- Trump upbeat on Iran talks -

US President Donald Trump on Monday touted a "very positive development" in talks with Iran, which convinced him to postpone a planned military attack on the Islamic republic.

Trump said allies in the Middle East told him "they are getting very close to making a deal" that would leave Iran without nuclear weapons.

"It's a very positive development, but we'll see whether or not it amounts to anything," Trump said during a White House event.

- Trump postpones Iran attack -

Earlier Monday on his Truth Social platform, Trump announced he was postponing the planned attack on Iran scheduled for Tuesday, at the request of Gulf leaders.

He said that had been asked to do so by the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as "serious negotiations are now taking place."

- Oil markets up, US indices mixed -

Both major oil benchmarks rose Monday and US stock markets closed mixed while investors digested shifting developments in the Middle East, including Trump's announcement of an attack postponement.

- US extends sanctions waiver -

The US Treasury secretary said Washington was extending by 30 days its sanctions waiver for Russian oil cargoes already at sea, as global energy prices continue to surge due to the Iran war.

The latest "temporary 30-day general license" will "provide the most vulnerable nations with the ability to temporarily access Russian oil currently stranded at sea," Scott Bessent said in a social media post.

- Hormuz traffic -

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was slightly higher last week, returning to levels in line with the average recorded since the start of the Middle East conflict after hitting a wartime low.

A total of 55 commodity vessels crossed the strategic waterway between May 11 and 17, according to data from Kpler, marking a sharp increase from the previous week, when just 19 vessels crossed.

- New Lebanon toll -

Israeli strikes have killed more than 3,000 people in Lebanon since the start of the war between Hezbollah and Israel on March 2, the health ministry said, after an April 17 ceasefire failed to stop the fighting.

"The total cumulative toll of the aggression from March 2 to May 18 is now as follows: 3,020 martyrs and 9,273 wounded," the ministry said, with 211 people aged 18 and under and 116 healthcare workers among the dead.

- Hormuz internet cable permits -

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said internet fibre optic cables passing through the Strait of Hormuz could be brought under a system of permits as Tehran tightens control over the waterway.

"Following the imposition of control over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran, citing its absolute sovereignty over the bed and subsoil of its territorial sea... could declare that all fibre-optic cables passing through the waterway are subject to permits," the IRGC said, in a social media post.

- Iran Guards target Kurdish area -

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said their forces had struck groups linked to the United States and Israel in the western Iranian province of Kurdistan, near the border with Iraq.

In a statement carried by the ISNA news agency, the Guards said groups from "northern Iraq and acting on behalf of the US and the Zionist regime were attempting to smuggle a large shipment of American weapons and ammunition" into Iran.

They said the groups were hit in the Iranian city of Baneh in the Kurdistan region.

burs-msp/md

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