THURSDAY US OFFICIALS REVEAL TEXT OF INTERIM AGREEMENT WITH IRAN 18 Senior American officials dictated the memorandum of understanding with Iran to journalists on Wednesday after days of secrecy JUNE, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard HOW LONG THE US AND IRAN HAVE TO STRIKE A FINAL DEAL ASEAN PUTIN HOSTS REGIONAL BLOC Iran to open strait, dilute enriched uranium The two-day meeting, being held in Kazan in Russia is set to consider ways to expand Russia’s “strategic partnership” with ASEAN nations A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9 JUNE 3 BLAZE Notices to 352 commercial establishments over fire safety  NEW DELHI  J8.00  THE Centre on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that there are “shocking activities” happening on Telegram after the messaging platform moved the court seeking a stay on the government order temporarily restricting access to the messaging app ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination. Telegram argued that the government should order the blocking of specific channels or groups rather than banning the entire platform, which has around 150 million users in India. “Just because some things are bad, you cannot block the entire platform,” the counsel said, adding the company has been fully cooperative with the authorities. Appearing for the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta countered Telegram’s argument, saying that simply blocking individual channels Indo prefix axed from name of US Pacific Command J A V A R I A R A N A @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President Donald Trump during a bilateral meet on the sidelines of the G7 Summit | AFP J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday placed the safety of Indian seafarers at the centre of discussions on restoring peace and stability in West Asia, saying he was confident the issue would receive the “highest priority” in implementing a new agreement between the US and Iran aimed at ending the recent conflict, during his first bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump in 16 months on the sidelines of the G7 Summit. “You are aware that across the world, Indian seafarers and hundreds of thousands are working and performing their duties across global maritime trade routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, and their safety is of utmost importance to us,” Modi said. The PM linked the protection of seafarers directly to the implementation of the agreement between the US and Iran. “You made tremendous efforts to- is ineffective. “If the court posts the matter tomorrow, then there is something shocking I can show. One channel starts, it is prohibited, and then another is started. And with a QR code, you can make a payment. This is continuous,” he said. Mehta told the court that the government had repeatedly warned Telegram about “shocking activities” happening on the platform. “I have given examples and shared them. There are many channels. What is being projected and what is being circulated is that if you give me this much amount, I will give you 5 questions,” Mehta told the court, referring to the NEET-UG leak. The court listed the matter for hearing on Thursday . Meanwhile, Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov alleged in a post on X that Reliance and WhatsApp were behind the lobbying effort to ban Telegram in India. EXPRESS READ L-G orders POCSO audit of city schools Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu has directed the Education Department to conduct a comprehensive audit of schools to assess their adherence to the provisions and guidelines of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and take action if schools are found to be lacking in the implementation. | P3 PAGES 12 Stresses strategic importance of keeping Hormuz open; trade deal very close, says US President Banned Telegram moves HC amid govt pushback U D AYA N K I S H O R E & R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi The interim agreement would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and allow Iranian oil sales. The US will waive, but not fully eliminate, some wide-ranging sanctions against the West Asian nation. As for the issue of enriched uranium, Iran has agreed to down blend its stockpile | P9 Modi urges max priority to seafarers’ safety in bilateral talks with Trump N I T I N R A W AT @ New Delhi DAYS after a fire at a Malviya Nagar hotel killed 23 people, including 14 foreign nationals, the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) has issued notices to 352 establishments across the capital over fire safety and building-related concerns, officials said. The action follows inspections by joint committees constituted by the government and headed by district magistrates to examine hotels, guest houses, restaurants, banquet halls and other commercial establishments. The committees identified building violations and shared details with DFS, which subsequently served notices between June 8 and June 15. “… 10 days’ time has been given to them to submit their response,” an officer said. After the deadline, authorities will review submissions and initiate action against violators, the officer said. The committees will continue to regularly inspect establishments. Any establishment found operating without the required fire safety licence or in violation of prescribed norms will be sealed immediately . Home Minister Ashish Sood said all construction activities exceeding the approved G+4 limit in the capital would be reviewed immediately, and any illegal construction or violation of sanctioned building plans would result in the premises being sealed. 60 days 7 killed, 31 injured as Gujarat bus rams truck A devastating road accident on the Halol-Vadodara Highway in Gujarat claimed seven lives and left 31 passengers injured after a Rajasthan-to-Surat luxury bus crashed into a stationary truck early on Wednesday. The truck driver had stopped for tyre inspection when the bus hit it. The bus driver and a nine-yearold child were among the dead. Ties expanding on multiple fronts Trump said bilateral relations were expanding across multiple fronts, highlighting economic growth and investment flows between the two countries. “A lot of things are happening between the US and India. And the US is doing the best we’ve ever done.” wards reaching this understanding and this agreement,” he said. “I’m confident that the issue of seafarers will receive the highest priority during the implementation of this agreement,” Modi said in the backdrop of mounting concerns over the safety of Indian seafarers in West Asia, including the deaths of three Indian nationals in a US strike on a tanker off the Oman coast. Asked about the deaths of Indian sailors in US Navy strikes, Trump said: “It’s a rough pro- fession. This has been happening throughout time. I love all of those people,” Trump said. Modi also stressed the strategic importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open. The waterway is among the world’s most critical energy and trade chokepoints, carrying 20% of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. Trump praised Modi as a “very tough negotiator.” Responding to questions on how close are two countries in finalising a trade deal, Trump said, “Very close. We have been there for a little while. He is a very tough negotiator; one of the toughest.” He then added, “He is the most beautiful looking man, he looks so nice, he is like an angel. But actually he is just tough, he is a killer… He looks so good, he gets you by surprise.” Trump said the US would support India in the event of an attack, even without a formal mutual defence treaty, while describing bilateral defence ties as strong. THE Trump administration has renamed its largest unified military command from the US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) back to the US Pacific Command (PACOM), reversing an eight-year-old designation that had come to symbolise India’s growing role in Washington’s strategic thinking. The US said on Tuesday that the command would revert to the name it carried from 1947, adding the change was limited to nomenclature. USPACOM’s area of responsibility, stretching from the US West Coast to India’s western border, remains unchanged, as does its stated mission of working with allies and partners to maintain a free and open regional order. The announcement came a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France. The 2018 renaming had explicitly referred to the “increasing connectivity between the Indian and Pacific oceans.” It came as the first Trump administration was advancing its Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy amid growing competition with China. The change also coincided with the revival of the Quad. Questions over the future of the “IndoPacific” formulation had emerged last month during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, where Secretary of War Pete Hegseth repeatedly referred to the “Pacific” while outlining Washington’s regional approach. India was described as a “critical anchor” in South Asia, a formulation that some observers noted differed from the broader language used by previous US administrations. MESSI THREELLER MBAPPE, HAALAND JOIN PARTY Kylian Mbappe further enhanced his own legacy by scoring a brace of goals in the second half against Senegal. Erling Haaland, playing his first ever World Cup match, scored a brace against Iraq. On Wednesday, DR Congo held Portugal to a 1-1 draw. 16 Messi equalled Miroslav Klose’s all-time goalscoring record in men’s World Cups LIONEL MESSI STRUCK HIS FIRST EVER WORLD CUP HAT-TRICK IN A 3-0 WIN OVER ALGERIA. HIS WASN’T THE ONLY BIG PERFORMANCE FROM THE BIG HITTERS ON TUESDAY. A LOOK Long-ranger tops ’em all Lionel Messi was at his impervious best as he hit a hat-trick for Argentina. The attacker went through some of his biggest hits including a goal from outside the box. TODAY’S Group A: Czechia vs South Africa 9.30 PM, Mexico vs South Korea 6.30 AM* MATCHES Group B: Switzerland vs Bosnia & Herzegovina, 12.30 AM*, Canada vs Qatar 3.30 AM* * IST Friday LIVE on Unite8 Sports & Zee5 Uddhav Sena stares at split, issues whip Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs Anil Desai, Sanjay Raut and Arvind Sawant addressing a press meet in New Delhi on Wednesday | PARVEEN NEGI Akhilesh rejects SP split buzz Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party remains united amid claims by Uttar Pradesh minister Om Prakash Rajbhar that a major split in SP is on the cards and several of its leaders are ready to join the BJP Abhishek to meet Om Birla Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday invited Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee for a meeting on June 19 to hear his case on the split in the Mamata Banerjee-led party, sources said | P8 P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi IN a rerun of the Trinamool Congress crisis, leaders of Uddhav Thackerayled Shiv Sena (UBT) as well as the rebel faction met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla separately on Wednesday, each staking claim to legitimacy . While the UBT camp urged the Speaker to prevent unlawful defections, the rebel group is learnt to have claimed the support of six MPs. As crisis deepened amid rumours of six MPs having switched to the ruling Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, a three-line whip was issued to all nine Sena (UBT) MPs, directing them to attend a meeting of its parliamentary party on Thursday . The party may initiate disqualification proceedings against those who fail to attend. The development came amid Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut’s allegation that MPs were being offered `50 crore to switch sides. Sources said a letter signed by the six rebel MPs has already been submitted to the Speaker and a formal announcement of the merger with the Shinde-led Sena will be made later. According to sources, the six MPs are Sanjay Jadhav, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Sanjay Deshmukh, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Omprakash Rajenimbalkar, and Sanjay Patil. MPs from the Uddhav camp who met Birla are Arvind Sawant, Sanjay Raut, and Anil Desai. Speaking to reporters, Anil Desai said: “Rebels can’t merge with a party even if they have the support of twothirds of MPs. Only the original party P8 can merge.” JOBS VANISH Foreign language teachers hit by NEP shift, protests erupt I F R A H M U F T I @ New Delhi AS schools prepare to reopen on July 1, hundreds of foreign language teachers find themselves locked out of the profession they built their lives around, as institutions rush to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) and the threelanguage formula. With jobs lost, protests underway, and a Supreme Court petition pending, the teachers believe a policy meant to expand learning IIT-Delhi becomes top-ranked institute in India IIT-Delhi has emerged as India’s highest-ranked higher education institution in the QS World University Rankings 2027, securing the 118th position globally. In the past four years, it has climbed 79 places, rising from 197th in 2024. P3 choices has instead triggered a livelihood crisis for them and uncertainty for students. Protests have begun online and outside CBSE offices, teachers’ bodies have been formed and affected educators are pin- ning their hopes on a petition pending before the SC. The hearing is expected on July 13. Across cities, schools have either discontinued foreign language programmes or drastically reduced them, particu- larly French. Most schools are now allowing only Sanskrit in place of foreign languages. Verification with nearly a dozen schools in Delhi suggests that many have already phased out foreign language options. Bal Bhawan Public School in Mayur Vihar Phase II discontinued foreign language courses three years ago. Principal Vividh Gupta said, “We stopped the foreign language courses three years ago when we had got to know that it (NEP) would be implemented in 2026.” Schools like DPS, Summer Fields, Tagore International, Modern School, Amity, GD Goenka and Apeejay, among others, have discontinued foreign languages, and parents have been told that Sanskrit is mandatory Principals of some . schools said they have not completely discontinued foreign languages but have retained them for students opting for them as work-experience Continued on P4 activities.