Iran deal in limbo: Trump claims breakthrough, Tehran denies, Hezbollah fires drones

The diplomatic standoff

US President Donald Trump has announced that a framework agreement to end the more than three-month war with Iran will be signed today, a date that coincides with his 80th birthday. However, Iranian officials have pushed back. The Revolutionary Guards stated through CNN that "the agreement is not yet finalized and a signing on Sunday will definitely not take place." According to the Fars news agency, an insider said Tehran's leadership has not yet decided on the framework, and experts are still reviewing political, legal, and technical aspects. Qatar sent envoys to Tehran on Sunday morning to push for a deal, while Pakistan mediated. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Trump in a call that Britain was ready to support the implementation of any peace agreement.

The contradictory signals from Washington, Tehran and from mediator Pakistan show: reliability is far from being a reality here.

CDU foreign policy expert Peter Beyer cautioned that similar announcements have failed before, but a framework could be a first step out of escalation if Israel is included.

Military escalation on the northern front

While diplomacy stalls, Hezbollah attacked northern Israel with explosive drones on Sunday morning. The Israeli military reported two impacts inside Israeli territory near the Lebanese border, with no injuries. Sirens had sounded in several border communities, and ynet reported one drone struck near the town of Shlomi. In response, Israeli Arabic-language army spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings for 29 locations in southern Lebanon. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged Prime Minister Netanyahu to "bring buildings in Dahieh down," and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said Dahieh "must tremble." Dahieh is the Beirut southern suburb area, a Hezbollah stronghold.

Earlier, the IDF reported that soldiers clearing tunnels beneath the Beaufort ridge in southern Lebanon had discovered maps of Israeli border villages. The tunnel complex, funded by Iran and designed to shelter hundreds of fighters, was described as a central node for Hezbollah.

Cyber attack disrupts Iranian banks

On Sunday morning, a cyber attack hit several Iranian state-owned banks, disrupting online payment services. Transactions were offline for a period, causing problems in supermarkets, restaurants, and petrol stations in Tehran, witnesses said. The Banking Coordination Council confirmed the incident to the economic portal Eghtesad-News, stating that the problem had been resolved and online traffic normalized. Four major state banks and numerous ATMs in the capital were affected.

Domestic opposition in Iran

In the city of Mashhad, dozens of people protested outside an office of Iran's Foreign Ministry against a peace agreement with the United States. Women in black chadors chanted "Death to the dishonorable Araghtschi," referring to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghtschi, who had spoken about a possible deal in a TV interview. The protest was reported by the Fars news agency.

The view from Israel and beyond

Israel's former consul general in Los Angeles, Yaki Dayan, told 103FM radio that Trump had entered a new phase focusing on world peace and the Abraham Accords, but that the details of the emerging agreement were not encouraging. A senior US official described the planned deal as "very good" and said the US would participate in mine clearance in the Strait of Hormuz once the agreement was sealed. Trump promised that the Strait would be free immediately after signing. At the G7 summit, Trump plans to discuss further steps on Iran.