US President Donald Trump said there was a “very good chance” of reaching an agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear programme after he paused a planned military attack on Iran on Monday, while warning the US remained ready to launch a large-scale assault if talks fail. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments.
Asian shares mixed as Iran war uncertainty rattles markets
Asian shares were mixed Tuesday as uncertainty about what will happen with the Iran war roiled global markets.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.6% in morning trading to 60,433.79, erasing initial gains after the government reported that the economy grew for the second straight quarter in January-March, mainly due to better-than-expected consumer spending.
South Korea’s Kospi sank more than 4% in early trading and was down 3.5% at 7,249.73 by midday. Shares in Samsung Electronics slipped 3.8% and SK Hynix fell 4%, tracking losses in tech shares overnight on Wall Street.
Trump says ‘very good chance’ of reaching a deal with Iran
US President Donald Trump said on Monday he had paused a planned attack against Iran after Tehran sent a peace proposal to Washington, and that there was now a “very good chance” of reaching a deal limiting Iran’s nuclear programme.
After Iran sent the US a new peace proposal, Trump said he had instructed the US military that “we will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow, but have further instructed them to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached.”
• US President Donald Trump claimed that he was holding off on a military strike on Iran planned for Tuesday at the request of Gulf State leaders because “serious negotiations” were under way.
• Iran announced a new body to oversee the Strait of Hormuz, which will manage maritime traffic and provide updates as tolls and restrictions reshape global shipping.
• Lebanon‘s health ministry announced that Israeli strikes had killed more than 3,000 people since Israel began targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon.
