WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters on Friday that Iran plans to make an offer aimed at satisfying U.S. demands.
"They're making an offer and we'll have to see," Trump said during a phone interview.
(Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Katharine Jackson; editing by Michelle Nichols)
April 24 (Reuters) - Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani discussed developments in the Washington-Tehran ceasefire agreement in a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, Qatari state news agency reported on Friday.
He added that Qatar would continue coordinating with partners to support mediation efforts led by Pakistan.
(Reporting by Ahmed Tolba in Cairo; Editing by Chris Reese)
By Simon Lewis and Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department's top lawyer has argued that President Donald Trump's war with Iran was launched in self-defense and to defend U.S. ally Israel, arguing the bombing campaign was not the start of a new war but the continuation of an ongoing conflict.
State Department Legal Adviser Reed Rubinstein made the arguments in a statement released days before a May 1 deadline for the Trump administration to obtain approval for the war from Congress under the 1973 War Powers Act or move to end it.
WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will travel to Islamabad on Saturday morning for talks with Iran mediated by Pakistan, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Friday.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Leavitt said the Trump administration has seen "some progress" from the Iranian side in the last couple of days, without elaborating.
KYIV/MOSCOW, April 24 (Reuters) - Ukraine and Russia conducted a prisoner of war swap on Friday, sending back 193 captured personnel each in an exchange both sides said was facilitated by the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
"It is important that there are exchanges and that our people are returning home," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a post on Telegram.
His chief of staff, Kyrylo Budanov, and Russia's defence ministry said the U.S. and the UAE had assisted with the exchange.
WASHINGTON, April 24 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will travel to Pakistan soon for talks with Iran's foreign minister, a U.S. official told Reuters on Friday.
Vice President JD Vance is not currently planning to attend but he will be on standby to travel to Islamabad if negotiations progress, according to CNN, which first recorded the travel plans.
(Reporting by Steve Holland, Ryan Patrick Jones and Bhargav Acharya)
By Olivia Le Poidevin
GENEVA, April 24 (Reuters) - The U.N. human rights office said on Friday it has documented patterns of attacks on civilians in populated areas and residential buildings in Lebanon and Israel that may amount to serious violations of international humanitarian law.
The report covers the first three weeks of the latest escalation, which began after Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel on March 2, prompting Israel to respond with a large‑scale military offensive.
War-torn Gaza is heavily contaminated by unexploded ordnance, which frequently kill and maim people and could threaten recovery efforts far into the future, the UN said Friday.
Unexploded ordnance, ranging from undetonated bombs or grenades to simple bullets, has become a common sight in the Gaza Strip since the start of Israel's war in the Palestinian territory, sparked by Hamas's unprecedented attack on October 7, 2023.
NICOSIA, April 24 (Reuters) - It is too early to talk about relieving any kind of sanctions on Iran, EU Council President Antonio Costa told a joint press conference on Friday after a meeting of EU leaders in Cyprus.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made similar comments.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had said after the meeting that EU leaders were willing to gradually ease sanctions on Iran in the event that a comprehensive agreement is reached.
(Reporting by Bart Meijer, editing by Ingrid Melander)
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
CAIRO, April 24 (Reuters) - An Israeli strike killed at least three in Gaza on Friday, according to Palestinian health officials.
The strike hit a crowded area in Gaza city near an area where local police are stationed to guard a bank, said the medics and eyewitnesses.
Gaza's interior ministry said that the strike had targeted a police patrol, in a statement Friday.
