Trump says Iran peace deal is in final stages

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that talks to end the Middle East conflict were in their final stages, following a pause in attacks by Iran and Israel that had threatened to reignite the months‑long war.

Iran launched missiles at Israel on Sunday in retaliation for strikes on Lebanon’s Hezbollah in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Israel responded, despite Trump’s attempts to persuade Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from striking.

Netanyahu told reporters that the “fire on that front is contained” hours after Tehran announced a halt to its military actions, while both sides warned they could resume hostilities even as diplomatic efforts intensified.

Trump said, “Iran and Israel were going back and forth and now they both agreed through me to stop and we’re in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal,” as he returned from an NBA Finals game.

When asked whether the deal would take days or weeks, he replied that it would require “two or three days.”

The flare‑up followed weeks of negotiations aimed at ending the regional war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. Tehran insisted that a ceasefire must also include a truce in Lebanon.

Trump, reportedly growing frustrated with Netanyahu, had earlier urged both sides to stop “shooting” and said that “final negotiations” toward peace would proceed “subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way.”

US Vice President JD Vance told Fox News on Monday that while the United States and Israel share many interests, their positions do not always align.

“The Israelis and the United States, we have a lot of shared interests,” Vance said. “But we also have some situations where our interests diverge.”

– Lebanon city evacuates –

In the recent escalation, Iran fired nearly 30 missiles at Israel, according to the Israeli military, while Israel struck military sites in the Islamic Republic.

Iranian state media reported on Tuesday that two members of the “Army Air Defence Force” were killed in Israeli strikes a day earlier. No casualties were reported in Israel following the exchange.

Despite Iranian demands, Israel has continued its attacks on Lebanon, where it is fighting the Iran‑backed group Hezbollah.

On Tuesday, Lebanese state media reported an Israeli strike on the southern city of Tyre after the Israeli military urged residents to evacuate. This was the first time the entire city and its surrounding areas had been ordered to leave.

“Enemy warplanes launched a heavy strike on Tyre,” the state‑run National News Agency said.

The news prompted residents of Tyre, including its Christian quarter, to flee for safety, an AFP correspondent reported, noting heavy traffic heading north.

“For your safety, we ask you to immediately evacuate your homes… and move north of the Zahrani River,” the Israeli military’s Arabic‑language spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X.

Last week, Israel’s military alleged that Hezbollah members were operating in the Christian quarter and warned people to leave if the group remained there.

Lebanon entered the war when Hezbollah militants fired rockets at Israel on March 2 to avenge the US‑Israeli killing of Iran’s supreme leader.

Israel responded with an extensive campaign of airstrikes and a ground invasion that have killed nearly 3,600 people. Exchanges of fire with Hezbollah have not stopped despite an ongoing truce.

The heads of the Pakistani and Lebanese armed forces agreed to boost cooperation on Tuesday as they met in Pakistan amid continuing Middle East war talks.

On another front, Israel’s military said early Tuesday it had intercepted an aerial target from Yemen, but there were no injuries.

– Oil eases –

Fears had risen that the recent flare‑up would jeopardise a fragile Middle East truce—effective since April 8—and derail efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global oil normally passes.

The conflict has severely disrupted shipping through the Hormuz Strait, while Washington has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports.

Trump said Tuesday that two pilots were uninjured after reports that a US military helicopter went down near the Strait of Hormuz.

It was not immediately clear whether the Apache helicopter was shot down, experienced mechanical failure or encountered some other problem, the New York Times reported, citing two people briefed on the incident.

In better news for Iranians, local media reported early Tuesday that Tehran’s international airport—closed during the missile exchanges—had reopened, allowing flights carrying Hajj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia to land.

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