
Beginning Monday 27 and until Thursday 30, King Charles III and Queen Camilla will be on a state visit to the United States, with engagements in Washington DC, New York and Virginia, which will include private meetings with President Donald Trump, addressing Congress and an agenda marking the 250th anniversary of US independence.

The UK government closed ranks on Friday around its sovereignty claim over the Falklands, after the publication of an internal Pentagon email that considers reconsidering US diplomatic support for London over the archipelago as retaliation for Britain's refusal to join the military offensive against Iran. The institutional response was matched by a political front that included governing and opposition parties, as well as the Falklands government itself, amid the imminent state visit by King Charles III to the United States.

An internal Pentagon email is considering the withdrawal of US diplomatic support for the United Kingdom in its dispute with Argentina over the Falklands as part of a package of retaliatory measures targeting NATO allies that did not back US military operations in the war with Iran, which began on February 28 of this year. The revelation was published on Friday by Reuters, based on a leaked memorandum and confirmed by a US official speaking on condition of anonymity.

US President Donald Trump said the state visit of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, which begins on Monday, could help repair relations with the United Kingdom, strained by weeks of tension over the Iran war and other bilateral disputes. The remarks came in a telephone interview with the BBC broadcast on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday without setting a deadline, hours before his own two-week truce was set to expire without a deal. The decision came as Iran attacked two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, with the White House declining to characterise the strikes as a ceasefire violation on the grounds that neither vessel was American or Israeli.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire with Iran, hours before the two-week truce was set to expire, but maintained the naval blockade on Iranian ports and conditioned any diplomatic progress on Tehran presenting a unified proposal to resume negotiations.

The US Navy fired on and boarded an Iranian-flagged cargo ship on Sunday in the Gulf of Oman, in the first naval seizure since Washington imposed a blockade on Iranian ports a week ago. Iran vowed retaliation, calling the operation an “act of piracy,” casting doubt on the second round of peace talks Trump announced for Monday in Islamabad.

Iran's reopening of the Strait of Hormuz lasted less than 24 hours. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared on Saturday that it had reimposed strict control over the maritime corridor, through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas transits. At least two vessels reported being hit by gunfire while attempting to cross the strait, according to three maritime security sources cited by Reuters. It has not been confirmed whether the shots caused damage.

Iran announced on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz will remain fully open to merchant shipping until the ceasefire with the United States expires next Wednesday. The decision, linked to the start of the 10-day truce between Israel and Lebanon announced by Trump on Thursday, triggered an immediate drop in oil prices of nearly 10% and strong relief across global markets.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Washington is very close to reaching a deal with Iran and announced that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, in a day that combined diplomatic overtures with explicit threats to resume hostilities if Tehran does not accept American terms.