Iran live updates: G7 leaders 'support,' 'ready to contribute' to US-Iran MOU

The U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding is due to be signed on Friday.

President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.

Following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire, initial U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan in April failed to reach a peace deal. Trump later announced the open-ended extension of the ceasefire and the continuation of a U.S. blockade until negotiations concluded.

On Sunday, Trump announced that the U.S. and Iran had reached a "great deal," which he said would be signed on Friday.

The U.N. is seeing a "significantly reduced level" of violence and exchanges of fire in southern Lebanon since the weekend, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the U.N. secretary general, said on Tuesday.

"The mission recorded 38 violations of Lebanese airspace by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) yesterday, down from 83 reported on Sunday," Dujarric said at his daily press briefing.

On the continued displacement of people from southern Lebanon, Dujarric said, "while violence has decreased since Sunday, incidents in southern Lebanon continue to be reported, which has a direct impact on people’s ability to check on their homes or to move around."

The G7 leaders released early on Wednesday a joint statement on geopolitical issues, including the US-Iran deal, saying the group welcomes the MOU that could "prevent Iran from acquiring any nuclear weapon and tackling the threats related to its regional and ballistic activities."

"We support and are ready to contribute to its implementation," the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States said in a written statement.

The statement highlighted the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, emphasizing that the critical passageway should operate "without restrictions or tolls," calling it "the bedrock of international trade."

"We agree that the multinational, independent, and defensive initiative led by France and the UK can play an important role to facilitate the resumption of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz by protecting merchant vessels, reassuring commercial shipping operators, and supporting verification that all mines are removed," the leaders added.

In an interview with CNN that was aired Tuesday night, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he has seen the MOU, calling it "well-structured" and a "game-changer." The Canadian prime minister did not confirm the exact length of the document, but called it a "reasonable" length.