The Times of Israel is liveblogging Friday’s events as they unfold.

Iran said to reject US ceasefire proposal passed along by Iraqi prime minister

Iran has reportedly rejected a ceasefire deal passed along from the United States by Iraqi mediators.

According to The New York Times, citing Iranian and Iraqi officials, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi traveled to Iran today with a proposal formulated not long after he met with US President Donald Trump in the White House earlier this month.

Iranian officials tell the newspaper, however, that they are not interested in a “temporary deal” that does not address the final status of the Strait of Hormuz, a key sticking point in negotiations.

Al-Zaidi’s office says he visited Tehran today to call for peace and dialogue, and promised not to allow Iraqi territory to be used for attacks on Iran.

Trump imposes double-digit tariffs on dozens of countries as his 10% levies set to expire

US President Donald Trump is going ahead with new double-digit tariffs on dozens of US trading partners just as the clock runs out tomorrow on stopgap levies he imposed after a stinging defeat at the Supreme Court.

The United States will slap taxes of 10% to 12.5% on imports from 60 trading partners accounting for 99% of US imports, charging that they have inadequately enforced bans on goods produced by forced labor.

“The United States has had a forced labor import ban for nearly a century, and rigorously enforces it; it’s well past time for our trading partners to do the same,” says US Trade........

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