Stephen Carroll

The accusation comes after a US military strike last June that the President had previously said resulted in the obliteration of Iran's key nuclear sites.

The United States has now amassed a military force in the Middle East not seen since the 2003 Iraq invasion and speculation is growing that President Trump is preparing for a fresh round of strikes in the coming days.

He also issued this confrontational warning to the regime in Tehran.

Iran has long argued that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.

Trump's comments now set the stage for a high-stakes meeting in Geneva tomorrow between representatives of the US and Iranian officials aimed at securing a nuclear deal.

A growing number of industry voices are warning of risks in the private credit market.

Money manager Danny Moses, featured in The Big Short, says private markets push into retail products as reminiscent of the years before the global financial crisis.

Meanwhile, strategists at UBS have upped their forecast for defaults in the sector to 15%, two percentage points higher than forecast less than a month ago.

The bank's head of public and private credit strategy, Matthew Mish, says technological progress could also present a challenge for the industry.

UBS's Matthew Mish speaking to Bloomberg yesterday.

His remarks come as activist investor Boaz Weinstein also warned of deeper cracks in private credit funds.

Fears surrounding the sector have been building in recent days after asset manager Blue Owl Capital blocked investors from making withdrawals from one of its private credit funds, raising anxiety about the loans issued by direct lenders.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the EU will deliver on its €90 billion aid for Ukraine one way or another.

The EU has been repeatedly blocked by Hungary from passing an aid package and further sanctions on Russia.

Speaking in Kiev, marking four years of the war, von der Leyen stressed that Ukraine would receive funding.

European Commission President's words come as Ukraine is set to run out of funds in a matter of weeks.

This is US brokered peace talks with Russia have stalled.

And those are your top stories.

On the markets, Eurostox 50 futures up by a tenth of 1%.

The FTSE 100 futures are up by four tenths of 1% this morning.