes man involved in January protests, state media reports
Iran executed a man over charges related to the anti-government protests that took place nationwide in January, state media reported on Monday.
The individual was identified as Abbas Akbari, according to state media.
India hikes fuel prices again due to Middle East war
India's state-run fuel companies raised petrol and diesel prices for the fourth time in 10 days on Monday, as the Middle East war strains supplies to the world's fastest-growing major economy.
Automobile fuel prices have increased by five percent since the war broke out in February, prompting Iran's near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical energy corridor.
India, the world's third-largest oil buyer, normally sources about half of its crude through the vital waterway.
Israeli military says one soldier killed during combat in southern Lebanon
Israel said on Monday a soldier was killed in southern Lebanon, taking to 23 the number of its troops killed in the war with Iran-backed Hezbollah.
A military statement named him as 19-year-old Sergeant Nehoray Leizer of the 601st Combat Engineering Battalion, who "fell in combat in southern Lebanon".
During the incident in which Leizer was killed, "an additional soldier was severely injured", the Israeli military said separately on Telegram.
A total of 24 Israelis have been killed in the conflict, 23 soldiers and one civilian contractor, since hostilities began on March 2.
Rubio says Iran deal still possible Monday
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that a deal to end the war with Iran could materialise "today", adding that Israel had the right to defend itself against attack.
"We thought we might have some news last night, maybe today, I wouldn't read too much into it," Rubio said in New Delhi, referring to the potential agreement.
"Israel always has a right to protect itself... if Hezbollah is going to launch missiles or launches missiles at them, Israel has every right to respond to that," he told reporters as he departed the Indian capital, where he has been on an official visit.
Vessels carrying Middle East oil, LNG exit Hormuz, head for Pakistan, China
Two liquefied natural gas tankers are exiting the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, heading to Pakistan and China, while a supertanker with Iraqi crude for China left the Gulf on Saturday after being stranded for nearly three months, shipping data showed.
The vessels are among a handful of supertankers exiting the Gulf this month via a transit route that Iran has ordered ships to use. Last week, three Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) made their way to China and South Korea with 6 million barrels of crude.
Japanese government bonds rally as Iran peace talks ease inflation fears
Japanese government bonds (JGBs) rallied on Monday, pushing yields further away from recent multi-decade highs, as signs of progress in resolving the Middle East conflict tamed inflation fears.
The benchmark 10-year JGB yield, which touched a 29-year high of 2.8 percent last week, slid 5 basis points to
2.710 percent. The 30-year yield, which recently hit a record 4.2 percent, dropped 5.5 bps to 3.955 percent.
Australian activists return after Gaza flotilla incident, allege Israeli abuse
Australian activists detained by Israel while on a flotilla attempting to deliver aid to Gaza have returned home, with organisers alleging abuse, sexual assault, and beatings, that left some detainees in hospital.
Eleven Australians were among the 430 volunteers on 50 boats intercepted in international waters last week by Israeli forces aiming to stop the flotilla delivering aid supplies to the Gaza Strip. The flotilla included people from 40 countries.
One activist reached Melbourne on Sunday evening, while others arrived in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane on Monday.
Juliet Lamont, an Australian activist and documentary filmmaker, told Reuters on Monday she was dragged, sexually assaulted and beaten when she was detained.
Yesterday's key developments:
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he and US President Donald Trump agreed that any final agreement with Iran must remove the nuclear threat posed by Tehran.
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Hezbollah in a statement of trying to plunge Lebanon "back into chaos".
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Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem again urged Lebanese authorities to abandon direct talks with Israel, ahead of a fourth round of such discussions in Washington early next month.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, Reuters and AP)
