Why has Trump halted Iran attacks, and what is the deal he is hinting at?

Trump insists ‘perimeters of a deal has been agreed to’ as he pauses attacks on Iran. But is there any substance to his claim?

By Al Jazeera Staff

United States President Donald Trump says the US and Israel have agreed to halt new attacks on Iran, provided a deal to end the months-long conflict is reached “rapidly”.

The region has been on edge, fearing that the fighting could escalate once again after Washington and Tehran traded threats of renewed heavy attacks, including against energy infrastructure.

Trump said on his Truth Social platform early on Sunday in Iran and late on Saturday in the US that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries asked him to hold off on the attacks because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to”.

Iran denied Trump’s claim that Tehran asked the US to refrain from conducting new strikes. Citing military officials, the agency said the allegation “was nothing but a new lie” and that the Iranian armed forces were “on high alert and ready for any eventuality”.

Meanwhile, the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway critical to global energy supplies, remains shut, and shipping is disrupted as well in the Red Sea by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

Moscow mayor calls a deadly bomb attack on a restaurant a ‘terrorist act’

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin called on Sunday a bomb attack on a restaurant in the capital the day before a “brutal terrorist act,” but did not say who was responsible.

The blast on Saturday evening at the Balzi Rossi, an upscale Italian establishment in central Moscow, killed three people, including the woman bomber, Russian state media said, citing local officials.

“Yesterday, a brutal terrorist act was committed in Moscow that claimed human lives. The victims are currently in the city’s hospitals, where they are receiving all necessary care,” Sobyanin wrote on social media Sunday.

At least 21 people were wounded when the explosive device detonated at the restaurant on Kudrinskaya Square, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee said late on Saturday, according to Russian state news agency Ria Novosti.

3 people killed, at least 21 wounded in Moscow restaurant bombing, Russian officials say

By  THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A bomb detonated at a restaurant Saturday in ‌ central ⁠Moscow killing at least three people, including the bomber, Russian state media said, citing local officials.

At least 21 people were also injured when the explosive device detonated at the restaurant on Kudrinskaya Square in Moscow, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee said, quoted by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

Israel Bombards Gaza, Days After Trump Announced Deal to Advance Cease-Fire

Palestinian officials said at least two people were killed. The deal announced by President Trump calls in part for Hamas to give up its weapons and Israel to stop its attacks in Gaza.

By Aaron Boxerman

Israeli strikes in Gaza on Saturday killed at least two people and damaged warehouses for medical supplies, Palestinian officials said, despite a recent deal between President Trump’s Board of Peace and Hamas to advance the Gaza cease-fire.

One of the strikes destroyed and damaged the warehouses at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza before dawn on Saturday, said Khalil Dagran, a hospital spokesman. The outpatient clinic was also damaged, he added, though there were no reports of casualties.

The Israeli military said it had bombarded the warehouses because Hamas was storing weapons there and using the facility as a hide-out. Mr. Dagran disputed the Israeli allegation, adding that Israeli forces had warned Palestinians to flee ahead of the bombing.

A second Israeli strike on Saturday, in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City, killed two Palestinians, according to local health officials. The Israel military confirmed the attack but declined to provide details about why the two were targeted.

Overnight Russian barrage kills nine in Kyiv, as air defense struggle with U.S. continues

By Greg Myre, Willem Marx

KYIV, Ukraine — Russian missiles tore into the Ukrainian capital before dawn on Saturday, killing nine people and injuring more than 30 others as part of an intensive, ongoing Russian air campaign.

"This was a horrific night for Kyiv," Vitali Klitschko, the city's mayor, said in a social media post.

The Russian attack included 35 missiles and 185 attack drones, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Only one of 27 ballistic missiles were shot down due to the country's dwindling supply of Patriot air defense missiles, the one weapon the country has to guard against such Russian attacks, Zelenskyy also said.