Charles Capel

News when you want it with Bloomberg News Now.

I'm Charles Capel.

And I'm Stephen Carroll.

The United States and Iran are counting down to the start of peace talks this weekend in Pakistan as Israeli strikes in Lebanon and the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz threaten to derail diplomatic efforts.

On social media, President Trump warned Tehran against charging transit fees through the straits, saying, they better not be, and if they are, they better stop now.

The post followed earlier remarks in which the US president said he was very optimistic about securing a deal with Iran.

Stuart Livingstone-Wallace leads Bloomberg's Middle East coverage.

That's Bloomberg's Stuart Livingstone-Wallace.

Meanwhile, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to talks with Lebanon.

President Trump said the Israeli leader is going to low-key it with strikes on the country.

However, Netanyahu has vowed to keep fighting around back Hezbollah after a wave of Israeli strikes on Wednesday which killed more than 300 people in Lebanon.

Employees at the White House are being warned not to place insider bets.

Bloomberg understands a staff-wide email has been sent after a series of winning trades made ahead of the US President speaking to the media.

James Walcock has more.

The UK and the European Union are advancing discussions to let Ukraine buy British weapons using the bloc's stalled €90bn loan.

Bloomberg understands officials could move to formalise talks if Hungary unblocks the loan following its election on Sunday.

The push to aid Ukraine comes as the British Defence Secretary John Healey revealed a month-long operation to track Russian submarines in UK waters.

Speaking to reporters, he gave a stark warning to Russia's president.

Healy added that while eyes are trained on the Middle East, the UK is in a state of constant readiness to respond to Russian aggression.

News when you want it with Bloomberg News Now.