Iranian minister mocks Trump whereas visiting Putin as US says Tehran ceasefire proposal is ‘higher than we anticipated’ – Live updates

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has openly mocked Donald Trump’s claims that he is winning the war in the Middle East.

He asked: ‘So then why did he ask for negotiations? Clearly, Iran is standing up to the largest superpower in the world, and they have not achieved a single one of their objectives.

‘That is why he is asking for negotiations, and we are now considering this option.’

Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, told Fox News last night that Iran’s ceasefire proposals were ‘better than what we thought they were going to submit.’

However, he questioned whether they were genuine.

Tehran earlier passed ‘written messages’ to Washington via Pakistan, spelling out its red lines in negotiations, including on nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz.

A superyacht linked to sanctioned Russian billionaire and Putin ally Alexey Mordashov sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, new shipping data has revealed.

Nord – a 465-foot yacht worth over $500million (£369million) – left a Dubai marina at around 2pm on Friday, crossed the strait on Saturday morning, and arrived in Muscat early on Sunday.

This makes it one of very few vessels to transit the blockaded shipping lane at the heart of the US-Iran conflict.

It is not clear how the multi-deck pleasure vessel gained permission to use the route. Since February, Iran has severely restricted traffic through the strait, which typically handles around one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

Sir Keir Starmer will lead talks on the economic fallout of the Iran crisis amid renewed calls from dozens of nations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The Prime Minister will convene the meeting of the Middle East Response Committee with ministers and representatives from the Bank of England on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing economic impact of the war.

Ministers are expected to gather in one of the Cabinet Office briefing rooms.

The Government previously warned that the economic impact could last for eight months after the war’s end.

For Somalia’s malnourished children, already suffering the twin catastrophes of looming famine and radical cuts in foreign aid, the US-Israeli war on Iran means more than soaring petrol pump prices; it is a matter of life and death.

Shortages of lifesaving therapeutic foods exacerbated by shipping disruptions are forcing clinics to turn away severely malnourished children and ration supplies, Reuters reporting shows.

Almost half a million children under 5 suffer from ‘severe acute malnutrition’ or ‘wasting’, the most life-threatening form of hunger, and the delays are worsening the effect of the aid reductions.