US & Canada

The first round of US-Iran talks has ended with both sides agreeing on a roadmap towards a final deal to be reached ‘within 60 days’. Iran said the negotiations resulted in waivers for oil exports and the release of some frozen assets. The parties have also agreed to a ‘de-confliction cell’ to monitor the ceasefire in Lebanon.

Uruguay could need a win over Spain next weekend to avoid a second consecutive FIFA World Cup group-stage exit.

World Cup debutants Cape Verde scored a second-half equaliser to salvage a 2-2 draw against Uruguay in Miami, backing up their shock opening stalemate with Spain.

Cape Verde took a surprise 21st-minute lead as Kevin Pina scored their first World Cup goal from a free-kick, only for Uruguay to strike twice shortly before half-time through Maxi Araujo and Agustin Canobbio.

But 40-year-old Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera’s mistake allowed Helio Varela to grab Cape Verde’s second just after the hour mark, and neither side could find a winner on Sunday.

Cape Verde boosted their hopes of reaching the knockout phase with their second point in Group H.

The African island nation face Saudi Arabia, thumped 4-0 by Spain earlier on Sunday, in their final group game next Saturday, knowing that victory would secure a last-32 berth.

Two-time world champions Uruguay’s hopes of progressing are in serious danger, though, after again being held by lower-ranked opposition following their 1-1 draw with the Saudis.

The South Americans may need to beat European champions Spain next weekend to avoid a second consecutive World Cup group-stage exit.

Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa made two changes to the team, which were held by Saudi Arabia, with Al Hilal striker Darwin Nunez dropping to the bench.

Bubista opted for three alterations to his Cape Verde team, all in attacking positions.

Cape Verde started with more intent going forward than they were able to show against Spain, but it was still Uruguay who created the first real opening, when Federico Valverde drilled a left-footed shot wide.

But the tournament debutants forged ahead when Pina crashed a long-range free kick through a poor Uruguay wall and past Muslera.

Uruguay were in desperate need of their equaliser when it arrived in the 44th minute.

Cape Verde’s Sidny Lopes Cabral headed the ball against his own post under pressure from Rodrigo Bentancur, and Araujo stooped to nod in the rebound, with Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha stranded.

They completed the turnaround in the sixth minute of first-half added time, as Canobbio turned in Araujo’s header across goal on the volley.

Uruguay appeared in control early in the second half, until Muslera inexplicably raced out of his goal in the 61st minute and Cape Verde substitute Varela took full advantage to roll the ball into an empty net after an excellent first touch.

Vozinha, the hero of Cape Verde’s draw with Spain, fumbled to allow Araujo to tap in, but his blushes were spared by an offside flag.

Real Madrid midfielder Valverde blazed a late free kick over the bar from just outside the box, leaving Uruguay on the brink of a hugely disappointing exit.

Iranian fans in Tehran watched their team secure a 0-0 draw against Belgium at the World Cup in Los Angeles, keeping hope alive for an unprecedented chance at the second round. Iran competes under strict US travel restrictions, which forced them to fly back to Mexico within hours of the draw, rather than remaining overnight for recovery.

Nathan Ngoy sent off for hauling down Mehdi Taremi, whose first-half strike was called offside, in a close Group G match.

Belgium were held to a scoreless draw by Iran in a frustrating encounter that saw the Red Devils reduced to 10 men and facing the possibility of group-stage elimination for a second consecutive World Cup.

A star-studded, though ageing, lineup, including Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, was fortunate to leave Los Angeles with a point on Sunday.

Belgium controlled possession yet ceded the game’s best chances to a resolute Iranian defence.

Iran’s Mehdi Taremi had the ball in the net from a well-worked first-half free kick that was overturned for offside by VAR, while Nathan Ngoy was sent off after the break for hauling down the striker following a badly mishit back-pass.

The result means all three games in Group G so far have ended in draws. Stuck on two points, Belgium at least have the comfort of playing the tournament’s lowest-ranked team, New Zealand, in their final group game.

Iran will also need at least a point against Egypt next Friday. Having been frustrated by visa issues while travelling from their base camp in Mexico to play games in the United States, Team Melli will hope to focus on the football as travel restrictions are reportedly easing for their crucial trip to Seattle.

For the second Iran game running, protesters from Los Angeles’s large Iranian-American community gathered at the stadium to chant against the country’s current regime.

Inside the stadium, Iran’s anthem again drew a chorus of boos and whistles, a reception at odds with the response to the players themselves, who were loudly cheered throughout the game.

Having switched to a back five, Iran sat deep in the first half, allowing Belgium to dominate possession and play hundreds of passes around their penalty area without creating any clear-cut opportunities.

Target man Lukaku, back in the starting lineup after making an impact from the bench in Belgium’s 1-1 draw with Egypt, managed a solitary headed effort in the 36th minute, which sailed over the bar.

Iran had the first half’s two best chances, entirely against the run of play. Hossein Kanani’s low shot after a long throw was well saved by an outstretched Thibaut Courtois.

And Iran’s star striker Taremi had the ball in the net midway through the half after a cleverly worked free kick, but it was ruled offside.

The former Inter Milan man spun away from Belgium’s wall, swivelled and buried the ball, before VAR overruled the effort, to the dismay of a vocally pro-Iran crowd.

After the break, Belgium continued to huff and puff, while Taremi again nearly scored at the other end. Courtois did well to save after Kanani had flicked on a long throw to the Iran forward.

Belgium coach Rudi Garcia made a triple substitution around the hour mark, and his side immediately came close – Maxim De Cuyper’s point-blank effort from De Bruyne’s cut-back was well saved.

Substitute Hans Vanaken blasted a shot from a rebound well over the bar moments later, as the Red Devils finally began to knock on Iran’s door in earnest.

But disaster struck for Belgium as Ngoy was sent off. The centre-back had badly under-hit a pass back to Courtois and raised his arm into Taremi as the striker raced through on goal.

The game settled into a nervous, scrappy stalemate, though De Cuyper again came close with a low effort from just outside the box.

In an exclusive interview, Professor and political analyst Mahjoub Zweiri breaks down what intentions behind US-Iran talks will result in.

On June 14, the United States and Iran agreed to a framework to end their war. The Strait of Hormuz is to reopen, the bombing of Lebanon is to end and – most importantly – the killing is to stop. After more than 100 days of war that killed thousands, including Iran’s most senior leaders, and pushed the world economy to the brink, even a fragile truce feels like first light.

Let us welcome it, but also let us understand it. To grasp why this war happened, and the string of wars before it, we must name their common cause. That cause is “Greater Israel” – not the country of Israel but an idea of it – a terrible one. The idea of “Greater Israel” has been the cause of wars in Iraq, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Iran.

It holds that Israel should stretch over all of historic Palestine – from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea – and to parts of neighbouring countries as well.  According to United States Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, a fundamentalist Protestant whose geopolitical compass is set by biblical texts from 500 BC, “Greater Israel” stretches from the Nile to the Euphrates. Last summer, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu professed to be “very” attached to a vision of “Greater Israel” that, he said, takes in the Palestinian territories and neighbouring Arab lands.

This absurd and dangerous doctrine has two parents. The first are secular hardliners like Netanyahu who say that Israel must control all the land from the river to the sea to be safe, and damn the eight million Palestinians in the way.

The second is the Jewish supremacist creed of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir that God gave the land to the Jews alone: There is, in Smotrich’s words, “no such thing as a Palestinian”. Asked recently how Israel should answer its collapsing global standing, Smotrich vowed Israel would not relinquish military control of the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanese or Syrian territory: “We won’t commit suicide to make them happy.”

“Greater Israel” is paranoia, megalomania and religious zeal braided into a single programme. The doctrine should have been repudiated on its first airing decades ago. Instead, it has driven Israel’s foreign and military doctrine for three decades – and has survived until today because Netanyahu has taken the US for a ride.

He has done it with two American constituencies: Jewish Zionists who love Israel and will forgive it anything and Christian Zionists who love the prophecy of the End Times and the Second Coming of Christ more than they love any living Palestinian or, for that matter, any living Israeli.

Delusion has led on to delusion, and the road has run from one war to the next.  We are 30 years into this fiasco now.

The war on Iran was simply the latest “Greater Israel” fantasy. The government of 90 million people was to be toppled in a single, glorious day. Of course, it did not happen. Israeli and American bombs killed Iran’s leaders on February 28, but that did not deliver the promised collapse. It resulted instead in thousands of dead, a choked Strait of Hormuz and a global oil shock.

We have seen this film before. The Israel-US plan to bring down President Bashar al-Assad in Syria was also meant to be quick, one or two years at the most. Instead came a dozen years of carnage, fed by a covert war armed and financed by the CIA with Israel’s ardent backing. The result was an ancient country reduced to rubble. The promised one-day victories always become decade-long graveyards.

US President Donald Trump has been battered by joining the “Greater Israel” delusion, and he knows it. The new agreement with Iran is his escape valve, a way out of a fatuous war that was never his to win.

That is precisely why Israel’s “Greater Israel” politicians are trying to strangle the new agreement in the cradle, for peace with Iran is a defeat for “Greater Israel”. Even after the deal was sealed, Israel has continued to bomb Lebanon, killing 47 people in a single day on Friday and another 32 on Saturday hours after a Lebanon-Israel ceasefire took effect.

Here is the deeper truth: “Greater Israel” is not saving Israel. It is killing it. The friction now visible between Trump and Netanyahu is only the surface. Beneath it lies the collapse of Israel’s standing throughout the world. According to a recent Pew opinion survey, the world now holds an overwhelmingly unfavourable view of Israel. In the US, Israel’s indispensable patron, six in 10 adults view it unfavourably.

A state that makes itself hated by the world, and by its only protector, is not pursuing security. It is threatening its own survival to feed a delusion.

So the way to peace in West Asia is to stop “Greater Israel”. End the war on Iran, stop the genocide in Gaza and halt the strangulation of the West Bank. Most importantly, do the thing the doctrine forbids, which is to create the State of Palestine as the 194th United Nations member state alongside the State of Israel on the 1967 lines with genuine security for both countries and a regional framework to guarantee it, which should include Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon and Syria.

The Iran ceasefire makes the case in miniature: It was won not on the battlefield but through mediation. It became possible when Washington decided it wanted peace more than it wanted “Greater Israel’s” war.

Israel can survive, but not as “Greater Israel”, a disastrous idea that has marched it and the US from one war to the next.

The glimmer of hope today is real. Whether it becomes a true dawn depends on whether the US finally lets Palestine be born, and thereby lets Israel live. The Arab world and Iran need to keep insisting to the US that breaking with “Greater Israel” is the only path to lasting peace.

The views expressed in this article are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.

The chief of the White House World Cup task force says it’s “pretty amazing” Iran’s football team has been given visas for the tournament. Andrew Giuliani defended the US’s treatment of the team, which has been forced to base itself in Mexico and fly in and out for matches.

Iranian and US officials are set for high stakes talks in Switzerland aimed at reinforcing the Memorandum of Understanding framework. Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid says intense diplomatic efforts have kept negotiations on track, but key disputes remain unresolved.

Lebanon to top the agenda as US and Iran to hold talks in Switzerland’s Burgenstock mediated by Qatar and Pakistan.

United States Vice President JD Vance has arrived in Switzerland for talks with Iran days after they signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at ending the US-Israel war on Iran, which had sent oil prices soaring above $100 per barrel and rattled international markets.

The latest round of talks mediated by Pakistan and Qatar is scheduled on Sunday as Israel has intensified attacks on Lebanon, killing dozens of people on Saturday.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on Saturday that it was closing the Strait of Hormuz, accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire in Lebanon. The Iranian delegation, including parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, has also arrived in Switzerland.

Here’s what we know about the conflict, which has entered its 114th day:

Diplomacy

• The US and Iran are to hold high-level talks in Switzerland’s Burgenstock on Sunday with the US delegation led by Vance. US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner are also part of the US delegation. Before departing for the talks, Vance told reporters he hoped to make “progress on the nuclear issue” and “on the Lebanon ceasefire issue”.
• Iran’s delegation, led by Ghalibaf and Araghchi, said its main goal is to ensure all parties fully implement the interim deal to end the war.
• Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the Iranian delegation “will be pressing for implementation” of US commitments outlined in the MoU and “seeking clarity on how exactly the other side intends to carry out those commitments”.
• Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and military chief Field Marshal Asim Munir have left for Burgenstock to take part in the talks. “Pakistan will continue to support and advance the implementation of the understandings reached between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States,” the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement posted on X.
• Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani is also expected to take part in the key talks as Israel’s Lebanon attacks threaten to unravel the deal signed electronically by Trump and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, on Thursday.
• Egypt will host a four-way meeting with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan amid the Iran-US talks. The group first met in Riyadh on March 18, followed by meetings in Islamabad on March 29 and Antalya on April 18, reflecting growing efforts by regional powers to address crises through regional diplomacy rather than external intervention.

In Iran

• Mohammad Mokhbar, adviser and assistant to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, warned that Tehran will not accept a paper agreement unless Washington fully implements its commitments. In a post on X, Mokhbar said the US understood pressure in economic terms. “Americans understand the language of economics and cost-benefit better,” he wrote. “When the agreement remains just on paper, the flow of Middle East energy will also come to a halt.”

• Al Jazeera’s Mohammed Vall, reporting from Tehran, said the delegation from Tehran is going to drive home the idea that Iran is not going to move forward in the implementation of the MoU unless the Israelis abide by the agreement. “They say the Americans bear the responsibility for that and that the Americans have to guarantee that the Israelis comply,” he said.
• Iran’s ⁠oil ⁠industry will be a key testing ground ⁠for any final peace agreement ⁠with the US if Western parties remain committed to its ‌spirit, Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad says. The ministry’s Shana news agency quoted Paknejad as ⁠saying that in a ⁠post-agreement era, Iran’s oil sector would offer the global ⁠economy significant investment ⁠opportunities and ⁠has hundreds of investment projects as well as technical ‌and operational partnership contracts ready to be ‌signed.
• Amir Ghalenoei, the coach of Iran’s national football team, has criticised increasingly difficult preparation conditions for the team before Sunday’s World Cup match against Belgium, saying “conditions have become even harder” than before their opening match with New Zealand. Iran have been based in Tijuana, Mexico, for the tournament and have been travelling to the US for Group G matches due to restrictions on their stay, an issue that has drawn scrutiny throughout the World Cup.

In the US

• Trump said there will be no tolls for passage through the Strait of Hormuz unless they are collected by the US. This came after the IRGC said it had closed the waterway, through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed before the war.
• David Sacks, Trump’s technology adviser, has defended the US-Iran MoU, calling it “a tremendous achievement” and a better path than prolonged conflict. Speaking on the All-In Podcast on Saturday, Sacks dismissed calls to escalate, arguing a ground invasion of Iran would make no sense, given Iran’s size and could require as many as a million troops. He branded any such attempt a “suicide mission”.
• Members of the Democratic Party are continuing to criticise Trump over his handling of the war with Iran. Johnny Olszewski, a Democratic congressman from Maryland, said Trump’s “war of choice” was a “disaster” and argued that the agreement with Iran was already breaking down.

In Lebanon

• Five people were killed, among them a child, a woman and two elderly people, in an Israeli raid on the village of Sohmor in Lebanon’s western Bekaa Valley, according to the National News Agency (NNA), citing the Ministry of Public Health. Sunday’s report did not specify when the attack took place. Two people of Palestinian origin were killed in Rashidieh in southern Lebanon’s Tyre district, the NNA reported.
• The Times of Israel reported on Sunday that an Israeli soldier has been killed and 13 others wounded when a barrage of rockets and a drone struck the soldiers’ position in Kfar Tebnit in southern Lebanon.
• Israeli media reports said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered invading troops to hold fire in Lebanon except for those engaged in a battle raging on the Ali al-Taher Hills near Nabatieh.

Two goals from Ayase Ueda, and one each from Daichi Kamada and Junya Ito, keeps Asian giants Japan second in Group F.

Japan marked the 1,000th game in the history of the World Cup with a 4-0 thrashing of Tunisia on Saturday, to close in on a place in the last 32.

Ayase Ueda scored twice while Daichi Kamada and Junya Ito were also on target as the Asian giants joined the Netherlands on four points at the top of Group F.

Tunisia, who were thumped 5-1 by Sweden in their first game of the tournament, can no longer hope for a place in the knockout rounds.

The Blue Samurai, who held the Netherlands to a 2-2 draw in their Group F opener, were always in control against Tunisia at the Monterrey Stadium.

The result marked a losing start for new Tunisia manager Herve Renard, who was hastily appointed to take over the World Cup campaign after predecessor Sabri Lamouchi was sacked in the wake of the Sweden drubbing.

But Renard’s team never looked like threatening a technically superior Japanese side that were quickly into their trademark, smooth passing game.

Daichi Kamada opened the scoring after just four minutes, finishing from close range after deft interplay from Ao Tanaka and Keito Nakamura.

The Japanese almost scored again moments later, with only a desperate goalline clearance from Dylan Bronn denying the Asian giants a second goal.

Tunisia goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen was also working overtime, and had to claw away a shot that just went agonisingly short of crossing the goal line.

Japan, though, finally added to their tally in the 31st minute, with striker Ueda taking advantage of some hesitant Tunisian defending to surge forward and thunder a low shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.

The rout continued in the second half, with Junya Ito latching onto a brilliant through ball to calmly finish on 69 minutes before Ueda scored again with a looping header in the 83rd minute.

Eloy Room’s incredible goalkeeping helped Curacao make history in a goalless draw in Group E match in Kansas City.

Goalkeeper Eloy Room was Curacao’s hero against Ecuador, keeping out a barrage of shots to help the tiny Caribbean nation claim their first-ever World Cup point in a goalless draw that keeps alive their hopes of reaching the knockout phase.

Ecuador, who finished second in South American qualifying, had 28 shots, including 15 on target, but Room stood firm in an astonishing display in Kansas City on Saturday.

His 15 saves are the most on record, since 1966, by any goalkeeper in a World Cup match that did not feature extra time.

World Cup debutants Curacao, the smallest nation by population ever to qualify for the tournament, slumped to a 7-1 defeat against Germany in their opening match but restored pride in the American Midwest.

Ecuador fans turned the Arrowhead Stadium, the home of NFL team Kansas City Chiefs, yellow, hugely outnumbering supporters of Curacao.

But Curacao had royalty on their side in the form of Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima. The island is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Out of their 26-strong squad, managed by vastly experienced Dutch coach Dick Advocaat, 25 were born in the Netherlands, and most play their football there.

The match started at a fizzing pace.

Ecuador seemed certain to open the scoring in the third minute when former West Ham forward Enner Valencia burst through the middle, but Room tipped the ball around the post.

Sherel Floranus fired over at the other end as Curacao showed their pace on the break.

Valencia failed to beat Room from close range before Jordy Alcivar had an effort as Ecuador continued to dominate possession.

The South American team ended the first half with 65 percent of possession but nothing to show for their dominance.

They went close to breaking the deadlock just before the hour mark, but Room kept out a Gonzalo Plata header, before a flurry of Curacao chances.

Ecuador, more than 50 places higher than Curacao in the FIFA rankings, looked increasingly frazzled as they pressed for a goal.

As the match neared its end, chances continued to come thick and fast, but Room stood firm.

Ecuador substitute Angelo Preciado mis-hit a cross that bounced off the top of the crossbar and went behind.

The Curacao players swarmed around Room at the end of the match, celebrating an extraordinary point.

Earlier, four-time champions Germany came from behind to beat Ivory Coast 2-1 in Toronto, ensuring their qualification for the round of 32. Curacao’s draw ensures Germany will top the group.

Ecuador will play Germany on Thursday, while Curacao take on Ivory Coast.

The United States will not ease the travel restrictions on the Iranian team for their World Cup matches in Los Angeles and Seattle despite the ⁠team saying they would lodge a complaint with FIFA, the cohost nation’s top tournament official has confirmed.

The US will continue to assess the Iran squad’s travel arrangements, but for now the original plan remains in place, Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for the tournament, told the Reuters news agency on Saturday.

Iran are unhappy at restrictions that mean they can only travel to venues within 24 hours of their ⁠fixtures and must depart back to their training base in Tijuana, Mexico, directly after each game, with coach Amir Ghalenoei suggesting his side were “the most oppressed team in the whole World Cup”.

The Iranian delegation left the US hours after the full-time whistle at their first World Cup match against New Zealand last week.

The Group G match ended at about 8pm local time (03:00 GMT), and Iran returned to their base camp in Mexico within a few hours, prompting criticism of the US handling of their visas as the team did not get a day to recover at their hotel.

Ghalenoei said the team had expected to spend the night in California to maximise the normal recovery process after their opening game.

The US faced further pushback as Iran winger Mehdi Torabi’s entry visa expired after the first game. Team officials confirmed Tuesday afternoon that they had secured him a new, multiple-entry visa allowing him to travel into the US for future matches.

“This issue has been resolved,” the US Department of State said.

The same travel protocol will be in place for Iran’s fixture against Belgium on Sunday.

The Iranian team was due to arrive in Los Angeles on Saturday evening, about 24 hours before kickoff time for their match.

‘Situation is dynamic’

Giuliani, however, says the situation is fluid and they will discuss what measures will be in place for Iran’s third game against Egypt in Seattle on Friday.

“The ‌situation is dynamic,” Giuliani said in Houston. “We have a plan right now. Tomorrow afternoon [after the match against Belgium], they will take the 27-minute flight back to Tijuana.

“We will see how it goes for match two, and then there will be discussions the day after in terms of what it looks like for match three in Seattle.”

Giuliani defended the measures in place and said the pre-tournament change in training bases for the side from Tucson to Tijuana had shortened Iran’s travel time.

“The shift from Tucson to Tijuana, I think, was good for everybody involved. Certainly it reduces their travel time to Los ⁠Angeles too,” he said.

“Their flight is an hour shorter than it would be from Tucson. And we’re ⁠happy with the way that things went for match one in Los Angeles.

“I would just point to the fact that all players have received visas. All the coaches have received visas. There are some team officials that have not received visas, and that’s because we’ve seen some derogatory information on them, and this ⁠is the balance that we talk about.”

Giuliani said the goal has always been to protect the interests of the US and the international visitors at the World Cup.

“We want ⁠to make sure we have this incredible soccer tournament, where people are welcome ⁠and enjoy the World Cup, while also making sure that we are not just protecting American citizens, but we’re also protecting all those international visitors that are coming here,” he said.

He revealed that no threats to the tournament had been identified, but that officials remain vigilant.

“What I can tell you is our intelligence community has ‌tripled down on this since the beginning of this year,” he said. “We’re in discussions every hour on it. But there have been no credible threats at this moment.”

Giuliani has been pleased with the opening 10 days of the World Cup.

“Things are going as planned,” ‌he ‌said. “It’s been fantastic to see the great play on the pitch, that seems to be the majority of the conversation, which has been fantastic.”

Germany come from behind to beat Ivory Coast 2-1 in Group E, sealing FIFA World Cup 2026 knockout place.

Deniz Undav scored two goals off the bench as Germany pulled off a thrilling comeback to beat Ivory Coast 2-1 in their ⁠World Cup Group E match, securing their place in the knockout stage for the first time since they won the title in 2014.

After having two goals disallowed in the first half on Saturday, Germany did not lose ⁠focus and used intricate passing to find their way, while the West Africans produced their dynamic brand of attacking football in a wild Group E clash.

Undav levelled the score with a controlled, volleyed finish in the 68th minute and struck again when he received a pass on the turn, before swivelling and firing home a ball that Yahia ‌Fofana had no chance at stopping.

The versatile striker now has nine goals in his last eight matches.

Simon Adingra had a late chance for Ivory Coast, but he failed to get a shot off in the area before Germany charged back down the field and Fofana blocked a low shot from Nathaniel Brown.

Ivory Coast had opened the scoring in the first half when Franck Kessie slotted home a rebound off a shot by Amad Diallo on a play created when Yan Diomande charged down the left side and sent in ⁠a cross.

With more than 100,000 people of German ancestry living in Toronto, Julian Nagelsmann’s ⁠men enjoyed plenty of support but were a frustrated group at the interval with nothing to show for their eight attempts on goal.

Germany looked to have opened the scoring when midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic rose to meet a short corner in the 25th minute but was ⁠deemed to have fouled Fofana in the process.

The ruling left Pavlovic with his hands atop his head in disbelief while Fofana received some attention after the collision, and ⁠the partisan German crowd made their disdain for the referee’s decision ⁠known.

Shortly after, it was Ivory Coast who finally broke through with Kessie’s goal. The West Africans have scored in their last seven matches at the tournament – the longest such sequence on the global stage in their history.

Germany once again put the ball in the back of the ‌net, but their celebrations were cut short as the referee determined that Jamal Musiala had fouled Odilon Kossounou in the buildup.

Germany top Group E with six points and are through to the last 32, while Ivory Coast remain ‌on three after two matches. Ecuador and Curacao meet in Kansas City later on Saturday.

Germany will close out the group stage against Ecuador on Thursday in New Jersey, while Ivory Coast face Curacao in Philadelphia.

United States President Donald Trump has pledged there will be no tolls for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, unless they are collected by his own country.

Trump’s statement, made in a Saturday afternoon post on Truth Social, is the latest sign that a recently signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) may be unravelling.

“There will be NO TOLLS in the Hormuz Strait for 60 days during the Cease Fire Period, and there will be NO TOLLS after the 60 day period has expired,” Trump wrote, “unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America.”

Since the US and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28, Iran has successfully used the Strait of Hormuz as a pressure point, closing the strategic waterway to traffic.

But under the terms of Wednesday’s ceasefire memorandum, the strait is supposed to reopen for an interim period of 60 days. During that time, Iran is barred from charging vessels for passage.

On Saturday, however, Iran’s joint military command said it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, citing a “clear breach” of the memorandum’s commitments.

US Central Command (CENTCOM), the agency that oversees military operations in the region, denied that report and maintained that the traffic continues to flow through the waterway.

The Strait of Hormuz has long been a flashpoint in the conflict between the US and Iran. Nearly 20 percent of the world’s oil and natural gas is transported through the strait, as well as about 30 percent of the global fertiliser trade.

Closure of the strait has caused global fuel costs to soar and has tested agricultural sectors across the world.

Trump had responded to Iran’s chokehold over the strait by imposing a US naval blockade on Iran’s ports in the region.

But that naval blockade was lifted under the terms of Wednesday’s memorandum. The deal also paused fighting on all fronts in the regional conflict, including in Lebanon.

The memorandum, though, was not intended as a long-term deal. It serves as a launching point for negotiations on key issues, including the future of Iran’s nuclear programme.

Several points of divergence also went unaddressed in the memorandum. Nowhere does the memo say that future tolls cannot be collected from the strait after the 60-day period expires.

Before the war, there was no charge for passage through the strait. Trump himself said in an interview with The New York Times that the waterway should remain “permanently toll-free”.

But he appeared to reverse course in Saturday’s post, once again floating the possibility that the US could extract tolls in the strait, while barring Iran from doing so.

No fees should be levied, Trump wrote, “unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America, should the deal not be completed”.

He explained that such a charge would compensate the US “for services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East for purposes of both past, present, and future reimbursement of costs”.

Trump used similar language in his New York Times interview earlier this week, floating the US becoming “the guardian of the Middle East” in exchange for 20 percent of its revenue.

Saturday’s post is not the first time Trump has mused about the US imposing tolls in the strait, either.

In April, for instance, he discussed the idea with reporters, saying, “What about us charging tolls? I’d rather do that than let them have them. Why shouldn’t we? We’re the winner. We won.”

There has been no indication that Trump’s plans have been officially presented to countries in the region, many of whom have struck a careful balance in their dealings with both the US and Iran during the war.

Iranian officials, meanwhile, have repeatedly said they will not rule out imposing tolls in the strait, framing the issue as a matter of sovereignty and regional negotiation. The strait sits between Iran and Oman.

Further discussions are expected on the matter in the coming weeks.

But such negotiations have been thrown into jeopardy amid ongoing Israeli military operations in Lebanon, which threaten to violate Wednesday’s ceasefire memorandum.

Iran claimed that Saturday’s closure of the strait was a result of new Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon, which killed dozens of people after the ceasefire was announced.

Iranian officials have also said that any upcoming talks should focus on proper implementation of the initial memorandum, and that the 60-day negotiating period stipulated in Wednesday’s deal would begin after that was settled.

Pakistan, a top mediator between the US and Iran, has said that follow-up talks are set to begin in Switzerland on Sunday.

Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that an Iranian delegation, led by parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, has already arrived for the negotiations.

On the US side, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Vice President JD Vance are expected to attend.

Vance departed for Switzerland late Saturday.

Cody Gakpo and Brian Brobbey both scored twice as the rampant Netherlands thrashed Sweden 5-1 in a World Cup warning to the favourites.

The big win on Saturday in front of nearly 69,000 at Houston Stadium put the delighted Dutch on the cusp of the knockout rounds and gave them lift-off after being held by Japan.

Ronald Koeman’s side top Group F with four points from two games, ahead of Sweden on three, Japan (one) and Tunisia (zero).

Despite the sobering loss, the Swedes had plenty of chances but were denied by good goalkeeping and wasteful finishing.

Sunderland striker Brobbey got his first start of the tournament and repaid Koeman with predatory goals after five and 17 minutes.

Before that, the 24-year-old had scored only once for his country since making his debut three years ago.

In a game full of top Premier League talent, Liverpool’s Gakpo – who set Brobbey up for the opener – scored twice early in the second half.

Substitute Anthony Elanga from Newcastle United pulled one back for Sweden just before the hour with a classy finish.

West Ham’s Crysencio Summerville had the last word for the five-star Dutch.

Two crew members from the historic Artemis II lunar mission were among the VIP guests, a nod to Houston’s place as the home of space flight.

There was no problem here as the Dutch, twice pegged back in a lively 2-2 draw with Japan to start their title bid, made the brighter start in front of their orange-clad fans and King Willem-Alexander.

Brobbey, who came in for Summerville despite the winger scoring against Japan, started and finished the first goal.

It was made in the Premier League, with goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Gakpo all involved.

Brobbey exchanged passes with Gakpo, before the Anfield attacker crossed in low from the left for his team-mate to stab in from close range.

Sweden, who thrashed Tunisia 5-1 in their first game, could not handle Brobbey’s muscular presence.

Up front, the much-vaunted attack of Liverpool’s Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres of Arsenal were feeding on scraps for Sweden.

Gakpo’s half

Twelve minutes after his opener, Brobbey made it 2-0 when a deflected Denzel Dumfries cross from the right fell perfectly into his path and he toe-poked past Kristoffer Nordfeldt.

Sweden’s English coach, Graham Potter, was in deep discussions with his backroom staff as the game threatened to run away from them.

At the unpopular hydration break, Potter made a beeline for left-sided defender Gabriel Gudmundsson of Leeds United, who was being overrun by the flying Dumfries and Donyell Malen.

Sweden then had their best chance, Gyokeres crossing for an unmarked Yasin Ayari, who completely miscontrolled the ball with his chest.

Gyokeres was next to fluff a good chance, failing to make proper contact after being played in by the largely anonymous Isak.

Gyokeres and Ayari both had further sights of goal, only to be denied by the increasingly overworked Verbruggen.

The Netherlands were hanging on by the end of the half.

Koeman sent on Summerville for Malen at the break and two minutes later it was mission impossible for Sweden, Gakpo prodding in from close range after yet another dangerous low cross from Dumfries.

All three goals were strikingly similar.

Gakpo scored a lovely fourth on 54 minutes, turning inside his defender before firing low into the bottom corner.

Elanga pulled one back five minutes later when he raced clear of the Dutch defence and rattled the ball past Verbruggen.

Summerville made it five in the dying minutes with his second goal in North America.

Sweden are still in with a good chance of progressing into the last 32.

Japan and Tunisia play later Saturday in Monterrey, Mexico.

Sweden face Japan next, while the Netherlands play Tunisia.

Pakistan says talks between the United States and Iran which were postponed on Friday will begin in Switzerland on Sunday, as Tehran announced it was again closing the Strait of Hormuz because of continued Israeli attacks in Lebanon.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, confirmed on Saturday that an Iranian delegation, including Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi and other senior officials, was heading to Switzerland.

In Washington, Vice President JD Vance confirmed that the top US negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were already in Switzerland working through technical details of anticipated negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme.

Vance told Fox News that he expects to leave for Switzerland “sometime in the next couple of days” but acknowledged that “it’s always a delicate coordination dance.”

The planned meeting on Sunday will start technical-level negotiations towards a final US-Iran deal. That is after both sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) earlier in the week declaring a permanent end to “military operations on all fronts”, including in Lebanon.

The MoU stipulates that a final deal should be reached within 60 days, “extendable with mutual consent”.

But even getting to the negotiating table following the MoU proved difficult. A round of talks originally planned for Friday was pushed back after Iran failed to send its delegation, as deadly Israeli strikes persisted in Lebanon.

Although Israel agreed to a renewed ceasefire with Hezbollah on Friday, its attacks in Lebanon continued into Saturday, killing at least 32 people, according to Lebanon’s civil defence and state media reports.

On Friday, Israeli attacks killed 83 people and wounded 141, Lebanon’s health ministry said.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Saturday announced it was re-imposing restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz over Israeli “crimes” in Lebanon and what it called a US violation of commitments to establish a ceasefire.

It warned ship crews not to approach the strategic waterway, saying their security would be at risk ⁠if they do.

Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, warned that the flow of energy in the Middle East would halt so long as the US-Iran agreement “remains only on paper”.

The US military said its forces were still operating in the “general area” of the Strait of Hormuz and “remain present and vigilant” to make sure “all aspects of the agreement with Iran are adhered to”. It said 55 commercial vessels had transited the strait on Saturday and that safe passage was still “intact”.

‘Things are moving backwards’

According to Pakistan’s foreign ministry, Pakistani and Qatari mediators will join the US-Iran talks on Sunday in the Swiss mountain resort of Burgenstock.

Reporting from there, Al Jazeera’s Osama bin Javaid said there has been a flurry of behind-the-scenes diplomatic activity ahead of the formal negotiations, with Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, already holding meetings. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, has been holding talks in Egypt and Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, travelled to Iran.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Baghaei has signalled that progress may be scarce until Iran feels the US is living up to its end of the interim deal.

In comments broadcast by Iran’s IRIB, Baghaei said Iran “must naturally be very firm and serious in demanding fulfilment of obligations” considering the US’s past “failure to honour commitments”.

Al Jazeera’s James Bays, reporting from Burgenstock, said there are indications “things are moving backwards from when the MoU was signed”, citing Israel’s continued bombardment of southern Lebanon.

“The Iranians see this as a serious breach of the MoU,” he said. “Their first sanction was by not coming here. They have now utilised their best weapon by closing the Strait of Hormuz.

“Iran believes this tactic will help get things back on track with regard to southern Lebanon,” added Bays.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stage format, criteria and rules for qualification. Find out who’s in and who’s out.

The knockout bracket in the FIFA World Cup 2026 is starting to take shape.

It begins with the round of 32, which runs from June 28 to July 3.

What is the format and criteria for qualification, and which teams have progressed or been eliminated?

What is the format of the World Cup knockouts?

The top two teams in each of the 12 groups, along with the eight best third-place finishers, advance to knockouts.

The knockout phase begins with the round of 32, introduced for the first time at a World Cup after the expansion of the tournament from 32 to 48 teams.

Then comes the round of 16, followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals and a playoff for third place. The final is on July 19.

The stage-wise breakdown of the tournament’s schedule is:

• Group stage: June 11 to June 27
• Round of 32: June 28 to July 3
• Round of 16: July 4-7
• Quarterfinals: July 9-11
• Semifinals: July 14-15
• Bronze medal match: July 18
• Final: July 19

What are the rules change for the tie-breaker criteria at the 2026 World Cup?

Fifa is using head-to-head records instead of goal difference as the primary tiebreaker for teams level on points for the first time at a World Cup.

Haiti and Turkiye have been eliminated because they are unable to catch the third-placed teams in their respective groups because of they lost to those teams.

Tie-breaker criteria for World Cup groups

According to FIFA’s rules for the tournament, if two or more teams in the same group are equal on points after the group stage ends, the following criteria, in the order below, will be applied to determine the ranking:

Step one

• Greatest number of points gained in the group matches.
• Superior goal difference in the group matches between the teams concerned (head-to-head).
• Greatest number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned (head-to-head).

If the teams are still tied, the criteria below applies:

Step two

• Superior goal difference across all group matches.
• Greatest number of goals scored across all group matches.
• Highest team conduct score (players and team officials) relating to the number of yellow and red cards obtained.

If the teams somehow still cannot be separated, then the following criteria below applies:

Step three

• The two or more teams still equal on points shall be ranked according to the most recent published edition of the FIFA world rankings.

The criteria for the eight best‑ranked teams

The eight best teams among those ranked third will be determined as follows:

• Greatest number of points gained in all group matches.
• Goal difference resulting from all group matches.
• Greatest number of goals scored in all group matches.
• Highest team conduct score (players and team officials) relating to the number of yellow and red cards obtained in all group matches.
• The two or more teams still equal on points shall be ranked according to the most recent published edition of the FIFA world rankings.

Which teams have reached the World Cup round of 32?

(As of June 20, 07:00 GMT)

⚽️ Mexico (Group A) 

The cohosts were the first to qualify for the knockouts, after taking top spot in Group A with a 1-0 win over South Korea on Thursday, June 18. The Mexicans started their campaign with a 2-0 win over South Africa in a chaotic tournament opener.

⚽️ USA (Group D)

The United States were the second team to punch their ticket to the knockouts, thanks to their 2-0 win over Australia in Group D on Friday, June 19. The USA thumped Paraguay 4-1 to kick off their campaign.

Which teams have been knocked out of the World Cup 2026?

⚽️ Haiti (Group C)

Haiti became the first team to be sent home packing from the World Cup after suffering a 3-0 loss to Brazil on Friday, June 19. Playing in their first tournament since 1974, they also lost 1-0 to Scotland in their first game.

⚽️ Turkiye (Group D)

Turkiye soon followed suit, bowing out of the tournament after a 1-0 defeat to 10-man Paraguay later on Friday. They also suffered a shock 2-0 defeat to Australia in the first group match – their first appearance at the tournament after 24 years.

Approximately 1.3 million Syrians returned from abroad in 2025, nearly three times the figure recorded the previous year, while a further two million internally displaced Syrians went back home, cutting the global Syrian refugee population from 6 million to 4.9 million.

On December 8, 2024, the al-Assad dynasty, which lasted 54 years, was removed from power by a rebel offensive.

The 14-year-long war led to one of the world’s largest migration crises, with some 6.8 million Syrians, about a third of the population, fleeing the country at the war’s peak in 2021, seeking refuge wherever they could find it.

More than half of these refugees, about 3.74 million, settled in neighbouring Turkiye, while 840,000 found refuge in Lebanon and 672,000 in Jordan.

Hiam told Al Jazeera she returned to Syria with her family after more than a decade of living in a host country. “The reason that pushed us to return was the high cost of living we were facing in the host country. We stayed there for 12 years, and it was a great hardship for us as refugees.”

We returned to Syria, thank God, but in the beginning it was difficult because we didn’t find homes or anything. Syria now is completely different from when we left. The return was very difficult at first – the scene was very hard for me.

“But thank God, I became stronger. The first period was very difficult, and at the beginning, it was hard to cope,” Hiam explained.

According to UNHCR data, some 556,00 Syrians returned from neighbouring Turkiye, 465,000 from Lebanon and 256,000 from Jordan.

More than seven in 10 returnees have reported improvements in security and freedom of movement in Syria, according to the UNHCR. Almost three-quarters of Syrian refugees abroad have also said they would eventually like to return home.

Returns in 2026 reached 549,800 by mid-May, driven by deteriorating conditions in Lebanon.

Ismael Saibari scored the fastest goal of the World Cup 2026 so far after just 71 seconds as Morocco beat Scotland 1-0 to close in on a place in the knockout rounds.

Saibari scored in Morocco’s opening 1-1 draw with Brazil last weekend, and his clinical finish with just over a minute gone settled a hard-fought, physical contest at Boston Stadium on Friday.

A crowd of 64,146 fans turned up at the venue in Massachusetts, United States.

The 25-year-old, who was born in Spain and raised in Belgium, is reportedly on the brink of a $63m transfer from Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven to Bayern Munich.

The quality of his strike past goalkeeper Angus Gunn showed why he is attracting such interest, and it was telling that Scotland lacked the same quality in the opposition box — that helps explain why Morocco are ranked fifth in the world, and Scotland 40th.

With four points from two games, Morocco are now primed to advance to the last 32 as they aim to at least match their historic run to the semifinals in Qatar in 2022.

However, it was a sobering evening for Scotland and their army of fans who have taken over Boston during this World Cup, as their team never really tested Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.

The laboured 1-0 win over Haiti in their opening game at the same stadium last weekend — which was their first victory at a World Cup since 1990 — gave them a platform to build on and reason to believe they can progress beyond the group stage at a World Cup for the very first time.

Another win here would have secured progress from Group C, but their chances of going further remain up in the air going into their next match against Brazil in Miami next Wednesday.

Moroccan coach Mohamed Ouahbi went with an unchanged starting lineup here following the Brazil clash, but opposite number Steve Clarke made three changes.

Clarke sought to reinforce his defence, meaning striker Lawrence Shankland dropped out as defender Kieran Tierney came into the side to make a back five.

But that was of little use as Morocco went ahead practically from kickoff.

The assist came from Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz, and Grant Hanley played Saibari onside as the latter latched onto the ball over the top, controlled it and rifled high into the net.

Morocco, who defeated Scotland 3-0 when the teams met at the 1998 World Cup, threatened to overrun their opponents every time they got forward but were wasteful, with Bilal El Khannouss squandering a good chance on 36 minutes.

Scotland were as stodgy in attack as they have been for a long time, and it took until first-half stoppage time for them to create anything dangerous.

That was a cross whipped in from the left by skipper Andy Robertson that John McGinn was unable to make anything of, and the opening period ended without Bounou needing to make a save.

Morocco hit the woodwork five minutes into the second half as Saibari met a cutback by El Khannouss, and his attempt was deflected onto the bar by Jack Hendry.

Moments later, Gunn made a fine stop to keep out an El Khannouss header from a corner taken by Hakimi, who was regularly booed by the crowd.

Morocco nevertheless seemed content to see the game out and soak up what Scotland could throw at them.

Ryan Christie fired over on 64 minutes after being teed up by Scott McTominay, who hit the side-netting late on, but a Scotland goal proved elusive.

Morocco face Haiti in Atlanta on Wednesday, while Scotland face Brazil in Miami.

Why was Achraf Hakimi booed?

Morocco’s captain Achraf Hakimi was named in the starting lineup hours after it was confirmed he must stand trial in France on rape charges.

Loud boos rang out from the Scottish fans when Hakimi’s name was read out and every time he touched the ball during the game.

The Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) defender said in a statement earlier in the day that he faced trial on a rape charge and welcomed the opportunity to put across his point of view.

Hakimi had appealed his referral to a criminal court.

French media reported earlier that the Versailles appeals court had rejected the appeal, paving the way for his trial in a criminal court at some point in the future.

“Today, a story that isn’t mine is being told at the expense of my family, my life, and above all, ⁠⁠the truth. Sometimes I feel like ⁠⁠I’ve become an easy target,” Hakimi wrote in a post on the social media platform X.

“I’ve been waiting for this trial since day one. And now I’m looking forward to it. Finally, I’ll be able to speak out.”

Manchester United’s Matheus Cunha scores Brazil’s first two goals in 3-0 win against Haiti as FIFA event progress nears.

Vinícius Junior scored and assisted on one of Matheus Cunha’s two goals as five-time champion Brazil eliminated Haiti from the World Cup with a 3-0 victory.

Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation that qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1974, became the first team guaranteed not to reach the knockout round. Meanwhile, the Selecao got the decisive performance they needed on Friday.

Cunha, the Manchester United standout, got the start and showed with every surf-and-slide goal celebration why he should have been in the starting lineup in Brazil’s listless 1-1 draw against Morocco. Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti made the surprising decision in the opener to instead insert Cunha as a late substitute.

Cunha thrilled the Brazilian fans who made up the bulk of the 68,324 spectators at Philadelphia Stadium when he tapped in a rebound for his first career World Cup goal. He then sent a left-footed strike into the upper left corner for a 2-0 lead in the first half against the overmatched Haitians.

Brazil forward Raphinha, who was subbed out with an injury in the first half, had an early goal disallowed on an offside call that only temporarily muted the yellow-clad Seleção fans in an otherwise festive atmosphere at the home of the two-time Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles — whose cheerleaders did their part to rally the crowd.

Haitian fans danced and sang “Grenadye Alaso” (“Grenadiers to the Attack”), the traditional battle cry of the national team. Brazilians chanted back, reminding them their country is the five-time World Cup champion and the home of the king of soccer: “A thousand goals, a thousand goals, a thousand goals, a thousand goals, a thousand goals! Only Pele, only Pele!”

Cunha added to the frivolity in Philadelphia, home to nearly 6,000 Brazilian immigrants, when he flashed his familiar surfing celebration.

Vinícius, whose 32nd-minute goal helped Brazil earn the tie against Morocco, helped Brazil get on the board when his shot was stopped by goalkeeper Johny Placide and Cunha was there to slam home the rebound to make it 1-0. Cunha extended both arms as if trying to catch some tasty waves and was mobbed his teammates.

Vinícius slid a pass through the defense to find Cunha and he powered one high into the net that Placide never had a chance to stop to make it 2-0. Cunha slid on his stomach and mimicked a swimming motion that all but put Haiti in the drink — and validate the Brazilians’ fans decision not to tempt fate and dress the Rocky statue in team gear for bad luck.

Vinícius closed the half with a goal and that was enough to keep Brazil — seeking its first World Cup title since 2002 — happy before it closes Group C play against Scotland on Wednesday in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Neymar was ruled out of Brazil’s second straight match because of a lingering calf injury.

Iranian deputy foreign minister says Iran ‘ready to move forward’ on diplomacy with US, but war must end on all fronts.

A United States judge has denied a petition from former Democratic President Joe Biden arguing his right to privacy would be violated should recordings he made for a memoir be made public.

On Friday, US District Judge Dabney Friedrich, an appointee of President Donald Trump, ruled that the recordings could be released to the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank.

The Trump administration had already authorised the release of the recordings and transcripts, which Biden made while out of public office with his ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer.

Together, they released the 2017 memoir, Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose.

In her 26-page ruling, Friedrich acknowledged that Biden was likely to suffer some reputational damage as a result of the recordings being released.

Biden has long been scrutinised about whether his advanced age impeded his ability to serve as president during his term from 2021 to 2025. Previously, he served as vice president from 2009 to 2017.

“The Court agrees that — on these facts involving the frank words of a public figure in his home — disclosure of the Zwonitzer materials risks irreparable harm to Biden’s privacy interests and his reputation,” Friedrich wrote.

But she concluded that such harms may not be irreparable, and they do not supersede the public interest in releasing the files.

“Biden has not identified any public harm that would arise absent an injunction in this case,” Friedrich said. “The harm to Biden’s diminished privacy interest is outweighed by the public’s interest in the Zwonitzer materials.”

Biden filed a lawsuit arguing that the Department of Justice had a duty to protect the private information it collects during criminal investigations.

He petitioned the court for an injunction to prevent the Heritage Foundation, which has supported Trump, from receiving the documents through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

“Every American, including a sitting or former Vice President, has a right to privacy in the personal conversations he has within his own home,” Biden’s lawyers have said in his court filings.

The recordings and transcripts came to be in the Justice Department’s possession in 2023, during Biden’s own term.

The Justice Department at the time had appointed a special counsel, lawyer Robert Hur, to independently investigate Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified documents while out of office.

A similar investigation, helmed by a second special counsel, Jack Smith, resulted in a short-lived criminal indictment against Trump. Hur, however, concluded that no criminal charges were “warranted” against Biden.

Part of his rationale was “a shortage of evidence”. But another part of his reasoning was that, if any charges were brought to trial, jurors were likely to perceive Biden “as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory”.

As part of his investigation, Hur had obtained Biden’s recordings and transcripts with Zwonitzer in order to evaluate whether the Democrat had misused information from his time as president for his memoir.

But he also cited them as evidence to conclude that Biden “appeared to have significant limitations” in his memory.

The scrutiny over Biden’s age increased substantially during his 2024 bid for re-election. At a June 2024 presidential debate against Trump, Biden appeared to drift off topic and make nonsensical statements.

At one point, he issued the non sequitur, “We finally beat Medicare,” referencing a government health insurance programme for the elderly and those with disabilities.

Biden subsequently dropped out of the race, and his replacement, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, lost to Trump after a curtailed campaign. The Democrat, however, has consistently denied that he was unable to perform his duties as president.

Trump, meanwhile, has cited Biden’s age and mental acuity as a reason to undo the Democrat’s actions while in office.

He has also called on the Justice Department to investigate whether any officials attempted to conceal any health conditions Biden may have had while president.

The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee has also sought to obtain the Zwonitzer files for a similar investigation.

Biden was 82 years old by the time he left office in January 2025, making him the oldest sitting president in US history. Trump will be slightly older by the end of his tenure, should he complete his second term.

The Democrat is expected to appeal Friday’s decision to release the recordings.