Image source, REU

While we wait for Macron to speak, here’s a reminder that the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran is set to be formally signed in the Swiss resort of Bürgenstock on Friday.

Iran's Speaker of the Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and US Vice-President JD Vance are both expected to attend the signing.

The text of the deal has not yet been published.

A new round of negotiations on reaching a final peace deal - covering issues such as Iran's nuclear material - is expected to begin the same day as the signing.

Image source, Reuters

French President Emmanuel Macron will be holding a news conference shortly at the G7 summit.

We’ll bring you the key points, and you can watch live by pressing play at the top of the page.

Amir Azimi
Senior News Editor – Persian Service

Meanwhile, how does Iran view the deal with the US?

Iran's leadership is trying to present its emerging memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the US not as a retreat, but as the result of resistance and victory. That is not an easy argument to make.

The country has just gone through a damaging war, the economy is under severe pressure, and parts of the Islamic Republic's own support base have spent months denouncing any compromise with Washington.

There are also Iranians, both inside the country and abroad, who see the crisis not as a moment for diplomacy, but as an opportunity for regime change.

This is the divided political landscape in which Tehran is now trying to sell the deal.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Earlier we brought you a post on what the apparent text of the US-Iran deal says about the Strait of Hormuz.

The waterway has been a key focus in the conflict. Bounded to the north by Iran and to the south by Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the strait - only about 50km (31 miles) wide at its entrance and exit, and about 33km wide at its narrowest point - connects the Gulf with the Arabian Sea.

About 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) usually passes through the strait, with oil coming not only from Iran but also from other Gulf states such as Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

About 3,000 ships usually sail through the strait each month, but this has dramatically decreased after Iran threatened to attack tankers and other ships.

Trump denies deal offers Iran too many concessionspublished at 13:17 BST

13:17 BST

Jon Donnison
Reporting from Jerusalem

Facing criticism from Israel and hawks within his own Republican Party, US President Donald Trump pushed back on the idea his deal had made too many concessions to Iran. He said if Tehran didn’t behave the US would go “right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head”.

To the surprise of some, the memorandum of understanding is reported to contain the lifting of oil and petrochemical sanctions on Iran with immediate effect, putting billions of dollars back into the country’s economy.

Three Iranian oil tankers have passed through the US blockade in the Strait of Hormuz for the first time in two months.

Iran has accused Israel of multiple breaches of the ceasefire in Lebanon, warning this could see the agreement collapse, while Lebanese media has reported Israeli shelling in the south of the country.

What does the apparent text of the deal say about the Strait of Hormuz?published at 13:07 BST

13:07 BST

By Ben Chu

The apparent text of the deal, as reported by Bloomberg, external, states Iran "will immediately take steps to ensure that the movement of merchant ships from the Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa is resumed within 30 days to the pre-war volume".

An indicator of this pre-war volume comes from ship-tracking data published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which shows a daily average of 94 merchant ship transits across the Strait of Hormuz last year.

Since the conflict began on 28 February, the daily average number of vessel transits has been just six, according to the IMF data, though a number have been crossing with their radio transponders turned off so the true figure will likely be somewhat higher.

This week US President Donald Trump has said the Strait of Hormuz will be "permanently toll-free", but Iran’s foreign ministry is reported to have said there will be "fees" for using the strait which will be "charged in exchange for the services that are provided".

The reported US-Iran agreement text makes no reference to either tolls or fees.

Image source, Reuters

On the US-Iran deal

President Trump said the proposed agreement with Iran is not final.

Speaking at a meeting with Egypt’s President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday, he said: "If I don't like it, we'll go back to shooting at them, dropping bombs on their head... if they don't behave, we'll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head, OK?"

He also reiterated that the US is not investing in Iran. It comes after reports that the US was prepared to allow an investment fund for Iran in exchange for Tehran’s agreement to a final settlement.

On Tuesday, the US president also said that "Iran will never have a nuclear weapon" under the deal.

On Israel

In a joint meeting at the summit with the Emir of Qatar, President Trump criticised the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he has to be "more responsible with respect to Lebanon". Israel has been fighting Hezbollah for "too long and too many people are being killed."

Both Israel and Hezbollah have carried out attacks against each other since the US-Iran agreement was announced on Sunday night.

On Ukraine

Also on Tuesday Trump said he had a very good meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and that Russia should "make a deal".

He added that "soon we will be able” to reimpose sanctions on Russian oil.

As the G7 summit comes to a close in France, several countries are set to hold news conferences.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who is hosting this year's summit, will speak at 15:00 local time (14:00 BST / 13:00 GMT).

US President Donald Trump will hold his own news conference later in the afternoon.

Both Starmer and Trump are expected to leave France after today's events.

Image source, Getty Images

Before US President Donald Trump said the deal with Iran was "not final", a joint statement from the G7 countries - including the US - called for a "robust" follow-on agreement.

The G7 countries - US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Italy and Japan - say they "recognise the breakthrough" in the Middle East and that they "support and are ready to contribute" to the implementation of the deal.

"We strongly support a robust and comprehensive diplomatic follow-on agreement to the Memorandum of Understanding secured by President Trump that can bring peace and security for all in the region," the statement says.

The statement on geopolitical issues, external also covers other areas, including the war in Ukraine, North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programme, and tensions in the East and South China Seas and across the Taiwan Strait.

Image source, Getty Images

The G7 (Group of Seven) is an organisation of the world's seven largest so-called "advanced" economies, which dominate global trade and the international financial system.

They are: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the United States.

This year's summit is being held in the French town of Évian-les-Bains, and today is the final of three days.

Other leaders have also attended including Ukrainian President Zelensky and Egypt's President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi - who Trump met a short while ago when he said the deal with Iran was "not final".

Image source, reut

Trump has just said the deal to bring an end to the war Iran is not final.

It was agreed between the US and Iran, with mediator Pakistan, on Sunday. The contents of the agreement - referred to as a memorandum of understanding - have not yet been published.

On Monday, President Trump said "the deal is all signed" and the full text will be published "pretty soon".

It will extend a ceasefire for another 60 days, during which the sides will negotiate details of a final agreement.

The Strait of Hormuz will re-open toll-free as part of the deal, Trump has said, and the US blockade of Iran's ports will come to an end.

Technical talks on Iran's nuclear programme are also expected to begin this week, US officials said.

But the agreement is not a peace deal, the BBC's international editor Jeremy Bowen explains. It defers the thorniest issues such as Iran's nuclear programme and the level of sanctions relief to future negotiations.

There are also questions over what exactly the deal means for the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran insists it must be part of the deal.

The US and Iran are scheduled to sign the deal in the Swiss resort of Burgenstock on Friday.

Image source, EBU

US President Donald Trump says the agreed deal with Iran is not final.

Speaking at the G7 summit in France, he adds that the US will "go back to dropping bombs" if he does not like the final agreement.

It comes as the US and Iran are set to meet in Switzerland on Friday to sign the deal - the details of which have not yet been released.