HEADLINES IN BRIEF

• US and Iran edge toward a limited, temporary agreement to halt their conflict. READ MORE BELOW

• "They want to make a deal… it's very possible," US President Donald Trump tells reporters, adding later that "it'll be over quickly."

• Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf appears to mock the reports, writing on social media that "Operation Trust Me Bro failed".

• The proposal would formally end the conflict while leaving unresolved key US demands that Iran suspend its nuclear program and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, sources say.

• NBC News says Trump paused a naval mission to reopen the strait after Saudi Arabia withdrew permission to use a Saudi base for the operation.

• Israel says it killed a Hezbollah commander in the first Israeli attack on Beirut since a ceasefire agreed last month. READ MORE BELOW

• Lebanon's Health Ministry says an Israeli airstrike killed four people including two women and an elderly man in the town of Zelaya in southern Lebanon.

IN DETAIL

US and Iran inch towards short-term deal to end fighting

The United States and Iran are edging toward a limited, temporary agreement to halt their war, sources and officials said on Thursday, with a draft framework that would stop the fighting but leave the most contentious issues unresolved.

The emerging plan centers on a short-term memorandum rather than a comprehensive peace deal, underscoring deep divisions between the two sides and signaling that any agreement at this stage would be an interim step.

Hopes that even a partial deal could lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz have already moved markets, with Asian stocks trading around record highs on Thursday and oil prices nursing steep losses on bets that supply disruptions could ease.

Tehran and Washington have scaled back ambitions for a sweeping settlement as differences persist, particularly over Iran's nuclear program – including the fate of its highly enriched uranium stockpiles and how long Tehran would halt nuclear work.

Instead, they are working toward a temporary arrangement aimed at preventing a return to conflict and stabilizing shipping through the strait, the sources and officials said.

"Our priority is that they announce a permanent end to war and the rest of the issues could be thrashed out once they get back to direct talks," a senior Pakistani official involved in mediation between the two sides told Reuters.

The proposed framework would unfold in three stages: formally ending the war, resolving the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz and launching a 30-day window for negotiations on a broader agreement, according to the sources and officials.

A Pakistani source and another source briefed on the mediation said a one-page memorandum to formally end the conflict was close, though gaps remain between the sides.

Trump optimistic, Iran skeptical 

US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly played up the prospect of a breakthrough since the war began on February 28, struck an optimistic tone.

"They want to make a deal… it's very possible," he told reporters at the White House on Wednesday, adding later that "it'll be over quickly."

The proposal would formally end the conflict while leaving unresolved key US demands that Iran suspend its nuclear program and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the sources said.

Iranian officials signaled skepticism. A foreign ministry spokesperson said Tehran would respond in due course, while lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei described the proposal as "more of an American wish-list than a reality."

Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf appeared to mock reports that indicated the two sides were close, writing on social media that "Operation Trust Me Bro failed" and portraying the negotiations as US spin following its failure to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Military and regional tensions 

Trump on Tuesday paused a two-day-old naval mission aimed at reopening the blockaded strait, citing progress in talks.

NBC News, citing two unnamed US officials, said Trump decided on the pause after Saudi Arabia suspended the US military's ability to use a Saudi base for the operation.

Saudi officials were surprised and angered by Trump's announcement that the US would help escort ships through the Strait, leading them to tell Washington they would deny the US permission to fly military aircraft out of a Saudi base or through Saudi airspace, NBC reported.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.

The US military has kept up its own blockade on Iranian ships in the region. US Central Command said forces fired at an unladen Iranian-flagged tanker on Wednesday, disabling the vessel as it attempted to sail toward an Iranian port in violation of the blockade.

Israel says it killed Hezbollah commander in first strike on Beirut since ceasefire 

Israel said on Thursday it had killed a commander of Hezbollah's elite Radwan force in an airstrike on Beirut a day earlier, the first Israeli attack on the Lebanese capital since a ceasefire agreed last month.

The Israeli military said the commander was killed when Israel struck the southern suburbs of Beirut. There was no immediate confirmation from Hezbollah. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced the attack in a joint statement on Wednesday.

The strike has raised pressure on the ceasefire that had halted Israeli attacks on Beirut, even as Israeli forces have remained deployed in areas south of the Litani River and continued to carry out strikes in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah has responded to those strikes by firing and launching armed drones towards Israeli soldiers.

The Lebanon ceasefire has underpinned a broader truce in the wider Iran war, with a halt to Israeli strikes in Lebanon being a key Iranian demand in Tehran's negotiations with Washington.

Israel earlier on Wednesday called for residents to evacuate several villages north of the Litani River, which could represent an expansion of Israel's zone of action.

Israel has carved out a self-declared security zone extending as deep as 10 kilometers into southern Lebanon, saying it aims to protect northern Israel from Hezbollah militants embedded in civilian areas.

Lebanon's Health Ministry said on Wednesday an Israeli airstrike killed four people including two women and an elderly man in the town of Zelaya in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli military said Hezbollah had launched explosive drones and rockets towards Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon, injuring two Israeli soldiers.

It also said the Israeli air force intercepted a hostile aircraft before it crossed into Israel, and announced strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure in several areas in Lebanon.

More than 2,700 people have been killed in the war in Lebanon since March 2, the Health Ministry says.