Before fighting erupted in the Strait of Hormuz earlier today, the US and Iran appeared to have made progress toward a deal, with reports that the two sides were negotiating a one-page plan to temporarily halt hostilities.

Donald Trump has ramped up pressure on Tehran to swiftly agree to a deal, threatening to “knock them out a lot harder, and a lot more violently, in the future” if it did not yield.

Three senior Iranian officials told The New York Times that the proposal has three main points: a 30-day ceasefire, a lifting of the US naval blockade on Iranian ports and a reopening of the strait.

Talks are still in progress over the short-term ceasefire and a framework for a permanent end to the war, but the officials said Tehran would agree to never pursue a nuclear weapon and would agree to a suspension in nuclear enrichment for a period of time that has not yet been concluded.

However, US demands for commitments in advance on Iran’s nuclear programme and stockpile of enriched uranium were still proving to be a sticking point in negotiations, the three officials told The New York Times.

Iran has proposed a suspension of enrichment for 10-15 years. Some of its existing stockpile of uranium would be diluted and the rest transferred to a third country, probably Russia, the officials told the newspaper.

American negotiators, however, have continued to reinforce their position that Iran should halt enrichment for 20 years, close three of its nuclear facilities and relinquish its uranium to the US, the officials said.

The White House has not yet responded to the reports.

– Daily Telegraph UK

Iran retains 70% of its pre-war missile stockpile despite US-Israeli strikes, according to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Tehran has also reopened most of its underground storage facilities, repaired damaged missiles, and even assembled new missiles, The Washington Post reported, citing analysis by the agency.

It highlights a significant failure of the US’s war against Iran, which was intended to stop the regime bolstering its conventional defences to rebuild its nuclear programme.

Donald Trump claimed in the Oval Office on Tuesday that Iran’s “missiles are mostly decimated, they have probably 18, 19%, but not a lot by comparison to what they had”.

In addition, the CIA analysis said Iran retains about 75 per cent of pre-war inventories of mobile launchers used to fire the missiles

– Daily Telegraph UK 

US President Donald Trump has reaffirmed his belief that Iran wants to strike a deal to end hostilities with the US, adding that the month-long ceasefire between the two militaries remains in place despite an earlier confrontation that both sides claim to have been instigated by their opponent in violation of the agreement.

Fielding questions from reporters during an unannounced visit to the Lincoln Memorial's reflecting pool, which has recently been resurfaced and finished in "American flag blue" at his request, President Trump said that a deal to end the war “might not happen, but it could happen any day".

“I believe they want the deal more than I do,” Trump added, downplaying fears of a potential escalation.

US President Donald Trump dismissed Iran's attacks on three American warships Thursday as "a trifle," saying he considered the ceasefire still active.

Asked during a visit to see renovations of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool if the Iran ceasefire was still on despite the attacks, Trump said: "Yeah it is. They trifled with us today. We blew them away. They trifled. I call that a trifle."

– AFP

Hezbollah fired mortars and rockets toward Israel Defence Forces (IDF) soldiers operating in southern Lebanon, the IDF said.

The projectiles fell near Israeli troops but did not cause any injuries.

The attack came a day after Israel struck Beirut for the first time since a ceasefire with Lebanon was agreed in April, killing a senior commander in Hezbollah’s elite special forces unit.

– Daily Telegraph UK 

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday US forces dealt "great damage" to Iranian targets after three American naval destroyers came under fire, but was nonetheless still open to a deal with Tehran.

"There was no damage done to the three Destroyers, but great damage done to the Iranian attackers," he said on his Truth Social platform, colourfully describing drones falling "like a butterfly dropping to its grave!"

"We'll knock them out a lot harder, and a lot more violently, in the future, if they don't get their Deal signed, FAST!" he added.

– AFP

Donald Trump confirmed multiple Iranian small boats were “completely destroyed” after attacking three American destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US vessels did not sustain any damage and successfully transited out of the strait under fire, Trump said, while the Iranian ships “went to the bottom of the sea” like “a butterfly dropping to its grave”.

The destroyers will rejoin the naval blockade in the waterway, he said.

If Tehran did not quickly agree to a deal, the US president warned, the US military would “knock them out a lot harder, and a lot more violently, in the future”.

Trump wrote on Truth Social:

Another explosion has been reported in a town on Iran's southern coast, state media says, as US President Donald Trump tells ABC News the strikes are 'just a love tap" from the US military.

Quasi-state news agency Mehr reported an explosion had jolted the town of Sirik, in Iran's Hormozgan province, following earlier strikes on targets in Tehran, Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island.

 ABC News reporter Rachel Scott said she spoke to President Trump over the phone following reported exchanges of fire between American and Iranian forces.

"It's just a love tap," Trump reportedly told her.

When Scott asked whether the strikes marked the ceasefire's end, Trump replied: "No, no, the ceasefire is going. It's in effect."