The Times of Israel is liveblogging Tuesday’s events as they unfold.
US President Donald Trump declares: “Iran has agreed to never have a Nuclear Weapon!”
The president’s latest Truth Social declaration appears to refer to a reported clause in the MOU signed on Sunday by the US and Iran in which the latter commits to never obtain a nuclear weapon.
Iran has long insisted it does not seek a nuclear weapon, and made such a commitment in the 2015 deal that Trump vilified and withdrew from in 2018. Both of Trump’s administrations, along with Israel, have refused thus far to take Tehran at its word — something the president is now suggesting he is prepared to do.
Truth also writes in his Truth Social post that, “the story that the US is paying Iran 300 million Dollars is Fake News, put out” by Democratic operatives.
However, hours earlier, one of his top aides briefing reporters about the Iran deal said the US has discussed with Iran, “the possibility of releasing frozen funds, sanctions relief and a big $300 billion fund to rebuild their country,” which will be tied to concessions it makes in subsequent nuclear talks with the US.
Both the US and Iran have sought to frame the MOU as a political victory, cherry-picking purported clauses that they believe help make their case.
The top Trump aide briefing reporters on Monday said the text of the MOU would likely be released in 24 to 48 hours, contradicting the president who said it wouldn’t be released until after Friday’s signing ceremony.
US Vice President JD Vance is asked during an NBC News interview why the White House isn’t just releasing the MOU, given that it is repeatedly calling out Iran for mischaracterizing the terms of the deal.
“There are some technical details to work out — not related to the text of the MOU itself, but the implementation,” Vance responds, without clarifying further.
The director of the CIA reportedly told US President Donald Trump that intelligence findings indicate Iran is not necessarily willing to make nuclear concessions it has committed to pursuing.
A report in the Axios news site, citing three sources, says CIA director John Ratcliffe suggested to senior government officials that “the intelligence reflects that the Iranian intentions are not in line with their commitments under the deal,” a source says.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly joined Ratcliffe in expressing skepticism, as did Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, but advisers Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have expressed support for the deal.
The report says that US Vice President JD Vance, Witkoff and Kushner are slated to meet Friday with Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to discuss the next elements of the deal that are slated to be worked out in line with the memorandum of understanding.
US Vice President J.D. Vance tells NBC News in an interview that nuclear inspectors will “absolutely” be allowed to return to Iran as part of a deal with the US to end the war between the two countries.
“In fact, one of the core parts of the agreement is that the [International Atomic Energy Agency] and the United States are going to help Iran destroy the highly enriched stockpile, and that’s something that’s spelled out very clearly” in the memorandum of understanding the US and Iran have already agreed to, NBC quotes Vance saying.
Eight people are feared to have died when a B-52 bomber crashed shortly after take-off in California today, says the US air force base where the accident happened.
“An Air Force B-52 Stratofortress carrying eight people on a routine test mission crashed today shortly after take-off at 11.20 am (PDT). Initial indications are that the crash was not survivable,” says a statement from Edwards Air Force Base.
Iran’s Mehr news agency says that the sound of three explosions was heard south of Qeshm Island and in the Strait of Hormuz area, adding that initial reports suggest the blasts were likely carried out to “manage traffic in the strait.”
US Vice President JD Vance says the US’s memorandum of understanding with Iran is “a very general document” with specifics of the deal to be worked out during further negotiations.
“The MOU… is about a page and half so it is a very general document,” Vance says on CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper. “On a number of issues, we are going to have to figure this stuff out during the technical negotiation phase.”
A $300 billion fund the Trump administration is considering for Iran would be created for companies keen to invest in the country and not from governments, the Financial Times reports, citing a source briefed on the talks.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.
Israeli officials were shocked by the Sunday announcement that the US and Iran had reached a deal, with one senior Israeli official calling the agreement “terrible for us,” Channel 13 news reports.
Jerusalem had long assessed that the negotiations would end up collapsing, the report notes.
It adds that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently held a tense phone call with US Vice President JD Vance in which the latter asked for Israel to scale back the IDF’s presence in Lebanon, but Netanyahu refused.
“The IDF won’t withdraw, but from now on, every action will be scrutinized,” a source is quoted as saying by the network.
Hezbollah fired several rockets at Israeli troops in southern Lebanon a short while ago, the military says, one of several attacks carried out by the terror group today.
The IDF also confirms striking Hezbollah operatives who “posed a threat” to forces in southern Lebanon today.
According to the military, the rockets fired at Israeli forces a short while ago were intercepted by air defenses. No sirens sounded in any towns in Israel.
Additionally, Hezbollah fired an anti-tank missile and several mortars at troops in southern Lebanon, in several separate attacks today, with no injuries caused, the IDF says.
Also, in four separate incidents today, the IDF says, troops spotted “several terrorists traveling in vehicles and approaching IDF soldiers, in a manner that posed an immediate threat to them.”
The Israeli Air Force then struck “all of the threats in a precise manner,” the military adds.
