Trump Claims Accord with Iran is Nearly Complete

US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that negotiations for a peace deal to end the Middle East war have entered their final stages, following a halt in attacks by Iran and Israel that had threatened to rekindle the months-long conflict.

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Iran had launched missiles at Israel on Sunday in response to strikes against Lebanon's Hezbollah in the southern suburbs of Beirut, prompting Israel to retaliate despite Trump's efforts to dissuade Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from doing so.

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The Israeli leader stated that the "fire on that front is contained" hours after Tehran announced it had stopped its military action, while both sides warned that hostilities could resume despite diplomatic efforts gaining momentum.

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Trump revealed that Iran and Israel "were going back and forth and now they both agreed through me to stop" and that a peace deal is nearing completion, with the US leader estimating it would take "two or three days" to finalize.

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The recent flare-up occurred after weeks of negotiations aimed at bringing a definitive end to the regional war sparked by US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, with Tehran insisting that a halt to the conflict must include a truce in Lebanon.

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Trump, who has reportedly grown increasingly frustrated with Netanyahu, had earlier urged both sides to stop "shooting" and stated that "final negotiations" towards peace would proceed "subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way".

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US Vice President JD Vance told Fox News on Monday that while the United States and Israel share interests, their positions do not always align, saying "The Israelis and the United States, we have a lot of shared interests, but we also have some situations where our interests diverge".

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Iran fired nearly 30 missiles at Israel, according to the Israeli military, while Israel struck military sites in the Islamic republic, resulting in the deaths of two members of the "Army Air Defence Force" as reported by Iranian state media on Tuesday.

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No casualties were reported in Israel following the exchange, and despite Iranian demands, Israel has continued its attacks on Lebanon, where it is fighting the Iran-backed group Hezbollah.

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On Tuesday, Lebanese state media reported an Israeli strike on the southern city of Tyre, prompting the Israeli military to urge residents to evacuate, the first time it had done so for the entire city and its surrounding areas.

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The news led to a mass exodus of residents, including those from the Christian quarter, who fled for safety, with heavy traffic reported heading north, according to an AFP correspondent.

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The Israeli military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee warned residents to "immediately evacuate your homes… and move north of the Zahrani River" via a statement on X.

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Last week, Israel's military alleged that Hezbollah members were operating in the Christian quarter and warned that it would alert people to leave if the group remained there, which led to the recent Israeli strike.

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Lebanon was drawn into the war when Hezbollah militants fired rockets at Israel on March 2 to avenge the US-Israeli killing of Iran's supreme leader, resulting in an extensive campaign of airstrikes and a ground invasion that have killed nearly 3,600 people.

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Exchanges of fire with Hezbollah have continued despite an ongoing truce, and the heads of the Pakistani and Lebanese armed forces agreed to boost cooperation on Tuesday as they met in Pakistan with peace talks over the Middle East war ongoing.

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

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Fears had grown that the recent flare-up would jeopardize a fragile Middle East truce in place since April 8 and disrupt efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global oil usually passes.

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The conflict has severely disrupted shipping through the Hormuz strait, while Washington has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports, and Trump reported that two pilots were uninjured after a US military helicopter went down near the Strait of Hormuz.

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

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In a positive development for Iranians, local media reported early Tuesday that Tehran's international airport, which was closed during the missile exchanges, had reopened, allowing flights carrying hajj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia to land.