Trump again claims Iran peace deal is imminent

There were more state conflicts in 2025 than since World War II, according to a new study published Tuesday. 

The annual “Conflict Trends” report from the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) found that last year was also the third-deadliest conflict since the Cold War.

“We also saw an increase in the number of conflicts in the Middle East from 10 in 2024 to 13 in 2025. This is the highest recorded number of conflicts in the region since 1946,” the report said. 

News agency AFP quoted PRIO researcher Siri Aas Rustad as telling reporters that Israel was “clearly one of the most aggressive countries in the world at the moment” due to its involvement in conflicts in Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, Iran and against Houthi rebels in Yemen. 

You can read more about the report here.

US President Donald Trump said the two crew members of a US Army helicopter “were fine” after a report said that an Apache helicopter gunship went down near the Strait of Hormuz.

“The pilots are fine. Yeah,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday when asked about the incident. 

The New York Times first reported that the helicopter crashed near the crucial waterway that has been choked by the Iran war. The report added that the crew on board had been rescued.

It was not immediately clear what led to the crash.

“Nobody injured. We are going to issue a report tomorrow. But the pilots are fine,” Trump said.

There has been no statement yet from the US military command or the Defense Department.

US President Donald Trump has claimed that negotiators in talks for a peace deal in the Middle East were in the “final throes” as unease looms after Iran and Israel mounted their worst strikes in months — unraveling a ceasefire —  and then hit pause on fresh strikes yesterday. 

Iran and Israel “were going back and forth and now they both agreed through me to stop, and we are in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal,” the US leader told the media on Tuesday.

Trump said there was “a good chance” a deal could be reached in “two or three days” as he spoke to reporters after attending the NBA Finals in Madison Square Garden in New York City.

He added that the Strait of Hormuz will “open up immediately upon signing” of a deal. 

Trump has repeatedly claimed a peace agreement with Iran is close since a ceasefire was agreed upon in April. 

Tehran has linked any deal with the US to a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israel is at war with the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

On Monday, Iran said it would attack again if Israel persisted with its strikes in Lebanon. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that should Tehran “make the mistake of resuming attacks against us, we will respond with full force.”

Thank you for joining us! This is the Tuesday edition of our coverage of the Middle East as Iran and Israel say they intend to enter a pause in attacks that were renewed over the last weekend. 

But first, here’s a wrap of development that unfolded at the start of the week:

• Iran and Israel announced a halt in hostilities after the two nations launched a salvo of strikes against each other, threatening to intensify the Middle East war
• Tehran’s main international airport reopened. Flights carrying Hajj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia began landing
• Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen declared a ban on Israeli shipping in the Red Sea
• The European Union imposed additional sanctions on Iran over the near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz
• International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi called on Iran to “reengage” on the issue of nuclear inspections.

Stay tuned as we bring you the latest.